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

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

  1. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    How long?
     
  2. Menelaus

    Menelaus The Red-Haired King
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    Anyone been to Montego Bay in Jamaica? Got invited to a wedding there in October at an incredible resort. Direct flights out of NYC make it tempting...
     
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  3. Capstone 88

    Capstone 88 Going hard in the paint
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    I'm going to Runaway Bay Friday flying into Montego. That does nothing to help you, though.
     
  4. Wywan Bwowna

    Wywan Bwowna Wywan Bwowna
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    I did a Spain trip with my family about 2 years ago. Here's a little write up:

    Day 1: Arrive in Madrid at 7 AM, check into hotel (Atlantico Madrid) and walk around Madrid to see different plazas and palaces. Ate tapas at place near hotel that was recommended
    Day 2: Explored Madrid more. Did a tour of the Royale Palace and had a personal tour guide that drove us around the city to see various sites
    Day 3: Day trip to Toledo on the train. Had a personal tour guide in Toledo. Toledo is really interesting as it was once the hoe of the court of the Holy Roman Emperor. Went to a Bullfight at Plaza de Toros that night. A ton of gore, but very worth seeing. The King of Spain was there the night we were, so it was quite a show. Get there early and see the rich people tailgating dressed like its the Derby.
    Day 4: Pack up and leave Madrid. Train to Cordoba. Get to Cordoba around 11 AM and check into hotel in the Jewish Quarters. See the Cordoba Mosque and walk around the historic city center and Alcazar.
    Day 5: Eat breakfast in Cordoba and walk round the town a little more. Pack up and catch train to Granada at 11AM. Check into the hotel, grab a quick lunch and then have a personal tour of the Alhambra. (Our tour guide didnt who up, so the 60 year old owner of the company gave us the tour. It was incredible the amount of knowledge this lady had.) We stayed in the Palacio de Santa Ines which has an incredible view of the Alhambra at night.
    Day 6: Pack up and take early train to Seville. Walk around Seville and see the Cathedral and other historic sites. Apparently flamenco shows originated in Seville, so we went to one that night. It was a pretty cool experience. A ton of passion in their dancing
    Day 7: Pick up car at Seville train station and begin driving portion of trip. Drive to Cadiz. Take the rest of the day pretty easy walking around the town and enjoying drinks on the beach.
    Day 8: Pack up and drive to Lagos. check into hotel and then go into town for lunch. Did the cave/lagoon tours? I dont know what its actually called, but the water and rock features around here are amazing.
    Day 9: Drive to Sagres. Again, take the day easy just enjoying drinks on the beach. Both here and in Lagos we got some really good local food. Both were small towns and we just asked the locals for recommendations. Had some of the best white wine I've ever had at some hole in the wall in Lagos.
    Day 10: Drive to Lisbon airport to drop off car and taxi to hotel. Explore around the hotel the rest of the day.
    Day 11: Personal driver who took us up to Sintra, the Pena Palace, Cascais and then to Cabo de roca. Pretty cool seeing those sites with someone who knws so kuch about them. Dude claimed that he drove Slick Willy back when he was president. Don't believe him. But again, we lucked out and got the owner of the specific company we were using.
    Day 12: Fly back to the US
    I'm sure I have forgotten some things, so If you have any specific questions, just ask.
     
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  5. Wywan Bwowna

    Wywan Bwowna Wywan Bwowna
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    My friends and I rented this house in college http://www.dreamcastlevilla.com/


    What do you want to know?
     
  6. Menelaus

    Menelaus The Red-Haired King
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  7. 47 straight

    47 straight Well-Known Member
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    I went about 10 years ago. Stayed at the all inclusive resort pretty much the whole time so I doubt I can help much but I loved it.
     
  8. Dillingham

    Dillingham Well-Known Member
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    Would love to hear more on your planning for Africa. Spending two weeks in Uganda/Kenya/Rwanda and want to spend another week somewhere after that. I agree South Africa would be worth its own trip so I'm curious to hear more about Tanzania/Zambia or other suggestions on how to spend that next week before returning to US
     
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  9. bwi2

    bwi2 Not affiliated with BWI
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    This is awesome, thanks. If you had to choose one of Córdoba, Granada, and Sevilla, which would you do?
     
  10. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Seville is awesome. Really loved the Punta umbria area south of there as well.
     
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  11. Wywan Bwowna

    Wywan Bwowna Wywan Bwowna
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    Yeah it was pretty absurd. It came with a full housekeeping staff, a driver, a chef and a "gardener" who just sat in his shack and smoked all day.

    We didnt really do a ton outside of hang at that house and 2 others that out friends had rented in the area and go to the beach during the day. The driver that came with our house warned us to be very careful when not at the house or on the paid-access beach. He always had a pistol on him and would freak the fuck out if someone not in our group got too near his van. We never had any actual issues, but thats probably because this guy put the fear of god in us. We only went out to bars that we had rented out, along with a group of people from UNC and UVA. So, cant give a ton of information on that.

    I know that Round Hill is incredible, but cant give you too much more information that I gave above.
     
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  12. Open Carry

    Open Carry TMB Rib Master
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    I stayed at the sandals Montego Bay a few years ago. It was my first all inclusive experience and I thoroughly enjoyed the open bars. The food was mediocre though and I got bored a few days in.
     
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  13. Open Carry

    Open Carry TMB Rib Master
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    5/31-6/18
    2 nights in Copenhagen
    4 nights Berlin
    2 nights bad Schandau
    4 nights Prague
    4 nights Amsterdam
    1 night Copenhagen
    2 nights Reykjavik
     
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  14. Wywan Bwowna

    Wywan Bwowna Wywan Bwowna
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    It probably depends on what you're looking for. I really enjoyed the area around Grenada because the city center is down in a valley on a small river with hillsides going up in both directions. Not too much to see other than the Alhambra, but it really was cool.

    [​IMG]

    Cordoba, again, had more of a small town feel to it compared to Seville, but that may just be because Seville's main city center seems more Americanized with the wider streets and the streetcar. The Great Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba is another great site to visit. But, is pretty much the main attraction in the town, from what we saw. I think Seville would probably have the most to do.

    All this being said, we were constantly on the move, so we didnt really have time to check out everything that these cities had to offer. So, I'm probably missing a bunch.
     
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  15. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    I'm sad I can't really take advantage of those cheap Europe trips

    But Denver and NOLA being checked off the list this month is exciting
     
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  16. Menelaus

    Menelaus The Red-Haired King
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    I thought Cordoba was boring. Grenada is a must IMO
     
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  17. Wywan Bwowna

    Wywan Bwowna Wywan Bwowna
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    I would rank them

    Grenada
    Seville
    Córdoba


    I really liked the hotel we stayed at in Córdoba so that's probably why I liked that city more than most. We stayed in the old Jewish quarters in a hotel that had combined like 6 16th century homes. Tons of little walkways and courtyards around the hotel.
     
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  18. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Córdoba has a smaller town feel because it's a lot smaller than Seville. Seville city alone is over a million and the whole place is walkable. It's cool to be in a city that size and not need any other transportation really
     
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  19. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Tha National Park South of Seville down by Punta umbria is fucking awesome. Gorgeous empty beaches and all sorts of animals.
     
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  20. Menelaus

    Menelaus The Red-Haired King
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    If you're going to use an accent on Cordoba, at least spell it Sevilla instead of Seville.
     
  21. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    I always type Sevilla but my phone likes Seville. So then I end up using both like an idiot
     
  22. racer

    racer Yuma, where I work in software.
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    Let me ask a sort of dumb question, as this will be my first real international trip...
    I fly Chicago to Norway, connecting in Copenhagen. No checked luggage. US Passports.
    Both are Schengen counties. Denmark is EU, but Norway isn't.

    What should I expect regarding immigration and customs in this scenario?
     
  23. Wywan Bwowna

    Wywan Bwowna Wywan Bwowna
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    iPhone autocorrects the accent onto Cordoba. Not my intentional doing
     
  24. Menelaus

    Menelaus The Red-Haired King
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    Your apologies are accepted. For now.
     
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  25. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    No worries. You wont have to go thru immigration until you get to your ultimate destination in your final stop
     
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  26. Open Carry

    Open Carry TMB Rib Master
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    That wasn't my experience last time I went to Europe. We were flying to Munich with a connection in Madrid. We had to go through immigration in Madrid and ended up missing our flight.

    You should be fine because your flight to Norway will be considered outside schengen so you shouldn't have to go through immigration in Copenhagen.
     
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  27. g8r

    g8r Well-Known Member
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    Just got back from there a couple weeks ago what are you wanting to know?
     
  28. NC Wolfpack

    NC Wolfpack Go Pack Go
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    Going to Paris in 30 days. Definitely gonna utilize a few of your recommendations.
     
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  29. Cousin Eddie

    Cousin Eddie Lookin for the place called Lee Ho Fook's
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    Is there any negative consequences from skipping the second leg of a flight? For instance if I'm flying Atlanta to Amsterdam to Berlin, can I just leave the airport in Amsterdam and not board the second flight? I shouldn't have anybody checked bags and I have a German passport so I should be good right?
     
  30. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    Since a few years ago airlines have tried to cut down on this. You risk losing frequent flier miles or being bared from flying with them in the future, but if its an airline that you don't fly often or don't have miles with and its only a one way ticket go for it. If its round trip and its the first leg they will cancel your return. For a first time, probably nothing will happen. People who do it habitually tend to get banned.
     
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  31. GoodForAnother

    GoodForAnother I’d rather be down the allotment
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    Park Hyatt is v tempting. I have four vouchers and enough points to do it. I don't have status with them tho

    Just gonna do a week in Paris. We did five nights in Rome and never ran out of stuff to do, I assume Paris will be the same way. May try to day trip to the d day beaches if we can
     
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  32. Menelaus

    Menelaus The Red-Haired King
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    Right on. Sounds dope. We are doing Paris - Lyon - Avignon - Baux des Provence - Cassis - Marseille. So excited.
     
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  33. Doc Louis

    Doc Louis Well-Known Member
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    Going there in a few weeks, this is pretty helpful
     
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  34. Open Carry

    Open Carry TMB Rib Master
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    As PJP3 said, if you booked a round trip flight, they'll probably cancel your return ticket.
     
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  35. racer

    racer Yuma, where I work in software.
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    This

    Cousin Eddie
     
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  36. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Lax is a shit fuck airport
     
  37. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    16 banks for us citizens

    2 spots being used.

    Line of like 300 ppl.

    Y'all literally know how many ppl are arriving each day and at what times. Staffing should be easy.

    Started just ramming ppl through global entry. Stupid.

    Oh, you have a connection after a intl arrival? Yeah, that's going to be a 1.4 mile walk to the other terminals. Dick fucked idiots shit design.
     
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  38. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
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    Came into LAX from Sydney. About five international flights all landing around 7AM. It was a goddamn nightmare. Had two hours to get to my connecting flight. Made it by 15 minutes. That walk to the domestic terminals is a joke.
     
  39. bwi2

    bwi2 Not affiliated with BWI
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    Did y'all not see the bus that runs once every half hour to take you between terminals?
     
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  40. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Yeah I had to go to Terminal 6. It was far as fuck. Y'all got a fucking train?

    I've never been at CBP for more than 10 minutes in Atlanta. LAX was a train wreck. Cmon trump.
     
  41. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
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    I didn't get a train. Think I had to go to terminal 7? Idk. It was United.

    Not sure where I'll fly back into when I end this Europe trip, but it'll most likely be Newark/Chicago. I know it won't be LAX, which is all that matters.
     
  42. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    I was asking LAX about the train as a joke.

    It's pathetic
     
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  43. FriendsofJtyler

    FriendsofJtyler I strenuously object
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    Boom. Just booked flights to Kauai for June. Some people may know this but British Airways has a distance based award program. So what I did was search for award availability on American from LAX to Kauai (been doing it for a few weeks now periodically). Saw availability for the dates I wanted (it was 25k each way each person).

    Then I went to the British Airways site, searched for award travel for those dates and boom two seats were open on American. Transferred 50,000 points from my Chase account and booked two tickets. Only 50,000 Avios instead of the 100k it would've cost booking through American. :smug:
     
  44. racer

    racer Yuma, where I work in software.
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    There is (maybe it's over now idk) a sweet sale on the Avios shopping site that was like 160/$ to sign up for match.com or eharmony. $500 gets you close to 90k and with their award chart it pays off huge.
     
  45. dahldennsull

    dahldennsull Living in the best state
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    Wife and I did Europe last year and did a leg of Munich, 3 nights, Salzburg 2, Austria 2, so went right through this window.

    Salzburg ended up being one of our favorite cities in the whole trip. It's small but is GORGEOUS has tons of history, doesn't feel touristy and has cool stuff to do. We actually did the Berchtesgarden/Eagle's Nest tour from here, so it was a much shorter drive. I HIGHLY recommend Eagle's nest tour, the history is crazy, and you aren't going to see a view like that anywhere. We got super lucky on the weather so we could see forever (pic attached).

    We took the Panorama tour out of Salzberg for the Eagle's Nest/Berchtesgarden, and it was organized and well run. Lots of good views, plenty of time at the stops and got a good lunch in the town. LINK

    Definitely recommend the Neuschwanstein tour out of Munich. Do this Mike's Bike Tours (Link, Trip Advisor). Every detail is taken care of from the trip to/from, a bike ride around the quaint town to some spectacular views of the area and lakes, to ordering lunch on the trip out so it's ready when you finish your bike tour. He even goes to the castle and gets your tickets (dished out in 5 min increments so some have to wait) and you arrive at the castle right on time. Brad is the tour guide and lives in the village full time, so his knowledge and entertainment are hard to beat.

    How many nights are you going to be in Munich? If you can steal a night or 2, I would highly recommend staying in Salzburg, I can recommend more things to do/places to eat if you are going to be there longer. But if not, those are the 2 that I would highlight.
     
  46. NC Wolfpack

    NC Wolfpack Go Pack Go
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    I agree with the Salzburg recommendation. Been once with family and once with friends and had a great time.
     
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  47. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    My body is shutting down :(

    Imma eat a big ass burrito and pass out for the day.
     
  48. Room 15

    Room 15 Mi equipo esta Los Tigres
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    Probably said it before but happy you pulled the trigger on this and didn't let solo travel scare you off. You're going to have the time of your life.
     
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  49. Open Carry

    Open Carry TMB Rib Master
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    I decided I was going to do it back in January. I told a friend of mine that if he wanted to come he was welcome, I would be going either way even if he said no. He immediately said yes as long as we could work it around both of our schedules and fortunately it was able to work out. So y'all encouraging me to go by myself was good, and I got a friend to join along with me on what is essentially the same trip I would have done had I gone by myself. Except now I can do more since we'll be splitting some expenses(car rentals mainly).
     
  50. FriendsofJtyler

    FriendsofJtyler I strenuously object
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    Nvm
     
    #8700 FriendsofJtyler, Apr 13, 2017
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2017