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

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

  1. letan

    letan Just looking for the gator board
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    I’ve never heard of wizzair so I’d be taking the refund
     
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  2. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    Yeah not even a question imo
     
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  3. COVIDiskilingme79

    COVIDiskilingme79 Well-Known Member
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    Take the refund. The entire aviation industry is getting buttfucked right now.
     
  4. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    Cash is king.
     
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  5. Pasta88

    Pasta88 Canes, Bruins, Raps, Jays and Sunderland.
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    Going to take the refund :heythere:
     
  6. C Yank

    C Yank #WalkOnCoach
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    If you have a flight that passed and booked through Chase Rewards, I was able to get my money back even though the flight was a week ago. All I said was I tried to get in contact with them and they went ahead and cancelled for me. Recommend calling this number 877-903-5602 since I got through in like 15 min.
     
  7. C Yank

    C Yank #WalkOnCoach
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    See post above and hopefully that helps you out.
     
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  8. dahldennsull

    dahldennsull Living in the best state
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    i need to call them.

    got a bachelor party to Louisville in June, that I booked for like 58k points. It's all the way down to 33k points for the exact same flights. i want to cancel and rebook but doubt they are going to give me anything that far out, and it barely nets me anything if I have to pay $200 for cancellation under the normal policy, as it's like $240 cheaper.
     
  9. Garrity19

    Garrity19 Well-Known Member

    Wizzair is a fairly good low cost airline. I fly them into Romania often. What I am surprised about is they keep some flights going at this moment. Not sure In this shit show but they are one of the mire reasonable low cost EU airlines.
     
  10. CoastalOrange

    CoastalOrange Well-Known Member
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    Going a bit crazy as it's been the busiest week I've had at work since I started 2.5 yrs ago. Decided to take a gamble and the GF and I booked a long weekend on Aruba in early October. Time to start planning...
     
  11. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    Let me know if you want some recs. Long weekend is the perfect amount of time to spend there IMO. We went for 10 days about 3 years ago. Had fun but we aren't really beach people so that was definitely overkill.

    Parts of it definitely cater to people who want to just sit on the beach and eat at chain restaurants but there's plenty else.
     
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  12. Fran Tarkenton

    Fran Tarkenton Hilton Honors VIP
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    just was there last month (been several times now). Cool spot depending on which resort. One of my favorite dive bar lunch spots anywhere is near San Nicolas called Zeerovers.
     
  13. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    That was my favorite place we ate at. I don't think seafood can get any fresher. It was well worth the bus ride. We hit up Charlie's Bar while down that way as well.

    My fiancee is not a big fan of seafood, she has an irrational fear of sea creatures in general. But she thought she'd "be ok" so I ordered 2-3 lbs of shrimp, fish, etc. for us and one shrimp in she quit and got an ice cream.

    I was very full after that meal.
     
  14. CoastalOrange

    CoastalOrange Well-Known Member
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    I'll take any and all recs you guys are willing to offer. Was considering using Marriott points to stay at the Renaissance Aruba Resort and Casino but it seems to be a bit away from all the other places.
     
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  15. dahldennsull

    dahldennsull Living in the best state
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    thoughts on a june 12-14 trip to louisville for a bachelor party?

    we are starting to get in nervous territory
     
  16. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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  17. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Might as well cancel. You ain't doing shit in June
     
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  18. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    I have travel planned for early July. Starting to get nervous about that.
     
  19. Cooler

    Cooler A mans gotta eat
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    I was planning a trip overseas before this all happened in late September early October and I already plan on not being able to do that. There's no chance for June imo.
     
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  20. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    I feel hopeful that domestically July starts being OK to travel. International, IDK. Feel like any hope much get crushed if we get a 2nd waive in the fall
     
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  21. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    I've been eyeballing Labor Day, but not going to buy a flight any time soon. Who fucking knows.

    Still have a campsite in Tofino booked for July 4, which would involve driving across the Canadian border. Fingers crossed.
     
  22. letan

    letan Just looking for the gator board
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    Finished cancelling everything for my Cartagena trip. Had two hotels booked. One I already paid for and am getting a full refund. The other I hadn’t paid for yet and got it cancelled with no cancellation fees. Received travel credits from jet blue for my flights. Although haven’t received the email that tells me how to access them yet.
     
  23. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
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    i have so many virgin atlantic miles now that all my trips got clipped

    if they devalue before i can respend them reee
     
  24. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    This whole ordeal may have accelerated my timeline for traveling abroad. Have used my more-than-usual time at a computer to research even more. You could just live so fucking cheaply traveling around SE Asia or South America doing the backpacker/hostel thing. Would be pretty difficult to do around Europe.

    Found some good house-sitting sites, and have also found a website whereby hostels recruit yoga teachers in exchange for free room and board, or for some small exchange. Basically I think this would be how so many hostels offer "free," or donation based yoga, for their hostels - let the teacher stay for free. I talked to a girl that did it for a year, she really enjoyed it; but like everything else had good and bad experiences depending on the hostel and its owners.

    If I could get some free board, then find a part-time legal writing gig at like $50K/year ...
     
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  25. southside

    southside Well-Known Member
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    BamaNug GF and I are moving to Mexico in Baja in the late fall. If it weren't for her school and the virus we would have just left next month.

    Send the house sitting websites. That's what I'm looking for a few months while we decide if we like the area enough to buy.
     
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  26. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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  27. THEBLUERAIDER

    THEBLUERAIDER Well-Known Member
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    Hoping to go sit on a beach for a week in august. Usually go to destin.
     
  28. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    I can tell you now that you will not be going to Florida in August
     
  29. THEBLUERAIDER

    THEBLUERAIDER Well-Known Member
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    You think Florida travel will be more restricted than international travel or to other states? I know they haven’t done shit to stop the spread yet, but I was hopeful it would be better in five months.
     
  30. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    It won't be restricted at all probably. But until there is a vaccine or a strong way to mitigate the effects, this is going to be really, really bad. And Florida might be the worst.
     
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  31. THEBLUERAIDER

    THEBLUERAIDER Well-Known Member
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    Any other suggestions for a beach vacation?
     
  32. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    My suggestion for everyone is to wait
     
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  33. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
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    come by me yo. St. Pete, Anna Maria, or Siesta.
     
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  34. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    I hear Alabama has beautiful beaches
     
  35. THEBLUERAIDER

    THEBLUERAIDER Well-Known Member
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    Again, thanks for your input. You’re nothing but helpful on this site.
     
    #21035 THEBLUERAIDER, Mar 30, 2020
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2020
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  36. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
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    Some say best in America.
     
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  37. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    We stayed at two different Airbnbs. One near Palm Beach and one in Oranjestad. Both were walkable to the beach and most of the things we wanted to do but obviously not a resort so can't really help you there.

    As I mentioned earlier, lots of chain restaurants in the very touristy areas. This is especially true around the Palm Beach area. We ate at Texas de Brazil one night (had never been and wanted to stuff my face) but otherwise tried to eat at local places. Some of our favorites by area:

    Palm Beach:
    Bavaria - German food and a solid selection of German beers.
    Legends Pub - Good selection of American craft beers and probably the best place to catch a game if needed (you know, assuming sports are back by then).
    Linda's Dutch Pancakes - You can find these all over but this place was notably good.
    Local Store - Good wings and selection of American craft beers. Kinda off the main drag so not crazy overrun with tourists.
    Pelican Nest Seafood Grille - Had dinner here our first night. Food was decent but it has a really nice setting by the water especially if you can make it for sunset.
    Pika's Corner - Authentic Aruban food (much harder to come by than you'd think).
    Soprano's Piano Bar - Cheesy extremely touristy piano bar but it's a good time.
    Taste of Belgium - Strong selection of Belgian beers. Food was decent but not overwhelming.

    Eagle Beach:
    Screaming Eagle - Ate here for the fiancee's birthday. They have "table beds" you can reserve ahead of time. We did a sunset cruise with open bar right before this and lying down to eat may not have been the best idea. I ate most of both our entrees so I thoroughly enjoyed it.

    Oranjestad:
    Cafe Chaos - Lots of Belgian and other international beers. Went here a couple times; ended up closing this place down our last night just hanging with the bartender.
    Cocoplum - No frills Caribbean dishes.
    DELIMAR - Peruvian place with excellent ceviche.
    MAROC - Cool little tapas spot, cocktails were excellent. I think it was new-ish when we were there so wasn't terribly crowded.

    San Nicolas:
    Charlie's Bar - Kitschy dive bar. We enjoyed it but obviously only worth a visit if you're into that type of thing.
    Zeerovers - See earlier post; incredible fresh seafood and well worth the trip south.

    Things to Do:

    California Lighthouse - Old lighthouse you can go up in.
    Fort Zoutman Historical Museum/Wilhelm III Tower - Museum with some island history if you're into that type of thing.
    Island tour - Did a daylong jeep tour around the island. We did the ABC Tours Island Ultimate.

    Otherwise we mostly just ate, dank, and hung out on the beach. The trip down to San Nicolas was a solid afternoon with the stops at Zeerovers and Charlie's. It was definitely too many days for us but had fun nonetheless. We met so many people who have been going every year for 30+ years. Nice place but I can't imagine it being an annual thing.
     
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  38. xec

    xec Well-Known Member
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    Florida is forecasted to hit its COVID peak later than most States. If this pans out, FL will be fairly high up on the backside of the bell curve in August; ie, new cases will be declining but there will still be a lot of daily new cases. Based on current forecasts, If I were you I would plan for a Beach in another State.
     
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  39. Pasta88

    Pasta88 Canes, Bruins, Raps, Jays and Sunderland.
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    I think most of all I think this pandemic shows how important it is to just go and travel (if you have the means of course) rather than waiting for the perfect time. I’m very, very fortunate in that I just had long trips in December and February, so I couldn’t imagine having a long awaited, once every few years type of trip cancelled because of this.

    I would personally hate the work and travel blend arrangement but if it suits you and you can make it work then go for it imo.
     
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  40. dahldennsull

    dahldennsull Living in the best state
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    a lot of you guys, especially ohhaithur are really underrated the likelihood of COVID tapering off over summer, before a ramp back up in the Fall.

    Lots of medical projections are including this, as any type of flu, including this one generally has dry spells over the hot summer months, and then sees a 'rebirth' in the fall when temperatures cool.

    I think if anyone is looking to do travel, especially beach travel, targeting the hottest summer months would be your best bet, even as it's closer in date than the fall, as I think pending where we are at as a country, the fall could be hysteria season again when stuff ramps, but hopefully by that point you've got your testing, PPE, and medical supplies all stashed up to handle an increase in demand again.

    the most damning evidence is the spread in current hot countries, but there is at least hope that i can slow a bit when the heat ramps up

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/30/is-coronavirus-seasonal-summer

    (all that said, I'm not expecting my June trip to happen, just holding out hope for possible August-Sept trips)
     
  41. BayouMafia

    BayouMafia Thought Leader in Posting
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    American hero Tom Hanks caught it in the Australian summer
     
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  42. dahldennsull

    dahldennsull Living in the best state
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    never said it goes away, I said it slows.

    less humidity in the air generally keeps the airborne particles from being able to suspend for as long, so a lot of the suspension transfers drop with any type of flu. But as contagious as this one is, it may not matter.
     
  43. Fran Tarkenton

    Fran Tarkenton Hilton Honors VIP
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    Idk, its spreading in Florida rapidly and the temps are already warm. It was 80+ the past couple of days across the south.
     
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  44. dahldennsull

    dahldennsull Living in the best state
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    JUST LET ME HOPE AND PRAY OKAY
    :trumpanzee:
     
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  45. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    I might be cautious but the article you sent didn't exactly help your case :roll:

    upload_2020-3-31_9-3-42.png
     
  46. dahldennsull

    dahldennsull Living in the best state
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    i literally said "the most damning evidence is the spread in current hot countries"
     
  47. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    I know, but the article doesn't really inspire any confidence that we'll be having any fun any time soon
     
  48. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
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    100%. After not traveling much the past 2 years due to various life circumstances and changing jobs and what not, I was pumped to go on my honeymoon in early Feb, which I've posted in here I had to bail on due to an emergency. In hindsight, early Feb was perfect timing, and now I'm not even sure how to go about re-planning a honeymoon because of all the uncertainty. No more excuses in the future because life is too short and work will always be here
     
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  49. Spontaneous Cumbustion

    Spontaneous Cumbustion Well-Known Member
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    I booked a flight to Australia a couple months ago. Flight isn't until middle of October, but at this point I'm guessing it doesn't happen.
     
  50. Pasta88

    Pasta88 Canes, Bruins, Raps, Jays and Sunderland.
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    I suppose there will also be a sweet spot when things start to open but most people are still reluctant to travel. Time the market right and you can see some great attractions with way fewer people than normal there.