I've never been to Hawaii, but these were the best beaches I've ever stopped foot on. Particularly Petite Anse, clear warm water, soft sand, and cool rock formations.
What was your route from the US? Spend the entire time on the island(s)? Seych is high on my list, but would want to combine it with Madagascar/Mozambique/etc
US to Switz overnight lay over (something like 22 hours so we chilled in Lucerne for a night), Switz to Nairobi, Nairobi bus down to Arusha Tanzania, then a week long safari at the Serengeti/Ngorongoro/etc, then Nairobi to the Seychelles, Seychelles to South Africa, SA to NY/Boston, Boston to Belize, then Belize home.
I’m going to Africa again next year, and I dont give a fuck about the price, I’m getting on the nonstop Delta flight from ATL-JoBurg.
I'm not sure if I'll go back again in my lifetime. We did a good job taking off the top 3 things we wanted to do there, the remaining things I would want to do there aren't as high as certain places I haven't been to on my list. That and its a real pain in the ass to get to from the west coast.
this is the biggest barrier to going on a safari trip, not to mention economy on a 15-16hr trip is rooough except the whole safaris ALSO being pretty expensive
Depends on how you want to do it, we camped and it was about $1200 with tip per person for us for 5 days (too many in my opinion). The flights thing is brutal no matter how you dice it but if I had to do it again I'd have a longer layover in Europe.
Safaris really aren't bad. You spend as much or more per night on hotels all over the developed world without an included safari iyam
Take the gondola up Grouse Mountain and eat dinner up there. The food isn't anything special, but you won't get a better view of the city. I can't recommend this enough. They also have an exhibit with bears, which is cool. They were sleeping, but we were able to get like 8 feet from them. Gastown is ... interesting. Basically a neighborhood that's in the process of being gentrified. We ate at Pidgin, which was fantastic, but was like right across the street to what my girlfriend and I started calling Vancouver's Hamsterdam because there were literally crack deals going down on the other side of the window. It was a sketchy walk back (Vancouver doesn't have Lyft/Uber, so be prepared for that. Lots of cabs though, but you might have to call the cab company ahead of time to get a driver). Rent a bike near Denman Street and ride down Beach Avenue down to Granville Island (touristy but cool). The Lynn Canyon suspension bridge isn't as long or cool as the Capilano suspension bridge, but it's free and Lynn Canyon is a cool place to do some easy hiking.
agree on Gastown. Saw a congregation of about 500 homeless people and drug deals turning the wrong corner. I guess Vancouver has some serious issues
Yeah. We had to step into the road because some dude was high and just writhing around on the ground on the sidewalk.
Also you could go to Deep Cove and rent a kayak and liesurely paddle around and see some cool scenery.
Know exactly what/where yall are talking about—super rough. Ive always thought of that as more Chinatown, but it’s right on the edge where the borders start to blur. Worse than anything I’ve seen in Seattle or Portland.
I'll post pics if people request them. So we flew into Calgary. Then drove to Jasper first. The Icefields parkway, the interstate pretty much from Jasper to Lake Louise, is amazing. I'd download the gypsy app and have him talk to you about history, hikes, places to pullover, and the mountains generally. Saw a fair amount of wildlife just doing the drives. Hiking was awesome. Between Banff, Lake Louise, Yoho, and Jasper, there are no shortages of amazing hikes. Some of the best hikes we did were along the Parkway and away from major locations. That isn't to say that there isn't great hiking in and around Jasper/Banff. Anywho, we planned this kind of late. We did not camp. In Jasper, they have a public run Air BnB with its own website. We stayed in a home's basement suite. Was perfect for us. We stayed in hotels in all the other towns. A lot were booked up. We had some good experiences and some average ones. Camping - We have not gotten too deep into camping yet. However, all along the Icefields Parkway, there are different camping sites, right off the road. They looked awesome and most were near a gorgeous lake. I'd recommend doing that. RVs - We rented a car (and randomly got upgraded to an SUV), but a ton of people rented small RVs (Canadream). This seemed like an awesome idea. Jasper - cool town. Probably worse than Banff for drinking and eating, but it felt slightly less touristy and crowded. There were less hotels/apartments. Definitely much smaller than Banff, but almost in a good way. Makes your vacation seem more of a secret, while Banff makes you feel like a tourist mob. I can give individual recommendations for hikes and eating if needed. Banff - Banff is fine. The old hotel and lake are very cool. It is near a bunch of hikes. But the town itself kinda sucks. Tons of places to eat and drink but so many chains and people visiting who aren't hiking. Canmore - inbetween Calgary and Banff (but much closer to Banff). Enjoyed staying in this town. Larger than Jasper but less annoying than Banff. Lake Louise - stayed in Lake Louise to be close to the Tea Hikes. But be warned there really is no "town." I'd camp near here if I could. When planning a trip, consider starting in one place, and hiking/camping your way down. I'd stay in Jasper. But I'd just spend a few hours in Banff. Otherwise, drive down the Icefields Parkway and hike/camp.
I’ve flown plenty of 12+ hour flights in my life...but 15 hours to Dubai, 2 hour layover, then right back for 10+ hours was some kind of rough. Especially in economy. Never again for that length.
Is anyone an expert at sleeping on planes? I've never been great at falling asleep sitting up/in an arm chair. And I just can't ever fall asleep on planes. And it sucks.
Man I’m going for the 3rd time next year and my Africa list keeps growing. -Madagascar -Mozambique/Zanzibar -Kilimanjaro -Victoria Falls -Congo/gorillas -Coastal desert of Namibia -Botswana -great migration over the Serengeti -Morocco -Pyramids -Cape Town -Afrikaburn (multiple times) Will change it up next year, though. Will return numerous times.
Yea I thought granville island was cool too. I did one of the free walking tours which was enjoyed table but I like those kinds of things.
Awesome man. We scrapped the van/RV idea after looking at rental prices--like $250/day, would've been over $1,000. Just going to drive my Camry and car camp/unload our gear at the campsite. I have a list of all the first-come/first-serve campsites on the parkway between Jasper and Banff, probably what you were talking about. Strongly leaning towards Jasper, but can't pass up Lake Louise and Lake Moraine (more excited about the latter). We leave 2 weeks from today, do have a few questions. -How was the weather? -About how long does it take to drive between the city of Banff and the city of Jasper? I see hikes all over the map, but saw it was like a 2 1/2 hour drive between the cities, so don't want that much time in the car back and forth. -I've heard Banff is crazy crowded, especially during July/August. Was it pretty bad? Or only in the town itself?
There are definitely places that interest me I just don’t think it cracks my current top 10. Most of my interest in going back to Africa would center around motorcycle trips, like in Morocco and Namibia. I’ve just got some South American/Oceania exploring I need to do.
generally, if you want to visit Lake Louise (or the teahouse hikes) or Moraine, go really early or late at night. Otherwise, you will wait in traffic for 45 mins. Weather - it was mild in Calgary but generally chilly and wet during the first week of July. Jasper to Banff is 3.5 hours I think. Like I said, I'd start in Jasper, stay there, and then just camp at different spots and make your weay to Banff. Banff the town was crowded. I had no real issues at trailheads and on the trails. I get up early. The national parks are weird, because from Jasper to Yoho to Lake Lousie to Banff, there really aren't separate National Park gates. There is just the interstate. You have to have your park pass displayed on your dash non-stop. So, unlike going to Rocky Mountain National Park, with only 2 games, you can't really judge how busy it is because they aren't being funneled in. There are initial entry gates where you can buy your park pass on location. I'd buy it before though and you can bypass the line. Probably saved us 20 mins
That was one I was looking at. It’s part of the Jade Mountain resort which is stupid expensive. Thanks for the heads up. I want to do some scuba and some snorkling and it looks like that cove is great for it.
Bummer... I booked an AirBnB in Gastown last night that looked super cheap. Now I know why... looks like it's right by that area. Looks like there are a couple missions right near each other with a park in between so that makes sense - There are a handful of places here in D.C. that get like that too. Suppose we'll be fine as long as we avoid that area.
Window seat and a pill. I usually take a triazolam which helps a lot but has a short enough half life its out of your system by the time you land. Recently got this travel "pillow" though and it has been easier to sleep with than regular horseshoe style. https://trtltravel.com/products/trtl-travel-pillow
I feel like a "pillow" that completely wraps around my neck would make me hot as hell. The main reason I have never purchased a horseshoe style travel pillow after borrowing a friends for a test run. I was hot and miserable while I had it on.
I can sleep on planes but the hard part is balancing between the sleep being a power nap and a prolonged sleep. The former is brutal. And there's nothing worse than when your flight taxiis for longer than usual and you end up power napping before getting woke up by the takeoff.
My problem is when I sleep sitting up, I’ll snap out of it like I’m falling. Which means the people around me get scared shitless.
So wife just got promoted and will now have to regularly travel to Boise, Seattle and Portland for the pilot she will be running. I know Seattle well as I go there a couple of times a year for work. Any recos on Boise and Portland area? May go to Boise as early as next month for a long weekend.
What type of stuff are you looking for? Portland pretty much has everything if you like eating and drinking.
This is intriguing. I generally sleep like shit with the horseshoe pillow and I'm going to have to work all day after a red eye in a couple weeks so I'm desperate for something better
We obviously love great restaurants. So any recos there would be great. Also, best parts of the area to stay in, etc.
Was just in Boise this last weekend for a bachelor party. It kinda has a weird vibe to it. There are lots of breweries and restaurants downtown though and its really cheap, which is nice. As soon as you get out of downtown it gets hickish though. We did a float down the river which Id recommend. Can rent tubes at the top a bit outside of town and float for about 2 hours and return the tubes at the bottom in the middle if the city. There is also really good whitewater rafting about an hour outside of town. Solid class 4 rapids.
ADDENDING because i'm now responding to you on two separate message boards I like staying near Mississippi Ave or off Division, Portland is a city where airbnb is the move unless more hotels have opened since I left. specifically between Division and Hawthorne around cesar chavez blvd, can walk to everything your heart desires
Massive Prague sale TO: Prague (PRG) FROM: Albuquerque (ABQ) - $605 Allentown (ABE) - $615 Appleton (ATW) - $663 Asheville (AVL) - $677 Aspen (ASE) - $611 Boise (BOI) - $600 Cody (COD) - $656 Columbia (CAE) - $677 Columbus (CMH) - $681 Duluth (DLH) - $668 Durango (DRO) - $616 El Paso (ELP) - $605 Eugene (EUG) - $610 Fargo (FAR) - $663 Fort Myers (RSW) - $647 Fort Wayne (FWA) - $663 Grand Junction (GJT) - $616 Great Falls (GTF) - $666 Greenville (GSP) - $639 Harrisburg (MDT) - $616 Jackson Hole (JAC) - $623 Kalispell (FCA) - $654 Lexington (LEX) - $691 Lincoln (LNK) - $663 Louisville (SDF) - $660 Madison (MSN) - $673 Medford (MFR) - $610 Milwaukee (MKE) - $656 Missoula (MSO) - $643 Moline (MLI) - $663 Montrose (MTJ) - $643 Norfolk (ORF) - $608 Oklahoma City (OKC) - $602 Omaha (OMA) - $655 Pasco (PSC) - $610 Peoria (PIA) - $663 Redmond (RDM) - $610 Reno (RNO) - $610 Richmond (RIC) - $631 Roanoke (ROA) - $619 San Antonio (SAT) - $605 Savannah (SAV) - $665 Shreveport (SHV) - $650 Sioux Falls (FSD) - $663 South Bend (SBN) - $669 Spokane (GEG) - $605 Springfield (SGF) - $663 St. Louis (STL) - $660 Sun Valley (SUN) - $624 Tucson (TUS) - $605 Tulsa (TUL) - $605 Twin Falls (TWF) - $644 Wichita (ICT) - $663 Wilmington (ILM) - $674 WHEN: Varies by origin. Generally October 2019 through April 2020, including Thanksgiving but excluding Xmas. Some routes include NYE
Just did my bachelor party in Vancouver. Our rental car was broken into (inside a garage w/ security) and $3000 worth of belongings/luggage stolen. S**** happens so make sure to Uber.
TO: Seoul (ICN) FROM: Chicago (ORD) - $681 New York City (JFK) - $681 Seattle (SEA) - $681 WHEN: October through November 2019 and February through April 2020, including Thanksgiving, but all excluding Xmas/NYE
Aug 29-Sep 11.....was supposed to leave September 8th, but we decided to extend the trip so I pushed our flights back a few days so that we could add the Nusa islands.
I might be there the same time. Wife just told me her China trip might get moved up and I confirmed with my work that it would be fine if I took a 2 week vacation a month after starting. Now I've got plan all this shit fast af. I want to do Ubud, Keramas, Nusa and Ulluwatu area, but I need to some solid snorkling for the wife. Lots of places, not enough time. Might just do some boat trips. Keramas is 100% for me and surfing Weedlord420
Going to Lisbon and Madrid next week for work. Won't have much free time except for in the evenings. Any must see/do things in those two cities? More importantly any restaurant recommendations?