I'd say yes. We rented a car. I think an airport transfer is 180 round trip. We paid 330 for our rental car, got an suv but probably easier and cheaper to just get a car. We booked on kayak, but when we got there we were forced to get mandatory $19 per day insurance that just covered an accident....but $30 was full coverage no deductible....so keep that in mind.
Dover to Calais ferry is so chill. Didn't even check my passport. Staying in Reims tonight, going to check out the cathedral in the morning and then on to Dijon to meet my brother. I'm taking surface roads to avoid tolls so should be some nice twisties on the bike.
Got back from San Juan yesterday. My gf and I had an absolute awesome time. We cannot recommend it enough. The people there are extremely friendly and more than willing to help us find the best places to eat/call a cab/recommend nightlife, etc. The waitresses would literally give us all the time we wanted, and without a hint of attitude. It seemed foreign based on the type of service I get here in the states. We stayed in a residential area about a mile east of Old San Juan, which is the perfect location IMHO. A decent walk into Old San Juan but also had local spots close by. Less than a block away was a Mexican Taco spot named Acapulco and pizza spot named Pirilo that were predominantly visited by locals and we absolutely loved. We also got to try a James Beard nomiee's spot, Jose Enrique (http://www.joseenriquepr.com/). The food was excellent, service was ok, and it was in a neighborhood that shuts down the street at night and just parties. Per Room 15's recommendation, we went on an adventure hike through the El Yunque rainforest with Kalachi Adventures (http://kalichiadventures.com/web/index.php). Unlike anything I've ever done, and, as it turns out, hiking is fun. Also had a 40 foot cliff jump, rapelling, body sliding through the river. We visited the Castillo de San Cristobal, which is one of their two forts built in the 1700s. It was amazing in its size. A must visit. Seemed about 10x the size of Castillo de San Marcos in St Augustine. Also, the Zika scare is non existent in Puerto Rico, regardless of what the media may have you think. Everyone we talked to about it said neither they, nor anyone else they know, have contracted Zika (other mosquito borne illnesses, sure, but not Zika). I didn't get bit once the whole trip, but my gf got touched up to the tune of ~10 bites. She is in Ohio now trying to get a blood test done but is running into some issues as it seems the medical professionals of NE Ohio have never heard of Zika, or at the very least do not know how to test for it. Lastly, Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico >>>>>>> Puerto Ricans in Orlando. Night and day difference. TL;DR Puerto Rico is awesome and its people are even better Now to go formulate a business plan for bike rental in San Juan. My GF and I want to move there. Oh, and PR is basically considered a state as it pertains to cell phone usage. No penalty for data, texting, or calls. Came in very handy.
All, My friend and I cannot compromise on European destinations. We have both (currently) settled on Amsterdam, but the second location is still up for grabs. He said Rome, I said Prague or Vienna and he does not want that. Maybe Scandinavian country? I've already been to both London and Paris. Anyone have suggestions where is the trip is relatively affordable?
sounds like you were in Candado/Ocean Park? that's where I stayed in April. same sentiments here, really liked PR ...
it was not on my dime, but i wouldnt view Vienna as cheap. again, not on my dime, but Prague gave me that impression. i would try to convince him to go there ...
UA/DL/AA have some crazy low european fare sales right now. UA's end in the next few days. I'm eying a Houston>Amsterdam in early december for $655. They also have an Austin>Oslo for under $700 as well.
More details for those in texas https://escapehouston.com/9644/cheap-flights-texas-europe-ua-star/ Here’s the list of cities we’re seeing on sale: $563 – Dublin (DUB) $704 – London (LON) $690 – Paris (PAR) $656 – Amsterdam (AMS) $695 – Prague (PRG) $646 – Madrid (MAD) $642 – Barcelona (BCN) $687 – Lisbon (LIS) $677 – Rome (FCO) $714 – Berlin (TXL) $723 – Frankfurt (FRA) $684 – Athens (ATH) $684 – Budapest (BUD) $661 – Warsaw (WAW) $705 – Vienna (VIE) $671 – Zürich (ZRH) $716 – Manchester, UK (MAN) $712 – Birmingham, UK (BHX) $706 – Edinburgh, UK (EDI) $709 – Milan (MXP) $667 – Ibiza (IBZ) $723 – Málaga (AGP) $663 – Venice (VCE) $642 – Oslo (OSL) $709 – Hamburg (HAM) $643 – Copenhagen (COP) $693 – Helsinki (HEL) $667 – Brussels (BRU) $668 – Sofia (SOF) $692 – Casablanca, Morocco (CMN) [Northern Africa] United and ANA are offering open-jaw flights that depart from Houston (IAH) into either Singapore (SIN), Bangkok (BKK), or Manila (MNL), but fly back out of Jakarta (CGK) for about $538. Best Flights are in November. There are also flights available in September and October, but the return requires either a long layover or an expensive ground transfer between HND-NRT. Keep in mind that you’ll need to add a one way flight to Jakarta (CGK) in order to catch your flight back home to Houston. For example, you’ll need to buy a one-way ticket from Singapore to Jakarta if you fly into Singapore which will cost about $35 to $75 depending on the carrier and time. https://escapehouston.com/9637/cheap-flight-houston-singapore-bangkok-manila-jakarta-ua-ana/
Scandanavia I wouldn't really consider affordable. A couple places that come to mind- Warsaw, Budapest, Dublin, Barcelona/spanish islands. Really depends, how old are you, what are you looking to do and single or not.
Will have a much fuller report when I'm back. London, Salzburg, and Munich are done and on to Budapest. Biggest two day headache of my life to get to London though. Long story that I'll post when I get back but cliffs are wife's passport stolen day before our trip, Norwegian cancelling a flight last second and then taking forever to reschedule To then have that delayed. For more fun sat on the run way for 3 hours on our way to Salzburg with Ryanair. With all that said trip so far has been awesome and all 3 cities are incredible.
Anyone done all inclusive in the Carribean with little ones? Doing a trip in January with the 2 year old and 5 year old. Need recommendations for kid friendly resorts.
I had a weird American accent moment today. I'd always wondered what English sounds like to a non-English speaker and today, at a museum in France, the front desk greeter asked where I'm from. I said England since that's where my trip started. She said "No no, you're not English; all your words are dadadadadadadadadada all together. Not from England". Interesting insight. My Arabic teachers back in the day said similar things.
Any west coasters ever used jetsuite x before? Flying down to to SoCal for a wedding this summer and was trying to coordinate flights with some friends down there. Wife found out about it from another friend and just booked it. It's basically just a public/private charter and it costs less than $200 round trip from the bay area. Was wondering if anyone had experience with them https://x.jetsuite.com/
First day in amalfi has been awesome Never realized there were so many mountains in Italy. Riding to the Amalfi Coast from Napoli was awesome We have to walk 300 steps to our airbnb from the road It's so windy and the roads a narrow driving through the amalfi coast, Idk how there aren't 100 car accidents a day Had some awesome pizza at le palme
The points guy just posted a review on it. http://thepointsguy.com/2016/06/jetsuitex-e135-economy-review/ Seems like they're marketing themselves as a private jet experience but based off this review it seems like its far from it. More a nicer economy experience with the benefit of going out of a smaller airport. Wouldn't be disappointed at it for $200 though.
Update: after a 10 minute appointment earlier, I am now done. Took all 10 fingerprints and scanned my passport. asked me if I had been arrested detained or w/e. I'll get a global entry card in the mail in two weeks, but basically my known traveller ID gives me the magic with TSA precheck and my passport is flagged as being a global entry eligible one. they didn't ask me what I do, why I travel, how often I travel or anything. it was very straightforward and easy. Note: at Austin, they don't have walk ups.
Yeah, it was cheaper than anything from SFO/OAK and flying out of Concord should be really easy. The review sounds solid, so I'm glad we booked
Has anyone figured out a way to pay for AirAsia flights without incurring a credit card fee? We're using it for our flights around Thailand and it's like $15 which is almost as much as the flight costs.
Why would you tell someone in a foreign country you're from England? You're from the states man, you know that's what they meant.
Wish mine could be that easy. Got conditionally approved today and the earliest Denver appointment available is over Thanksgiving weekend. Then the next available isn't until like March or something. Fucking absurd. Makes me want to road trip 13 hours round trip to Albuquerque. Anyone think that's worth it or have other suggestions for me? None of the 7ish airports I'll be in from July- lSeptember have anything available for me.
dredging of Canaveral now means on the oasis of the seas feb 2017 . nice just ate a 30+ oz porterhouse for 2 . best steak I've had in 3-4 years , since berns in tampa .
I doubt that is what someone in France was talking about. Just seems weird to say you're from England in that situation. Carry on with your trip and updates good sir.
Grenoble France is super gorgeous. It's in a valley in the French alps so it's surrounded by mountains, and has a great old castle/fort that you ride a cable car up to. My brother is a fan of graffiti art and there's some great graffiti murals here. The French have been universally polite, friendly, and helpful so far. VERY forgiving of "I don't speak French, I'm sorry". We're riding to Marseille tomorrow and then Genoa by way of Monocco the next day.
Vienna is stinky. paris is strange .round bathrooms multi-sex. pompay is cool , Amsterdam is cool , Lisbon had the best seafood . Madrid had the most blonds . London was ok didn't like the warm beer .rome was depressing Mykonos was girls who buttfuck .
keep checking the appointment book, figure out the days they do appointments (austin is only a few days a month) and then call that morning and inquire if they have any cancellations.
What area are you staying in? Buona forcetta in south park is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. Padres game is always fun to do, I believe theyre in town. North park is a good area for bar hopping if you're not into the hustle and bustle of downtown. Some great breweries to see. Ballast point has a good tasting room in little italy. Love modern times as well. If its warm enough, obviously the beach is a good option. Coronado is a good area for that. Can grab a drink at the hotel del.
We're staying in the Point Loma area. We definitely plan on going to a few of the breweries in town and checking out the gaslamp district. I believe were going to Pacific Beach tomorrow.
Ok so I'm off to Amsterdam this Friday, then Paris three days later. Little worried about Paris being underwater right now and all, but fuck it I guess. It's not my first time so I won't be totally devastated if the louvre is closed, but wonder what flooded out France will be like
after you pass the square by the diamond factory . go down the street( hill ) turn to the right and look in the picture windows . by the cheese store is a bistro ask them to see the menue and ask for a coke . . milky way forever . word !
Apparently the "don't let your dog crap wherever and if it does pick it up" law is either nonexistent or unenforced in Marseille because there is dog shit EVERYWHERE. Dinner was amazing. I had giant prawns, clams, muscles, oysters, and (I think) conch. The place was called the Messena Cafe if you're ever here. The riders here are insane. There's ~10million motorcycles and scooters here and about 99% of the riders have no protective gear other than a helmet, whipping thru traffic at 50mph. We're going thru Nice/Mococo and then taking the coast road to Ganoa, Italy tomorrow. I'm gunna try to find salami.
Shit I just saw this. A bunch of my family lives out there and my uncle is invested in numerous restaurants there. Could have gave you some solid recs.