The Travellers Thread

[cry_minarets458]

Originally Posted by FromTheMorning

Bosnia Herzegovina and Montenegro are both nice. Could pick one of those.

will look into as well. thank you

[Dave&Tim41]

Got back from Italy on Saturday evening and I miss it already. What an incredible place, I almost cannot believe it is real. People have been asking what my favorite place was (between Rome, Florence/Tuscany, and Venice) and I cannot pick one.

One crazy experience was being in the Vatican on Easter Sunday--I did not have a ticket and a random man gave one to me before the security checkpoint to get into St. Peter's Square. Wound up getting this picture!

Now onto planning the next one. Right now Spain is edging out Austria. I am thinking two weeks touring Madrid and Andalusia.

[redsox14]

Considering a honeymoon in new Zealand with a possible stop in Fiji. Any and all recommendations are welcome!

[Route_2]

Originally Posted by redsox14

Considering a honeymoon in new Zealand with a possible stop in Fiji. Any and all recommendations are welcome!

I recommend you do it. Sounds awesome.

[DIDriveOut2SPAC]

Got boned hard with this Jet Airways nonsense.

[Strider_BTCS]

Originally Posted by Dave&Tim41

Got back from Italy on Saturday evening and I miss it already. What an incredible place, I almost cannot believe it is real. People have been asking what my favorite place was (between Rome, Florence/Tuscany, and Venice) and I cannot pick one.

One crazy experience was being in the Vatican on Easter Sunday--I did not have a ticket and a random man gave one to me before the security checkpoint to get into St. Peter's Square. Wound up getting this picture!

Now onto planning the next one. Right now Spain is edging out Austria. I am thinking two weeks touring Madrid and Andalusia.

Got back from Italy in March and sounds like we did a similar trip - Venice, Florence, Rome with stops in Pisa and Assisi. My girlfriend and I both loved it. Glad you had a good time as well.

[Jordan#41]

Well I guess I'll hop on the "got back from italy train" as well. Got back last week. Did Bologna, Parma, Modena and Milan. Highlight for me was dinner at Osteria Francescana in Modena. An amazing experience!

[unccrombie]

Originally Posted by Jordan#41

Well I guess I'll hop on the "got back from italy train" as well. Got back last week. Did Bologna, Parma, Modena and Milan. Highlight for me was dinner at Osteria Francescana in Modena. An amazing experience!

From Chef's table? Definitely.

[DavefaninNZ]

Originally Posted by redsox14

Considering a honeymoon in new Zealand with a possible stop in Fiji. Any and all recommendations are welcome!

How long and what time of year? I highly recommend the Fiordlands in the South Island. Milford Sound is amazing in any weather. I’ve never been to Doubtful Sound but heard it’s equally spectacular. Glow worm caves in Te Ano is pretty cool, but not necessarily a must. Wanaka is amazing, Queenstown is touristy but pretty awesome as well. You can check out the wineries nearby in Central Otago, which are known for their reds, specifically Pinot Noir. There’s a little town on the west coast of the South Island called Okarito. Not much there except natural beauty, and it’s a great place to get away from it all.

On the east coast of the SI, there’s a restaurant called Fleur’s Place in Moeraki which is probably literally the best seafood restaurant in the world. I obviously haven’t been to every seafood restaurant in the world, but I grew up going to Maine for vacations and it blows away any seafood place I’ve been to.

The Farewell Spit on the northwest side of the SI is another great place to visit. The whole area is pretty nice with a few good hiking options
.

Wellington is a nice little city to spend some time in (and my home for six years). Easily walkable. Take the cable car for amazing views of the city and harbor. Get fish and chips at Te Aro fish supply. There are many good options for coffee (Wellington and NZ in general is pretty well known for their coffee culture). NZ also has a fantastic craft beer scene. Hashigo Zake and The Malt House are great bars offering the best of NZ craft beer.

The rest of the north island has some high points, but I always recommend people spend most of their time in the South Island. Those high points include some great hiking through Tongariro national park, wine tasting in the Martinborough region (I’m not really a white wine guy, but the sav blancs, chards, and pinot grigios are delicious), the Coromandel (highly rated by kiwis and tourists alike, and incidentally one of the few places in the country I never got to), and the Northland in the summer time (absolutely one of my favorite places in the country).

Hopefully this will give you a good start and would be happy to answer any follow up questions. Again, I recommend spending most of your time in the South Island, especially if you go in the summer months (Nov-Mar).

[daveshookme]

Originally Posted by DIDriveOut2SPAC

Got boned hard with this Jet Airways nonsense.

How so?8

[DIDriveOut2SPAC]

Originally Posted by daveshookme

How so?8

I've lost 800,000 Jet privilege miles if Etihad doesn't transfer them.

I bought 3000$ on 589 tickets about 4 weeks before they went belly up.

Capital One has refunded the tickets hopefully it stands

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[daveshookme]

Originally Posted by DIDriveOut2SPAC

I've lost 800,000 Jet privilege miles if Etihad doesn't transfer them.

I bought 3000$ on 589 tickets about 4 weeks before they went belly up.

Capital One has refunded the tickets hopefully it stands

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Yeah I’d consider that getting boned hard. Yikes. Sorry to hear that man, hopefully they transfer them!

[CrushLive]

Originally Posted by Jordan#41

Well I guess I'll hop on the "got back from italy train" as well. Got back last week. Did Bologna, Parma, Modena and Milan. Highlight for me was dinner at Osteria Francescana in Modena. An amazing experience!

Tell me more about your experiences in these cities.

Been to the “big/main” cities a few times. Going back to Italy in the spring and probably going to do quite a few small Tuscan towns but would consider some of the more medium size towns north of there.

[cry_minarets458]

Originally Posted by cry_minarets458

I'm taking a 9-11 day vacation. I'm going to Croatia, but honestly think that is too long to spend in Croatia. What would be an easy addition to the trip? I was thinking 2-3 days in Milan or Venice, just to add something different

i've only been to london, stuttgart, hamburg, and berlin. did a layover in amsterdam, but want to go back for a few days in the future. just don't think that'd be a good use of time for this excursion

Originally Posted by unccrombie

Turkey .

Originally Posted by FromTheMorning

Bosnia Herzegovina and Montenegro are both nice. Could pick one of those.

think i settled on the first 3-4 days of the trip in prague, then going to do what's needed in croatia, then connect through amsterdam on the way back for 2-3 days. i want to explore more of that city

found a decent flight combo that comes out to ~1200 for all that. #skyteam (like literally was the same price to just do croatia and back given the time of the year...turkey and montenegro were a few extra hundred more, but prague sounds more appealing for me)

[redsox14]

Originally Posted by DavefaninNZ

How long and what time of year? I highly recommend the Fiordlands in the South Island. Milford Sound is amazing in any weather. I’ve never been to Doubtful Sound but heard it’s equally spectacular. Glow worm caves in Te Ano is pretty cool, but not necessarily a must. Wanaka is amazing, Queenstown is touristy but pretty awesome as well. You can check out the wineries nearby in Central Otago, which are known for their reds, specifically Pinot Noir. There’s a little town on the west coast of the South Island called Okarito. Not much there except natural beauty, and it’s a great place to get away from it all.

On the east coast of the SI, there’s a restaurant called Fleur’s Place in Moeraki which is probably literally the best seafood restaurant in the world. I obviously haven’t been to every seafood restaurant in the world, but I grew up going to Maine for vacations and it blows away any seafood place I’ve been to.

The Farewell Spit on the northwest side of the SI is another great place to visit. The whole area is pretty nice with a few good hiking options
.

Wellington is a nice little city to spend some time in (and my home for six years). Easily walkable. Take the cable car for amazing views of the city and harbor. Get fish and chips at Te Aro fish supply. There are many good options for coffee (Wellington and NZ in general is pretty well known for their coffee culture). NZ also has a fantastic craft beer scene. Hashigo Zake and The Malt House are great bars offering the best of NZ craft beer.

The rest of the north island has some high points, but I always recommend people spend most of their time in the South Island. Those high points include some great hiking through Tongariro national park, wine tasting in the Martinborough region (I’m not really a white wine guy, but the sav blancs, chards, and pinot grigios are delicious), the Coromandel (highly rated by kiwis and tourists alike, and incidentally one of the few places in the country I never got to), and the Northland in the summer time (absolutely one of my favorite places in the country).

Hopefully this will give you a good start and would be happy to answer any follow up questions. Again, I recommend spending most of your time in the South Island, especially if you go in the summer months (Nov-Mar).

This is fantastic, Thank you so much! I'm in the early stages of planning. We would be going fall of 2020. We are getting married 9/19/20 but haven't decided if we'll leave right after the wedding or a week/month later.

Thanks for the tip on staying mostly on the southern island as i was having a hard time deciding which part to go to as well. Maybe start on the southern island and work our way up to Aukland to fly out. We are considering a side trip to Fiji for a few days when we leave NZ since we will be 90% of the way there already, may as well go all out.

I'll probably have more specific questions as I really get into planning, right now is just research. And i love the seafood suggestions! I'm from massachusetts and spent a lot of summer time in Maine as well so hearing those recommendations is great!

[cry_minarets458]

settled on prague, croatia, and amsterdam

another weird itinerary, but got it for ~1275 and will probably get 1-2 complimentary upgrades. i think that's pretty great

[Dave&Tim41]

Spain is next up for me. Haven't booked yet, but have a rough idea of what I want to do. I will fly into Barcelona and spend a few days there, do one day/night in Palma Mallorca or Ibiza, fly to Seville and spend a few days there (with a day trip to Cordoba/Granada...want to see both but don't have enough time), and then a few days in Madrid before flying home (from Madrid).

[SmoothG]

Originally Posted by Dave&Tim41

Spain is next up for me. Haven't booked yet, but have a rough idea of what I want to do. I will fly into Barcelona and spend a few days there, do one day/night in Palma Mallorca or Ibiza, fly to Seville and spend a few days there (with a day trip to Cordoba/Granada...want to see both but don't have enough time), and then a few days in Madrid before flying home (from Madrid).

Sounds like a good trip, that's a lot of places though. How many days/weeks you have? You won't be able to do Cordoba and Granada in a day trip from Seville. I mean, maybe you can but I don't think it's a good idea. I'd try to find a way to do both with a separate trip to each. Cordoba and Granada are both amazing. If youre doing just one day trip, you should pick one or the other. Ronda is also a really beautiful, small place around there thats a nice day trip. Let me know If you have any questions about Andalucia or especially Granada.

[Dave&Tim41]

Originally Posted by SmoothG

Sounds like a good trip, that's a lot of places though. How many days/weeks you have? You won't be able to do Cordoba and Granada in a day trip from Seville. I mean, maybe you can but I don't think it's a good idea. I'd try to find a way to do both with a separate trip to each. Cordoba and Granada are both amazing. If youre doing just one day trip, you should pick one or the other. Ronda is also a really beautiful, small place around there thats a nice day trip. Let me know If you have any questions about Andalucia or especially Granada.

I really want to see Cordoba and Granada, but I have struggled to find a way to make it work. My original itinerary was to fly into Madrid and go straight to Seville, then do Cordoba and Granada with 3 or so days at each place. The problem with that is getting back to Madrid--if I end in Granada or Cordoba it appears pretty difficult to get back to Madrid. Plus, I hate losing time just to go back to an airport city (Madrid). Any tips are greatly, greatly appreciated! I am not married to this itinerary at all, and quite frankly would prefer just doing Andalucia.

Agreed that it is a lot of places. I have about 10-12 days, so will probably just cut out the island day and go straight to Seville from Barca.

[SmoothG]

Originally Posted by Dave&Tim41

I really want to see Cordoba and Granada, but I have struggled to find a way to make it work. My original itinerary was to fly into Madrid and go straight to Seville, then do Cordoba and Granada with 3 or so days at each place. The problem with that is getting back to Madrid--if I end in Granada or Cordoba it appears pretty difficult to get back to Madrid. Plus, I hate losing time just to go back to an airport city (Madrid). Any tips are greatly, greatly appreciated! I am not married to this itinerary at all, and quite frankly would prefer just doing Andalucia.

Agreed that it is a lot of places. I have about 10-12 days, so will probably just cut out the island day and go straight to Seville from Barca.

It sounds like a good plan, all good places. You can't go wrong whatever you do. But I'll respond properly tomorrow, its getting late here.

[iammine]

Originally Posted by Dave&Tim41

I really want to see Cordoba and Granada, but I have struggled to find a way to make it work. My original itinerary was to fly into Madrid and go straight to Seville, then do Cordoba and Granada with 3 or so days at each place. The problem with that is getting back to Madrid--if I end in Granada or Cordoba it appears pretty difficult to get back to Madrid. Plus, I hate losing time just to go back to an airport city (Madrid). Any tips are greatly, greatly appreciated! I am not married to this itinerary at all, and quite frankly would prefer just doing Andalucia.

Agreed that it is a lot of places. I have about 10-12 days, so will probably just cut out the island day and go straight to Seville from Barca.

The renfe will get you from Cordoba to Atocha in about 2 hours.

If you have the time on the Madrid leg, I'd recommend adding Toledo into your trip. It's under an hour by bus from Madrid and about 5/6 euro each way.

[dontburnthe_pig]

Originally Posted by mdel21

Going to France in May. We have the typical tour stuff lined up, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Normandy, etc.

Any off the beaten path things to see. It's overwhelming trying to figure out what to see and do.

Probably late but Make a dinner booking at Le Tremilou, and get the duck with prunes

[cry_minarets458]

has anyone done iceland? i was thinking going for 10 days, since the last 3 will be umphrey's shows. always said i would never travel for shows, but have wanted to go to iceland, so i figured just hop on it. was lucky to grab tickets

[DIDriveOut2SPAC]

Originally Posted by cry_minarets458

has anyone done iceland? i was thinking going for 10 days, since the last 3 will be umphrey's shows. always said i would never travel for shows, but have wanted to go to iceland, so i figured just hop on it. was lucky to grab tickets

I have been. 10 days is rather long as its very expensive. You could traverse the island in 4 days in a rental and have 4 days in the capital. Book sooner than later as hotels and airbnbs fill up fast.

[Lee3691]

https://www.creditcardcompare.com.au...country-names/

[Dave&Tim41]

I am most likely booking my trip to Spain at the end of this month. This is the current itinerary, if you have any thoughts I am all ears--struggled to decide how much time to spend in each place. I am not married to the below and could easily be persuaded to change it. However, I do adamantly want to see Andalucia.

4/15-16 Fly into BCN
4/16 Barca
4/17 Barca
4/18 Barca
4/19 Montserrat (Barca)
4/20 Seville
4/21 Seville
4/22 Cordoba (Seville)
4/23 Granada
4/24 Granada
4/25 Madrid
4/26 Madrid
4/27 Fly home

[DIDriveOut2SPAC]

Originally Posted by Dave&Tim41

I am most likely booking my trip to Spain at the end of this month. This is the current itinerary, if you have any thoughts I am all ears--struggled to decide how much time to spend in each place. I am not married to the below and could easily be persuaded to change it. However, I do adamantly want to see Andalucia.

4/15-16 Fly into BCN
4/16 Barca
4/17 Barca
4/18 Barca
4/19 Montserrat (Barca)
4/20 Seville
4/21 Seville
4/22 Cordoba (Seville)
4/23 Granada
4/24 Granada
4/25 Madrid
4/26 Madrid
4/27 Fly home

I would lose one city and enjoy the spanish countryside. We stayed in the river delta between Barca and Valencia and rented a farmhouse. House made Paella, local wine, quiet nights. It was a dream.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AMVwoa5jClTV2MNz1

[Dave&Tim41]

Originally Posted by DIDriveOut2SPAC

I would lose one city and enjoy the spanish countryside. We stayed in the river delta between Barca and Valencia and rented a farmhouse. House made Paella, local wine, quiet nights. It was a dream.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AMVwoa5jClTV2MNz1

I am actually not entirely sold on going to Barcelona. My original itinerary was just doing Andalusia and Madrid. Added Barcelona because of some recommendations from friends (Montserrat mainly) and it seems almost sacrilege to skip it. My original plan was doing Seville, Cordoba, and Granada, but it seems like Cordoba is doable as a day trip.

[BTBaboon]

I'm consistently reminded why I should never schedule flights in the evening during the summer months.

Absolute chaos today trying to get from TYS to ROC thru CLT.

[cry_minarets458]

just booked my flight for my iceland adventure in 2020. 3/12-3/24 $389 via delta. very happy with that price