The New Travel Thread: Now with write ups in the OP

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Jax Teller, Apr 8, 2015.

  1. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    Also look into Guest List (hottest chicks) and Bungalow Ball... That's what a buddy of mine just said were the best 2.
     
  2. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    July 1-5: Rio
    July 5/6: Iguazu Falls
    July 6-10: Buenos Aires

    [​IMG]

    Delta has redeyes from ATL-->Rio and from BA-->ATL. Very convenient, $900 from New Orleans.

    Always gotta have something planned
     
  3. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    great trip. Id suggest staying in the palermo area of Buenos Aires. Most of the hostels are downtown and its shitty over there. Everyone goes out in palermo at night.
     
  4. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    Thanks, I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions when it gets closer. Both cities look incredible.

    Already contacted Maria, who I met in Peru. She lives in Rio.

    hell yes
     
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  5. StevieJanowski

    StevieJanowski Owner of a rug that really ties the room together
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    I'm traveling to Lisbon, Portugal in mid-May for an invited talk. Never been to Portugal or anywhere in Europe.

    Appreciate any advice folks have for the Lisbon area.

    Also was looking at the Euro to USD exchange rate and noticed Euro is really low right now. Those of you that travel to Europe more frequently- is it a good time to grab some Euros at Wells Fargo while the exchange rate is low? Do you think the potential interest rate hike by fed soon will impact that exchange rate much? tia :respek:
     
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  6. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    I was in Lisbon last year during the World Cup and I was neutral on it. They weren't very happy to see us eliminate them in the World Cup so I can understand their anger. Plus we had bad weather.

    The near-unanimous agreement is that Lisbon has the best hostels in the world. I stayed at Home Lisbon which is easily the best hostel I've ever stayed at
     
  7. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
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    I'm wanting you to hurry up and go to BA so you can rank it against Peru for me. I still have the time off in March but haven't booked anything yet - leaning toward Peru. Medillion (few posts above) was just an impulse buy on my part.
     
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  8. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    I was there for 2 days last January. Didn't get to see a whole hell of a lot, but a few recommendations:
    -go to Pasteis de Belem (http://www.pasteisdebelem.pt/en.html), it's an awesome pastry/bakery shop that's been in Lisbon since the 1850s. Their pastries are sort of a staple of the city (so I was told), very good, too. Belem : Lisbon :: Beignets : NOLA
    -Around Belem is a very cool courtyard and castle, worth walking around. There are castles and monuments all over the city, enjoyed just strolling around.
    -The main port, where all the boats used to leave from in the 1600s, is really cool. All in the downtown area, in all honesty it was really cool just walking around downtown, taking their trolly cars, and seeing various landmarks.
    -get dinner one night at Cervejaria Ramiro, very good seafood spot (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...-Lisbon_Lisbon_District_Central_Portugal.html). Every type of seafood you can think of, all caught locally. Highly recommend.
     
  9. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    those were v tasty. we had a long line but it was worth it. I think they're cash only if I remember correctly
     
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  10. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    For the record, I can definitely tell you that it's a hell of a lot cheaper to get to Lima than Rio or BA. Aren't you in South Florida? JetBlue out of Fort Lauderdale has so many great deals to northern South America.
     
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  11. Marty Kaan

    Marty Kaan By any means necessary
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    I think most of my travel monies will be going to skiing this year
     
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  12. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    all I want in life is a search engine that I can say "HEY I want to go somewhere warm from one of these three airports on one of these days to these days" without it being a fucking hassle
     
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  13. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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    Think most people expect the Euro to drop a little more next month with the rate increase and will have a slight recovery in early part of next year. Would expect it to be somewhere around the same spot when you go. Pretty sure you end up paying a fare amount more by getting the Euro here vs. when you arrive in Europe.
     
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  14. Druce

    Druce Fuck football.
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    A couple europe questions.

    1. What is the best site to get train tickets?

    2. What is the best way to get from Florence to Barcelona? We wanted to do a night train but I can't find anything online.
     
  15. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    I see ads for this feature on kayak, but never actually seen it in action
     
  16. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    I've used raileurope before. Tickets at the train station tend to be significantly cheaper than online though, but I guess you are risking they will sell out, especially if you are looking for a sleeper car. Never had that problem personally, would just go to the train station the day before traveling and buy a ticket. Was usually about 30-50% less than I would have paid online.
     
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  17. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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    This site has been very helpful for me for train questions:
    http://www.seat61.com/index.html
     
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  18. Druce

    Druce Fuck football.
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    Based on that site it doesn't appear that there is a night train from Florence to Barcelona. Might just have to fly I guess.
     
  19. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Lots of good deals to basically everywhere today
     
  20. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    anywhere good for christmas/nye for us?
     
  21. dahldennsull

    dahldennsull Living in the best state
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    did Rome->Valencia back in the day and did a flight, super short and could get cheap ones.
     
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  22. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Nah most of the stuff is for the first 6-9 months of next year
     
  23. CTownND

    CTownND Well-Known Member
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    I flew from Venice to Barcelona a couple summers ago. I think it was a Vueling flight direct and cost me like $75.

    I would just fly instead of worrying about a train that may save a few bucks but take much longer. The handful of European airports I've in have all been fine.
     
  24. Det. Frank Bullitt

    Det. Frank Bullitt God Bless Texas
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    I think i'm in a position where the trains and flights cannot help me for this upcoming week.

    I wrap up in Dortmund at 10pm on Thu night.

    I need to get to Vienna by Fri at 9am.

    Not going to pay $600 for a flight and cannot find a reasonable (time) train. Most have 2+ connections, some from the above links take 9-13 hours.

    I'm thinking about renting a car to go from Dortmund> Dusseldorf and then hoping on a flight from Dusseldorf > Vienna, but I really don't want to rent a car for 65 minutes of use.

    What am I not thinking of here? I'm operating under the assumption that the Google Flight tool (which includes trains) is comprehensive in terms of getting me all options for the cities in question. (Dortmund>Vienna with a transfer or two likely required).

    Vienna in December should be magical. I just can't have travel derail that.
     
  25. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
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    only deal I really see

    Seattle, WA (SEA)Beijing, China (PEK)$586
     
  26. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
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    New York-Kennedy, NY (JFK)Dublin, Ireland (DUB)$560
     
  27. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
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    was looking to book a trip via Southwest to Boston during my Spring Break .... March 7th-11th plus that weekend... was about to pull the trigger and thought to look up when Boston actually does most of their St. Patty's day stuff... turns out they do it after the actual holiday (which is March 17th).... AKA their parade and shit is on March 20th, a Saturday. So instead of going during my spring break, a week before the holiday and all their shit, we are now going for the actual festivities. Luckily, I don't have Friday classes so all I have to do is miss 2 Thursday classes.


    Also, was about to book the tickets on Southwest for 2.... and decided to search for 1 person flights... and found the same ticket for a 7 PM flight (direct flight) for 59 dollars... 30 dollars off what I was about to pay for it. And on Southwest, you choose where you sit, so I don't have to buy them together for my g/f and I to sit together.

    TLDR, I am going to Boston Wednesday Night - Sunday for 142 dollars round trip from Nashville. I will be there for St. Patty's Day on Thursday and all the weekend shit. Have a super early flight Sunday. Hangover city.
     
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  28. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
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    so if anyone has any Boston tips (especially St. Patty's day), let me know
     
  29. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    #Airfare Deal: [DL] San Francisco / Washington D.C. - Milan, Italy. $467 r/t. Details: https://t.co/HKNPXRSQe8 #travel
     
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  30. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Contemplating doing that one
     
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  31. BP

    BP Bout to Regulate.
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    Yes, need something like that yyz deals site for major airports, PHX being one of them.
     
  32. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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    Anyone heard of this or tried it:
    https://www.tepwireless.com/wifi/europe/

    Basically your own hotspot that you can rent for like $10 a day. Not sure how necessary it is, for some you guys that have to keep up with work it might really be. It would be nice to have internet access though so I might look into it.
     
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  33. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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  34. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    Good idea, but maybe a little late. I've never had a problem finding WiFi anywhere in Europe. But I bet this would be real popular with college students that want to post every second to social media, and the businessman like you said.

    Would be real good for more remote places like portions of SE Asia or parts of S America.
     
  35. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    They're pretty popular in Asia. Had one come with airbnbs when I was in Japan. It's pretty nice to have because you can look stuff up like directions while you're walking around without having to go into a restaurant or cafe and ask for a wifi password. Also really helped keeping in touch with people because you could always send imessages or use whats app while you were out.
     
  36. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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  37. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
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    Re: Medellin

    As it turns out I will only be there for 48 hours, not 3 days. I'm thinking no day trip anywhere. Friday night go out in Pablo by hostel. Saturday do the ski lift ride. Get off ski lift and explore. Saturday night maybe try an area called Calle 70. Sunday walk around a little more.
     
  38. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    I'd either do Pablo and the rock on Saturday or work in paragliding. Can still do paragliding and the cable cars
     
  39. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    By ski lift do you mean the cable car? At the top is a parque Arvi. Less to explore than you would think. We spent an hour tops up there. Not really a whole day type trip. I don't know anything about Calle 70, but many areas of Medellin are not safe at night so I would check about that first. I know Zona Rosa is the safest area, but there was still a knife point mugging of a few tourists while at the bridge over the river by our hostel while I was there.
     
  40. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
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    I think there is a different stop from the cable car that has more going on. And lol at the mugging, I'm starting to get relieved I'll only be there a few nights.
     
  41. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    There isn't, you and your girlfriend aren't going to want to walk around that area, even in day light
     
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  42. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    You take the cable car up to the top of the favelas, where you get off to transfer to another cable car that takes you up to the parque if I remember correctly. We did get off at the mid stop to see the library, but I'm pretty comfortable in most places and I felt a little unsafe walking around that area in the daylight. Seemed like everyone was staring at us and a group of kids were heckling us. We were there about 10 min before we hurried out of there.
     
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  43. Det. Frank Bullitt

    Det. Frank Bullitt God Bless Texas
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    itinerary finalized.

    Leverkusen>Dortmund>Dusseldorf>Vienna>Brno>Prague and flying out of amsterdam. see you guys in 2 weeks.
     
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  44. southside

    southside Well-Known Member
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    The difference of fearing for your safety between Medellín and bogota is like the difference between the suburbs and the south side of Chicago. Don't think I'll ever go back to bogota and stay in la candeleria
     
  45. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    Really? Was it that bad?

    I was looking at flights when I was bored because of how cheap + short it is to get to Columbia, and the cheapest ones are always to Bogota. You would not recommend?
     
  46. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Can always go to bogota then fly elsewhere for like 50 bucks
     
  47. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    No doubt, but thought the capital would be worth checking out.

    From wikitravel (which I use a ton, by the way, to get orientated with places, highly recommend):
    Damn

    Will probably stick to Medellin and Cartagena when I go
     
  48. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Use uber, that's all we did in Medellin. They don't have it in cart but you can walk pretty much everywhere and when you don't feel like walking a taxi is fine
     
  49. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Where are you looking at flying from where Bogota is usually the cheapest? If it's easy to get to FLL for you, medellin and cart are both always cheap direct from there. Flight short as fuck too