Hi there and happy new year my TKP brethren!
I decided to start this thread as a catch-all place for folks to look to the TKP community for intel, recommendations, advice, etc. About places they are traveling to this year that they may never have been to before.
I've received some great advice on here for a few recent trips we've taken to Costa Rica and the California coast, (you know who you are!) and thought a single common thread might be a good way for people to refer back to in the future.
To start, my wife and I are going to Puerto Rico for the first time in March and would love to hear any intel on restaurants, sights, bars, beaches, other fun stuff etc. We use a timeshare that we own to trade off to travel to other places. We will be staying in Dorado for a week, and certainly touring old San Juan and The El Morro fort. We have a car and will be exploring locally and taking 1 very long day trip around the island going west to Rincon then down to Cabo Rojo, and across the southern coast to Ponce then back north to Dorado. We have a couple extra days after the timeshare week so we are going to ferry over to Vieques Island for an overnight stay, renting a golf cart for the day and saying on the south side of the island and going to the black sand beach. Next day back to the mainland and staying next to the El yunque national forest and hopefully doing some zip lining and waterfall sightseeing before heading home the day after.
Would love to hear any suggestions, and would love to hear about where you all are travelling this year! Maybe we've been there and have something to share!
Happy and safe travels my friends!
Comments
I will be heading to Punta Cana with the wife and kids (5 and 2.5) and the inlaws in May. We are staying at Dreams Macao so any suggestions in the area would be welcome!
My wife and I have looked at going to the DR, but all of our timeshare places there all all-inclusive, and that's the exact opposite of what we want when we travel. We want to be adventurous and explore the local communities and eat at off the beaten path places that really show the local culture and cuisine. Hope you have a great trip! I know a few people that have loved their trips to the DR.
We only left the resort (different one) once, and did not experience anything I would recommend. Only country I have been in where I felt that way. Hopefully someone else has a better report. On the other hand, the people are very friendly to tourists and made you feel very welcome.
I will support this opinion. Went to the DR a while ago (~20 years) and we flew into Santiago and then took a van north to Puerta Plata. There were points in the drive where we saw some awesome scenery, but most of the trip highlighted the stark contrast between the really nice resorts and the largely poverty stricken villages. Once we reached the resort, it was like we entered an entirely different country.
Yup, I've been to DR twice, both times for service trips. We stayed in bougie accomodations which are cheap by our standards (but safe), but those in the villages are destitute. My dad has been almost two dozen times and the locals he's connected with didnt let him stay outside of the resort until maybe his 15th time there just on account of his own safety
But everyone I've met and he's met has been so incredibly nice and warm, just that there is significant risk of theft/mugging outside of Santo Domingo in you're not in a gated resort.
Took a trip with a bunch of friends to DR a few years ago and had a blast! We stayed at Breathless which was a kid free all inclusive but they have a sister family oriented resort next door. We have since talked about taking our kids and going back, we had that much fun. Went on a catamaran tour/excursion/snorkeling thing that was freaking awesome.
https://www.facebook.com/hispaniolaaquaticadventurespuntacana
I also second the sentiment that locals are very welcoming and hospitable. There are no rules on the roads though, so if you drive yourself anywhere you will be taking your life into your own hands. Just kidding. But seriously.
I forgot to post when we got back, so here goes on a high level summary:
TLDR is that we enjoyed the trip but I would not really recommend doing a trip like that, especially with kids. The resort was nice (one of the unlimited vacation properties) but it was surrounded by barbed wire with guard stations and we never felt safe to leave. The pools were nice but 7 days of young kids with just pools and limited stuff for their age made it a challenge. The beach was pretty but the water had a red flag for strong rip tides the entire time and nobody was swimming. We put our feet in the water and you could really feel the pull. The food was the same as another unlimited vacatipn property my wife and I went to in cancun for our honeymoon back in 2016 and reminds me a lot of D2 for the main areas and then a cycling schedule of more a la carte dinner restaurants of varying quality.
TLDR: For the money just do a staycation in the US
PR is a cool spot. I dont recall any specific restaurants by name, but be sure to get Mofongo. Lots of restaurants have their own take on the dish, so don't be afraid to order it multiple times.
Old San Juan is nice, the streets and architecture. The fort in Old San Juan is pretty cool, with a real pirates of the carribbean theme to it (or I guess anti-pirates theme). There is a neat bioluminescence tour that takes off about an hour east of Old San Juan in Fajardo. Also some cool little islands over in that area too to visit and do water sports.
La Barrachina is a great place to get a Pina Coloda
I want to say the name is the Parrot Club and it was good, it's parrot something in old San Juan.
Yeah...we looked at the bioluminescence tours....seems to be the wrong time of year.....☹️
ah, too bad.
Can't win em all.....I'm sure we'll still enjoy doing some snorkeling nonetheless! Take what life gives ya, right?
Also going to PR in March. I've heard great things about rainforest tours, but book an independent company, not one of the big tour groups. Let me know if you want the contact info of the company we're using. They were highly recommended by a friend that went recently. We're also doing a snorkeling trip to Culebra. I've heard good things about that as well.
We're staying at the Margaritaville on the eastern side of the island (about 30 min east of San Juan). If anyone knows of some good restaurants in the area, let me know.
Sure - we'd love to have the info on the company you used. Hit me up at CMahler - at- potterarchitects dot com.
We will be there March 15 thru 24. Maybe we'll cross paths!
Update.....so we are getting to do the bioluminescence thing during our one day stay on Vieqes!
Cool. Visit and Snorkel Green Beach on West side of island if you can. Its beautiful. Its also called Punta Arenas. My father, whom is in Hospice now, was 2nd in command at Roosevelt Road NAS (which is gone now, but was located in Ceiba, PR) from 1982-1984 while I was at VT as a student. We took a boat from the base to Green beach several times to dive, really cool.
As a VT student I got 3 MAC air flights a year from Patrick AFB and/or Jacksonville AFB for $10 (surfboards packed!) to go visit home, on the base. Those flights stopped at The Turks and Caicos for lunch at the AFB base cafeteria (back then these islands were ONLY a USAFB missile/NASA launch tracking station). My father was XO there during the Grenada invasion. I happened to be there then, the amount of military HW and systems there was insane and the base restrictions were off the charts. Roosevelt Roads was the largest Navy base in the world when operational. It had a deep harbor that could handle aircraft carriers and all other ships in the fleet. It had a large multi-runway airfield with storage for hundreds of aircraft.
My father bought a used 1977 Mercury Marquis for us to drive all over the island (we surfed all over that island). That battleship was awesome - we could put 7 surfboards in the trunk. We ripped the oil pan off it driving across Vieques (we took it on the ferry from Fajardo) and slept in tents at the car shop while they fixed it and had beers with the mechanic and his family. The only issue with that car was my dad put VA license plates on it. So here are a bunch of haole surfers driving all over PR in a killer surfmobile that doesn't matter if it gets damaged with VA tags. We got some looks from the locals. We got ripped off twice (minimal impact). Surfed killer surf all over the North, Northeast, and West coast of PR. Surfed a couple places that few non-locals have ever surfed - probably even today (P-Point - good luck finding that!; La Selva). Surfed Wilderness at 15 ft. Surfed P-point at 20 ft +. Surfed sandy beach at a board breaking, grinding, hollow 6 ft +, Marias and Indicators at 6 to 10 ft. Surfer's Beach, Hallows (near Arecibo) - this place breaks super hollow in 6 inches of water over live reef, ... the list goes on. Good memories.
Go explore!!
Thanks man....we definitely explore when we travel (will be doing snorkeling, but won't be surfing though). Glad you have such fond memories of being there. Sorry to hear about your dad.....
To keep this in the PR thread:
My wife and I spent most of our time in San Juan for our honeymoon last June. You're going during a good time - it won't be too hot. I'd definitely recommend both El Morro and Castillo San Cristobal, the two Spanish Colonial forts. Bring water and sunscreen with you if you plan on being there for a while. Walking around Old San Juan is a lot of fun and really beautiful.
In Old San Juan, I'd recommend checking out El Batey (famous and equally divey cocktail bar), La Factoria (awesome cocktails), and El Nido for drinks.
Casita Miramar was some of the best food I've ever had. Get the bacalaitos (a fried plantain & cod fritters). Incredible food, we weren't upset about a single choice and we even went back to cap off our honeymoon. Also awesome cocktails (I hope you've noticed the theme here). It's a great place to really treat yourselves.
Also get alcapurrias if you can. It's fried plantain stuffed with typically some type of meat. We didn't get to it, but we were told to go to La Alcapurria Quemá.
Heads up that the beaches are public and close at 5 pm. They close gates for parking.
I also went back in 2016 and can tell you that El Yunque is very worth it whether you're hiking, ziplining, or whatever. Have a great time!
Thanks Ashore!
First, I think this thread is a great idea.
Secondly, our plan this summer is to buy an RV and take a month and travel the US.
Ooh....do it. We drove cross country and back with our kids in 2010 when our son was still alive. Totally worth it and memories you and your kids (if that applies) will never forget. I'll be happy to expand on our itinerary if you want.
I'm interested in this
I'll try to write up a summary on the weekend.
;^)
Oh shit - I'm sorry I totally blanked on doing this. I'll put together a write up this week.
Ok....I'm so sorry I forgot about doing this for so long- but here we go.....
Sidebar- I wrote this up and asked my wife to fill in anything she could think to add- (it's been 14 years for both of us) - especially some of the 'Diners, drive-ins and Dives' places they visited on the second half of the trip which they were doing without me as well as possibly missing a state or two that they did - see my write up for why I wasn't on that half of the trip - but she woke up with Covid this morning and is kinda out of it, so she's not gonna get to it for a bit. I'll update when she fills in some blanks
Anyway...here's the best I can recount this folks:
In summer 2010 we took a trip cross country with our kids. Our son Tyler was 14 at the time and our daughter Liz was 6. The basic plan was a drive from New Jersey to Las Vegas in a 1998 Dodge Ram crew cab over 6 days via a northern route averaging avout 600 miles a day with one 'zero' day, camping at Mount Rushmore. I would drive from early in the morning until we stopped for lunch (usually at a brewery that my wife had planned) and she would drive in the afternoons. We stayed a week in Vegas using our timeshare. Once we got to Vegas my wife's mother flew out to meet us and when we finished the week in Vegas I flew home. (I had a limited time to be on vacation from work.) From that point they all continued on to the west coast, then back via a southern route hitting up a whole bunch of 'Diners Drive-ins and Dives' locations along the way with an open schedule as my wife was a home mother at the time and had all the time in the world. In total, I think they hit 23? states and approx 7,500 miles in about 3-1/2 weeks total. The only travel issues encountered was they lost the air conditioning in Texas on their way back, and my wife got a camera speeding ticket in Arizona.
The basic travelog:
We left New Jersey mid-day and drove across Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh for Primanti brothers sandwiches for dinner. From there we went into Ohio and stayed the night outside Cleveland. Next morning we did the Rock and Roll hall of fame.
Then across Indiana and Illinois, passing through Indianapolis and Chicago and up into Wisconsin (which is unbelievably beautiful by the way). From there, across Minnesota and into South Dakota. We did the Corn Palace, Badlands NP, and Mount Rushmore, where my daughter sprained her ankle on the walkway right underneath the faces and I had to Fireman carry her half a mile back to the visitor center.
From there, we crossed Wyoming and down into Utah, hitting Zion NP and Salt Lake City, then down through Nevada to Vegas.
After the week in Vegas, I flew home on the fourth of July and saw fireworks from multiple towns in the midwest down below as we crossed into darkness.
The rest of the Family continued on to LA/Hollywood, seeing Graumanns Chinese Theater, Rodeo drive, etc. - They headed down to San Diego where they did the zoo, and the Diners Drive-ins and Dives tour kicked in (Hodad's in San Diego). They headed back east through New Mexico, Arizona (Heart Attack Grill), Texas (Salt Lick BBQ, Lulu's, Round Rock Donuts), New Orleans (Cafe Du Monde and others), Mississippi, Memphis, North Carolina, Virginia, and back up through Maryland, Delaware, and Back to NJ. (Again, my wife can fill in a bunch of places they went to on this second half)
We were so happy to be lucky enough to give our kids this experience, and in fact our son (who unfortunately passed away 4 years later in a car accident in 2014) later said that he had no interest in ever traveling abroad, because there were so many places to go and see in the US that he could never do them all in his lifetime. Although we took many other driving trips before and after up and down the East coast from Canada to Florida, and also New Orleans again, It's truly one of my fondest memories being able to take that trip together as a family and see most of the country in one continuous trip.
Month long cross country trip to the west coast and back between graduate school and starting work was probably the best month of my life. Certainly the 2 weeks coming back was. suggest on spending a day or two in various places along the way to take little side trips. Also suggest not even planning some of them. Say you are going to stay in X area for 2-3 days and don't even plan what it is you are going to do. Let it be spontaneous. So few surprises left in the world. Live some on your trip. Stay safe and have a blast.
An RV is absolutely the most convenient pain in the ass you will ever own. We have a 40' 5th wheel that is mostly used to go to track days but we have taken trips all up and down the east coast. Last year was a two week tour of New York, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. We really enjoy being self contained and a campground is cheaper than a hotel.
My fiance and I are planning on buying a camper and doing something similar once everything calms down after the wedding. Would love to hear about your experience.
Any tough lessons/regrets? Favorite places you've been able to visit?
Oh man we keep learning things every year so this will be long.
Definitely shop around and go in with the assumption that the manufacturer's are cranking these things out fast and cheap and none of them are really that well built. The other thing is that the average RV owner only takes it out a handful of times a year and doesn't drive it that far. Well we are weird and have probably put 30,000+ miles on ours in the last three years.
We have a Grand Design Momentum Toy Hauler that seems to be better built than others that we looked at and we have been happy with. We bought new so we could take advantage of the warranties. Caveat is that interest rates on RV's are higher than cars. Other thing we found is that getting an RV in for service takes forever. You should really be at least a little bit handy if you own one. At this point, the only thing it goes in for are to repack the bearings annually because my husband doesn't want to do that in the driveway.
When you bring the new RV home, take it over the scales at a truck stop when dry to give you a baseline. Then load it with what you think your standard set up will be and go over the scales again. This will let you know if you need to remove stuff. You typically only have 3500ish pounds to play with including water and all of your stuff. Most RVs you see are criminally overloaded because it is so easy to do.
We dry camp a lot so we fill the water tank at home since we drink the water from the fresh water tank. If you plan to do bottled water then you can be a little less picky about where you fill. Even if you are doing a KOA or equivalent with full hook ups, still bring 20 gallons or so with you to flush the toilet or use in case you breakdown and have to camp in a truck stop for a night. After the first couple of weekends dry camping you get pretty good at conserving water. We have a 150 gallon fresh water tank, but typically bring 80 gallons for a three day weekend that we dont end up using all of even with navy showers each night for my husband and I. You are actually more limited by the gray tank.
Tires - be militant about checking pressures before you go, keep tire covers on them when the unit is not in use and get a good Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Our rig has cold pressures of 110psi so if you have a blowout you are going to damage the RV. Change the tires sooner than you think you need to also. Read reviews on type of tire and depending on RV size, look at going up a load range to get extra ply and sidewall stability.
Biggest horror story I have to preface with we didn't total anything and nobody died. We were heading down to Road Atlanta and some where in North Carolina the truck TPMS showed one of the rear truck tires was loosing air. Got off the interstate and put the spare on. Valve stem had split. Continued on. In South Carolina we noticed the truck swaying more. Pulled over on the shoulder and found we had lost 5 of the 8 studs on the wheel. Got an uber driver who only spoke spanish to pick me up on the side of I-85 to take me to take the original truck tire to NTB, stop by the Ram dealership for studs and hit an NTB for lug nuts. Perk of all the track stuff is that the tools stay in the RV so while I was running around, my husband got the spare off and started beating out the old studs. Four hours later we were back up and running. PRO TIP - if you change a tire and are hauling a bunch of load, check the torque on the lug nuts after 50 miles and regularly for several hundred after that. But that wasn't all for that particular weekend. On the way home, we noticed that the trailer wasn't pulling straight, broken leaf spring on the galley side. We didn't have a spare and RVs do not come with bottle jacks when you buy them. Tracked down a leaf spring that wasn't the right size but was good enough to get home, two shiny new bottle jacks, and changed it out at a truck stop. That repair kept us there overnight, but we got home with multiple stops to check torque on the trailer tires because they also loosen when changed for the first couple hundred miles. The nice folks at E-trailer supplied us with all new leaf springs, shackles and wet bolts for the suspension which were changed out in the driveway one weekend shortly thereafter. Moral of the story, make sure you have a torque wrench, bottle jacks, tools, battery operated impact and a spare leaf spring in the RV at all times.
Favorite trips - we stay at KOAs a lot because of the confidence in being able to maneuver in and out, but our favorite campground was up on the Schoodic Penninsula last summer. West Bay Acadia is beautiful and the owners are super nice. We also enjoyed the Finger Lakes and stayed at the KOA just south of Watkins Glen. The gorge trail in downtown Watkins Glen is definitely top 5 on coolest hikes we have done, just avoid peak times because it can be super crowded. We also spent some time in Tennessee and Western North Carolina. Top of the World RV Park in Tennessee has a great view. We have hit both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and are hoping to do a trip to Michigan in the next year or two to check off the remaining three Great Lakes. We had a baby in October so he gets to start his camping adventures in the spring.
A couple other random things that come to mind. Don't be in a hurry and plan your route and gas stops in advance figuring regardless of set up you won't get more than 12 mpg. We have a diesel truck so the big rig fuel lanes are our friend and we average 10 mpg. Break up your trips. We probably do longer days than average on weekend things since the race tracks are spread around the east coast but on actual vacation trips we try to limit it to 6-7 hours.
If you look to buy used and see the faintest hint of water damage, run! Inspect the roof regularly. Ours is walkable so we walk it every month or so and have used patch kits on parts that look like they have gotten snagged.
If the rig is big enough to have a multiple AC option, get it. If you are camped on asphalt in summer, it will be incredibly helpful. We have three AC's on ours and I don't regret the overkill even a little bit. If one fails, two keep up fine except in the peak heat of the day in the summer.
This was probably more than you wanted, but if you have other questions, let me know and I'm happy to help. We have really enjoyed having ours.
Thank you so much. This was just what I was looking for and then some. Don't be surprised if i bump this sub-thread up a year from now with more questions once we get serious about it.
And congrats on the baby! Making memories with him will be awesome
That story makes me glad I tent camp. Nowadays, the wife makes me camp at a place with an actual bathroom. But the inflatable beds and propane stove store nicely in a box for going along with the tent.
My best camping story was leaving the south side of the Grand Canyon being told there was plenty of room at the North Side camping area. After the long drive around, we got there and were informed they were full. The attendant realized we were tent camping. He told us leave the area, the first dirt road on the right leads into the park. You can set up your tent anywhere. We drive about a mile into the woods, and set up about a 100 yards off the track in the dark. When morning arose we were about 200' from the edge and got to watch the sun come up over the canyon. Absolutely breathtaking.
We have always tent camped, but is getting harder and harder to keep getting off the ground from our blow up mattresses as we get older. My wife and I are biting the bullet and moving up to this neat little thing this year. It's a utility trailer that turns into a tent with the beds on raised platforms. Buying it in the next month or two and using it this summer. $2,299 + about $550 shipping.
https://theusatrailerstore.com/double-duty-utility-camping-trailer/
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ufvbSon4V6Y&si=U7H0rC_kjkAkvzAl
Update: purchase made.....expected to arrive in 2-3 weeks. Will share some pics when it arrives and I get it assembled!
Been meaning to share these pictures of our new rig which is a trailer that converts into a tent camper in about a half hour. We used it for 10 days in Delaware in July and were very happy with it!
I would like to see photos of the conversion, please and thank you
Here's one of the trailer converted to the base for the tent to be dropped into. There's a youtube link several posts above to a video of the full conversion.
that's pretty slick for 2300. How long did it take you to get it all set up?
It came with the body and gates and rear kickstands all assembled. We had to bolt on the axle & leaf springs, wheels and wheel covers, bolt on the tongue., attach the front jack, and stain & put the floor boards in. (floor boards and screws not included). There were a few bolts and nuts (metric) missing from the hardware that i was just able to get at home depot. I added the ABS pipe tent pole sleeves on each side and used heavy duty zip ties to secure. it was basically a weekend project. Tent comes in its own heavy duty waterproof carry bag.
The thing is built pretty damn solidly, and the only thing that i didn't like was that although it was sold by USA Trailer Store in South Carolina and I assumed it was American made, the title that came with it was issued from someplace in China, so that's where it was manufactured. i don't have a commercial property with a trailer level dock, so i had to rent a U-haul dolly and pick it up at a trucking depot - the 66"X93" pallet was too wide to fit in my ford F150.
That takes tent camping to a whole different level.
There is a different thread for Dad jokes.
Was trying to locate the general area you camped, but couldn't quite figure it out. Could you drop a pin where you think you camped?
This was back in the late 80's but I think looking at google maps it was pretty close to 36.218585, -112.053979.
Can't imagine the sunrise view from there. Awesome.
Bigtime echo on being handy enough to do your own repairs wherever possible. Things are going to break. If you bring it to the shop every time, you're never going to have your rig for camping. Keep a small tool kit with the basics to fix stuff that could derail a trip.
When buying a camper, it's good to have an idea of how you like to camp if possible. We were tent campers for many years before getting a trailer. We went with one on the smaller side because we don't spend much time in the trailer unless the weather is bad. Most of the time we cook, eat, hang out outside. This allowed us to get a trailer that's easily maneuverable and I can store it at my house. Every time I see people with giant rigs try to park in the RV lot for football games, I'm thankful we went small. Also if at all possible, get a trailer you can store at home. It's crazy convenient to leisurely prep for a trip, winterize, do routine maintenance, etc. when it's walking distance from your front door.
Other than football games, most of our camping is at the beach. Our favorites are Assateague Island State Park and Delaware Seashore State Park.
Guilty on the careful maneuvering front. We have a really narrow street and had to set up cones to practice in a school parking lot so we could actually get it in the driveway.
We ended up with a separate garage in ours because I wanted all of the motorcycle stuff out of the living space. We did 8 years in a 7x14 box trailer with an ac on the roof to go to the track. I am unspeakably glad to have my own toilet and to no longer share living space with leathers and boots on the fan dryers making the whole place smell.
It is a downside where we don't fit in a lot of state park campgrounds though.
Haha. We definitely have different needs. But agree on a toilet. One of the worst parts of tent camping was getting up and trekking to the bath house.
Bingo score on Assateague Island State Park.
And Berlin is getting a brand new brewery, the old head brewer from Burley. And Sinepuxent is solid. Their big juicy van is a good rendition of a west coast ipa for being hard on the Atlantic.
Ill have to check that out. Do you have a name?
Sinepuxent is pretty decent. On our trip last year we had a shitty weather day. We left all the kids in the trailer to watch a movie and the adults went to the brewery. A good time was had by all.
Berlin Beer Co. Literally just got their federal approval.
Assafuckin'teague it will forever be known to myself and my buddy who camped in the park at a canoe in campsite. Absolutely gorgeous site, shaded and carpeted deeply with pine needles, decent pit toilet. We had two canoes, one with a trolling motor and one filled with ice, beer, water, etc. and covered with a tarp. We were prepared for crabbing, fishing and clamming and were planning to stay a full week.
Should've known something was amiss when we checked in and the desk ranger called out that we were there and all the employees in the building came out to see the dummies who were stupid enough to camp there in the park...in August. Before they checked us in, they made us go and unpack our insect repellent and they took a photo of it. They weren't happy, but went ahead with the paperwork. Before we left, the head ranger told us that the mosquitoes weren't just annoying, but dangerous in their numbers, and he said that they'd send a plane over us every day and to wave our arms if we needed help. OK, you're thinking either I exaggerate or you'd just turn around and find another adventure, but we were young and stupid. We were greeted with a literal cloud of mosquitoes, backed out over the water and put on jeans and long sleeves and sprayed ourselves well, then went back ashore. Our bug spray worked for maybe 15 minutes before they just ignored it.
Got camp set up and the crabs and clams were easily obtained, but the only way we could stand to be outside of the tent was to build a large smudge fire of pine straw and to stand in the smoke while we cooked. Miserable got worse, to say the least, and after our 3rd night, we were so eaten up and smoked that we were starting to feel ill and spent a lot of the day rolling around in the saltwater on the beach side soothing our lumps. We braved the 4th night and packed up in defeat the next morning. We stopped at the station to check out and thank the rangers for the plane, which did, indeed, check on us every day. We were the only campers there. We were told that if there had been a good breeze from the ocean we'd have been in better shape, but what breeze there was was from the marsh. Marsh mosquitoes are very large, also. Great campsite, saw deer and a couple of foxes, crabs were huge and meaty and the clams were easily obtained. Always promised to go back in the fall, never made it but understand competition for the sites is tough.
Most "normal" tiger mosquitos have a few stripes on their legs. The ones in the marsh down there have like 5, and wear goggles when dive bombing. You can hear them coming.
They look like the planes painted up for the landings at Normandy.
First time I ever went to Assateague, my wife and I camped in the national park on the bay side. I want to say it was early June. We heard the bugs were bad, so we had plenty of high% deet. We arrived after sun down (big mistake). Mosquitoes were literally bouncing off the windows of the car trying to get to us. Setting up a tent in the dark being destroyed by mosquitoes was not fun.
Now we camp at the state park, which is on the ocean. The bugs are much better because of the constant ocean breeze.
Yeah, we were on the Bay side. First night there, we were so tired of dealing with the bugs that we decided to just go on ahead and drink a fifth of Jack. Tasted good, even with the smoke we were eating, drinking and breathing. Unfortunately, when I got up to pee at 2 in the am, I was still pretty buzzed and I just toddled on outside to take a leak. With just my underwear on. As I swayed and whizzed, I became aware of a strange sensation and looked down and in the moonlight I saw that my penis had turned black and so had my arms, legs, hands and face. Sobered me up a little and I did a fair job of scraping most of them off before running for the tent. Where I promptly broke the zipper on the screen flap in my haste to escape the hoards. Took us a solid hour and a half to both fix the zipper and kill the mosquitoes that came in with and on me. Needless to say, my buddy wasn't thrilled with my lapse, but things got worse as the days went by and all that paled in comparison.
Lol, not a mental image I was looking for tonight.
When I did a cross country trip a few years ago I used roadtrippers, which is a website where you put your route and it suggests detours of cool stuff to see. It got us to a frozen ice cave and a volcano on the way to phoenix.
Oh, I have got to check that one out. Thank you for posting this.
Wife n I have a 2006 Airstream Safari Travel Trailer (TT). We do a lot of camping from May to early November every year. Did 2 weeks in Maine last summer. Schoodic Peninsula is incredible.
Best guidance I can give for long RV trips is don't push it too hard. A big adage of experienced RV families on long RV trips is drive no more than 4-6 hours a day and stay at least 3 days at each spot u pick.
We've stayed at Hipcamps a couple times, those can be a great experience.
To get great sites, u need to plan WAY ahead. Boondocking helps u be spontaneous, but u need to know your RV/Camper's capabilities and be prepared.
The biggest recommendation I have if buying an RV is to be handy. Something is always breaking. The vast majority of the time, it's very minor and can be fixed with some basic tools and know-how (plus youtube university). But if you're not confident in your DIY skills, owning an RV can be a real headache.
That said, we love our RV and usually take 3 to 4 extended trips a year. One word of advice is to start planning early. Lots of places book up 6 months to a year in advance.
I am going to Utah and Arizona in late March with my wife and 3 kids that range in age from 7 to 11. Going to Zion, Bryce, Kanab, Page and the Grand Canyon. We are pretty set on lodging and activities in Zion - staying at Zion Lodge and doing canyoneering and the narrows hike. But looking for recommendations in the other spots for lodging and activities. We have some hiking ideas such as the wave, antelope canyon, sand caves but would be interested in other types of activities such as atv tours, hot springs, etc. And don't really have anything on the agenda for the Grand Canyon so open to suggestions for both lodging and activities there too.
Zion is amazing. IIRC I think GGC can tell you alot about that. I assume since you're coming from Utah that you'll be doing the north rim at the GC. Sorry I can't help you with that....we've day tripped twice to the GC from Vegas to the south rim. If you are going on that side and don't want to stay at the canyon itself, look into saying in the neat town of Wilson on the old route 66 and taking the train up to the canyon.
The north rim is actually closed until I think May so we will be at the south rim. I'll have to check out Wilson, thanks!
I'm sorry. I said Wilson, but I meant Williams. There some neat shops (some of which are just route 66 kitsch) but also some nice restaurants and a few breweries. Plus the train to the GC.
Drinking for the mistake on the town name.
If I ever get the chance, I'd love to drive the whole original route 66. To date ive been at three parts....St Louis MO, Williams AZ, and the terminus at the Santa Monica pier in CA
If you're doing the whole thing heading westward, make sure you turn around near Albuquerque and hit up the Musical Highway that's on the eastbound side.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/musical-highway
! My brother and I did 7 NPs (Utah Five + Mesa Verde + Grand Canyon) around Labor Day last year. Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Canyon are incredible, so awesome
I'll update here with some more formed thoughts once i get a chance and a desktop browser to be able to share some photos.
Definitely go stargazing at Bryce Canyon at night
Family and I went to Grand Canyon last June . We stayed in the park at Yavapai (sp?) Lodge. It was really nice and close to several Rim viewing spots.
Thanks again from the wife and daughter for your help last month my friend!
I would recommend Canyon De Chelly National Monument in that area.
Another Grand Canyon tip....if you have a handicapped placard, you can drive yourself to everwhere that is otherwise busses only (at least on the south rim- don't know about the north rim)
ok!
Grand Canyon NP (South Rim):
Bryce Canyon NP:
Zion NP:
Edit: guess I can't share from google photos? Odd that one worked and the other two didnt. I'll figure it out at lunch, maybe bc two came from shared albums. They show in the preview but then arent posting
These are great recs, exactly what I was looking for! We have reservations at Zion Lodge (just got them in the past couple of days as people have been cancelling), I'm super excited to stay in the middle of the park. Right now, we have reservations at Ruby's BW outside Bryce and Yavapai Lodge at GC. Is it worth checking for cancellations to stay at Bryce Canyon Lodge? And how was Maswik Lodge? I was looking at trying to find reservations at Bright Angel Lodge since it is right at the rim.
we were only in Bryce for one night, and it was super worth it for us to be walking distance to the rim for the queen's garden/navajo loop hike as well as for stargazing in pitch black with just a very short walk back. but Ruby's has been continuously operating for a very very long time and that's pretty neat too
Maswik was great, but i think we only stayed there because Yavapai was booked
For those who haven't been, I highly recommend Mesa Verde National Park and definitely stay at the cabins.
Agreed. I was lucky to go as a 9yo and I still have fond memories over 20 years later.
yeah it was incredible! so so awesome and the cabins there had such incredible views. best of any accommodations we had on this trip
Wife and I used to go west every other year for a month long camping trip. We saw a lot, but really loved Utah and New Mexico the best. Too many cool places to list, with the many trips out running together, but overall, Canyonlands in Utah, outside of Moab, was our all time favorite. Needles campground was our place there. In New Mexico, we loved to return to Jemez Springs, where we camped in Vista Linda and ate fantastic chiles rellenos in the Los Ojos bar. I loved fishing the San Juan River for big trout and Santa Fe was so cool at Halloween, Day of the Dead time. Kodachrome park is a knockout and not too crowded. We love so many places, but those stand out right now.
We started with tent camping, then tent and truck, then small 15' self contained pull behind camper. My trucks got bigger, and in the end, the camper got smaller, down to an A Liner pop up, but we got just old enough that camping lost a bit of its luster. That and the fact that all the places we used to have almost to ourselves in the fall when we'd go, well, they are now so crowded you need a reservation to eat at McDonald's.
Sounds like you have Zion covered, but for other readers, a good alternative to the Narrows is Kanarra Falls, just west of Zion off I-15. Requires advance reservation as the town limits the number of daily visitors. As a result it is not crowded at all. Water didn't seem as deep as the Narrows when we checked that out the Narrows a couple days later (hiked the River trail and talked to folks coming back out of the river) There's a ~1 mile moderate hike in from the parking area to the slot canyon. Took two fit 40-somethings about 2.5 hours total, so adjust as needed for kids.
@ Bryce Canyon
The Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel just outside the park was much nicer than your average Best Western. Ruby's BW looked more like a typical Best Western, but again nicer than average. That company has catering to park visitors nailed. Great experience all around there in Bryce Canyon City.
There is a really nice bike trail along Route 12 from the Red Canyon area of Dixie National Forest (side note- it's very much worth a stop at the Dixie NF visitor center and taking some of the short hikes through the hoodoos there) all the way into Bryce Canyon NP ending at Inspiration Point (~18 miles). That's something I'm planning on checking out next time I visit (also this coming May). Seems like there's multiple options to rent bikes - including e-bikes
Planning to go over to Normandy for the 80th anniversary of DDay. Staying around Caen. Should be good on landmarks but any suggestions for food and especially distilleries/cider places would be much appreciated
We didn't get to Caen, but stayed in Bayeux when we went. Ill see if I can track down the little wine shop we stumbled into where the owner did a tasting with us.
Definitely take a guided tour of the beaches. It was neat to see a replica of one of the statues at the DDay memorial in Bedford installed on Omaha Beach.
One caveat to the American cemetery. Depending on how close to the anniversary you are, they may not let you walk amongst the tombstones. We ran into that because we were there a month before the 75th.
Had our trip at the beginning of the month and it was absolutely amazing. Normandy is incredibly beautiful. Stayed in Merville-Franceville-Plage and was easy to walk around and get groceries/baked goods/food. We ended up visiting each beach and spending about a day at the americans and then a day at the commonwealth ones. We were busy but was quite easy to navigate even with all the events going on. If you visit outside of the dday activities, I bet it's even more relaxed. I was shocked at how easy it was to navigate and park, even piloting at 9 person van. We were able to get street parking everywhere except the British war memorial (which was 3.50 euro to park). Walking through the batteries and the beaches gave such a better context to what happened there 80 years ago.
The pastries, seafood, and cider were so delicious. I think the most we paid for a full bottle of cider was 10 euro. Fruit stands on the side of the road sold apple juice, cider, and calvados. We visitied Domaine Du Pont as well and was a nice break into the more inland country side and was just stunningly beautiful in the rolling hills. They were super friendly and talked us through all their cider and calvados offerings and prices were extremely reasonable (coming from the whisky world, they had cask strength, 50 year old brandy for under $400 and that was the most expensive stuff they had).
There are so many monuments and memorials and museums that you could easily spend a few weeks there trying to go everywhere. The biggest thing I recommend is going just slightly outside the main area. Despite being on June 5th and 6th, when we visited St. Marie Eglise and Pegasus Bridge, the main areas were packed with people and events but going just a block or two away it was quite and calm. Going to the church by pegasus bridge with the 23 war graves was one of the most impactful things we did all trip and there was almost no one around in the middle of the day.
Sounds like an amazing trip. A visit to France and Europe with an emphasis on WWII history is definitely on my bucket list. My father went a few years back to try and trace my grandfather's path through the war and as luck would have it, he caught covid and missed Utah beach and some of the other stops. He was on a guided tour and other than being sick he really enjoyed it. I hate he missed parts of it as I know it meant a lot to him.
Did you travel with children? Was wondering how feasible that would be.
Didn't have any kids with us but did have 8 people all together and didn't have any issues. Biggest thing would probably be that we just walked A LOT so might need to spread some of the events out. Museums and monuments were pretty easy to navigate but some of the bunkers were pretty steep and narrow to get in and out of.
Future Mrs Chumps and I landed on New Zealand for the honeymoon next month. 6 nights in Taupo and 4 in Auckland -- plan on doing some day trips around like Piha Beach, the Hobbiton movie set tour, Tongariro Alpine crossing, Huka falls, various thermal springs/spas, Waiheke island
Any other insight anyone may have for the north island of NZ would be appreciated 🙂
I'm jealous. Happy travels Evan!
Waitomo Glowworm Caves
very sorry to report that we booked the Ruakuri cave tour in Waitomo instead of the actual Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. we had a nice 90 minute guided tour on foot with a knowledgeable and funny local guide, and we did see some glow worms with photography allowed..... but evidently Waitomo has like 50x the amount and is worth the premium?
full trip report/intel drop coming soon!
Waiheke is a must if you love wine. I wish my wife and I did it twice.
Points of interest in Auckland: Auckland zoo, Auckland museum & war memorial, central business district (queen st, chancery square, viaduct harbor, wynyard district), Mt Maungawhau (aka Mt Eden) with really nice city views
Day trips from Auckland: Piha Beach (black sand) + Waitakere Regional Forest (really great easy-to-moderate hiking with nice payoffs, definitely Mercer Bay Loop track!), and Waiheke Island, especially if you love wine. If you go to the coast of Waiheke (Onetangi village), it looks like Hawaii with blue water and palm trees and stunning cliffs and so forth.... if you drive two minutes to see the vineyards, it looks like French country side. Highly recommend Waiheke.
Points of interest in Taupo: Wairakei Terrace Pools + Spa, Huka falls, Spa thermal park, drive out around on Acacia Bay Rd to Rangatira Walking Track/Whakamoenga Point, Waipahihi Botanical Garden, Great Lake Trail (we did Wahewaka Point to Two Mile Bay and back one morning), swimming in Lake Taupo (there are warm spots!), central business district, farmer's market
Day trips from Taupo: Tongariro Alpine Crossing (do it! do it! do it! so worth it! we booked through Adrift Tongariro but you can do your own thing too with some research. I felt the money for the guided hike was worth as i started dealing with some strong muscle cramping on the ascent and the guide had plenty of tricks for how to walk and step and food items to help with it) with a gorgeous drive southwest around Lake Taupo and back. Mt Tongariro is adjacent to Mt Ngaurahoe and connected by a saddle ridge, Mt Ngaurahoe is Mt Doom from LOTR; Glow worm caves -- we should have booked Waitomo but we got bamboozled a bit by a tour called "Waitomo glow worms: walking tour of Ruakuri cave". Waitomo Cave is a 40 min boat tour with no photography, Ruakuri is a 90 minute walking tour with photography allowed -- but it's an entirely different cave with fewer glow worms. It was really cool though regardless. The drive from Taupo to Ruakuri Cave (near Te Kuiti) was stunning
"Day trip" between Taupo and Auckland: Tirau is a cute little town with fun animal-shaped buildings and some good food spots. Rotorua was like a busier, more developed, more volcanic Taupo with a smaller lake. Lakefront park is gorgeous and nice, Eat Street is a really cool spot, and ZORB was invented nearby (lol). We did the Hobbiton movie set -- incredible and fun and a really good tour. highly recommend. Mrs Chumps really liked it and she isn't super into LOTR/Hobbit etc.
Food: we did a lot of meals in since our accommodations had kitchenettes. In Taupo, we really liked: ice cream at Kona Kones, Gelato at Luna's, incredible small plates at Plateau (korean fried chicken, ceviche, beef tataki, blistered pork belly, and roasted carrots with hazelnuts and feta that were the best carrots we've ever had), Nepalese food at Malabar (good enough that we ordered more to-go to have as leftovers later). In Auckland, we loved breakfast at Chuffed (good enough the first time that we went back two days later), ice cream at Movenpick, and donuts from Sneaky Snacky Donut. Somethin' Dumplin was good and cheap (right next to University of Auckland). We ate lunch at Ki Maha right on the water in Onetangi on Waiheke Island, it was excellent: incredible ricotta gnocchi, duck rillettes on sourdough toast, tuna crudo, and scallops. We went to Batch Winery (Waiheke has a million vineyards and you can do bus service to most of them, Batch is the highest elevation on the island) and did a wine tasting, and then ate dinner in their dining room with just absolutely stunning views of the island coast and even the Auckland skyline in the distance. We had lamb chops, risotto with green beans, peas, and asparagus, and fresh baked herb + sea salt bread with truffle butter. Just all around great food and wine at Waiheke.
ah, sorry gobbles. I have been off TKP for awhile. Could have thrown out some suggestions. Seems like it was a good trip though. New Zealand is amazing.
Headed to Japan in a month or so, stopping in Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Tokyo if there are any recommendations.
I went on an absolutely amazing food tour in Tokyo. My buddy booked it, I'll get the details.
Edit: Oishii Food Tours - just google it. Incredible. They took us to 7ish hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Our guide spent his childhood going back and forth between Tokyo and The Bay Area, so he was able to explain in great detail the nuanced cultural differences between the US and Tokyo. I felt like I was living in an episode of Ugly Delicious.
This was my single favorite 'activity' I've ever done on a vacation.
Other cool things in Tokyo:
Go to a baseball game there.
Go to the fish market
Eat sushi
Go to one of those tiny bars and order Japanese whisky
There's other stuff I'm forgetting... that city is amazing.
I'll mention it to my group, thanks!
Eat from a food truck. That stuff is great.
Absolutely must do Ueno Park while in Tokyo.
When I lived there back in the 80's I used to take the train there for the day and just go around looking, watching and strolling. Nothing comparable to it.
Take the trains, do not drive. The train system is fantastic, the traffic is horrible.
Tokyo has a whole section of the city that is for shopping. Anything in the world you want. The motorcycle district was 3 blocks long when I was there.
I almost did not come back to the states from living in Japan.
Spent a couple days in Kyoto in November.
Fushimi Inari Shrine is a great daytime excursion.
Galaxie 500 is an AMAZING punk rock dive bar that we stumbled across.
Would definitely second going to a baseball game if the season has started. It's a different experience from American baseball.
The best food I had there was ramen, karaage, and gyoza at Oreryu Shio-Ramen (6 Chome-9-14 Jingumae, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan). Just tremendous.
Very cool city.
Pop over to Miyajima from Hiroshima if you have time. Absolutely do the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima. Highly recommend going to the okonomiyaki food court in Hiroshima (Okonomimura) - I think Hiroshima style okonomiyaki is superior to Osaka style.
If you have time to do a day trip to Nara, do it. Don't overload your schedule in Kyoto - there is so much to see you can burn out if you're not careful.
I never actually made it up to Tokyo so I don't have any suggestions for you there 😅
Going to Palm Springs for what wasn't supposed to be, but now will be a babymoon for our third. Anyone got any good spa and food recs?
Plan to do to Great Smoky Mountains NP this summer. Wife and I were planning on hiking the AT through there, but our daughter decided to be created and we had to change plans. Okay, I guess that was really my wife and my fault and not hers :-)
Planning to do Great Smoky Mountain Railroad and, probably, the float trip. Also planning on heading over to TN to the massive Buc-ee's Gas. Somewhere along the way, we will likely hit Pinky's Westside Grill.
https://eatatpinkys.com/
Daughter had a little teddy bear named Pinky and she was the subject of scores of bedtime stories. She is a chef and there was a week-long story about how she lost on Cutthroat Kitchen, threw a temper tantrum over losing, flew down to NC with her jetpack she got from her friend Tony Stark (aka, Iron Man) and ended up making several menu items at the Westside Grill. The owners were so thankful, they gave her royalties on the sale and renamed the place Pinky's Westside Grill. We actually told the owner the story when we first visited.
Puerto Rico?!?
¡Riendo a carcajadas!
So, 2nite in the People's Republick of the 3o4 you ask(s)?
Dub.Vee.Girls.Gone, WILD!!!
"Don't act like you're not impressed."
🍻😻🍸,
b.street
West Virginia girls gone wild? No thanks, I'll pass on that one.
all their brothers and fathers are lined up already
This is *THE* 3o4 bar; tho'!
It had 3 alligators (in the bar); then one of the two ate the third; see?
So, they took up a collection and bought a replacement gator.
And it is on an accelerated growth regime.
Which even Eye have been plum skared to ask "what for" on what that is Dub.Vee code for?
LOL...
b.street
If you're looking for an adult-only getaway on a small island in the tropics, Coco Plum in Belize is a must see. My wife and I went there a few years ago for a week and it was great. Highly recommend going.
Last year, my wife and I finally had our Honeymoon (5 years in) and went to Monaco and Cinque Terre. Absolutely amazing trip. Monaco off season is surprisingly affordable and Cinque Terre was absolutely amazing. Took a train all the way there and then everywhere is an absolute post card image of beauty. If anyone goes there (it might extend around italy), look up Cesarine. It's booking a cooking class with a local guide and we had the greatest time with our host making several dishes and sharing beer and wine and learning about local culture and botany (literally walking through a vineyard picking citrus fruits and herbs to cook with)
Headed to Mt. Rainer in late May. May try to spend a day in either Olympia or the Cascades while we are out there. Catching a mariners game as well. Any recommendations on good trails in or around the area would be great.
Grove of the Patriarchs in Mount Rainier NP!!
I got the recommendation from here on TKP and it was my first experience with Big Trees (being an east coaster myself) and wow it was incredible. Easy hike, YUGE payoff
Nice. Thanks GGC.
Did a 10 day trip to Rainier, Olympic and Cascades last fall.
Rainier: Most memorable was the Skyline trail. It 's one of the most popular and decently crowded but for good reason. Amazing views. Mt. Fremont Fire Lookout from the Sourdough Ridge Trail was a very close second. Couldn't go wrong with either.
Olympic: Crazy because you can go from incredible beaches to a rainforest to mountains in one day. We did Rialto and Ruby Beaches. Hoh rainforest is a must. Lots of incredible trees and banana slugs. We did Hurricane Ridge Trail which was awesome, but I was still reeling from how beautiful Rainier was.
Cascades: Wanted to do Maple Pass but it was closed for wildfires at the time. We ended up doing Cascade Pass Trail instead and it was gorgeous. Road to the trailhead was sketchy but trail was gorgeous.
Hope that helps a little, feel free to let me know if you need anything else!
Helps a ton. Thanks so much.
Several nice things in the area:
Mount Rainer:
Any part of the Wonderland Trail is good
Grove of the Patriarchs, which is a real short one
By "Cascades" do you mean North Cascade National Park? I actually found North Cascades to be pretty dull by NP standards. Very nice, very pretty, very secluded, open campsites ... but not real exciting.
Snoqualmie Falls Trail is another short one.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/snoqualmie-falls-trail
Blue Lake Trail is on the North Cascades loop, but not in the NP, and I really liked this one.
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/blue-lake
Snoqualmie is a bucket list one for me cause I'm a nerd and love Twin Peaks
I am currently three weeks into my second annual 10 week winter roadtrip around the American West. I am writing this from a small cabin, booked with my girlfriend, in Jackson Hole. We had 6-7" of buttery pow pow today. I've got an Ikon pass, and hoping to hit 30 days snowboarding, which I did last year. Today was day 9. I'll also do some fly fishing as well, while working from the road with my feather earring business. Most of my time is spent in Colorado, but I'll also probably do Utah and maybe New Mexico. The drive across Wyoming 5 days ago was awesome. Started in Laramie, which is a cool town and home to U of WY.
I did this trip last year and it was phenomenal. Only downside this year have been a blown out tire on the highway in Denver, and being stuck in a hotel for 6 days with Covid, which definitely put a dent in my snowboarding. For sleeping arrangements, I couch surf and occasionally book cheap hotels, but most of the time I am sleeping in my 12 foot box trailer that I tow behind my Silverado. Yes, it can be cold. Last year it got as low as -10 on the inside. I decided this year to buy a new box trailer and insulate it. It hasn't gotten below 35 on the inside. For sleeping, I love wool blankets.
Next stop after GF flies out is Thermopolis WY for 4 days of fly fishing. Then I'll start working my way back to Colorado to hang in Steamboat and then Aspen for a week. After that, who knows. I just love roadtripping.
If you make it down to NM make sure you stop by Taos for a day or two of skiing, looks like its on Ikon.
Although I grew up in VA I learned to ski in NM (Taos, Angel Fire, and Santa Fe). People are always surprised to hear there is decent snow out that way.
Check out Flaming gorge. Beautiful and fishing too.
The Green River below the dam is one of the most beautiful trout streams I've ever seen or fished. You can see dozens of huge trout just hanging in the river in ambush spots. Lots of guided trips rolling through all the time, but fish can still be had from wading.
I have too many stories, but my favorite of the Green is one day I caught a really nice cut-bow on a fly and bubble I cast from shore. It went at least 5 pounds, and fought well in the heavy current of the river. A couple stopped to watch me land the fish, and the fellow noticed my home made fly and remarked that he'd never seen that one. I told him that's because I invented it myself and tied it out of wild turkey maribou. He asked me what I called it, and on the spur of the moment I made up the name "Hokie-boo". He laughed and said "No way!" Turns out, he and his wife were both Hokies, having graduated recently. As we yukked it up, my wife showed up and there we were, 4 Hokies well met on the Green River in Utah. Next time, I'll tell about the time in Durango, Colorado, when we comandeered a TV with a hefty tip for the barman so we could watch Tech play a football game and it turned out our waitress had just graduated from VT and moved to Durango. Or the time....
Based on my Camino experience, Portugal is highly recommended. It is a country with great food (especially if you like pastries or sea food), a rich history, a great climate, and it is an economical place to visit. As important as all those are when considering a place to visit, my wife and I had really great experiences with the people. They were friendly, helpful, and very tolerant of my inability to speak Portuguese.
Having said all that, my wife and I are planning a trip to the British Isles this year. I have uncles and aunts in England that we love to visit, but we have had many tell us about the fabulous time that they've had in Ireland, so that is on our to-do-list.
I'll second Portugal. We went there on our honeymoon last year. The local cuisine is not overly intricate, but the quality of ingredients blew me away. Lisbon is great, but Porto really surprised us. It's very much worth your time. No need to rent a car. Public transportation was good (including high speed rail between Lisbon and Porto); Uber affordable if you need it.
I posted below, but will be in Lisbon and Porto this Spring - recommendations for what to do there?
Edited my post down below with a few more recs for ya.
My Fiance and I want to go to either Scotland or Ireland for our honeymoon. We're planning on going a bit after we're married in October to help spread out the cost (so around April '25). She wants to go hike under, and then ride the train across the bridge in Harry Potter. Has anyone ever done that? Is it feasible to visit both or should we limit it to just one region for our first visit?
I've only been to Ireland once for work, but Galway is a really cool town. Lots of stuff to see and fun pubs. The people are really friendly as well. Worth checking out if you do Ireland.
My wife and I did Scotland in 2022 and loved it so much that we booked our trip back for 2023 on the plane ride home. It's up there with the Olympic Peninsula as my absolute favorite place in the world that I've ever been.
I haven't been to Ireland, but I think you could do both depending on how much time you have.
As far as the train, we visited the viaduct and did the hike which was great. Did not ride the train though - it looks really cool, just didn't have time. I believe it is a round trip from Fort William to Mallaig and back (look up the Jacobite Steam Train for more info).
Our first trip we started in Edinburgh, went north to Ballater/Balmoral Castle, through the Cairngorms to Elgin and then to Inverness. From Inverness we went down along Loch Ness to Fort Augustus and then across to the Isle of Skye. Took the ferry from Skye to Mallaig, drove down to Oban, then down and ferried to/from Islay, then flew out of Glasgow.
Second trip we started and ended in Inverness and focused on the North Coast 500. Inverness to Wick, John O' Groats, then to Durness, ferried from Ullapool to the Isles of Harris and Lewis, ferried to Skye, and back to Inverness.
Both trips were great, but very different scenery and things to do, so I can give you some more recommendations based on what you're looking for if you want. One thing I will say is don't be afraid to drive. The entire country is about 2/3 the size of Virginia. Between both of our trips, our longest travel days (not including ferries) were about 2-3 hours, but there's so many little places to stop in between that they were never straight drives.
Also, even if you're not a huge fan, definitely plan on stopping at at least one or two distilleries (assuming you drink). I'm already a Scotch lover, but it's even better there where you get the atmosphere and camaraderie. Nothing like walking around on Islay in the cold wind and rain and coming into a warm tasting room with a fireplace and drinking a nice peaty scotch.
Edit: we did both trips in 9 days, but we always build in holidays so we can minimize PTO. (fly out Friday night, land Saturday morning, return the following Monday.)
Very good information, thank you! You are at least the second person who has recommended driving while visiting. I think I'm going to have to get over my fear of driving on the other side of the vehicle and do it haha.
Yes, I am a fan of whiskey, although I prefer bourbon to Scotch. But when in Rome as they say! I love visiting a good distillery. Both of your trips sound like they were amazing. Any additional information would be super helpful
Driving on the other side isn't that bad, but I suggest renting an automatic if possible on your first go-around. Learning to drive on the other side is one thing. Learning to drive on the other side and shift with your left hand is something I did not want to do at the same time.
I'll second what VTSnake said - driving isn't that difficult, just stick with an automatic. Honestly, riding shotgun is worse than driving because it feels like you're going to hit everything. I think having the steering wheel in front of you somewhat helps with the change, but since there's no difference shotgun besides what side of the car, it just feels like your driving a LHD and straddling the yellow line.
They were! Do you know where you are thinking of going or flying in/out of, or general ideas of what areas you're thinking of? I can give a ton of recommendations, but don't want to flood you if you already have somewhat of an idea of where you'd be going. haha
Three things I would say no matter what:
- take the scenic route if you have the option sometimes. Most of the highlands don't have big highways (A-roads), but it is some of the best scenery ever. The only way I can really describe it is that it looks prehistoric. There are massive mountains but unless you're in the southern highlands there are hardly any trees anywhere. It's just grass and gorse. Really pretty in the early summer when the gorse is blooming and is bright yellow.
- DEFINITELY get to the Isle of Skye. Excellent food in Portree, the Broadford Hotel is the birthplace of Drambuie, some of the best fish and chips I've had anywhere have been at the bar next to the ferry terminal in Uig, the Old Man of Storr, Quiriang, Fairy Pools, and Fairy Glen are all well worth the trip and hikes, there are bronze age black houses on the north end of the island, fossilized dinosaur footprints on the north beaches, Dunvegan Castle is cool, Sligachan has great views and a good pub with a HUGE whisky list, and there are now two distilleries on the island (Talisker and Torabhaig).
- Make dinner reservations everywhere. You can always make them and cancel, but in a lot of the smaller towns there may only be one or two restaurants, which will all close around 7. If you don't have reservations, there's a good chance you can't walk in anywhere and will either be stuck eating from a grocery store or at a local chippy.
Woah, saying you'll have to get a chippy like it's a bad thing
Haha it's not usually, but I've had a few that were suspect. And after being forced to eat it several times within a few days because there's nothing else open, it gets old pretty quickly.
hah, totally fair. I spent a year in Northern Ireland and found some good ones and coming back to the states have yet to find a true "Fish and Chips" shop that compares. So I always make a point to visit a chippy when I go back and visit
Depending on how long/how much you want to do in each, it's definitely possible. I haven't been to Scotland but went to Ireland a few years ago, and did ~3 days in Dublin, Galway, and Ennis. Could definitely have cut out a day here and there and made time for another spot. (Could have also extended and done a ton more around Ireland)
The travel between them is minimal enough that I don't think doing ~5 days in one place and ~3 in the other would be spreading yourself too thin. Depending on how long you're planning for the trip
We haven't really started getting into the details yet, but ibwas advised something like 8 or 9 days is best since 2 of them would be for travel alone
Wife and I did Ireland for our honeymoon in 2018 and loved it. Plenty of great scenery and hiking, very tourist friendly, and great whiskey. Not sure I'd recommend doing both Scotland and Ireland in one trip, you may be spread too thin. If possible I'd do one and go back for the other. As for Ireland,
West Coast: Saw someone recommend Galway and I second that. Great city on the water, with easy access to day tours on buses. We saw the Aran Islands (loved it) and the Cliffs of Moher on those trips, and it was worth it. Dingle was a fun town too, had a nice road along the coast you could drive and see the views, even stop at a spot and go swimming. Even in late June/early July it was freaking cold. Dingle also had a distillery that did gin, vodka, and whiskey. Locally sourced Dingle berries in their gin.
East Coast: Somewhere on our trip east we stopped at Waterford Crystal and saw a bunch of cool stuff. Got to hold the CFP trophy they keep there, it was an experience. Did this the day after hiking the Gap of Dunloe outside Kilarney. Probably my favorite day, the hiking and views were extraordinary and the town had fun places to eat and hang out. Dublin is Dublin, busy but there's a ton of cool historical spots and pubs to hang out in. Walked around Trinity College campus a bit and it was as impressive as advertised.
That's awesome! If we go to Ireland we definitely want to see the cliffs. I'm not a big gin drinker but i would absolutely try that. I'd love to go do anything that gets me on a boat. Pardon my ignorance... CFP as in College Football Playoff??
One of my big motivations for Ireland was to go golfing and my Fiance has already agreed to walk 9 holes with me. But that's an easy tradeoff to go golfing in Scotland where the sport was born
I'm biased but if you go to Ireland, don't neglect Northern Ireland. Belfast is a really cool city and downtown is easy enough to navigate. Definitely go to St. Georges market. The Mournes are beautiful to hike and Portrush and Portstewart are really nice coastal towns. Bushmills distillery is a fun and interesting tour and the Royal Golf Club if that is your thing too.
Seeing all the comments, I think splitting the trip into two different trips between Ireland and Scotland is the way to go. But I 100% want to golf while I visit both! I was wondering if we should make time for Northern Ireland. Thank you!
Two different trips would probably be best. But I lived in NI for a year and my wife is from there so feel free to hit me up if you ever do go!
Me, the wife and kiddo are doing our first international travel June. Heading to England - going to the english countryside - Devon County, Dartmoor Nat'l Park, Avebury, Tintagel - stuff in that region.
Got our lodging booked, but haven't booked flights yet. Looking like the cheapest option is going to be flying out of Dulles into Heathrow, then renting a car to get south. Anyone got any tips on trying to get the best value international flights?
Setup a google alert for the route or flight you want. They also show historical price so you have an idea. June is going to be expensive though
Thanks! Yeah, we thought about doing it another time - like spring break or something, but we wanted to make it worth wile so we're doing almost 2 weeks out there, so going after school gets out was the only option. Best I've seen so far is looking like $2700-$3000 for all three of us
Check out the hopper app. It will tell you what the expected price would drop to and send a notification when there are price changes. I used in on my last two flights and it was reasonably accurate.
27 days til take off! Getting pumped, and very stressed also!
We just returned stateside Saturday night. If any of you have ever contemplated visiting the southwest English countryside, do it!
The trip was amazing - stayed the first week in a small historic village called Belstone - lots of hikes within walking distance from the cottage, drove to see Tintagel Castle, Lydford Gorge (White Lady waterfall and Devil's Cauldron), seaside towns of Lynton and Lydmouth connected by the tallest and steepest water-powered train car, and the Okehampton Castle ruins.
After that, we traveled to our second cottage in a town called Calne, Wiltshire. On the way we stopped in Wells, toured the Wells Cathedral and walked about town (much of the filming of Hot Fuzz happened in Wells). Visited Stonehenge about 2 hours after the Just Stop Oil group hit the stones with the orange cornstarch, accidentally ended up in Avebury stone circle on the day of the summer solstice (we thought the solstice was the next day - my 10 year old boy saw some sights there for sure!), and rounded it out with a visit to Lacock Village, touring the Abbey and having a couple of pints in a pub that has been operating since 1361.
Driving was a little terrifying at times (specifically getting out of Heathrow functioning on 2 hours of sleep and learning to drive the single-track lanes between the 6-10 tall hedges, two way traffic on a road about 8 feet wide), but we got through with only scraping up one rim, and getting honked at maybe 5 times. Much success.
any visit to the diddly squat farm store?
Did not make it there - had not heard of it til just now, to be honest
recommend watching Clarkson's Farm!
Just started actually
dang - just looked it up, about an hour from where we stayed in Calne, and my son and I actually watched the Columbia episodes of Grand Tour while we were in Calne - looks like he has the Jeep from that episode on display there
Clarkson's show has actually won awards for true reporting on some of the hardships of farming. Heck Kaleb met with the British PM to discuss farming in the UK.
Lacock has a wonderful Abby amd that pub was great when I went 15 years ago, I assume there is only one pub that has been opened since the 1300s in lacock
Hitting Sandals Barbados in a dew weeks - any must do things while on the island?
If you like rum, I'd try touring Foursquare or Mt. Gay
Even if you don't think you like rum, Foursquare will probably win you over.
Rum distilleries are top of my todo list
Ended up booking a driver that's going to take us to both for a tour/tasting.
For anyone else that goes to Barbados taste a bunch of rum. Its all very good. That being said Mt Gay might be the most disappointing rum of all time. Its like the tourist trap of rums, its all you hear about and then you taste it and its not good at premium prices. Foursquare is kinda the opposite all of their rum was delicious Doorly's 14 year was amazing. There are other distilleries but those are the two biggest and the worst and best rum I had.
My brother is having a destination wedding on April 20th in Jamaica. He claims he didn't pick the date intentionally. Aside from that, does anyone have recommendations for anything to do on the west side of the island?
We stayed at a resort on that side a long time ago, so the names are fuzzy, but it was next to Hedonism II. We talked to the tennis pro there about leaving the resort. He hooked us up with his cousin who had a car, picked us up, asked us what we wanted to do, and took us there. He said there were not many un-safe tourist areas near where we were at that time. We went to cool bar near the western tip where locals were cliff diving for tips to entertain you while waiting for the sunset. Billed as the best sunset in Jamaica. We went to a non-tourist market (there are people selling stuff to tourists everywhere - it's there economy - but this was where the locals went to buy stuff) and had some street food. We saw a few rich American's houses, some apartment complexes where a lot of the resort workers lived, some local and some big corporate (Dole or DeMonte) farms, and some very poor areas from the car. I think he charged us $50, and we tipped maybe a twenty, but that was around a decade ago, so not sure how much it helps now.
I haven't ventured to the carribean. What I have been told is that in most places you "STAY ON THE RESORT".. so besides the ocean/beach- which they have in safe parts of the world.. what is the attraction to staying in a casino resort- ala vegas? Cheap? or is it really the "surreal" beaches? Are they that different than Miami? I put Mexico in this same boat. "Don't drink the water, don't drive yourself", etc. So is it the beach or 1 dollar beers? Serious question.
We've been to St Marten, Bahamas, Costa Rica, & Aruba, and now adding Peurto Rico. Have day tripped all over those islands by ourselves with no issues and never felt unsafe. Ive been told that the US & British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts & Nevis, Turks and Caicos, the Cayman Islands, Anguilla, Bonaire, Curacao, Antigua and Barbuda, and others are perfectly safe.
I understand that much of Mexico and Jamaica and some others are definitely not the same, and I'm never setting foot in Haiti.
Reasons to go - They are close enough to the equator to have great beach weather all year. The all inclusives are cheaper than staying and eating at a resort in the US, but they are close enough the airfare is reasonable. Many of the destinations have things you cannot do or see in the US. Many have great snorkeling or diving. You can experience a different culture, cuisine and history than you get mainland. Some All-in resorts cater to families, and have built in options for watching or entertaining your kids in a secure environment. Others are adult only, and can assure you a hassle free break if you want to get away. As a general rule if the main options are all inclusive resort, there are some unsafe areas for tourists, either the sanitation, drug cartels, or high crime. These place are very inexpensive. Other islands, Central American countries are safe, but costs vary by local government. Costa Rica, Belize, Acapulco, Puerto Rico and Grenada are fairly inexpensive and safe, the US and British Virgin Islands are more the like the east coast version of Hawaii. Most of the rest fall somewhere in between.
I absolutely do not get the "stay on the resort" thing. When I travel, I want to explore and experience the place, not spend a week in Little America.
In the Caribbean, I've only been to the Bahamas, but I couldn't leave the 1 square mile base, so to me it doesn't really count. I loved the beach, and snorkeling, and $10 cases of Red Stripe, but it wasn't that different from a weekend in Jacksonville, and I'd never spend my own money to do that as a vacation.
The appeal is not having to plan anything, just show up switched off and let the resort take care of all the logistics and details for food and activities.
My trips are more like yours, but there is something super nice about just chillin and not having to think about when or where dinner should be
I take 2 kinds of vacations. One kind where I'm exploring and active. The other kind where I do nothing. For those, I stay on the resort and just relax and unwind.
My problem is I am the first kind of vacation, and my wife is the second. So we have to compromise some.
Luckily my wife and I are on the same page and enjoy both types.
Man give me little America where I don't have a care in the world, its sunny, drinks are already paid for this to me works primarily in the Caribbean.
I like exploring but I've done most of the Caribbean and a lot of the off resort stuff is similar to other islands. I definitely go out of my way to get whatever is unique about that island and experience that but the islands are small and that might take 1 day or 2
Would never do this approach in Europe, Asia, Africa, or parts of South America.
There are certainly unsafe areas for tourists in some Caribbean islands just like any other part of the world. Plenty of vendors/sales people/ect that'll rip you off if you're a tourist no different than any other part of the world. I think it varies island to island (as does poverty level) but there's no need to stay on a resort.
The beaches are definitely nicer than pretty much anywhere in the US (maybe the keys competes). I'm not nearly as big on Mexico as the Caribbean but it's been years since I've been.
For me its the consistent weather, being able to do nothing and not have a care in the world, explore each islands history a little (note from my post above this doesn't take a ton of time cause most islands are quite small), enjoying a ton of the local beer.
My wife and I are spending 3 days in Madrid, 4 in Seville, then 4 in Lisbon and 2 in Porto in May with our adult children. We will not have a car. We are spending half a day at Prada in Madrid - will we want to go the other art museums or do something else? We have heard mixed reviews on the day trip from Seville to Morocco - from a waste of time to the high-light of the trip - anyone tried that, or another transportation provided day trip tour from Seville they would recommend? If we are not swimming, surfing or sun-bathing, is there enough to do/see at the beaches around Lisbon to spend some time there, or if we book a small group tour with a 1 hour stop at a beach overlook are we good? Still trying to figure out Porto - any recommendations welcome.
When my brother and I were planning our Camino, we had considered flying into Morocco and then taking the ferry to Spain (we thought it would be cool to say "we started our pilgrimage in Africa") but decided against it because we had heard rumors that the ferry departures were iffy due to the passenger visa issues and or unrest - part of the uncertainty of Muslim - Christian conflicts (A Catholic priest was killed by a Muslim in a city very near Gibraltar where we were starting. NOTE - During the seventy days we were walking there in Spain and Portugal, I never felt unsafe.)
We looked into it further based on your input, saw where others had issues, and decided not to take the ferry to Morocco and back for a day. Thank you.
We took the train from Lisbon to Cascais for a few hours of beach action. Worth doing IMO, it's a nice train ride along the Tagus.
If I could make one rec for Porto, it would be to take a bottle of wine and a cheap blanket and catch the sunset from Jardim do Morro on the Gaia side of the river. One of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Super romantic. Can't miss.
In Porto, also consider checking out the Mercado do Bolhão. It's the market where Bourdain filmed the hilarious scenes from his Porto episode. Although they've since cleaned it up and restored it. https://youtu.be/YAg3sqaX_SM?si=o3Mq46-AUBlwOQqy
EDIT: a couple more recommendations for ya.
Lisbon:
- Eat the iconic Pastéis de Nata. They sell them all over, but we really liked the ones at Manteigaria (there are a few locations in Lisbon and Porto).
- Take a stroll along the Tagus riverfront walkway. Praça do Comércio is a good place to start.
- Check out the Sintra area. We went to the National Palace of Pena (enter the grounds but don't pay for the castle entry itself). Recommend taking the train to Sintra, and then paying for Tuk Tuk rides to and from the attractions.
- Jesus é Goês. Great Goan/Indian food.
- General recommendation: the seafood in Portugal is excellent (try the Portuguese-style prawns in garlic & wine sauce). They do a great job with pork too.
Porto:
- Eat a francesinha and a bifana. Northern Portugal regional sandwiches. Francesihnas especially are absurd comfort food that look like something you'd get at the Texas state fair.
- Drink a bunch of port wine. I was surprised at how much I liked it...
Awesome recommendations - Thank you!
I'll give a very strong 2nd to Sintra. It's worth spending a whole day out there. Pretty easy to catch a train from DT Lisbon, or to drive there. Once there the bus or hiking is the way to go. We were there in the winter / offseason so we just drove to be able to keep our own schedule and were able to park in the valley below Sintra Palace. Parking in peak season is more difficult but there is a big lot next to the train station where all the buses pick up.
There's basically 5 highlights in that area:
1. Pena Palace on the hilltops. I recommend a bus pass to go up / down to save time. I think its worth paying admission and exploring - particularly if the walls are open for walking.
2. Moorish Castle (Castelo Mouros) on the hilltops. Walk the walls for great views and check out the cistern. You can easily walk between Pena and the Moorish.
3. Pena Park - a mix of gardens and hiking trails on the hills around the Pena Palace
4. Quinta da Regaleira - late 19th / early 20th century manor house with intricate gardens on the hillside. House is fine, the gardens are a fun place to explore for a couple hours.
5. Palace of Sintra in town at the base of the hills - kind of interesting historically but not as interesting as Pena if you're picking one palace to tour.
We paid admission in advance online for Sintra Palace, Pena Palace, Moorish Castle and Regaleira. In retrospect we would have skipped Sintra Palace and spent more time walking/hiking around Pena Park.
We caught the sunset from Jardim do Morro - great recommendation - you forgot to mention to get there early - it does get crowded there. We also went to Mercado do Bolhão. Tip - you cannot bring the sausages from there back to the US. The mini empanadas were awesome. We generally followed your recommendations on Lisbon. All he pastries were awesome - we carried in for breakfast daily. We should have taken the train to Sintra - we took a bus tour that arrived at the same time as the others, and it was crowded and rushed. We had Indian food elsewhere there, but it was very good and inexpensive. I will add octopus to the list of what they do very well. The Franceshinha was amazing - it took a while to walk it off even with the hills. Not a huge port fan, but did share a glass for dessert a few times and a great cod and port dish one night.
Thank you!
Sounds like an awesome time! Glad y'all enjoyed.
If you enjoy soulful acoustic guitar / folk music book a Fado dinner in Lisbon. Really unique experience.
We went to A Severa Restaurant for Fado. Music was great, food was great. Keep in mind that a Fado dinner/performance lasts a couple hours. Basically they play/sing a few songs, take a break for a round of table service, then repeat multiple times.
We ended up going to O Corrido - casa de fado for Fado. Great experience. Much better than the Flamenco in Seville. Great singers and great food. Thanks for the recommendation on checking out the Fado!
Awesome trip, but if I do Spain, I can't go without hitting up Granada, Valencia, and San Sebastian in the Basque Country (my mom's ancestors came from that area and the videos from there are gorgeous.)
We started cruising with our kids 3 years ago and it's been amazing. We have taken trips with stops in Bahamas, Mexico, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Bermuda, Virgin Islands (both US and British), coming up we have PR, St. Kitts, Dominica, Barbados, Antigua and St. Lucia this summer.
Which line do you use?
The Mouse. You can't beat the kids clubs and how they treat kids. Which gives parents the freedom to enjoy the cruise also.
My family (who now includes two little neices /nephews) has been doing royal caribbean for years, but we've thought about trying Disney. Maybe in the future we will.
We have done both - biggest difference is the kids wanted to be in RC kids club without us, while everything Disney was geared to families, so we were together the whole time. Kids loved both about equally, so to me it's more how do you want to balance family time with quality spouse time.
Really? If I didn't have to get my kids out to eat I wouldn't see them from waking up until bedtime they live in the kids clubs.
Maybe it has changed since we went 20 years ago. Dance party geared towards kids at the pool, kid appropriate entertainment at the shows, characters walking around doing photo fundraising, pirate night in the dining room, etc. If you want to be together as a family most of the time Disney is a better option. If you do not want that RC will still make sure your kids have a great time without everything being geared for a family.
Just got back from the southern Carribean and it was fun but a lot. Everyday we tried to get something done on the island in the morning. But wow the beaches, the waters, the people and food!
For those looking for a trip with their wives or a girls trip Waco and the Magnolia empire was a big hit for my wife and oldest. I enjoyed the food down there.
If anyone needs some help planning a trip to the bourbon trail, I'm your huckleberry. Wife and I are headed back for what's become an annual trip, this time for the Bourbon and Beyond Festival.
Also happy to help as I live just south of Louisville and have gone to many of the distilleries
I am here for all the Costa Rica recommendations.
But particularly these regions:
> Santa Elena / Monte Verde [alt: La Fortuna / Arenal ]
> Quepos / Manuel Antonio
My MIL and FIL were just in Costa Rica. My MIL fell on a cobblestone and fractured her patella. Had to take a $4000 ambulance ride from the mountains to San Jose. Booked business class tickets home so she could keep her leg straight. Started feeling shitty on the flight and ended up with covid, so she won't be able to have surgery until next week.
My recommendation is to not do any of that. Oh and pay for the trip insurance.
We were much farther north in the Samara/Nosara area on the coast for most of our trip. the last tWo days we stayed at an ecoresort inland on the side of the Rincon del la Vieja volcano, near er to Liberia. (where we flew in and out of) so i cant tell you much about where you're going, except:
If you're renting a car, get a good 4 wheel drive. There's only a few good main paved highways between the larger towns/cities. 85% of our exploration was on gravel and dirt roads full of potholes up and down very steep grades with no guardrails, and occasionally driving through a stream. Get a vehicle with an engine snorkel if you're going in the rainy season and going through these streams.
Our food experience was excellent. everything we had was great everywhere we went. Seafood was obviously big near the coast. Definitely try lunch at one of the Sodas (roadside cafe's/convenience stores) that you will see.
Bring plenty of sunscreen. You'll definitely need it, and you don't want to buy it there. ($$$$ )
The people were really nice and welcoming everywhere we went, and we never felt unsafe anywhere.
We spend 3 days in the Arenal region and 3 at a Westin on the west coast. Loved the Arenal. We took a river rafting trip - basically just floating down a small river through the rain forest - no rapids. Had a blast, saw different types of monkeys, bats, sloths, a huge python, bearded dragons, a sleeping porcupine, turtles, etc. Town is small, nice, clean and inexpensive. Walked around there and ate the La Familia at a small diner (rice, beans and chicken all tossed together) with some local beer. Did the zip line tour on the side of the volcano, soaked in a geothermal pool with a bunch of iguanas. Would recommend all four. Would not go back to the west coast, but also will not stay at a Westin resort again. Might have enjoyed our time there more if we stayed somewhere else.
My trip was scarily similar to yours (~2012?).
We stayed at fantastic resorts in both the Arenal and Poas, with a lackluster stopover in the Playa Conchal Westin. (My girlfriend then planned the trip- the Westin had the largest pool in the country so that's why we stayed there).
Our takeaway was that all inclusive places are pretty shitty when there's no competition to keep the service good and the prices low.
I think we paid almost twice as much to stay at the Westin as we did any place in Cancun, and that was the shittiest service I've received any place outside of Montreal.
I don't think that was a Westin problem; but I only look for all inclusive when there are other options in the area. We were treated like royalty at the Nayara (Arenal) and Peace Lodge (Poas); it wasn't cheap. But neither was the damn Westin!
We have stayed at several All-in that were good to excellent. RIU was Cancun was good for a family with 18-21 year old boys. RIU DR was excellent when the boys were in middle school. RIU Jamaica (Negril) was good for a couple getting away. Paradise Island Bahamas was great. The Westin treated non timeshare club members like trash - bests seats at the pool roped off for no-one to use. Three non-buffet restaurants said they were fully booked every night before we arrived, but had empty tables all the time. When questioned "club members get to reserve ahead", and 'they are reserved for club members". The place was not clean. Room service was late even when ordered a day ahead. Food made my wife sick. Room was "clean on request"'but they could not get to it until 24 hours. And before you say staff shortages, this is Costa Rico. Maybe it is the lack of competition, but I will not stay at a Westin resort again.
The westin sounds like a great time. Hope you enjoyed seeing the lizards.
The difference in iguanas between the Arenal and the west coast was interesting. Swimming in the pool with them is not, especially when you see them shit in the pool. The bearded dragons are cool. The troop of Coati and the family of howler monkeys that lived at the resort were cool. The view was amazing, especially at sunset. The public beaches (there are no private beaches there) are small, steep, rocky, and full of vendors. But the vendors are not in your face and pushy, like many other poorer countries. The people there are great, the Westin was just poorly run. Being at a beach resort without much to do outside the resort sucks if the resort sucks. Wish I had not relied on their claim to have fishing charters available. Wrong time of year for sailfish, but would have liked to try some roosters. Friends/family that went to the east coast seemed to have had better experiences, but they did not stay at a Westin.
Currently on National Geographic tour of the Galapagos. Amazing trip. Blue footed boobies, giant tortoises, hammerhead sharks, galapagos penguins, marine iguanas, spectacular views.
I would highly recommend a trip to Iceland. Went with wife and 3 kids last spring break. Landscape is other worldly, hiking on glacier, going through an ice cave, going into lava tube, lots of waterfalls (one with double rainbow), very friendly people. Got to see the northern lights the last night we were there. We went straight from the airport to Blue Lagoon (temporarily closed due to eruptions) and hung out for the day which was a great way to ease into our trip. 2 days along the eastern coast and then 3 along the Golden Circle and glacier. We used Artic Adventures and they were awesome (great local guides and were flexible with itinerary so we got to see more things). Weather was crazy, in a 4 hour span it went from blizzard conditions, sleet, rain, and then bright sun. My son wants to go back and see the puffins and it would nice to see the landscape in summer. Iceland Air allows for layovers if you use them to fly to Ireland, so we may do that on a upcoming trip.
My boss and his wife did Iceland last year with friends and said it was amazing.
Based on the multiple volcanic eruptions that have happened in the last two months, you might want to pass on Iceland for a while.
I'll second Iceland - we did six nights, went out as far as glacier lagoon, glacier hiked in Skaftafell, and snorkeled between the tectonic plates in Silfra. Very very cool trip, and as a city Reyk was awesome. Fave waterfall was probably Nauthusagil. We loved the whole trip.
Cons - It's expensive and if you don't like fish and lamb, there's not much to eat. Luckily, I love both.
Unexpected highlight of trip - trying to say all the words out loud, and cracking up over how incorrect we undoubtably were. It's a TOUGH language.
If you do a trip to Australia and don't want the Sydney, Melbourne touristy stuff, consider flying into Brisbane. You can catch a rugby match (we saw the Brisbane Broncos play the South Sydney Rabbitohs, then go to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and take the river boat back into downtown. They also have a beach built in the middle of the city that is dangerous wildlife-free.
After two days, take a prop plane flight up to Hervey Bay. It is tucked behind Fraser Island and has a very moderate climate. The beach and beach walk is terrific and very chill. There is a free, very long fishing pier, and lots of boat charters for fishing or cruising off the island. In the winter (August is prime time), the whale watching trips are awesome and very affordable.
Food in Australia sucks, or at least we didn't find any good food. Otherwise, an A+ trip. We took Air New Zealand from LAX and back to Houston (United to DC.) Air New Zealand was very nice in premium economy, very comfortable despite the long flight. We took Qantas on the prop plane up to Hervey Bay.
Anyone ever been to Isla Holbox, MX? Going there at the end of the week for my 1 yr anniversary!
just planned a last minute trip for this weekend, to Bozeman, MT. have a friend in training in idaho falls this week, who has 3 more states to get to...montana being one of them. so he asked if i wanted to fly out friday, and ski this weekend.
so we'll spend 2 days skiiing at bridger bowl. big sky is nearby, but lift tickets and equipment rental were close to $700 (!!) for two days. bridger bowl you get all that for $264.
been a skier my whole life, but tried snowboarding a few weekends ago in WV...so will ski saturday, and snowboard sunday.
Frequent Bozeman/Big Sky/Bridger visitor here. You 100% made the right call. I'm not sure if I'll ever go back to Big Sky, what with the crowds and the cost and the bougie-ness. Bridger'll get a bit crowded for you, but you're going to love it.
I'm biased because I grew up on the ski team there, but if you want to ski a hidden gem underneath the Grand Teton, head down towards Idaho Falls and check out Grand Targhee. Usually lots of powder, as storm systems dump their moisture before passing over the Teton range into Jackson Hole.
Any guidance on things to do around Rapid City SD (Black Hills, Badlands) besides the normal tourist stuff (Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Devils Tower, Custer State Park)? Will be there at the end of April.
Badlands is worth it. Very beautiful. Don't bother with Crazy Horse they wanted like $25 to get in 10 years ago to see something that's still like 100 years from being completed at the current rate.
I remember Firehouse Brewery & Restaurant in Rapid City being very good.
Second 'Tophers Badlands below. If you have a chance, camp at the state park. The evenings are quite incredible there. But bring bug spray. Also check to make sure you are not going there any week near when Sturgis Fest is, unless you love motorcycles and made a reservation last year.
Enjoy HIMMs.
Wind Cave NP and Jewel Cave National Monument. Wind Cave has these cool formations called boxwork and is one of the largest known cave systems in the world. The park has a decent sized herd of bison (DO NOT pet the fluffy cows). You can get tickets for cave tours, which we were not able to check out when we were there in September '22.
Haven't been to Jewel Cave, but I've read good things about it, including some speculation that it may be connected to Wind Cave, we just don't know where yet. I think my husband and I would have enjoyed South Dakota a lot more if it hadn't been on the second to last day of a 2 week road trip that included 11 national parks, 1 national monument, the Flaming Gorge, covid, and a ton of miles on the rental car.
Any sailors here? Headed over to the French Côte d'Azur for the first time in July and bareboating a '40 cat. Mostly familiar with Caribbean sailing so would absolutely love as or experiences.
I've done some sailing. Hired a cat (a 52) in Greece last year with a lot of non-sailors, so we also hired a captain and a cook. Have sailed in Italy, but not France. Definitely elaborate! What organization are you using? Where are you picking up the boat? Which boat?
Would love to hear about your adventure.
Lagoon '40 out of Marseille through a broker. Seems like majority of the boats or privately owned and rented through a broker.
Going to do 5 days at Lake Como, then head to Marseille to pick up the boat and sail as far as Nice and back for 7 days.
We bareboat and have good sailing experience aboard. Just not in France! Thinking of an itinerary similar to this.
Looks like fun. July could be a little crazy this year, so make your reservations early, including restaurants.
You can also rent a powerboat on Lake Como for a day or half day.
So we're in Perto Rico and I still can't get away from goddamn Fuente!
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That's funny!
Enjoy your trip and Go HOKIES!!!
Headed to Austin and staying in the downtown area for a work trip over the next few days. Plan to eat and drink good after meetings as much as I can. I've never been there so not sure what's in store, but hopefully I'll have some time in the afternoons to relax and maybe explore a bit.
gotta get some bbq: terry black's, franklin's, salt lick, can't really go wrong tbh -- and if you can get out of the city a little ways and like sour beers, Jester King Brewery is a must. Even if you don't like sours that much, go there and see the "deep in the heart of texas" countryside, absolutely stunning place.
rainey st has a lot of great bars and food with live music, we ate at Bangers and really enjoyed the vibe. the bats bridge was a total flop and bats are creepy anyways so feel free to skip out unless you're a total weirdo like my brother. have a kolache somewhere. torchy's tacos is good if you've never had (i think they're spreading around now)
unfortunately our favorite part of that texas trip was by far the day trip to san antonio and doing the pearl district market, river walk, and alamo. but i liked zilker park/lake travis/etc outdoors stuff we did in austin too.
Headed to Japan's golden triangle (Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo) in September. Plan to do some day trips, 15 full days (outside of travel to/from). Happy for any suggestions (what was great, what was "meh")
My experiences are a bit dated at this point (study abroad in '08), but...
The aquarium in Osaka was fabulous. Definitely do a day trip to Nara. Loved the Fushimi Inari shrine, though I don't know how it will be now considering 'influencer culture' and how photogenic it is. If you think nightingale floors are cool, I think the one at Chion-in is the best - there's less people there so it's easier to enjoy and play around on.
I didn't really think anything was 'meh' but it's super easy to wear yourself out trying to see everything, so don't overplan.
Try to hit up a bakery and grab some pastries while you're there, I honestly think they've got better pastries than France 🤷♀️
watch James May Our Man In Japan and appreciate the train songs a little more :)
"Hey Bim! Guess What?!"
🎵🎶James Mayyyyyyy sumimasennnn🎶🎵
Headed to Hiroshima, kyoto, and Tokyo in less than an week. I'll let you know how it goes
Thank you fellow rocketman
Finally getting around to this. Japan was amazing. Such a beautiful country, so clean, everyone was so polite, and the public transportation is incredible. It was so easy to get around with just Google maps and Google translate (must haves for any travel where you don't speak the language IMO).
Hiroshima was worth the visit, the Peace Memorial Park (where the atomic bomb dome is) was both beautiful and somber. The museum is incredibly powerful, and hard to get through. It was worth it though.
Highlight of the trip was staying in Kyoto though. We saw an incredible show in Gion, went all the way up Fushimi Inari, and spent the second half of our time in Kyoto surrounded by cherry blossoms in full bloom.
Tokyo was pretty cool, but we didn't plan as well and mostly spent our time their shopping. It was fun to see the more modern side of Japan though.
All in all, if you're thinking about going to Japan I highly recommend it. I'll end it with one of my favorite pictures, a shot halfway up Fushimi Inari at one of the rare moments with no one in view.
Japan was the coolest place I've ever visited. Wild how clean one it is - even Tokyo is pristine despite having millions of residents in such a small area. The food and the culture are both so unique and amazing. I don't think I could live there, but I have so much respect for it. I hope to go back one day.
Agree on all counts. So different than living in the US.
Tickets are booked for mid sept. We were going to head straight to osaka and do tokyo as one big block at the end but...found out there will be a sumo tourney in Tokyo, so we'll break up our time in Tokyo a little. I was back and forth on Hiroshima, so I appreciate the endorsement.
Right now i have 8 + 2x 1/2 days in Kyoto/Osaka. Still need to figure out how to break that time up. Also 4 days in Tokyo total. 1 day in Hakone for some Ryoken/Onsen action.
Thanks again for the input.
We did a ryokan/onsen stop over in Fukayama between Hiroshima and Kyoto, it was worth it. Had a traditional 8 course seafood meal included, which was an experience to say the least.
In Kyoto I would definitely get to Gion, and we really liked Tenryu-ji temple and surprisingly we really liked the monkey park Iwatayama over near Arashiyama. We did a brief stop through the bamboo forest, but didn't get a lot of time there. The view along the Katsura river is very nice though.
We also did a half day at the Imperial Palace, and if you're into history that's worth it too.
If you want to shop in Kyoto the Shinkyogoku shopping street is fun and the nishiki fish market is right off of it and a neat place to grab lots of street food.
Unfortunately we didn't make it to Osaka so I can't help you there, and there's so much to do in Kyoto alone that I'm sure you'll find plenty. Whatever you do, bring good shoes though. Japan may be flat in most of the cities, but a lot of the big attractions on the outskirts of the cities are hills at best, or straight up mountains like Fushimi Inari or the monkey park.
What ryoken did you go to? did you do an in-room onsen, chartered one, or public?
Ochi kochi - it had small private baths in each room (think like a small jacuzzi size), as well as two larger, private onsen you could reserve for 40 minutes at a time. We did that and it was very nice.
You can spend 6 weeks in Tokyo and not run out of interesting things to do. It's so big, and cool, and just different than America.
Interested in hearing how that goes! I'll be spending a week in Japan on the way to a wedding in Hong Kong in September. (Would love Hong Kong suggestions as well)
Going to do Mt. Whitney for a close friend's bachelor "party" in late July. Does anyone have any recommendations or tips beyond what the National Park/National Forest info says?
We've reserved a place nearby for the day before and after our 2 day assent (up one day, finish the assent early the next, and quickly down).
Hey ashore13
I am envious of your upcoming adventure - you will have a fantastic time. I frequent the 395 corridor a few times a year for backpacking and access to Mammoth and the Kern River. I haven't summited Whitney but its on the list. Honestly, It seems a bit crowded for my taste. Some recomendations for the area:
Lone Pine: Castro's taco stand. Gotta do it.
Beer: Mammoth Brewing company. Should be able to get in any store along the way. 395 IPA and Golden Trout Pilsner.
Local Camping - Semi dispered camping in the alabama hills is fantastic. At least drive through to understand the terrian. A very cool area.
Local Hike - Tuttle Creek Ashram. A seemingly random religious building at the base of the Sierra's. Google the hike and approach drive. Its pretty neat.
Fly fishing - Bring your gear and get a license. After a solid rainy season there should be plenty of water. do some research but most of the lakes are stocked and hold decent fish. Hot tip - Size 16-20 Tan or Brown Elk Hair Caddis Fly. You can thank me later.
Cheers and safe adventuring.
In Buffalo to catch a Sabres game. Hotel is next to Keybank Arena. One other vehicle with Virginia plates in parking lot; it's maroon with Hokie bird stickers on the back.
Just got back from Lisbon, Portugal and Malaga, Spain. Both great places. Great food and nice people. Highly recommend.
Will be in Lisbon in May, 5 adults, no car, renting a condo at the edge of the old city for 4 days. Any tips for getting around, anything we should make sure we do?
Sorry...way too delayed response.
We used Tours By Locals and got a great guide. He took designed a day tour around everything we wanted. Also did it day one, and then decided what to go back or explore the rest of the trip. Most fun thing was painting the tiles. Little crafty for us, but really gave us the flair of the city. Also the little custard hand pies are a must (they're everywhere and amazing). Favorite tourist thing was the Belem Tower (great view of their Golden Gate Bridge) and Castelo de Sao Jorge. Steak on a Rock (it's everywhere) and Salted Cod are must eats.
Thanks for the tips. Just checked out Tours by Locals - several do not have availability while we are there, but one of the food tours looks interesting. I've made Portuguese salt cod before, and trying the real thing is definitely on the list - the others are now on it as well.
Pointers on Little Rock Arkansas? Starting the drive there tomorrow.
Hmmm, lost an alternator in Little Rock in my Dodge station wagon on an on ramp for I-40 at 9:00 pm back in '76 while on a three day marathon cross country drive from Springfield, Oregon to Pembroke, Va. Tow truck driver dropped me off at a cheap motel with a cheap diner right across the street from the garage. I had a decent night's sleep, a pretty darned good breakfast and was back on the road by 8 the next morning. Got to Pembroke at 2 in the morning, but still call it a three day trip.
That help?
https://doeseatplacelr.com/
I've only been to Little Rock once. This place was awesome.
Anyone have any advice for Buffalo? We basically have all day today to do whatever but it's rainy and a little chilly.
Other than wings at The Anchor, I got nothing.
Yeah, that's planned for this evening. The one on Main Street is the one to go to correct? There are others but I think the one on main is the original
Nice little lake front area just a walk down the hill from downtown. Small military museum with some WWII ships and planes, walkable park, Vietnam tribute, very close to the minor league baseball stadium (Blue Jay affiliate). Big Ditch Brewing is also walkable from that area. Several quirky thins to see if you are walking downtown, street art graffiti, statue of liberty, home of the Salvation Army, some monuments, etc. You are also fairly close to Niagara, and you'll get wet on a Maiden of the Mist ride anyway....
Our trip to Puerto Rico was fantastic. I had forgotten how great the place is. It's so cool to have mountainous rainforests, crystal clear ocean, and cool old cities all in the same tiny island. The people are super helpful and friendly and the food is awesome (yucca mofongo and mallorka sandwiches are my new favorites). If anyone is considering going, 100% do it.
If you visit the Black Hills and the Badlands in South Dakota you want:
Killians (Spearfish) for burgers
Tally's Silver Spoon (Rapid City) for breakfast
Everest Cuisine (Rapid City) for Indian and Nepalese food.
I'll second Killian's! Spearfish was a nice surprise, cool little town.
Very cool town. The canyon was beautiful. I enjoyed the hatchery.
Love the Black Hills. Use to do some day trips there every couple of years as part of an eastern Wyoming hunt trip, but tags are so hard to draw now it's been several years since I've been out. Looking to get back and make the area the initial leg of our trip on our next excursion. Beautiful country.
Going to St. Augustine, FL next week for a wedding. Got any good food recs? Especially interested in seafood and / or local specialties.
I can't speak to the food, but I really enjoyed the lighthouse museum/tour. If you can get in the Ripley's Believe it Or Not museum is there as well.
Awesome, thanks for the recommendations.
I will advise that the lighthouse has about 13 floors of stairs on the inside if I remember right. Even though I am not a fan of heights, I enjoyed the view from the walkway outside the top.
The Floridian for dinner and brunch. Get the pickled shrimp appetizer.
The Ice House is a good cocktail bar on the second floor of St Augustine Distilling.
Columbia is a cool Spanish place in the middle of the touristy bit.
There's a Treylor Park location in Nocatee, that to me is worth the trip out of your way.
For touristy, go to the fort, it is surprisingly gorgeous.
Going to Costa Rica on Wednesday, any suggestions for what to do/how to get around. I booked a shuttle to Santa Teresa from the airport that had decent reviews on reddit, still not sure what you can and can't trust there. Any insight?
We were a little further north in Samara a year ago. Awesome trip. We had our own car for the week. If youre flying in to Liberia, that shuttle is going to take you over 4 hours. if your flying in to San Jose, it'll be over 5 hours. We felt safe everywhere we went and the people, food, beaches, etc. were all great. See above for my and others previous comments on Costa Rica.
Cahuita is fantastic. Nice quiet town with plenty of beaches and plenty of drinks available. There was a great restaurant and moonshine place that we enjoyed. The food was cooked by a local and the moonshine was run by expatriate Mormons.
The scenery in La Fortuna was beautiful but too touristy for me.
Make sure any brewery you go to is really a micro-brewery like in the states (i.e. for consumption on premises) and not a national brewery that brews for distribution. Ask me how I know.
The roadside restaurants (I forget what they're called) kind of like truck stops had great food as well.
And the fruit is like nothing else.
The roadside restaurants/bodegas are called 'sodas'. Usually mom and pop type operations.
Headed to Italy in July. Will be coming from Paris, and we have 7 days to explore. Only constraint is that we need to end in Rome for the flight home.
What's the ideal itinerary for those who have been? I know we want to see Florence for a few days, but not sure about Venice/Amalfi Coast/Milan/Rome and how much time (if at all) to spend in those places
No recommendations on a general itinerary, but definitely book a food tour somewhere, preferably early in your trip. We did one in Rome and it was the highlight of our trip. We got to try a sampling of dinner offerings from something like 6 different restaurants in one night, and when we went to try pasta, we got to try all the pastas without having to order them separately. It made it easy to know what stuff we wanted to order the rest of the time we were in Rome, and it was generally a good time hanging out with other Americans for a couple of hours.
any specific provider/site you booked the tour with?
It really does depend on what you want to see and how much you want to much to see vs relaxed plans and not caring if you do it all. Florence is great for Renaissance art and architecture, northern Italian food, etc, but is smaller. If you are trying squeeze more in maybe 1.5 days, though two sounds about right. For Rome - the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and several other sites are within a half days walk if you are not too leisurely about it. The Vatican Museums, Basilica and Sistine Chapel are at least half a day if you want to see those as well, and pre-buy tickets or a tour. That still leaves modern Rome, the forum, and the Coliseum just for the must see items. It would be hard to feel like you saw most of it in less than 3 days without really rushing, pre-buying tickets and keeping a really tight schedule, maybe booking a private tour to get around faster - (this from someone who tried to do it all in one long day, but left knowing we missed a lot). The Amalfi Coast is beautiful scenery, and we enjoyed seeing Pompeii, but it takes a bit to get there and back from Rome, so I think you are two days minimum there as well. Have not been to Venice or Milan, so no help on those.
If you're going to hit any bigger touristy things, you need to get there early, before the buses do. Even if it's not open. Unless things have changed, you'll have huge lines for things like the Sistine chapel.
Plan some small stops on between bigger places. San Gimignano and Bologna are cool stops, but don't require a full day or even full half day. Sienna and Assisi are cool. But, you can choose to linger or make them shorter stays.
Como is a great relaxation spot and hub to go other places.
Orvieto is a nice stop off, but not stay town. No outside cars are allowed. You have to ride a cable car to the top of the mountain, which is actually a dormant volcano. Try the Orvieto wine. It's good.
Hadrians Villa probably gives you Roman Rome without the crowds.
No cappuccino after 10 or 11 am. Requests for Taking out leftovers from a pizza will get you weird looks. Touristy places will give you oil for your bread, because they think Americans expect it. Don't request it... enjoy things the local way. Don't take up space on sidewalks. Walk single file.
Find random sandwich shops for an early lunch. They should have fresh bread and hand slice meat on demand. The shop with the guy slicing by hand is just better. I can't tell you why. The one you want is probably a hole in the wall... literally. They'll open up. Hang up some wine glass racks, and start serving.
Venice was a good stop. As someone else said, you really get the town to yourself later in the day. A side trek to Murano or one of the other islands with craft stuff on it is a solid choice. I wish I had bought more stuff on Murano.
I'm still thinking on places suggestions. If been a while since I've been there...
We went to Italy in 2018 and spent 12 days doing a circuit of Northern Italy. We flew into Milan and only spent one night there which was plenty. We had a great dinner and tried good local beer but don't feel like we missed anything. We hit Turin next and went up into the Alps which still had road closures due to snow in May. Saw alpine ibexes which you can only see in those mountains and stopped in a hole in the wall spot for the best lasagna I have ever had.
One side note is that northeast Italy seems to like hole in the ground toilets which if you are a woman wearing jeans is a challenge.
Next was an awesome beachside hotel just south of Genoa in Camogli. I'd go back and spend a week hiking around Cinq Terre.
Pisa was next which was super touristy but I'm glad we saw it and went up in the tower. The acoustics in the bapistry are also amazing.
We spent two nights in Florence and saw the statue of David. Just walking around was a lot of fun. Also hit the piazzale Michelangelo for a great view of the city.
From there we caught the MotoGP race at Mugello but stayed at an agritourismo in Rufina where they grow their own grapes to make their wine and their olives for their olive oil. Name was Agritourismo IL pizza pezzatino and I highly recommend it.
Then we hit Bologna and saw the Ducati factory which has a great tour. Ferrari and Lamborghini are also in the area but we didn't see those.
We finished with a couple nights in Venice which was awesome. We stayed on the island so we got to enjoy the place after all the cruise ships and day trippers left. We would definitely do Venice again, it was a beautiful place.
We had most of our stuff to include dinner reservations booked in advance. Make sure to have coins for the public restrooms. I kept a sweater in my bag to cover my shoulders when we went into the churches. Also if you are driving, make sure you get familiar with the limited traffic zones in the cities. You can download the zones into Google maps but they aren't well marked so it's easy to stumble into them. If you don't have a hotel or other destination to validate your presence, the fine is hefty.
If you only have 7 days, I would do Florence and Rome with maybe some time in Siena so you don't feel like you spent the whole time in transit.
ait might be booked already but this was an amazing tour of underneath the vatican: http://www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/ufficio-scavi.html
If you do go to vatican city there will be tons of people trying to sell you access to sitting chapel, ignore them and just keep walked towards the entrance as there is rarely a long line outside and you don't need to pay like $100 a person to skip the 10 minute wait to get in.
I personally loved Venice, but hotels are expensive, I think we paid like $600 a night.
EDIT: On the scavi tour be ready for some disappointed catholics that are making their pilgrimage. They say you can see where Peter is buried. It's not impressive, it's a light bulb above where they most likely think he was buried. You can't get that close. Lots of people we were with were upset, another was amazed at how a light got there (I think she never had her light bulb turn on). If you just accept it was a very cool tour that talked a lot about the history of the site of st Peter's cathedral by a vatican historian then it was amazing.
Do not go to Pisa. The tower is whatever, the duomo next to it is cool, but it is surrounded by hundreds of cheap tourist trap stuff.
Florence is awesome and highly recommend going to see the david.
Cinque Terre is amazing, but can't really drive through it and you really should take a few days to explore. La Spezia was cool though.
Highly recommend finding some sort of cooking class to do. Never really had anything bad while I was in Italy and a lot more fun to learn how to make it yourself.
Agreed in Pisa. We did a drive through (stayed about 30 mins to grab a few pictures) on our way Cinque Terre we were driving from Flourence.
Cinque Terre worth every minute. Tough to get to, it if you use a driver they can get you down pretty far (vs the goat walk from the public parking areas).
Florence worth several days as well.
I'd recommend a maximum of two or three big cities. Rome is worth half your time. Florence is worth two or three days.
Venice is very unique, but if it's not directly on your way, skip it. If it's in your direct path, spend a day there.
You could easily use your seven days just in Florence and Rome, and that's what I'd likely do. While in Florence you could do a day trip to Sienna, and include a winery or two along the way. Get advance tickets to galleries in Florence, and the Vatican (Sistine chapel) when in Rome. Plan a relaxed day in Rome where you just wonder around and hang out. Rome is the best city in the world to relax in.
If you like Italy enough, you'll go back.
If you make it down south then I think Pompeii should be on this list as well.
That's pretty far south, but yes, if you make it to Naples then get to Pompeii. They just uncovered some new stuff in Pompeii. Just note that walking through the city isn't easy with the stone streets, it's not flat and sometimes the side walks are quite elevated. It's not difficult but if there is limited mobility it might be tough.
Wife and MIL are doing a race here in a couple months.
A bit jealous since (years back) I had the opportunity during a Naples port call but a train worker's strike destroyed our plans that week.
We likely walked over 10 miles a day in Naples- wish I had a pedometer then.
Still a bucket list trip for me.
When in Rome, strongly recommend the Galleria Borghese. On a square foot basis, it has the most impressive art of any museum we've been to (including Paris, Amsterdam, London, and Madrid). Get tickets beforehand. Bon voyage.
Any specific travel intel for Corfu in Greece? And we'll have a 24 hour layover in Zurich on the way back - any recs?
editing for a signal boost, we fly on friday and did not plan much of anything besides getting there and getting around. aiming to do the old city and maybe taking a trip by ferry to albania?
Did you do this trip already? Curious what you thought of Corfu. I've been to Corfu town and liked it, but it didn't leave all that big an impression.
There are also some beaches on Corfu, but generally not so much sandy as pebbly.
We leave friday!
Edit for some context: mrs chump's aunt inherited property and rentals there and told us we should visit this summer because she will be selling over the winter. So we decided not to kick ourselves for the rest of our lives and book the flights to go, but really haven't planned much
Loved Corfu Town (Kerkyra). We spent most of our time northwest in Sidari and Peroulades, didn't venture further south than Benitses. My first time in that area of the world and WOW the ionian sea is gorgeous. beaches ranged from sandy (Arillas and Sidari) to pebbly (Porto Timoni and Agios Giorgios) to stony (the other side of Porto Timoni)
we spent most of the trip with the extended family in laws, mostly either drinking cocktails by the water or hanging at pool with the kiddos, with one day of a scenic drive around the north east coast and a couple half days of shorter hikes (Porto Timoni being the most noteworthy), one evening in Kerkyra and then the morning before the flight we went down to the Achilleion Palace and Benitses for lunch.
Even though the Euro is stronger than the dollar now, the prices are so cheap on Corfu that it came out in the wash. Flight was expensive, but in-country was incredible.
We also had a long layover in Zurich on the way back, which we found to be quaint. Very easy to navigate public transit. Food and Bev super expensive, but we only had ~22h to see the city including sleep, so we did a lot of walking around (which is free).
Who the hell in their right maind would want to see CornFu again?
speaking of Corn
Fu- is anyone interested in tracking how much of a trainwreck Sam Houston State University's offense is this season? Will Corny still have a job after this December?Lots of people asking specifically for food recs, so it's apropos to reshare the TKP Eats thread as well!
https://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2017/august/25/ot-tkp-crowdsources-so...
late to the game here.
This year have been to Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives, UAE and of course all over China. May be in UK later this year and possibly some Euro location in summer.
Nice and not even half way through the year for all of those trips :)
We've booked a place for Maldives for early next as want to compare it to our trip to Bora Bora earlier this year. Any tips for the Maldives... like is there a way around the sky high sea plane transfers from Male to the resorts?
Well you can take a boat but I you're at a resort in one of the further atolls it will take you a long time. The price of the seaplane wasn't too bad though. The price for the excursions at the resort is where they really get you. A snorkeling trip for the family can run you $200 dollars at the resort while it's more like 50 from Male.
One thing about seaplane though. It stops flying at 5pm. So if you're arrival time is after 3pm it will be tight and you may need to stay in the City.
Thanks fernleyhokie for the timing tip on the seaplane. We are trying to plan a morning arrival in Male. The cost for snorkeling sounds just a tad over what we paid in Bora Bora but the thrill of being able to swim with the sharks and rays was worth it so we'll be looking for something new like swimming with whales or whale sharks.
Heading to Bend, Oregon for the weekend. Planning on driving to Crater Lake and maybe trying to hit some antique stores. Could use any and all food and/or coffee recommendations.
EL SANCHO OH MY GOD EL SANCHO (east side location is best but also busiest)
For coffee, I'm a big fan of Thump but also you need to get an ocean roll while you're in town - Sparrow makes them (and has a couple coffee shops) but they also wholesale them so Sparrow isn't the only place you can get them.
Most of the breweries are pretty solid food-wise, but Deschutes and 10 Barrel suffer from their popularity - the wait is often rather obscene to get in. I'd recommend Bend Brewing Company, personally, particularly if Popcorn is playing. I like Crux too but the parking situation there can frequently be kinda crappy.
If you like food truck pods, there's a ton of them in Bend. I believe The Lot is the OG in Bend, I like their seating setup the best, but they're on the smaller side (usually ~4-5 trucks). Midtown Yacht Club is fun, I particularly like the truck that does the homemade tots - can't remember what they're called off the top of my head but they're really really good. There's also Podski just south of the downtown area, which is my least favorite. I believe there's one more but I've never been to it.
Finally, I highly recommend checking out the McMenamin's location in Bend - I believe it's the Old St Francis School. They're more than just bars/restaurants/hotels, they're a whole experience. Pick up a Passport (I think they're like $30?) and spend time doing a whole scavenger hunt around the property and win prizes :) They do it across their whole chain of properties in WA/OR, one passport will cover everything. It's a blast and you get some fun swag.
THIS is what I was looking for! Thank you so much for the detailed recommendations! Very excited to try an Ocean Roll and hopefully hit up El Sancho and McMenamin's.
Let me know how you like things :D I haven't been to Bend in about a year, and I am jealous haha
We were supposed to go to Rainer late May but the snowpack around Skyline/Paradise would've made for a bad trip. Luckily we were able to get refunds for flight/hotel and move to late July. Spending a day a piece at Rainer, North Cascades, and then Olympic. Another day will be spent at Snoqualmie Falls and then touring Seattle, going to a Sounders game the evening of. Any restaurant recommendations would be great.
We loved Ping's Dumpling House, between the ferris wheel and Pike Place Market in Seattle. If you go to the market get a pastry from Piroshki. The Chihuly Garden and Glass sculpture exhibit at the Space Needle is worth a visit if you have time to get across town.
+1 to Piroshki. Also the gum wall below Pike Place is both mind-blowing and gross. Worth a visit if you're at the market.
For a great sandwich, Paseo or Un Bien. At one time Paseo, a Caribbean-style sandwich place, was ranked the best restaurant in Seattle. I believe the original owner has since opened Un Bien. There is local debate about which makes the better sandwich--both are great.
We had a really great and unique tapas-style experience at Pintxo back in 2017 that I still think about from time to time.
Not a restaurant, but Freemont Brewing has a great space and good beer and Cloudburst has really good beer as well.
Seattle waterfront: Anthony's Pier 66
Close to SEATAC: Sharps Roasthouse, Mango Thai.
In a rush and in the area: Mawadda Cafe Burien
My brother and i did Rainier in late May -- it was incredible even with the snow pack
One of my favorite professional chefs, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, moved to Seattle a couple years back and makes an effort to post on instagram or youtube when he goes somewhere especially good. He does not take money from restaurants (he's not an "influencer") so his reviews are truly just his own personal opinion. Given he is a pretty well established chef I assume his recommendations would be great places to seek out.
I have 2 of his books (The Food Lab is a James Beard award winner) and my wife subscribes to his insta. He's also a frequent contributor to SeriousEats. I don't even care if he takes money, everything that dude does is top notch.
Skalka for sure. Fantastic for breakfast but honestly great any time.
Okay TKP: I need honeymoon destination ideas. Before you ask what sort of trips my fiance and I enjoy, don't worry, we don't know. Just give me your pick and why!
Tetons with a side trek into Yellowstone. Could go out the north gate and stay at Chico hot springs in Montana.
Maui with with side treks to other islands. Snorkel at Molokini. Things of that sort. (I don't know how things are since the fire...)
Go to Denali and stay at one of the private holdings at the end of the road. Side trek to places like Seward, Homer, and Talkeetna.
Why: nature.
Grand Teton NP remains my #1 favorite place in the world to visit. Can personally vouch for Denali and the Seward Peninsula as well as great spots. Alaska was amazing. Never been to HI. 1 of only 2 states I'm missing along with New Mexico, so have to get to both of them before I die.
I tell people that if Tetons had geysers, no one would go to Yellowstone.
Places I've been and would recommend...
St Maarten
Costa Rica
Traveling The PCH from LA to San Fransisco
Places I've heard are fantastic...
Iceland
Portugal
Scotland
Ireland
New Zealand (GGC honeymooned there I think)
Time of year? Budget?
Mrs Chumps and i did New Zealand in early march for ours and it was incredible
Late July, and I'm not worried about budget (within some level of sanity).
Croatia, then.
I've heard great things about Croatia too from a VT buddy who's a long distance thru hiker. He's done that AT, CDT, PCT, Camino, many others, and very recently Croatia. He said it's absolutely beautiful.
We did Istra peninsula (Alberi) couple of years ago. Was very nice (said in Borat's accent). Very affordable and beautiful. Great food. Site seeing was nice but far away. There's even a Roman colosseum (built by the Roman's) in Pula. We rented house on the Med, overlooking Fornance, Slovenia. You could even see Venice in the distance and at night.
Hervey Bay, Queensland Australia
If you want something opposite and you enjoy skiing, etc., I recommend Queenstown, New Zealand. The Remarkables & Coronet's Peak are outstanding. The town is awesome and there's numerous wineries in the area as well as tours/hikes among the numerous fjords. I went there as a short side trip from Australia 17yrs ago and to this day if I could do that trip over, I'd have spent more time in NZ.
For our honeymoon, we went to Easter Island. It's a bit of a trip to get there, (an overnight in Santiago) but well worth it. Plus if you have a shorter time table, after 4-5 days you've seen most everything on the island.
Some great suggestions already. I'm going to suggest an all inclusive, either in the Caribbean or Mexico (Cancun/Cozumel/Tulum/Cabo). Maybe too corporate for some, but find the cheapest Sandals location and book that. A bit of sticker shock up front, but mostly worry free after that. Just like a cruise, you do have to plan any excursions, as those are an upsell. Eat and drink all you want, with plenty of free watersports. Best part is, you don't have to worry about the increasing credit card balance as the trip goes on.
We went on a cruise for ours, and have taken a few after on our Anniversary. You get to experience a lot of different places and things together, with all the logistics taken care of. You do get what you pay for. Bigger boat, bigger crowds, less quality on the food/details. Cheaper fare more upsell. More expensive, older crowd. Southern Caribbean, Northern Mediterranean were good. We want to try a European River one, and have heard good things about Baltic cruises.
I'd love to do one of the Rhine River cruises
If you go for a river cruise, be careful. We did a two week Viking cruise, Amsterdam to Budapest this past fall. It was for our 50th anniversary and we had been well called by PBS and BBC TV commercials. It seemed like a luxurious way to see a lot of cool stuff, and while it cost a fortune, we figured it was a once in a lifetime sorta deal. I wish I could tell you how much we loved it, how great it was, how just like the commercials and promos, you know, unpack once and see the sights. Well, it just didn't work out that way. First off, we boarded a different boat than we were scheduled to board. I found out it was because the Viking boats are basically overbuilt for the dropping water levels in the European rivers and the river was too low for our boat to make the return trip from Budapest, so we were on another identical boat, but couldn't even float to the dock our original boat was on so we had to skip a section of the river and we were bussed three hours to that boat after packing all of our stuff up. New boat was just like the other, but by then, a large portion of people on board had gotten sick with some sort of respiratory bug, possibly Covid (nobody tests anymore). I ended up losing nine pounds since I had no energy or appetite. I missed several tours as well. To shorten the narrative, my wife then finally came down with the crud just before the end of the trip, which ended an hour and a half bus ride from Budapest, again because of low water. Because of her illness and the timing changes, we ended up not even seeing Budapest until the morning we flew out of the airport. After having to leave the boat at 2:30 am because of the bus ride to the airport and an early flight out. 29 hours after we got up to leave the boat, we finally laid our heads down in a Richmond hotel. Brutal for we older folks.
While the food was good, with desserts, soups and breads being outstanding, the actual entrees were not what I would call gourmet, though they were all picture perfect in appearance. But we don't take pictures of our food. The boats never docked in places where we could just walk off the boat and be in a town, all tours were after bus rides to the towns, and frankly, we tired of following our guide in one of several similar tours, but we weren't intrepid enough to just take taxis or pub trans, and if you miss the boat, it can be a costly mistake.
While I have a lot to say about Viking, I will note that they were the only boats who couldn't navigate the lower water and there are a number of other similar boats on the rivers offering the same general experience. Viking also knew the river was too low to navigate it all, but declined to inform us about the problems until the night before, claiming that they just didn't know for sure what the river levels would be, and angering a lot of passengers, many who had traveled from as far as New Zealand for the "Viking Experience".
Soooo, if you go, make sure your travel agent is up to snuff. I'd also suggest you travel with friends, since Viking and old folks go hand in hand and though nice folks are everywhere, we made no friends that lasted past the voyage. I did meet the parents of the new basketball coach at Cal. They had 10 kids and 51 grandchildren, and were from Salt Lake City, but that's the demographic. Wife and I didn't fit in, being a bit younger than many and having no kids or grandkids and likely being the least affluent passengers on board. Still and all, had we not gotten sick or had to change boats and ride too much in busses, I do believe having friends along would have eased the discomfort.
My inlaws love Viking cruises. The boat thing and the illness were likely just bad luck, but the rest 100% tracks based on their stories. I have zero desire to go on one.
Look, we really weren't suited for the cruise scene anyway, but Viking sucked us in with some pretty clever advertising. Good on em, but we were so fixated on a dream for our glorious 50th that we didn't do enough real inspection, so now we're left with some regrets and introspection. We didn't realize how boring so many of the guided tours were, or how little actual freedom we had in the experience. Hard to justify eating off the boat when you pay so much for the meals anyway, and the majority of the tours were geared around getting you back for meals. But yes, the low water and illness definitely ended up denting the experience seriously.
Not an unusual thing, the low water thing though. Viking has had to deal with it in the past, but we didn't research it enough to know. The fact that they were the only boat with trouble when we were there says a lot.
I'll say our first week was pretty good, while the boats were identical, the crews and staff weren't and the folks on the first boat were just more relatable, for want of a better descriptive, not to knock the staff on boat 2.
I have friends my age who also love Viking river cruises and they had a blast on them, but they all went with other friends and I am convinced that can help make for a better experience.
I will also say that trip insurance is expensive, but necessary for the level of the experience, and if we'd have known the deal on the low water, we may have opted to reschedule, and we met other travelers that had the same gripe, to the point of anger in a couple of cases, so just bad luck doesn't cover it, really. Viking withheld the pertinent info until the last moment when nothing could be done about it. In my opinion, they blew it and the cavalier attitude of the trip director towards upset passengers made it even worse.
From our experiences, the more expensive the cruise the older the passengers. The bigger the ship, the less personnel the service. We have talked about trying a river cruise, so appreciate the great intel.
Our one problem with cruising is that we go every year with my family. So we don't want it to feel like another family vacation.
We went all inclusive resort in Jamaica. We didn't want to spend time planning our days on our honeymoon, we just wanted to spend time together away from the world. We both worked high stress long hour jobs and it was nice for someone else to have everything else at our fingertips we could choose from or not choose from. We went snorkeling both day and night, sailboat on our own, took a catamaran tour, swam floated, ate dinner at places we got to pick each night, got massages etc.
We took our delayed honeymoon to Monaco and Italy. Absolutely loved it. Beautiful landscape, delicious food. We really enjoy walking and exploring cities/towns. We took a cooking class in Italy and it was easily the best use of money we've ever had
Mallorca!
Beaches, mountains, wineries, historical stuff, tapas, casino, a massive cathedral, snorkeling, fishing, golf, and tennis.
Maui a close second. Similar variety, minus the Roman artifacts.
Gonna zig on most of these -- what about Norway?
super amazing scenery, mild temperate weather in the summer, english is widely spoken, not such a tourist trappy destination, the dollar is strong against the krone. see the aurora borealis, hike a fjord
another suggestion: the azore islands. 5h flight from NYC, up and coming, considered the hawaii of the atlantic". but not AS developed as other places. this was strong contender for Mrs Chumps and me but we decided against because early march is still on the colder side
We took a different track on our honeymoon from most. No big trip. We were planning our honeymoon during the height of the "air rage" era. When all kinds of problems with flight delays and cancellations occurred, and the public had not had a chance to consider this to be normal. My wife (fiancé at the time) asked can we go somewhere that we can just drive to. Her thoughts were:
(1) She didn't want to worry about catching flights, making connections, praying that the bags get where they are supposed to, etc.
(2) If we went off to someplace like Rome, which we'll probably never get to again, she'd feel obligated to go see the Coliseum and the Vatican and all the tourist-y things and plan it out in detail and feel like we missed out if we didn't get to everything. If we stay close, we can just lay around and relax or lay around and do [insert some other activities you'll want to be doing on your honeymoon] knowing we can always come back.
Ended up driving from NJ to VA. Night #1, stayed at the same Red Roof Inn in Troutville we stayed at on our first trip together when we did the 3 day-2 night backpacking trip on the AT. Went hiking the next day to Dragon's Tooth. Then spent a few days at Skyland Resort in Shenandoah, then spent a few days in Williamsburg / Jamestown / Yorktown area seeing those spots. Then - on purpose and pre-planned - came home early to spend a quiet Thanksgiving at home, just the 2 of us, with everyone thinking we were still away.
Was a great, fun, relaxing time. And it allowed me to watch the college football games one Saturday in November while she spent all day relaxing in bed, reading and letting me cook for her.
Going on a fabulous, once-in-a-lifetime trip is great. Spending lots of slow time with your best friend and wife (who are the same person) with no stress can be even better. Maybe just consider someplace you like within a 5-6 hour driving radius. We saved Alaska and all its grandeur for the first family vacation.
Ours was similar. We were buying a house at the same time so we didn't want to do anything too crazy so we rented a house at OBX and just relaxed. Cheap too because it was April and we could take our dog who loved the beach. It was good it was low key because the way it worked out, we put an offer on the house the weekend before, had it accepted then did home inspection stuff Monday/Tuesday, went to Blacksburg on Wednesday, did prep stuff Thursday/Friday and got married Saturday. It was a busy week.
I also had my own street bike at the time and wanted a place where a less than confident rider could cruise around. We trailered the bikes down which also gave us a place to haul the wedding beer.
We did something similar.
My wife is from Arizona and so going to the Shenandoah Valley was about as exotic as Hong Kong to her.
(I mean really, it was a running joke with us about her never being anywhere not a desert. She did not grasp what I was talking about until I drove back to Virginia. She was passing east of Arizona for the first time. Going through the hills of Tennessee she asks me, "Who waters all this?" )
We stayed at my parents place near Ski Wisp for a couple days, then traveled down the valley hitting civil war sites. Stayed at a B&B on Antietam Battlefield for Memorial Day. Visited friends and then headed back home to Chesapeake.
A decade later we finally had our trip. Went to Key West for a week.
Idea 1:
Pick somewhere in Northern Europe. Some place you both want to go. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, or the Netherlands, for example.
The days are long, the weather generally good that time of year (no promises, though).
Idea 2:
A coastline with a beach in a place you've never been, if you're beach and relaxation people. Spain or Portugal. Hot and sunny in July. Maybe Mallorca.
Idea 3:
Somewhere in France (but not Paris). There may be some last minute travel deals there, as many people are avoiding it like the plague because the Olympics are there this year. You could rent e-bikes in a) Bordeaux and St Emillion, or b) the castles of the Loire valley, or c) Dijon and Beaune. There are also tour companies like Discover France who will make all the hotel arrangements and provide a plan for a self-guided tour.
I just wrapped up a July honeymoon so my .02 might be actually be worth something. My wife and I went to South Africa and did a safari. Flew direct to Cape Town from DC, spent a few days in Cape Town, a few days in the winelands area, safari, and then a few nights in Mozambique at the beach to wrap up. We loved it and would definitely recommend to our friends.
We liked it because it was a good mix of activities and relaxation/unwinding post wedding. It's also winter down there so it made it a little more convenient in Cape Town and Winelands (less crowds, better rates, etc.) and is a great time for safari because there's less vegetation so you can see animals better.
That had to be a long ass flight.
15 hours, so yes quite long. We flew out the Monday evening after the wedding and after a weekend of drinking too much and sleeping too little, my body was ready for a break and I actually managed to sleep for 9 hours which i'm never able to do
Sounds pretty awesome. We were actually looking potentially a little further, and going to Mauritius. I think it's like a 24 hour flight, so very far.
Mauritius looks awesome. We almost did that at the end instead of Mozambique but didn't think we'd be up for that much more travel after everything else
I am taking my wife for a road trip to Maine Labor Day weekend (yes, I will be watching the Hokies versus Vanderbilt.) We are staying in Norwich CT before a day in Newport, then driving to Portsmouth NH. Day two is visiting Kennebunkport and Wisscasat, before staying in Bangor as a jump off point to visit Bar Harbor and other spots. I don't think Moosehead Lake is in the cards, but I would welcome suggestions for spots to visit. I plan to eat lobster rolls once a day (clam cakes and chowder is the target in Narragansett.)
Best Lobster Rolls in Maine
May I assume I'm the only one who actually went to that sight? You, Egbert, pulled a sly one and nobody seemed to notice.
Looks that way....
I laughed and let it be a surprise for everyone else
Oh, I noticed. Dastardly.
Beal's Lobster Pier in Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island. Excellent choice for bisque, chowder, and lobster+crab rolls.
If you like early american history, get to Strawbery Banke museum in Portsmouth.
Get sweet potato donuts from The Holy Donut at one of their locations (brunswick, scarbrough, arundel, two in portland)
Have Gifford's ice cream
we rented a house on Swan's Island (not far from Bar Harbor) with another couple way back in the day (1987). ate all the lobster, jonah crab, and mussels we could stand and caught pretty much unlimited numbers of pollock and a few mackerel just blind casting from the lobster holding pens and the along the shore.
it is an escape place, accessible only by ferry, and while beautiful not really a sightseeing place. but if you ever need to get away from a high pressure job and relax, that is a good place to do it
20 years ago we stayed a week in Bar Harbor and found it was much cheaper to just buy fresh Lobster in the supermarket instead of the roadside stands by the boats. Also check out at Atlantic Brewing Company if they're still there.
Schoodic Peninsula, quieter side of acadia np. Cool little restaurant called the Pickled Wrinkle is a good stop near Birch harbor.
Cundy harbor, harpswell, a bit off the beaten path. Holbrook wharf for lobster rolls, great outdoor deck w water views. Hawke lobster is next door, lobster was right of dock, $8 a lb.
Just past Bath on US1 is Taste of Maine, incredible seafood, decent portions, but tends to be very busy.
Camden is a beautiful coastal town, but is pricey. Nice to walk around in.
Have a great time. I'm sure ull be able to mix some fishing in.
Also, a couple days on a lake in summer is really nice, the waters warmer than u expect. Listening to Loons while having drinks w my wife at a firepit lakeside is a top 10 moment.
Promised the wife no fishing. Thanks everyone for the recs.
On the Acadia NP line- Jordan Pond house and restaurant is one of my few "must visit again" places. The popovers are incredible. If they still do it, fill it with the Chicken a la King and you will be a happy (and full) man.
FYI, the recipe for those popovers is available on the National Parks website.
Udder Heaven by Bar Harbor was my favorite ice cream on the trip we went on where we were trying different ice cream in every state.
https://udderheaven.com/
In Acadia NP, the wife and daughter really liked the popovers at Jordon Pond House.
https://jordanpondhouse.com/
The loop drive around Acadia NP is really nice. Not sure if you are into hiking or not, but the hike up Cadillac Mountain is nice - it is pretty strenuous, even the easiest of the routes. A shorter and flatter hike is around Jordon Pond. Perfectly suited to be around the Jordon Pond House.
The Lighthouse cruise was very nice as well.
https://www.barharborwhales.com/lighthouse-cruises/
So much to say.
https://www.champlins.com/ In Galilee right next to Narragansett
https://www.helensrestaurantmachias.com/ This used to be the best place to eat in Maine in my opinion. By Acadia National Park.
https://www.schoonersurprise.com/ is based out of Camden Maine and was a great trip last time I took it.
Also in Freeport Maine is the base of LL Bean and there headquarters store used to definitely be worth a stop for looks at fishing, camping, and clothes.
im a month late on this, but helen's restaurant (which is still great btw) is like 1.5-2 h from bar harbor/MDI section of Acadia, about an hour from schoodic
there is also LL Bean outlet in Ellsworth ME which has some killer deals, even if the LL Bean quality isnt what it used to be
We did Stewmans downtown Bar Harbor
https://www.barharborregency.com/stewmans-lobster-pound
I have a request for a trip my wife and I are planning this winter. She wants to go to Costa Rica and I want to be able to see a good dark sky, so we've had a travel agent looking into this for us. Unfortunately, we can't seem to find any concrete information about what to expect. This site seemed promising, but when we contact the people at the actual resort mentioned, they don't really know what we're talking about and don't seem eager to recommend themselves.
Does the cloud forest actually preclude skygazing at night? (I remember the driver to our first resort stopping the car and making us get out and take pictures of the peak of Arenal because sightings of the peak are kinda rare).
Or is Costa Rica just so low on light pollution that they don't realize we just want to go outside and see the milky way?
I think most of the coastal areas are going to have sufficient light pollution to ruin the night sky.
https://www.darkskymap.com/nightSkyBrightness
Here's a link for a dark skies map.
Oh this is fantastic.
Best clam chowder in Rhode Island or New Hampshire... go.
Sorry French. I needed practice inserting images and this was the first thing I thought of. No disrespect intended. The 12 year old humor in my 47 year old brain couldn't pass up the confluence of somebody who goes by French using the word chowder and not conjuring up that image.
None taken. I once went out on three dates with a woman in college entirely because she was from Mass. and I liked how she said chowder.
Rhode Island of those two hands down.
get to "The Hungry Lobster" in Rye NH and get the fluffy chowder. it is their NE chowder (which is also great on its own) with a scoop of sherry butter lobster that they use in their bisque. the bisque is also incredible, but i won't be quoted saying it's better than mom's if you catch my drift
Nice call. Night 2 is in Portsmouth so short ride south.
they post business updates on facebook -- i tried to go with now-mrs chumps on our way to acadia with some friends but the road was closed for construction so their business was closed. family run joint, might be best to call ahead
edit to add -- but if you just want a scenic drive, 1A along the coast is sweet
heading to Saudi Arabia later this summer for work and will have a weekend off in the middle of the trip. Any suggestions for things to do/see around Riyadh?
I had to go to Riyadh for a site visit before the pandemic. Here are the three things I did.
1) Dinner at Lusin (very nice Armenian restaurant with a modern look and feel. Try the House Favorite Cherry Kebab or Cherry Grilled Meat- fresh cherries on top of ground beef will change your life)
2) Al Masmak Palace Museum- the site of the current ruling family's first military triumph as they started to take over the Arabian peninsula. Historical interpretation is in both english and arabic.
3) National Museum of Saudi Arabia has great geologic artifacts
4) Nadj Village restaurant for traditional Arabic food (I had camel)
Also, be prepared for donut places (Dunkins and Krispy Kreme) everywhere.
It is looking likely that I'll be going to the Stanford game. I think my wife and I will leave Thursday morning from Richmond and have that day/night to ourselves with the other two in our group joining Friday afternoon/evening.
I spent a few days in Santa Clara this past April. Hotel prices were fairly reasonable for CA, but I have no idea what they're like during football season.
We had dinner one night at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. The food was good and the view was outstanding. It's a little coastal town, I'd like to go back to explore more.
Going to Antwerp for work next week. If all goes well, I'll have a day to do some touring in the city center. Anything must see while I'm there?
Heading back to Germany in November for two weeks. First week is just bopping around Köln, and I'm pretty well set for that part. But then we're roadtripping to Freiberg, Strasbourg, and Basel. Neither my wife or I have been to those three, so if anyone has any tips, would be appreciated.
Koln is beautiful. Be prepared to drink a lot of Kolsch. It's quite good, but the about only beer they drink around there.
I had a pretty decent time in Basel, without any real clear stops in mind (aside from a few buildings we were supposed to check out). It was a pretty wanderable city.
Out of those towns, the old part of Strasbourg stands out. If you can swing it, Colmar would be a worthy side trip from there, and you could possibly stop there on the way to Basel. It gets crowded mid-day on weekends, so better to visit early or late on a week day. Even worth an overnight if you can squeeze it in, as there are good restaurants there (reservations recommended).
I'm taking my wife to Mo'orea the first week of September. Staying at the Hilton (breakfast is included). Mostly looking for lunch and dinner advice. Also, we're already pretty booked up, but anyone know of any "must do" excursions?
Dude, I see u live in Malabar. I lived in (reverse order) Grant, Indialantic, Satellite Beach. Now live in Christiansburg, va. Now the area ur at well. Worked at Harris in Palm Bay for 22 years. Welcome aboard!
Thanks! I lived in Christiansburg (near the high school) and worked at the Smart Road until 2011, when I moved down here. Worked at Harris as well, but currently with Collins Aerospace. I live right near Palm Bay hospital off of Malabar Road.
Wife and I are thinking about travel destinations for 2025. Anybody been to the Cayman islands?
I was in Grand Cayman in July'23. Stayed at The Locale for the first few nights, right in the middle of Seven Mile Beach, the main tourist strip. They have beach towels and chairs for loan out, and a saltwater pool. The Bonfire restaurant on site was also decent, pretty good breakfast included, and they had a sidewalk bbq cookout one evening we were there.
Went scuba diving with Living the Dream Divers: great operation and absolutely beautiful diving. The Kittiwake is a must see wreck dive. Also enjoyed a meal at the Lobster Pot, right above the dive shop. There is a decent shore dive at the north end at Macabuca, and the tiki bar there is a great place for a beer and some of the best ceveche I've had.
If you're not scuba certified but still want to look at the reefs, there is a decent reef you can swim to at Eden Rock, but the best part is out at the farthest mooring ball, so a little bit of a swim. If you're just looking for a day at the beach, the north end beaches were better, they got narrower and rocky further south (though my nephew did enjoy jumping off the rock ledges at Smiths Cove).
Then we got a VRBO house out at Rum Point for the rest of the week. Bit of a drive, but completely different vibe, remote and laid back. Had a great time visiting the Crystal Caves. Might be cliche, but I enjoyed our visit to Stingray City. We used the same charter to also do some inshore fishing (caught a few keeper mutton snapper) and to check out the bioluminescence. Kaibo Beach Restaurant was another highlight on that side of the island.
The only negative during our visit was that it was upside down jellyfish season. The bay that our house was on was absolutely infested. Not a problem if you could get into the water and avoid disturbing them on the bottom... but once disturbed, the water became spicy. I also had a dive skin, so that protected me some, but others with me were quite uncomfortable. We went in the water there once, and avoided it the rest of the week.
Just got confirmed for our timeshare week at Morritts Resort on the East End for May 2025. We will be tacking on 3 extra days, maybe in the seven mile beach area. Thanks for the intel!
Has anyone here done a Sandals resort? We're looking around at honeymoon ideas.
I've greatly enjoyed my trips to Sandals (Ocho Rios, Barbados, St Lucia, Grenada, and Curacao) as well as the Beaches resort in Turks & Caicos. I'd pick T&C or St. Lucia as my favorite, and put Curacao last. They offer a variety of great food, beautiful resorts, and a relaxed atmosphere that leaves you feeling pampered.
Their resorts follow similar patterns, so they can feel a bit cookie cutter if you don't get out to see the unique offerings of each host island. And a bit of sticker shock up front, but mostly worry free after that. Just like a cruise, you do have to plan any excursions, as those are an upsell. Eat and drink all you want, with plenty of free watersports (including free scuba if you are certified) and other activities. And for me, it's now a familiar environment to use as a base camp for scuba diving their different islands.
But one warning for scuba divers: this is a resort vacation that happens to have scuba. As I've gotten into scuba more seriously, I've come to enjoy scuba live aboard and resorts that are mostly focused on scuba (4+ dives a day) instead.
If not interested in scuba, check out Villa Del Palmar resorts as alternatives to Sandals (Mexico vs Caribbean). We really enjoyed the one in Cancun.
We were considering Barbados but I'm curious to hear more about St. Lucia. I think the simplicity of it is tempting for us for our honeymoon, rather than a more customizable but research intensive trip.
Barbados was our second Sandals trip, and we were content to stay the entire time at the resort (no excursions). Our major disappointment came from the scuba: the reefs are fished out, and our best dive was a muck dive underneath an unused freight Pier. Otherwise, nothing memorable from that trip. Might just be that we completely failed to get beyond the resort walls.
By St Lucia, we had learned to get out and see the island. A trip to the mud bath, a tour through the mountains, and a hike to a waterfall were great. The scuba was also great, including a wall dive at the base of the pitons.
We stayed at Sandals La Toc, and it seemed a bit more isolated and on the hillsides, so seemed quiet and less crowded, but felt a little shoe horned in. You get free transfers to the other Sandals resorts on the island, and we spent quite a bit of time at the Grande St Lucian, because that's where the scuba boat was. We would stay at the Grande if we went again, because that resort seemed more wide open and lively.
Very interesting. I think we probably won't be doing scuba diving, so do you think there's other activities worth doing?
Yeah, each Sandals has different tours, so look through the Barbados offerings and see what we might have missed when we were there. We liked our St Lucia excursions, also had good hikes throught Jamaica mountains and Dunns River waterfalls from Ocho Rios.
We did sandals twice, once for honeymoon and once again like 5 years later. We did Jamaica both times, Negril and then Ocho Rios. We liked the resort at Negril more, the beach was better but Dunns river falls was amazingly fun. They were both fun.
Just getting back from a Norwegian Cruise from Boston to Quebec. NW is beautiful - first time past Boston, and on Norwegian, and some amazing food, but not so pumped on Norwegian. Staff did not seem as well trained in several areas. We had not taken a cruise for over a decade, so I am wondering if this is just how it is now, or if it was the cruise line or this particular ship. Anyone have any thoughts?
My last not on a lake cruise was the ferry between Maine and Nova Scotia about 20 years ago. The rooms were tiny, the food meh, but you boarded after dinner and unloaded before breakfast.
I have done Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean (something like 10 cruises or so). We almost exclusively cruise Royal Caribbean and have never had a problem. Service, amenities, ships, excursions, all were great.
The Norwegian cruise was a joke- service was worse than going to a chain restaurant here in the states. They spam their "freebies" (drink package, internet, etc.), but we'll never sail with them again.
Only exception we've had for not doing Royal Caribbean was the land/sea cruise we did to Alaska. We heard Princess was the way to go and it did not disappoint. By far the best cruise experience we've ever had.
Has anyone been to Curaco? Considering a honeymoon there now.
I've been to aruba which is very close to curacao (two of the three 'ABC' islands along with Bonaire.)....I believe curacao is similar, but larger. Wet season (which isn't super wet) is like September to December. We were in Aruba in July I think and there was a constant 20mph wind which I believe is typical for the area. It was nice for keeping the bugs away, but some places you couldnt set your beer down without a holder or it would blow over. Aruba is very arid, and doesn't have lush jungle type vegetation except where it's planted at the resorts, due to scarce rain. Natural areas have a lot of cactus and aloe. I think that Curacao is very similar. The beaches and snorkeling in Aruba were great as well as the people and food and that should be true in curacao too.
Planning trip to the national parks in Utah for next spring. I see there are several points where you have to pre-buy access. With only week including travel time there is not enough time to do/see it all. Any tips on what you absolutely have to do/see, especially if we need to try get a time slot now? Tips on where to stay (not camp) or eat?
Which parks are you planning on going to and when in the spring are you going? And how active/adventurous are you all? We went to Zion and Bryce Canyon this past spring break (and also stayed in Kanab, UT, Page, AZ, and the Grand Canyon). And what do you mean by pre-buying access?
We are working through details - we have flights but nothing else at this point. Trying to figure out how to spend where before booking lodging. We have talked about Zion, Bryce and Page, but there are a lot of other parks there that are less crowded. Looking for recommendations. Have a friend that just got back - they booked access to a restricted park section 6 months in advance to see something they had not seen on other trips. We have heard other area with tour only access - like Antelope, can sell out as well.
Zion was amazing, we did the Narrows and Angel's Landing. Depending on when in the spring you're going, you may want to rent dry suits for the Narrows, you can rent them from a couple places in Springdale. It was probably everyone's favorite thing we did on our trip. Zion can get crowded but most of the people just take short easy hikes not far from the shuttle stops so a lot fewer people if you're wanting to venture further on a hike. Scout's Lookout/Angel's Landing had a fair number of people on it but honestly not too crazy (also you have to apply for a permit now to do the last ½ mile to Angel's Landing). We were there in late March over spring break which so the crowds were probably bigger than normal that time of year but not too bad and I'm sure way better than over the summer. My absolute favorite thing though was staying in Zion Lodge - you're in the middle of the park rather than in town and we'd have coffee on the porch each morning as the sun rose over the canyon before the shuttle started bringing more people in for the day. If there are no reservations, just keep checking the page for when people cancel, that's how we got a room there.
Bryce was pretty neat as well but it's definitely much colder there. It's much higher elevation 8-9k feet and was 20 degrees in the morning with feet of snow in some places. We got up for sunrise and there was nobody on the trail for the first couple hours (think it was Navajo Loop or something like that) - it was great but there was a section with switchbacks with lots of ice on it.
The only thing in Page really was Horsehoe Bend which is just a big overlook and Antelope Canyon which I didn't like - tons of people crowded into a small space taking a million pictures, it's beautiful but took an hour plus to walk ¼ mile, I much prefer something more adventurous and remote.
Other than booking lodging/campgrounds, I'm not familiar with what else you book 6 months in advance. We didn't hit up the other 3 national parks in Utah but hopefully will make it back for those on the next trip!
I'll second the Narrows and Scouts Lookout. We didn't get a pass for Angels Landing, but you can go left at Scouts Lookout (instead of going right towards Angels Landing) and do a section of the West Rim Trail. In Zion, we also hiked Pine Creek Canyon Overlook (easy), Emerald Pools (disappointing because water levels were low in July), and Secret Petroglyphs Canyon Trail. We also did a half day canyoneering tour outside of the park with Roam Outdoor Adventure Company in Kanab.
For Bryce, we took a single day trip up and hiked Navajo Loop and Queens Garden. Also hiked Mossy Cave Trail. Then checked out some of the hoodoo lookout spots as sunset approached at Inspiration Point before driving home that night.
It was a bit more driving, but instead of staying in Springdale, we stayed just outside the east entrance in a VRBO property. We had three couples and 5 kids, so needed multiple bedrooms. Worked out well.
i am phobic enough of heights to not like hikes that are within 6 feet of a steep drop off. Anything you would avoid based on that?
Well, don't do Angel's Landing then haha, Scout's Lookout might be ok but there is a switchback area with some drop offs, nothing close to Angel's Landing though - maybe look at some pictures online before you go. The Narrows is at the bottom of the canyon in the river so would be ok and I would think most of the other hikes in Zion would be fine although we didn't do those, there was a longer 7-8 mile one that goes to the east rim but it was a bit too much with the kids. I don't recall anything super steep at Bryce but again we just did the one hike there. If you do go to Page, Antelope Canyon is pretty but more boring than scary. And don't know about the other 3 Utah national parks.
Just skip Bryce and enjoy Zion.
My brother and i did a modified Grand Circle. I think you could realistically hit the Utah Five in a week but it might feel tight, my bro and I did those five plus Mesa Verde and Grand Canyon in 9 days and it was too condensed.
Zion and Bryce Canyon are absolutely MUSTS though
Capitol Reef can be a drive through plus a stop for pies, Arches and Canyonlands are both accessible from Moab so that's an easy couple days.
Came to say the same about Arches & Canyonlands.
Mexican Hat, Monument Valley, & the road from Forrest Gump is worth the drive for the view. Especially if you can time it so you're there early morning or twilight. You'll also be nearish the petroglyphs in Sand Island.
If you want spectacular campnight views of the stars, just across the Nevada border is Great Basin.
Just west of Zion NP is Knarraville, which has a nice slot canyon hike similar to the Narrows in Zion but much less crowded. Reservations required and number of entries per day is limited to keep things chill.
https://kanarrafalls.com/
If you are driving from Arizona, there is approximately 2 gas stations between outer Flagstaff and Arches National park- plan accordingly if you are in that area. 400 miles of nothing. Literally.
Meant to reply above.
Which parks are you planning on going to and when in the spring are you going? And how active/adventurous are you all? We went to Zion and Bryce Canyon this past spring break (and also stayed in Kanab, UT, Page, AZ, and the Grand Canyon). And what do you mean by pre-buying access?I feel like this is an okay thread for this. Haven't been back to Blacksburg in 7 or so years. Taking my wife to the Thursday night game, have a parking pass to tailgate but wanted to grab a bite to eat and maybe a drink downtown before doing so. I recognize about 20% of what seems to be down there now.
Any insight on Maroon Door for lunch, other recommendations? Might be able to convince her to get to get a rail at TOTS.
Lots of people seem to like Maroon Door.
If I'm venturing downtown and dealing with the people, I'm going to Hamro Kitchen. Haven't had a bad dish there yet. Biryani, tikka masala, 65 spice chicken, chicken chili momo, and naan have all been great. I need to try more, but the biryani usually wins out.
Heading to Dublin in November. Yes I am staying close to the Guinness brewery and Jamison Distillery. What else is there?
Trinity college is pretty cool. Old university with a lot of interesting. The Book of Kells is also there; I thought that was a bit underwhelming but if you're there you may as well.
Kilmainham Gaol (jail) was also really interesting. Tour goes into a lot of history of Ireland, the troubles, and the IRA.
Obviously just bopping around the Temple Bar area is a lot of fun as well. None of the pubs really stood out from what I remember but not in a bad way. They all have Guinness and live music which was enough for me.
I would recommend doing some research on good restaurants and places to eat. I'm sure there are some great options in Dublin, but just going in wherever was nearby or eating pub food was pretty bland.
Definitely do the Guinness and Jameson tours. Kilmainham Gaol is supposed to be pretty interesting but I didn't end up making it there. The Zoo is really nice. Teeling is also in the city and there's Irish Whiskey Museum as well. Maybe see if there is a rugby or hurling match you could go to.
Don't go to Temple Bar area unless you really want to pay 15 euros for a pint of guinness
All the bars I went to near the St Stephens Green park were poppin and full of young people. Good vibes.
The Temple Bar is the iconic tourist trap spot, but it is right near the River Liffey if you wanted to check it out.. Probably not where you want to spend a lot of time, but worth checking out for the pics if you're into that.
Bring warm layers.
Taking the wife away for a 4-day weekend next week in Providence Rhode Island. Staying at a B&B and have a few things planned including the fire walk along the river. Anybody else got recommendations for things to do or especially good restaurants?
The philharmonic isn't bad if you can get tickets. I lived in RI for 20 years, and I can count on one hand the number of times I voluntarily went to Providence.
If you can, check out the mansions in Newport if you are looking for something to do. The Breakers and Marble House are fascinating.
Any recommendations for Spain? Specifically the Madrid area, Basque Country and Asturias + points in between
Old Madrid is fairly compact and walkable. The Sofia and Prada are great museums, and if you are into that I would get a cheap guided tour of Prada - it is so big it really help to have a guide who know what is where and the history behind a lot of it. Great food is everywhere there - but you pay more and get worse the closer you are to the big tourist sites. Some of the best food we had was just looking at the plates of those eating on patios and stopping when it looked good. Try the squid poor boys. Every convenience mart will have good inexpensive good wine, bread, spanish ham, and cheese if you want to save some money and picnic anywhere. If you happen to be on expensive medication you may want to buy refills there as well. We went south from there, so no help on Basque.
In addition to thinks kville said, if you like gardens, Madrid has some nice ones.
Check to see if there are any Roman roads near where you will be.
Consider a hike on one and consider the actual few millennia of people that have lived on that road.
Going to Barcelona, Bilbao, San Sebastian, and Madrid in early November, so depending on when you're going I can try to answer any questions you have.
Couple days each in Bilbao then Gijon (Asturias) then wrapping up in Madrid.
Looking for wine/cider recommendations - particularly wineries/cideries to visit if that is a thing in Spain.
Trying to work in a few short hikes (<5mi) in each region. Walks around historic towns/cities counts here too.
Food reccs.. specific places/producers for jamon, presa or chuleta
We are in Williamsburg this weekend running away from the water issues in Richmond. Just ate at a deli in the outlet mall called Baazaro's. Terrific sandwiches and very nice staff. Given that I have never had a meal in Williamsburg that I liked, this was a really pleasant surprise.
One of my favorite places in Williamsburg is Precarious Beer Project. Good beer, decent food at the taco and burger places, and a fun way to kill time playing pinball.
If you like Greek food, kephi kitchen is lovely. The dessert counter is dangerous.
Anyone have Hawaii recs, specifically for Kauai/Big island ? I booked a last minute trip, I'll be spending roughly 4-5 days on each island. This will be my second time going to Hawaii, but the first time I did Oahu and Maui.
In Kauai, I'll be staying in the Princeville area. For the Big Island leg, I'll be flying into Kona and flying out of Hilo. Was wondering how many nights I should stay in Kona/Hilo? I think Hilo is closer to Volcanoes national park so I was thinking 3 days in Kona, and then drive to Hilo and stay there for 2 days
The Hanalei Gourmet - is a hokie owned bar on Kauai.. I've never been, but its a hokie owned bar on Kauai!
it's actually pretty close to my hotel, I'll check it out!
Mrs Chumps and I will be going in late April. A few nights on the big island coinciding with my brother and then a few nights on oahu for a wedding, commenting to follow!
I'm gonna go ahead and fire up a 2025 thread so we can let this one go to the archives.