2023 Travel Plans?
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grasshopper
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An hour drive north of Johannesburg is Maropeng and Sterkfontein Caves, and The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. We hired a car and driver, who gave us a great history lesson.
I always wanted to be a paleontologist
Chuckanut
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
A wimp? Sir, I take umbrage at that suggestion.
The A/C is needed to cool the 20 mules that pull my vehicle through the valley. You would not want me to mistreat a dumb animal would you?
However, what I do need are tire chains, since - as the sign indicates - they don't plow the roads beyond a certain point.
Side note: Since this is the [-]flamenet[/-] internet, I will add that the above material is written in good fun.
Car-Guy
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
All my travel since retiring is domestic (US) and by car. I hope to never fly again! I still do a lot of day trips (350 to 500 mile round trips) and plan to continue that as long as I can. Then a couple of longer trips to Vegas each year. Other than that, "I've been there and done that" at least to satisfy my personal interest.
aja8888
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OldConch
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Airfare booked and planning for accommodations and activities commenced. I hunt for bargain tickets across oceans and then build trips around those dates. Found flights to Croatia for 1/2 the normal cost in February so we booked for 3 weeks in September. Last week we booked a week long small boat cruise from Dubrovnik to Split, a 3 day AirBnB in Split, and a rental car for the remaining couple of weeks. Hope to explore Slovenia, Bosnia, and maybe Montenegro.
OldConch
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We visited in February 2021. Loved it. Hikes in the slot canyons and sand dunes, stargazing at Badwater Basin, and sunrise at Zabriskie Pt. were highlights of the trip. Gas was only $5.50/gal when we were there so we drove to Beatty, NV to fill up at regular prices.
OldConch
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Thanks. That sounds great.
Pre-booked Florida a while ago to take the fam to Disney world (7, 5 and 2yr old)...meeting up with In-laws who stay in the villages, and my folks are joining us in our Orlando AirBNB.
Taking my 7yr old out to Las Vegas as he wants to go there. A lot of people tell me that's a bad idea, but there is stuff to do for kids in any city...even sin city.
Was going to book Ireland for 10yr anniversary next spring, but both my folks and in-laws informed us that neither would help with watching our 3 kids. SO it looks like if we want to travel alone from now on, that is totally out of the question. Travel expenses just got much higher for us. Booo! They are into their 70s and I can't blame them, part of me wishes we had children sooner, but then we wouldn't have been able to afford much international travel and the nice big home we now live in on a super great neighborhood. I guess you can't have it all.
Next summer we will do a waterpark trip with the kids to Wilderness in Wisconsin Dells, a trip "up north" to a friends cabin and Labor day at the lodge like we do every year.
Wish we had more exciting plans, but kids are also getting to that age where they have tons of activities.
Might slip in a road trip to Glacier, or somewhere else exciting, and we may visit friends down in Memphis TN before they move abroad.
Taking my 7yr old out to Las Vegas as he wants to go there. A lot of people tell me that's a bad idea, but there is stuff to do for kids in any city...even sin city.
Was going to book Ireland for 10yr anniversary next spring, but both my folks and in-laws informed us that neither would help with watching our 3 kids. SO it looks like if we want to travel alone from now on, that is totally out of the question. Travel expenses just got much higher for us. Booo! They are into their 70s and I can't blame them, part of me wishes we had children sooner, but then we wouldn't have been able to afford much international travel and the nice big home we now live in on a super great neighborhood. I guess you can't have it all.
Next summer we will do a waterpark trip with the kids to Wilderness in Wisconsin Dells, a trip "up north" to a friends cabin and Labor day at the lodge like we do every year.
Wish we had more exciting plans, but kids are also getting to that age where they have tons of activities.
Might slip in a road trip to Glacier, or somewhere else exciting, and we may visit friends down in Memphis TN before they move abroad.
explanade
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So that would be September 2022.
You wouldn't be able to book for September 2023 yet.
You ever drive any of the exotics out in Vegas? I looked into it the last time I was there but the local rentals seemed a bit pricey. I might try and find one on private market through Turo next time I go.
Out of Steam
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My wife's slow recovery from COVID this summer means that we have to continue to maintain precautions. We're planning to limit ourselves to car trips within a day's drive of home until spring.
In May/June, we're planning to visit friends who have temporarily moved to Alaska. While it's earlier than ideal, I need to keep the summer open for hiking. We also need to get to England sometime next year to see my last surviving aunt and uncle.
In May/June, we're planning to visit friends who have temporarily moved to Alaska. While it's earlier than ideal, I need to keep the summer open for hiking. We also need to get to England sometime next year to see my last surviving aunt and uncle.
Car-Guy
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
No, I drive my own, Vettes (in the past) and now Hellcat's. Actually half the fun is driving there and back. And usually far cheaper,
than my other activities while there. I have known others who have rented exotics (e.g specifically a Dodge Viper in the case I'm thinking of)... He was pretty disappointed since the V10 stock engine had been replaced with a V6... I'm not sure that holds true for all the high end rentals there but things like that do happen. Renter beware.
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Souschef
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We just canceled our reservations for a cruise in March. It does not appear that our future cruise credit would be extended to 2023.
explanade
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So do you have to use it this year?
CyclingInvestor
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I will be going to watch the eclipse in Klamath Falls OR in Oct 23, as a kind of day trip.
Amtrak Coast Starlight from LA-KF arrives around 8am, then leaves at 10pm back to LA so no motel necessary.
I did a similar trip in 2017 for that eclipse, flying to New Orleans, train to Carbondale, watch eclipse, train to Chicago, fly home. It was great.
Amtrak Coast Starlight from LA-KF arrives around 8am, then leaves at 10pm back to LA so no motel necessary.
I did a similar trip in 2017 for that eclipse, flying to New Orleans, train to Carbondale, watch eclipse, train to Chicago, fly home. It was great.
My fingers are crossed. I've had 4 birding trips canceled since the pandemic began. 2023 I'm making a 3rd try at Puerto Rico, a make-up for a canceled trip to Colombia, and a stop along my slow progress down the Amazon. I'll have to be really organized.
Still finalizing our 2.5 month trip for the end of this year, but have booked 4 weeks of diving in various parts of Indonesia in April-May. That'll probably be a 2+ month trip, given the above-water nature experiences as well as the cultural/food in Indonesia, Singapore, and southern Malaysia....
In the preliminary stages of considering about 2+ months in NZ late in the year. That's a lot of hiking, and therefore something that we want to hit relatively soon.
Domestic and Caribbean travel for most of Feb and March, some of which is booked.
More will come later, including something domestic or caribbean to host the kids and their families....
In the preliminary stages of considering about 2+ months in NZ late in the year. That's a lot of hiking, and therefore something that we want to hit relatively soon.
Domestic and Caribbean travel for most of Feb and March, some of which is booked.
More will come later, including something domestic or caribbean to host the kids and their families....
Did you cancel, or the cruise line. As I've mentioned[-] ranted about[/-], MSC cancelled our transatlantic cruise this past April. They offered cruise credit good for 1 year. Trip insurance refused to pay out. I had to fight with MSC to get a refund of our deposit.
My BFF just had airline credit for a cancelled europe trip expire. Lost money.
This is our fall 2022 trip. Combined with Galapagos. Super excited. Its been paid for for a year. We used our airline credit from our return from our cancelled cruise this past spring to pay for our airfare to Peru and from Ecuador.
My bff and I (and a few friends and my sister) just booked a week in Mazatlan in early April 2023. Very excited. Plan is to go again in 2024 since the total eclipse will be viewable from there. Lodging and airfare is booked.
And finally Mid april to Mid may 2023 we are doing 3.5 weeks in Italy. Starting in eastern Sicily to visit my husbands 2nd cousins, then a few days in Palermo before we hop on a ferry to Genoa. We'll spend 6 nights in Cinque Terre hiking the trails. Then 4 nights in Florence, 4 nights in Venice, and finishing it off with 2 nights in Milan then home.
Lodging is booked for Italy, but we haven't bought the tickets. Hoping for a dip in price on biz class tickets.
We've had luck in the past with checking periodically and buying on the dip.
Souschef
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It appears so, but DW is through cruising. When our cruise was cancelled due to COVID, we got a full refund PLUS FCC, so we are not out any money.
SecondAttempt
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
As was mine! But I appreciate the image of a 20 mule team each with its own air conditionerA wimp? Sir, I take umbrage at that suggestion.
The A/C is needed to cool the 20 mules that pull my vehicle through the valley. You would not want me to mistreat a dumb animal would you?
However, what I do need are tire chains, since - as the sign indicates - they don't plow the roads beyond a certain point.
Side note: Since this is the [-]flamenet[/-] internet, I will add that the above material is written in good fun.
Chuckanut
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
It's far to early to know if this will hold true in 2023, but the dollar and the euro are pretty much at parity right now.
If one can find an affordable ticket to Europe, this might be a good time to hop a plane.
IIRC, when the euro was first issued it was about $1.20 to a dollar. Most of my travel in Europe has been with the euro between $1.15 and $1.40. In a sense, Europe is on sale at the moment.
If one can find an affordable ticket to Europe, this might be a good time to hop a plane.
IIRC, when the euro was first issued it was about $1.20 to a dollar. Most of my travel in Europe has been with the euro between $1.15 and $1.40. In a sense, Europe is on sale at the moment.
Just back from Europe , yes the dollar is doing well today . Europe was so hot and the Netherlands was the only country that had consistent A/C. ……Go to a restaurant and it was 90F it was just hot. When is Brugg everyone had ice cream instead of wine . But all was good .
