i was speaking to the carnets/navigo pass choices vs just being able to use contactless payments for it all
Tokyo subway/metro. There are like 3 different lines owned by different people/companies. We didn't know this and bought an all-day pass but it didn't work for multiple stops we needed so it was basically wasted money.
I walked everywhere within the Bd Peripherique and skipped the metro entirely. Really wanted to take-in every inch of the city vs get from point-a-to-b as fast as possible.
I have a question for those of you who have been to Banff. I have two options: 1) rent a vehicle and drive around, stay in different hotels/etc 2) rent a small RV and drive my accommodations around the area wherever I want I prefer option 2, but my wife is concerned that it will limit our ability to go into town and eat/drink. Is that something that we should be concerned with, or is there sufficient parking to allow us to roll up in one of those things?
The town of Banff has several public parking lots that should be able to accommodate RVs. A huge portion of people visiting are driving them. I could see it being a problem in the summer just because of how crowded the town can get. If you are doing Jasper as well that town is older and smaller and would likely be more difficult with an RV. But again tons of people drive them there so they are set up to accommodate them. (I would highly recommend Jasper) When I was in Banff I stayed in a condo in Canmore. It's about 15/20 minutes south but a two bedroom condo was cheaper than a standard hotel room in Banff/Lake Louise.
https://www.thedailymeal.com/travel/iconic-street-foods-every-world-traveler-must-try-gallery Solid list, but they are missing my literal favs: Polish Doners Istanbul Kumpirs Istanbul Shells with Rice (mussels) Zanzibarri Pizza Jerusalem Schwarma is probably my next favorite, but it's on the list. What else is the list missing? Spoiler: Here's a kumpir video if you've never heard of them
Looks like we'll be doing Milan - Como - Lindau - Luzern - Wengen - Lausanne - Chamonix - Turin next June. Told my wife the story of Smoke On The Water this evening while mapping out the itinerary, and now she wants to go to Montreux
I didn't know it is considered a street food as I only had it in restaurants but fuck is Khachapuri good.
9 + BayouMafia Do you remember who you booked rental car through? Seeing a lot online re: shady additional insurance charges My Sapphire should cover some of it but looks like I may need a letter from them prior
Flew out of Billings, MT this morning and they’re giving a full-body pat down to the one black dude I see in the entire airport.
Did a bit of a write-up on Belize for some friends and figured I would share it with all of you friends: General Notes - The official language is English so it is pretty easy to communicate with just about every person there. - There is no floating exchange rate, it is always $1 US to $2 Belizean. - The food was amazing and pretty inexpensive. More on this later. San Ignacio - Rented a car and drove to San Ignacio for a couple days. Around a 2.5 hr drive with a million random speed bumps everywhere. And they are intense speed bumps, learned this the hard way. Require actual slowing down, not the American version of slowing down. - Stayed at a ridiculously nice hotel (Ka’Ana- http://www.kaanabelize.com/) which was amazing. It was the off-season while we were there so prices weren't too outlandish. - There is not too much to San Ignacio but the people are nice and it is a good jumping off point. - Xunantunich- not far from San Ignacio. It’s pretty neat as you take a short hand-cranked ferry across the river then drive up to the welcome center. Went pretty late in the day so it was empty aside from staff. If you go here, climb ALL THE WAY up the main structure. You might think you are to the top but they let you climb all the way to the true top. It’s a beautiful view. It was pretty neat though doubt you would need more than 1.5-2 hrs here unless you are a huge Mayan history buff. - ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) Cave tour- This was an all-day adventure and was pretty badass. Though if you're afraid of dark places or have a form of claustrophobia, then I would not suggest this. It was about a 1.5 hr ride to the start of the tour. You park the car and leave everything with the car. No phones, cameras, etc... allowed. All you have are the clothes on your body and the helmet with head lamp. Once you leave the parking area you “hike” (more so a flat walk through nature) around 30-45 mins before you get to the entrance. However, on this hike you cross the river 3x, and the first time the water is up to your mid-chest area (other two times its closer to knee depth). Once in the cave it becomes really dark, really fast. The guide is helpful but you have to be very mindful as you are in a cave. At some points you have to squat down and stick your head and neck through then shimmy your body through it. This ends at a large open room where the Mayans came to make sacrifices to their Gods. There is a lot of pottery around the area as well as skeletons. San Pedro - Everyone's advice to take the plane from Belize City to San Pedro (Ambergris Caye) was on-point. The ferry might have been cheaper but it would have taken a lot longer and the views from the air were great. One bit of advice, if you check-in early and make sure you are at the front of the line, then you can actually sit in the co-pilot seat. - Things are a bit more expensive on the islands but not terribly so. However, if there are things you know you will want in your hotel (snacks, booze, etc…), then it might not hurt to go ahead and purchase them on the mainland before heading to the islands. - San Pedro is a bit more touristy and more “hustle and bustle” by Belize standards but still pretty nice. - Went snorkeling one day and it was fun. Spent the first few mins having the normal panic attack of breathing solely through my mouth but after I got it under control I had a blast. Pricing was basically be the same for all of the snorkeling/diving places. I don’t recall the exact name of the snorkeling company we used but they were about a 5 mins walk from our hotel, Sunbreeze Hotel (not the Sunbreeze Suites). I highly suggest them because they went out 1 hour before everyone else. We left at 8am and it was amazing having Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley to ourselves. When we drove by the Reserve on our way back there were around 15 boats, but when we were there we were the only boat. - Rented a golf cart and drove out to Secret Beach. Was a bit of a drive and I got a chuckle at them charging a "toll" to cross the bridge to North Ambergris Caye. I can definitely see how this area would be a big party scene during the high season (it wasn't crazy at all during the off-season). It was pretty cool having food and drinks sitting at the benches and tables out in the water (no tides) with the fish swimming around us. Mosquitoes started to get pretty bad later on in the evening so we bailed. - Had some drinks and some cigars at Havana Cigars right in town. The owner was really nice and it was nice to step away from everything for a bit. Food - Belize City: Ate at the restaurant at the airport and the fish and rice and beans dish was fantastic. Though their hot sauce is a bit hotter than our average Texas Pete. - San Ignacio: The meal that really sticks out was the meal at the resort. I believe it is open to the public and, if so, I would definitely suggest eating there. Ate out the other night in San Ignacio at a place called Ko-Ox Han Nah (Let’s Go Eat) and it was also tasty. Did a little rum tasting here. - San Pedro: Fryjacks! We had ours from Ruby’s Café one morning (ham, beans, and cheese is the way to go), but they were sold out of everything on Sunday. Also suggest Estel’s Dine by the Sea, though don’t use the menu they hand you, look at the board they have as that sets out the best way to order. I made that mistake and was not happy with myself. Caramba is nice in the evening time too as they set out the fresh catches of the day in front of their store and you pick what you want, what style, and they cook it up for you. Skip the mojito here, not good. Dinner was Elvi’s Kitchen and it lived up to the hype. I definitely suggest this place.
I've always rented through either Hertz or National. I don't think the additional charges are shady - I think buying the insurance is mandatory per Costa Rican law. At least that's what I've been told. Then again I'm almost always either on a pure work trip or able to mix work/pleasure to the point that my rental is paid for, so maybe I've just been naive/lazy. But yes the additional $45/day more than doubles most rentals
I guess the charges aren't shady, it's the fact that they don't advertise it when you book online. Looks like some is mandatory and some is not and it depends on company how they break up their insurance offerings.
Customs Atlanta Every white person Walk on through, you any shade of brown you get asked where you came from and whats in your bags
thanks for paying it forward to future readers and travellers CoastalOrange . Glad you had fun, nice to see some of my tips worked and were passed on almost verbatim in your write up.
Follow up to Costa Rica rental cars Random dude on Trip Advisor did an incredibly thorough write up of the process/insurance/companies that was super helpful, so thought I'd toss it in here in case folks need it in the future: Spoiler Car rental continues to be one of the most addressed topics on this forum. The confusion surrounding the process of renting a car in Costa Rica seems to be tremendous and many people quite clearly struggle to comprehend the many variables that need to be taken into account. Fear not. Since you are reading this thread, you are already taking steps in the right direction! While the process seems pretty straight-forward to me, it is just as nebulous to others to the point where they are frustrated, angry, or feel like they are being set up as cash cows. Much of the confusion has to do with misinformation that has been perpetuated for decades and continues to sow doubt in the minds of those who are new to the process. Additionally, horror stories abound and the Costa Rican car rental industry does its best to offer a multitude of confusing options, terms, and definitions that make it very difficult to compare several quotes. To round it all off, there are brokerage sites (such as Expedia) that do business with not so reputable companies while selling “insurance” that is not valid in CR, there are outright frauds, there are companies that use ill-defined terms (Budget, I'm looking at you!), and some that make statements that are legally correct but have absolutely no rearing in reality. So, I'll try to provide comprehensive and accurate information to the best of my knowledge. I might miss something, so don't hold me to it. Some of my statements will be general and some companies may handle a given parameter differently than other, so please keep that in mind, too. Off the top of my head, I know that Adobe structures their insurance scheme much differently than the rest of the providers. Let's start with a few truisms to keep in mind while researching car rentals: 1.) There are NO good deals to be had. If a deal seems incredibly cheap, you're being had and you will pay a whole lot more than the quote. You cannot rent a car for US$1 a day. 2.) If you let greed guide your decision-making process, you are asking for trouble. We all want to save money but car rentals in a developing nation is probably not the best choice for trying to maximize savings. 3.) Whatever you know about renting a car elsewhere in the world will only partially apply in CR. Pretend that you have absolutely no idea how to rent a car and need to learn from scratch. That way, your assumptions won't lead you astray. 4.) Deal directly with the rental car in Costa Rica. Do NOT use a third-party site like Expedia. Do NOT use a company's corporate site (for example, budget.com rather than budget.co.cr). As a general rule, third-party provider and corporate sites are not familiar with legal requirements in Costa Rica and consequently set you up with a rental that costs more than you anticipated. They will use their small print to inform you of this issue and tell you that you are responsible for additional costs once you are at the rental office. The only exception I have ever encountered is alamo.com. They DO include all costs and are sometimes cheaper than their Costa Rican counterpart. 5.) Read read read about car rentals in Costa Rica. The more you inform yourself, the better your experience will be. With all that in mind, let's look at some of the issues that are most confusing to people: Most people wonder what insurance they need to have. This question seems like it should have a straight-forward answer, but if it did, I wouldn't be writing this! There are two kinds of coverages that are important in Costa Rica: Liability insurance and Collision-Damage-Waiver (CDW)/Loss-Damage-Waiver (LDW). The two waivers are often used interchangeably – and that's actually alright for the purpose of renting a car since they usually mean the same thing and provide the same protection. Let's start with Liability Insurance: Liability insurance covers damages that you cause to other people's property while driving the rental car. If you hit their car, their fence, or their cow, this insurance will cover your costs. This insurance does NOT cover damages that you cause to your rental car. Not one bit! YOU MUST PURCHASE LIABILITY INSURANCE! - That's the law. No matter what type of car insurance you have at home, it is not valid in Costa Rica. You cannot use it. Ever. So please erase that thought from your mind! You MUST purchase it from the car rental company in Costa Rica! But why? You ask! Alright, here goes: There are really two reasons: 1.) When you purchase car (liability) insurance in much of the world, the policy is attached to the person who purchased it along with any other person they add to that policy or that is, by default, added (often immediate family). Whatever car you drive, the insurance stays with you (the person) and thus, you are covered in just about any car. In Costa Rica, however, insurance is attached to the vehicle – not the person. As long as you drive a car that is insured (and it has to be), you'll be covered. And therein lies the problem with using your insurance policy from back home. As a renter, you have no idea what vehicle you are going to end up with, therefore you cannot possibly purchase insurance for it. Additionally, since car rental companies can only operate the business of renting out vehicles, they need to insure all their vehicles or their business would simply be dead. Thus, the vehicle that you are going to rent will already carry insurance and whatever insurance you have would be meaningless and would also not conform to the legal requirement of insuring the actual vehicle and not the person driving it! 2.) For years, there was a monopoly in Costa Rica and you could only purchase liability insurance from ONE state-owned company called INS. About 15 years ago, the legislature decided to open up the market to other providers. To date, not a single one has been approved to actually provide liability insurance in CR. Thus, no matter what insurance you may have, it means nothing here because it's simply not legal. You get to purchase a time-limited share of the cost of the insurance that company has taken out. There is no law that governs how much of the cost can be pushed onto you and consequently, costs can vary quite a bit. You'll also not get away with looking at the annual cost of insuring a vehicle and then arguing that you should only be charged the amount equal to the days of your rental. That's not how it works – you WILL be charged an amount that is higher due to operating costs, financial obligations arising from non-rented (but still insured) vehicles, and so forth. Since we got that out of the way, let's talk about actually purchasing liability insurance: There are lots and lots of policies available that are offered by the various companies. Assumptions can lead to us to believe that one liability insurance is as good as any other – after all, they are all provided by the same insurance company – INS. This is NOT the case. Insurance coverage can vary tremendously. Here are some policies that can be found while researching car rentals: 100% coverage, no deductible 100% coverage, US$500 or US$1000 deductible. 80% coverage, 20% deductible. Then there are also difference in the coverage amounts, for example, $50,0000 or $1,000,000. As luck would have it, those companies that provide coverage with some kind of deductible or other limitation invariably also sell additional insurance that increases the coverage – often in increments until you hit a zero deductible – or that lifts a limitation. You may consequently see a quote that shows that the cost for insurance with company A is $20/day while company B is only $10/day – a difference that is also reflected in the quoted total. Unless you pay attention, you might assume that all is well and go for the cheaper company. However, and this is a big however, if you were to purchase the additional coverage to get to a zero deductible, you might end up paying $25/day, thereby making your rental more expensive than with company A! What's more, please take a minute and think about what these deductibles mean. If the deductible amount is $500 and you are involved in an accident, then you will likely be charged $500. Is it worth saving $100 by not getting full coverage but risk being stuck with a $500 bill? This is where you need to assess how willing you are to take risks. Additionally, pay close attention to companies that provide only 80% coverage with a 20% deductible. If you fail to purchase coverage that reduces your liability to zero, you might end up with a whole boatload of costs. Say you manage to total somebody else's beloved SUV that's currently valued at $50,000 – the insurance you purchased will pay $40k, but you'll be stuck with $10,000! Again, assess what risk you are willing to take. And while thinking about this, please bear in mind that the cost of vehicles in Costa Rica is MUCH higher than in many other countries – sometimes 100% more, making that $20,000 Camry back home into a $40,000 Camry in Costa Rica... Thus, when you compare the cost of car rentals, make sure you are comparing apples to apples! Clear so far? Alright, let's move on to CDW/LDW: Remember how liability insurance protected you from damages to other people's property? Well, CDW/LDW protect you from most damages to the rental car – like a coconut that fell onto the trunk. CDW/LDW does NOT cover glass or tires! CDW/LDW is NOT mandated by law. However, every car rental company has a right and a vested interest in protecting their assets. They do so by requiring renters to enter into a contract that basically states that you pay money and they waive the right to sue you for damages to the car. Fortunately, there are several way to meet this requirement – but each comes with it's own caveats that you need to carefully consider: 1.) You can purchase CDW from the rental company. Like I said, you pay them money, they waive their right to hold you financially responsible for damages to the car. If you go that route, you are pretty safe and as long as you stick to their stipulations (don't drive through rivers, for example), you won't have a problem. Since the contract is between you and them, they already know that they won't need money in excess of the rental fee from you. Now wait a second, you say – why would they want more money than the agreed-upon fee? Easy – you might cause damage that is NOT covered by the waiver (usually glass and tires). If you do, they want to make sure that they get paid for those damages. If you are worried about those costs – well, you can purchase still more coverage. Most people don't, though. Still, you get quite a bit for your money. Naturally, there are also differences here. Some companies have no deductible, others have one (e.g., $500). If they have one, you can purchase more coverage to reduce the deductible to zero. This can get expensive rather quickly. Alright, this brings us to the Deposit: When you rent a car, the rental company will require a deposit. If you purchase the CDW from them, the deposit will be low (like $500). After all, how many windows are you going to damage? Keep this in mind while you read through the next alternative to providing CDW: 2.) You can use a third-party provider. For many North Americans, common credit cards often provide CDW. If you don't have such a credit card, you can purchase world-wide CDW's from other companies. In either case, it is in your interest to bring proof that you already have a waiver. This can be a statement from your provider that has your name and coverage amount on it, for example. Now, if you go that route, there will be no additional charge – it's either free with your credit card or limited by the purchase price of CDW from some other third-party provider. However, and again, it's a big however, there are several caveats: a.) you are introducing a middle man. The contract is between you and your credit card bank/provider. It has absolutely nothing to do with the rental company. b.) if you damage the car, you are personally liable and will have to be reimbursed by your bank/provider after the fact. c.) since this involves a higher financial risk for the rental company, the deposit will be much higher (for example, $5,000). If you don't have a high enough limit, you cannot take this route. d.) you MUST stick to all the rules and regulation regarding eligibility for reimbursement set forth by your bank/provider. If you fail to adhere to them, you might be stuck with the cost. e.) you will not have a deductible, no matter what. f.) some providers stipulate certain restrictions. Some do not allow off-roading but others do not allow driving on unpaved roads. Costa Rica is full of unpaved roads! In addition, you need to understand what they mean by off-roading (if that happens to be their limitation) and make sure they don't consider driving off pavement as a violation of their terms. g.) the very minute the car rental company hears that you were involved in an accident, they will attempt to max your card. If you have a low credit limit or only have one credit card, you might be stuck without the ability to use your credit card. Fine, you say, but are their companies that are good? Are there companies that are bad? Yes and Yes! The two most highly regarded companies are: WildRider (only SJO) Vamos WildRider tends to have older but very well-maintained and reliable cars. Both companies rarely get a negative review (I have NEVER seen a bad review for WildRider) and many of those complaints are due to people not having informed themselves. Next are companies that consistently get good reviews but don't stay out as much as WR and Vamos: Alamo Adobe Budget Dollar Toyota I've rented with quite a few of them but primarily with Alamo – never had a bad experience. After that comes mid-field and I won't list them – since they are not in any other category, you'll know. Also, please keep in mind that this is just my personal impression from reading the forum for many years. I might have forgotten a company and if so, I'm sure somebody will bring it up in the comments. Finally, there's the bottom rung: Europcar – doesn't really get too many reports on this forum but they did have a time when they seemed to engage in fraudulently posting positive reviews to boost business. I don't appreciate such methods and thus, don't recommend them. I have never used them and cannot report any negative personal experiences with them. Economy – year after year the solid winner of most negative reports. Allegations run the gamut from deception to bait and switch to made-up damages to outright fraud. I would not use them but some people have and were happy.
this is great info it's also worth knowing a bit about where you're going and what the limits of the rental company are. For example, the Hertz franchise in SJO makes you sign a document that you won't drive through any rivers. If you do and don't make it across you are 100% liable for the car. I've never had to sign one of those documents with National. To get to Corcovado National Park from Puerto Jimenez we had to drive through six rivers, and then had to cross them again to return.
Im leaning towards Monteverde -> Manuel Antonio -> Jaco as of now. Will definitely keep an eye out for that
Got back yesterday from Mallorca/Barcelona. Phenomenal trip, especially Mallorca. Can’t recommend it enough and thanks to Arkadin and others for sharing their own thoughts about it. I can do an itinerary later if I get the time.
Yeah, I should have added that I really appreciated all the tips I found in here. But it was the end of the day and I didn't take the time to go back and see who all offered advice to me. Either way, thanks a lot to everyone itt that helped out!
Went very well. She loves to travel, likely more than me. Though I also travel domestically. She basically saves all vacation for intl trips. We had the DTR talk the final night and while it was a simple convo, it was hilarious watching her work through remembering that a relationship also involves sharing trips. Like she can't go anywhere she wants every year but now has to share vacation time for trips of my choosing as well (example being I have a friend's wedding in New Mexico next year and we are going to take a couple days off to go early and do some hiking).
I think this might be the right thread for this and not the Credit Card thread, but what airline has the best points transfer from Chase points? I am going to Huatulco, Mexico over new years and flights jumped up to over $1000 in the past few days. I am going to wait until next week in hopes they come down a bit but I am not hopeful. Would prefer not to pay that at the moment but if that is thought to be the best option then I will.
Oh. OK. I just con my wife into places with pretty beach pics and leave out the parts of why I really want to go.
Mallorca-Barcelona We stayed on Mallorca for 5 nights- at the Park Hyatt Mallorca for 3 nights, and then Gran Hotel Son Net for 2 before doing an AirBnB in Barcelona for 3 nights. The 2 Mallorcan hotels were on points thanks to ohhaithur and the World of Hyatt credit card (https://www.referyourchasecard.com/205a/ZHWP6XYDAK). Mallorca was fucking incredible. Most of my travel to this point has been city/urban based and we purposefully stayed out of Palma to change it up. The landscapes on that island are amazing. I'll spoiler some pictures at the end. We rented a car and that turned out to be great advice as well. Gave us way more flexibility. The Park Hyatt is in the far northeast part of the island, which is pretty isolated but made for a nice quiet few days. We'd scheduled massages at Park for as soon as we got there and that was a tremendous idea. Made the 20 hours of travel much easier to bear. Full day 1 was a wine/food tour in the central part of the island which was fun, but most importantly allowed us to try a bunch of wines that we later bought several bottles of to have in the room. After the tour we went and got a drink in Cala Ratjada, a little fishing village on the coast, and then went to Andreu Genestra which was my first Michellin star experience. It was quite good but we also felt quite out of place. Day 2 was a drive to the northwest part of Mallorca and Cap de Formentor. The road/scenery once we got to the peninsula was amazing. It's a huge cycling area during the off season so there were a lot of bikers on the road but it's so windy/twisty that you don't go much faster than them anyway. There are several stops along the way that are pretty breathtaking. See pictures below as my words wont do it justice. We went to Porto Christo for dinner and just had a big ass tapas sampling platter that was really good. Day 3 Drove down the east coast which is mainly beaches and resort towns. We aimed to find some of the "hidden" beaches that you have to do a little hiking to find and it was well worth it. Santanyi was the town I believe. Again, see pictures. After that we drove across the island to the more mountainous area as we'd selected our 2nd hotel, Son Net, to change up the scenery. Visited the town of Alaro and then hiked up to an absurdly old, mostly destroyed castle at the top of the mountain. The hike was bad ass and the views from the top insane. Dinner was in the town our hotel was in, Puigponyent. Day 4 Drove to/through Valldemosa and then to Soller, which I wasn't overly impressed with but it was super crowded so that didn't help. Immediately followed that up with Port De Soller which was much much nicer and had a Michelin recommended lunch spot. Es Canyis. We followed lunch up with a drive to Sa Calobra, which is a tiny town most famous for the road that gets you there. It's called "the perfect driving road" and was insane and incredible and nerve racking at times. At the end was a short hike to a tiny beach backed up by a stupid nice valley. Can't describe it. Day 5 Went to Port de Andraxt to walk around and see the town which despite being a similar port town like Cala Ratjada or Port de Soller, was still crazy to see and experience. We left there and hung out in Palma until our flight to Barcelona. The Palma Cathedral was closed, which was disappointing. Day 6-8 were in Barcelona. We had an AirBnB in El Born, the super hipster foodie area and it was really cool. I've never seen a city that was so alive at midnight as Barca was. We did the standard tourist things here, including Sagrada Familia, which was badass. The food was mostly good but didn't have anything that was amazing. Then we flew home. Pics in spoilers. Cap de Formentor: Spoiler Secret beaches of Santanyi Spoiler Hike up to Castle Alaro, and Tramantana mountains Spoiler Drive to Sa Calobra Spoiler In short, if you're looking to a do a trip to the western Mediterranean I'd strongly consider Mallorca. It's amazing.
There's no best. You need to look at the flight you want specifically in the points page on each site to see what would be the cheapest transfer
Haha not a vacation. Going to be traveling more for work and I’d like to take my personal laptop too.
I picked up an Ogio backpack during a big sale at my golf course a few weeks back. It has a large laptop sleeve and has another smaller lined pocket in the main compartment but more for a tablet. The main reason I went ahead and got it was because it has the strap where it can go over the handle on your roller luggage
not going to write a big thing about Paris or London but if you don't go to L'avant Comptoir de la Mer in Paris given the chance you're trash