Anyone got any travel planned? 2018 version

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gayl So my basic plan is: fly to Budapest (week lodging) train to Bucharest stopping along way maybe (no planned lodging) fly back to Budapest & back to SFO.

From what we've heard, (and it's only what we've heard because we haven't yet been there), Bucharest isn't as interesting as some of the smaller Romanian towns/cities, (which is why we're ending up there for just a couple days before we fly to Munich).

May I suggest, as I did above, that you join Kami's blog, (DW has a Facebook page that she uses for to & fros...there's quite a bit of activity).......Kami and other blog members mainly focus on that region, and are more than willing to share information and provide tips.

[gayl]

Thank you for the link .... I'm ending there for an easy flight back to Budapest to get back to SFO. But her blog has me wanting to go to the Ukraine. So I might try to figure out how to Loop that in. Not sure if I should fly from Bucharest over, or if I should continue on the train. The good thing about having it all loosley planned is that I can change it on a whim. The only thing I have to do is wind up back in Budapest for the flight back to the States

[gayl]

My grandparents are from Kiev .... hence the reason to go there

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gayl But her blog has me wanting to go to the Ukraine.

There are a number of places we've added to the 'list' thanks to suggestions found there....guess I'll have to plan on living longer!

[brett]

Nemo...don't know if you have heard but Norweigan Air is apparently commencing service to Canada. Should give AC, Westjet a poke where it is needed!

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett Nemo...don't know if you have heard but Norweigan Air is apparently commencing service to Canada. Should give AC, Westjet a poke where it is needed!

Great......we flew them Bergen to Krakow last year...very pleased with them.

[gayl]

Does anyone know if train #15 still goes from Lyiv to Budapest?

[sengsational]

You got me curious, so I looked it up.

Quote:

To travel from Ukraine to Hungary by train, buy your ticket at a train station. There are no online tickets available. However it is possible to buy first an online ticket from Ukraine to the border station of Chop , online via one of the booking links. Then buy a second ticket from Chop (Ukraine) to Zahony (Hungary) across the border locally at the station. There are several daily trains crossing the border between Chop and Zahony. One of these conveys the sleeping cars from Kyiv and Lviv to Budapest.

[jonat]

I already have my 2019 travel partially booked - a Rhine and Moselle river cruise (Tauck), a week in a Paris apartment and some sort of private tour of wine regions of France. The cruise replaces one DW and I had booked last year (Uniworld) that was cancelled at the last minute. In 2018 we're doing Italy (Overseas Adventure Travel) and Portugal/Spain (Variety, plus a week in Granada.)

[ChiliPepr]

I just had a quick weekend to Dublin Ireland to watch Ireland v Scotland in a rugby 6 nations match. Great weekend and better Guinness!

[gayl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational You got me curious, so I looked it up.

Yeah, I was wondering if I really had it in reverse. And I did. Easier to go to Kiev from SFO, then I'm inter-country going by train from Kiev to Lviv, then to Budapest for the last week. That cuts the total travel cost from 2000 down to approximately 1250. And it turns out that hotels in Chop are ridiculously cheap.

Thx

[sengsational]

Wow, nice savings, gayl! Kinda drives me nuts when a small change that makes no difference to me can save tons. Being your own travel agent has a bit of a gambling aspect to it, lol!

[gayl]

Yeah. That's just the airfare. I'll splurge on Hilton in Budapest (doing Romania on another trip)

[tulak]

Southern France this summer. So far it’s Nice to Lyon, probably with a night around Saint-Remy-de-Provence to break up the trip. I want to see Pont du Gard, which should be easy from there. While in Lyon, we’ll spend a day driving the French Alps and possibly visit Switzerland. Then off to Paris for a few days before heading back home.

I’ve never visited this area before (besides Nice/Paris), so it’s been a lot of fun planning.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 I'm typing this kinda on the fly, so (I guess like pretty much all my posts), the t's haven't been dotted, nor the i's crossed. I, and now 'we', are somewhat less concerned about visiting the so called 'must see' list items, and more interested in getting a 'feel' for the cities we visit. Serendipity vs Itinerary, I guess....I've always been more of an "I wonder what's over there" person, than a "The next item on our agenda is..." Not to say that we don't 'see the sights', just that we want to experience more than the 'sights'. I have mentioned public transport from time to time, and recall, (Sofia being the latest example), being on a crowded bus and conversing with perhaps one or two people who speak some English, (or who speak it well), while others who don't speak it at all are chiming in with tips/suggestions using the English speakers as interpreters. For us, we then come away with a feeling of having been a small (even minute) part of a city, rather than just 'unconnected observers'. Ah..it's probably all in my head. (And, of course, the fact that food/restaurants don't even appear on our radar puts us in a whole 'nother category.)

A big reason we travel in Europe is my interest in Western European history - medieval thru 1800s plus Greek/Roman and sometimes even prehistory. This inspires me to visit many of those places I’ve read so much about over the years. And a big part of this draw is the architecture of the periods, and some of the art. Therefore many of the places we visit are quite famous and thus have lots of visitors. But occasionally something on our list is not so popular and we get to enjoy it more to ourselves.

We’re not that social - we do enjoy at some level getting a feel for a city, but frankly we’re really experiencing a city through its past, and not so much the modern culture. Although we also totally enjoy getting to know a city through its regional cuisine and are often eating our way across Europe as well as visiting locations famous for producing certain foods or even non-food stuffs such as porcelain, textiles, etc.

We also just enjoy walking miles through historic sections of cities, and if we are in an area with outstanding natural resources (mountains, lakes, coasts, etc) we go for that too.

So our agendas are very personalized and usually why we do so much on our own.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tulak Southern France this summer. So far it’s Nice to Lyon, probably with a night around Saint-Remy-de-Provence to break up the trip. I want to see Pont du Gard, which should be easy from there. While in Lyon, we’ll spend a day driving the French Alps and possibly visit Switzerland. Then off to Paris for a few days before heading back home. I’ve never visited this area before (besides Nice/Paris), so it’s been a lot of fun planning.

Provence is fantastic and I don’t think I ever are so well in my life! I thought their food blew Paris away. Nice was the best.

[FreeBear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cayman Planning stages for Asia, although the State Dept. warning for China has me a bit concerned. Will research and decide whether to visit PRC.

Used to go there for w*rk all the time. I still have the extended 10 yr visa, but DW has absolutely no interest in going...

[FreeBear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winemaker Tuscon+++++! Food, Saguaro Nat'l Park (both East and West), beautiful white mission church in south Tuscon, (can't remember name).

Just got back from nearly a month in Tucson and Santa Fe. Tucson has amazing hiking in March starting at lower elevation. Agreed re food. Some of the best Thai and Middle Eastern we've had anywhere, and cheap too.

DW loved the native american jewelry in Santa Fe. I checked out the expensive galleries. Admire but not acquire... Santa Fe is at 7000 ft elevation, so still rather cold in March, but also not crazy busy. Amazing food.

We'll be back soon, but have been dreaming about hitting Arches, Bryce, and Zion NP's in UT. Also have a cross country drive to northern CA still in planning. Want to do all this driving while we still can...

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cayman Planning stages for Asia, although the State Dept. warning for China has me a bit concerned. Will research and decide whether to visit PRC.

Yes, but in fairness the State Dept. warnings for most countries are kind of scary. Here is an excerpt from one:

Quote:

…violent crimes do occur throughout the country, especially in urban areas. Visitors to large cities should be aware that parked cars are regularly targeted for opportunistic smash-and-grab thefts, and they are cautioned to avoid leaving any possessions unattended in a vehicle, even in the trunk. ... gun-related violence in certain areas … travelers in popular tourist areas may be targeted by pickpockets and other petty criminals.

Did you guess that the quoted excerpt was for Canada?

IMHO, if you haven't ever been to China, you should go.

[RetireAge50]

Next month renting an RV in Toronto for $19 Canadien dollars per day. Comes with 200 free miles per day for 32 days. Gonna drive around and see what I can see and end up in Calgary.