Any Travel Plan for 2019?

[Souschef]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett If you want a day trip idea whilst in Vienna you might want to consider the Austria rail Wachau Valley day trip. We did this and enjoyed it very much. The package includes a rail trip up the valley. Entrance to a heritage building overlooking the river. A very nice trip down the river on a river boat. You stop at a small town. Then a rail trip back to Vienna. Very nice full day outing. You can buy it on line but we waited until we were in Vienna to ensure that we picked a good weather day. We bought some of our intercity rail tickets on line from the Austrian rail system prior to leaving home-at a substantial discount.

In Durnstien, there is an unusual blue bell tower. At the top of the mountain is the ruins of a castle where Richard the Lion Hearted was held prisoner.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Souschef Richard the Lion Hearted

Richard the Lionheart.

[Lsbcal]

Here is some details of the Melk Abbey tour out of Vienna: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-rea...-wachau-valley

We planned our day trip using the Rick Steves Austria book which is probably in your library.

[bclover]

Greece and Ocean city NJ.

Hitting Athen, Santorini and Mykonos.

[Backpacker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett We are counting down the days to leave snow and cold weather behind us. We leave in just under two weeks for a month in Thailand followed by a month in Australia, and a short stop in Hawaii on the way home. This will be our fourth winter in Thailand. We are very much looking forward to it.

+1 on Thailand! We are booked for a 3 week trip to northern Thailand in February. My third trip to Thailand. DW and I are both still working PT, so longer trips will have to wait, I keep saying OMY.

[Tiger8693]

Heading to the Pebble Beach Pro-AM, and then to Napa the following week (Feb). Hoping to have a good time. Probably longest vacation from w*rk in 10+ years.

[brett]

Lsbcal's posting of the Melk Abbey tour is exactly the one that we did. Bought the package from Austria's OBB rail system.

It was a very enjoyable day.

[Rianne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hausfrau My DH and I were discussing other possible destinations in the future and your trip is exactly where I wanted to go. It sounds wonderful!

I booked apartments through hotels.com. The maps, reviews, cost, pics of the exact rooms I booked are there. The apartments are huge and beautiful. This is the best value for a vacation. Now I have to wait 5 months until we leave The planning is so fun! I keep picturing the cafes, castles, old world feel, historical events...the U.S. has beautiful parks and beaches but you'll never get the historical experience like this.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rianne ... The planning is so fun! I keep picturing the cafes, castles, old world feel, historical events...

Yes. When traveling, whatever I learn about a place I visit adds to the enjoyment.

One of my brother-in-laws and his wife did not enjoy Europe at all. They did not like the food, they could not even tell where they visited. They said it was a waste of money, and I had to agree that it was true for them.

[brett]

Our extended winter vacations have pretty much come down to choice of SE Asia/Australia or Panama/Costa Rica. In a few years I suspect it will be a condo in Mexico-probably Puerto Vallarta. Not what we envisioned ten or fifteen years ago but change happens. Cannot wait to get some wonderful locally prepared Penang or Massaman curry and wash it down with a cold Chang at some of favourite little open air family run restaurants.

[Rianne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Yes. When traveling, whatever I learn about a place I visit adds to the enjoyment. One of my brother-in-laws and his wife did not enjoy Europe at all. They did not like the food, they could not even tell where they visited. They said it was a waste of money, and I had to agree that it was true for them.

One of my brothers and his DW revel in the all inclusive high end resorts. They sit at the pool or beach, eat/drink all day, stare into their cell phones, bring 4-5 different bathing suits...IMHO this is boring. I suppose the "relax" factor is there. Not and never has been my cup of tea.

[NW-Bound]

I love to walk the streets, looking into shops, seeing what food they have in grocery stores. I like to see how people live their daily life.

Recently, when we started to use Airbnb, we thought it was great to live in a real home, and see what people use for kitchen appliances and utensils.

[exnavynuke]

March I'll be in Antigua sailing and getting a couple dives in. May I'm doing another liveaboard dive trip in the Bahamas (Blackbeard's for the second time for me). September is probably going to be a week in Grand Cayman and a bunch of diving.

That's everything planned so far.

[Souschef]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound One of my brother-in-laws and his wife did not enjoy Europe at all. They did not like the food, they could not even tell where they visited. They said it was a waste of money, and I had to agree that it was true for them.

It almost sounds like they were on one of those"If it is Tuesday we are in Belgium" bus tours.
WE took a 7 day tour of Ireland that way,. because there was NO WAY I was going to drive there. It was OK, but the group meals were boring.
After that we took a ferry to England on our own, and really enjoyed it. Our first stop was in the Lake District, at a wonderful little hotel called the Burn How. We had our own little cottage, and we ate in the dining room, ordering off the menu, and having it cooked the way we wanted.

[brett]

Four winters in Thailand,Vietnam etc. Eating fabulous local food, usually in small family owned restaurants or night markets.

The only time we got sick was when we ate too much meat in a western style restaurant in Phuket.

Travel changed how we eat. When we go out for dinner at home is is always for food that we cannot prepare as well at home. Usually Thai, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern, etc. We live in cattle country but would never think of going out to a steakhouse when we can slap one on our own grill.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Yes. When traveling, whatever I learn about a place I visit adds to the enjoyment. One of my brother-in-laws and his wife did not enjoy Europe at all. They did not like the food, they could not even tell where they visited. They said it was a waste of money, and I had to agree that it was true for them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Souschef It almost sounds like they were on one of those"If it is Tuesday we are in Belgium" bus tours...

We have not taken any tour but think one can enjoy one too, though not the same way as a self-guided and self-arranged trip.

They were visiting her sister, who has lived permanently in Germany for more than 20 years. When asked what city that was, they could not remember the name, let alone place it on a map. This couple is of the type who does not care about history nor geography or different cultures. The sister took them places, which they could not recall, other than Paris and Venice, which they did not care about either. Good grief!

In fact, they did not care about anything about the trip. I can see why they regret spending money, but wonder what they expected. Perhaps they thought Europe was a big Disneyland amusement park, where you could just sit back on a ride and get entertained when things jump out at you.

[Teacher Terry]

I love Europe. The history, architecture and culture are fascinating. We also like the food. We get excited every time we go. I can’t imagine not appreciating it. We don’t take bus tours. Neither of us want to go to a all inclusive resort. We used hotels or Airbnb’s. In cities we walk or used public transport and in rural areas drive.

[Moemg]

It always amuses me when I hear people say they will take escorted tours when they are older . I have been on two escorted tours and that was in my 40's . They are brutal .Up every day at 6 and touring to 7pm then dinner and bed so you can do it again. I am now 71 and there is no way that type of travel interests me .Slow travel is they way to go as you age .

[Souschef]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg It always amuses me when I hear people say they will take escorted tours when they are older . I have been on two escorted tours and that was in my 40's . They are brutal .Up every day at 6 and touring to 7pm then dinner and bed so you can do it again. I am now 71 and there is no way that type of travel interests me .Slow travel is they way to go as you age .

+1 on that. It is bags outside at 7 AM, an the bus at 8...
DW and I have the solution, however. We look at the tours and find one that is interesting, and use their itinerary, BUT at our pace.
We did a 7 day tour of the Alps, and even stayed in the same hotel as the tour. One day, the top of the mountain was socked in, but people were going up because it was on the schedule. We waited until the next day when it was clear.
On a trip in New Mexico, we did the same thing, staying in the same hotel as the tour would have. The funny thing that happened was we had just finished lunch at a restaurant when 40 odd people from the tour whose itinerary we used came in. We looked at each other and smiled, wondering how long it would take them all to get fed.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Souschef DW and I have the solution, however. We look at the tours and find one that is interesting, and use their itinerary, BUT at our pace.

I like it...