I'm having the same issue for next summer, and thought maybe it was just because it was so far out, but RT LA to London $900. Same flight one way LA to London $2400.
That's how all legs have been to everywhere internationally for a while tbh. Makes booking with points so valuable if you want to split it
Might want to look at multi city fares. Another stupid thing I saw. RT LA to London business class $5500, Same exact flight to LA then Bilbao to London to the exact same flight back to LA. $3800. Why it costs almost 2 grand extra and adding a flight makes no sense to me.
really tentatively going to copenhagen in may so have a bunch of time to figure it out going to try everything
Just a reminder in case anyone doesn't know this but if you miss one leg of an itinerary they cancel all the rest of it
and they really aren't fans of me booking roundtrip to copenhagen, bailing on the return flight to take my roundtrip from stockholm home, then bailing on the return flight
You don't have to. I've often do multi city, say Atl to Paris, Madrid to ATL and it counts as round trip at the lower price
If you do this, I'd just set your return from Copenhagen for a date after your outward from Stockholm so that they don't know you're bailing on 2 legs until you're home. I think the only recourse they really have it to close your account and take your miles, so as long as its not an airline you plan on earning significant miles on, it doesn't matter. Also, Copenhagen is awesome, but if you're going to be in the area look at Helsinki and Tallinn, I preferred both of those to Stockholm.
You need to just do a multi-city trip brother. I even did one last year for my wife that was Atlanta to Bangkok and Beijing back to Atlanta
im dumb i did not think you could do this with the return flight coming from somewhere not where you flew in, since we'll take the train to stockholm
icelandair trying real hard, very cheap, but delta uses 2-5-2 in economy setups which are clutch for long haul
I'm sure there will be plenty to do over NYE, but the weather in pretty much all of the PNW will be shit that time of year. But I'm sure you could find parties and get reservations and stuff. Could be fun
Doing Paris in the Spring for probably 5-7 days. May hit somewhere else like London , Rome, or French Riviera Have $1,000 in CSR reward points towards travel right now. Was going to make budget $7k but maybe I can get away with it for $5k. Want to do it all right. Hotels I was recommended to are about $250 a night in Paris.
In the last 30ish days I’ve done 12 days in Europe 7 days in Denver 5 days in Napa I think I’m going to take a break until Thanksgiving/Christmas now
Have a wedding in Manuel Antonio area of Costa Rica next August. Trying to decide if we should spend a few extra days beforehand in CR or take my wife to Colombia for her first time. Figure it's going to be sweltering hot so aside from losing 100 lbs., what do I need to know/do for CR?
Evening gentleman...long time thread lurker, first time poster. Read BamaNug's thing on Rio and the one on India, I will be doing a write-up on Amritsar (North India) and a few other places, have some good content to post. Writing because I'm considering a Brazil trip with a buddy of mine. 12-14 day trip Fly in to Rio (have a family friend there) - do 2-3 days Fly out of Sao Paulo (we have a high school buddy getting his Ph.D. there) Looking for one other city or two to fit in between. My questions to this thread would be where to go in between? I'm looking at Florianopolis (beach, scuba, etc...) or Manaus (rainforest, Amazon, etc...). Plenty of other places like Fortaleza, Port Alegre - I just don't know where to start. Flights within Brazil are negligible so not a budget thing. Would also consider Buenos Aires (although we'll be doing two big cities already) or somewhere like Montevideo in Uruguay. Thoughts? Advice? Would love to hear any thoughts from our group
I know I know...actually used to post quite a bit right out of college and stopped to focus on career and such, was taking up a lot of time and struggled with time mgmt. Did the transfer from old Rivals Mainboard to here, have been around since the beginning. Started lurking more recently and now I’m back
Iguaçu Falls are pretty awesome. Cheap flight and you can transfer into Argentina without a visa. Do both sides, would be a decent break from cities
Would really like to hear about Amritsar. I heard good things while I was over there, not very well known. I'd spend more than 2-3 in Rio, it's massive and there's a ton to do. And you want to spend a day or two beaching it not doing much. I wouldn't do less than 4-5, personally. Look into Ille Grande, it's an island off Rio that's supposed to be pretty awesome. That'd be an easy option for a side trip, only a couple hours in a bus and boat. I looked into Manaus, that'd be my choice. Fly in and do a 2-3-4 day Amazon trek/camp. If you're already set on flying out of Sao Paulo, I don't think I'd want to travel down to Buenos Aires and back, that's a lot of travel time for a short trip--to/from airport, 1-2 hours early, 3+ hour flight, etc. If you're not set on flying out of Sao Paulo, could fly into Rio and then fly out of BsAs. Second Iguazu Falls. It was pretty damn cool, and pretty much polar opposite of the big cities. I actually liked the border town in Argentina.
If always recommend getting into the rainforest of your close to it and it’s somethjng you think you’d enjoy. You don’t get that opportunity often.
Got an Airbnb when I was there, if you’re group is of decent size that’s probably the way to go if you want to be in Miami/South Beach
Rio is awesome, definitely more days there. I love Buenos Aires. It's my favorite place in south america, so would recommend there, definitely better than Montevideo. As others have said, Iguazu would be great for a couple days. So I'd either do a 1/3 split bt Rio, BA and SP, or do like 2 days in Iguazu with the rest of your time split bt Rio and SP. I don't know much about Florianopolis except for hearing from a German guy I met in Colombia who said it was the best place in south america. He was a big diver.
was just there last month, if you want Miami Beach but dont have to be in South Beach - The Confidante Hyatt South Beach proper = Loews, Royal Palm or the W
ohhaithur I already lean on you in the CC thread so now doing it here too. About a week or two away from booking my flights to Japan for work and want to start figuring out what to do and where to stay (gotta use those Chase points). Current tentative plan is: - Fly into Tokyo - Stay in Tokyo for a couple days (don't know anything about the city so need to start researching good areas to stay, places to eat, things to do, etc...) - ??? (2-4 days) - ??? (2-4 days) - Nagoya for work for 3-4 days - Kyoto for a "tourist day" with work - Fly out of Nagoya I'd love to see the Mt. Fuji region but not sure how neat it will be since it will be early December. Pretty pumped about visiting Kyoto but not sure if 1 day with the group will be enough. Really what I am trying to say is, do you (or anyone) have any suggestions to start looking into while I am there (with the gf)?
Doing Kyoto in one day with a group is possibly my nightmare. That's an awful idea. Kyoto/Osaka should probably be your two 2-4 day stints. Fuji will be closed so I can't imagine you want to spend much time there
What do you want to do on the ??? Days? Mountains / nature / beach / surfing / city / drinking / eating?
Fair enough. Guess I need to make sure time in Kyoto happens. And I know climbing Fuji would be closed due to the weather but no real good places so go around it? I honestly don't know. I was planning to start doing a bit more research and asking the Japanese ex-pats on suggestions within the next couple of weeks. I would love to see some mountains/nature/beach and not spend the entire time in a city. Obviously I want to eat some great food (love sushi).
My dream Japanese 2 week trip would be: - eating and drinking in Tokyo for 3 days - eating and drinking in Osaka for 3 days - nature serenity trails - surfing in Shikoku for 7 days - fly back out of Tokyo in last day I would love to fit in Okinawa somehow, but would probably have to swap one of Osaka and Tokyo for it.
OK Japan report: long overdue. Overall thoughts: Japanese people are the nicest in the world. They would do anything to help you. I had people giving me umbrellas, teaching me how to use the metro, literally running with me to show me bus stops that weren’t their’s since I looked lost, etc… People don’t lock up their bikes and there’s no crime. It’s amazing. Everywhere is safe Try to avoid visiting Japan during the biggest typhoon they’ve seen in a generation. It rained every day I was there, too. So many things are closed on Mondays. Especially museums/gardens. Be aware. Tokyo (I planned three days, stayed six due to typhoon) Spoiler I liked it more than I thought I would. I stayed in Shinjuku. Everywhere is easy to get to BUT, beware that taxis are expensive and metro stops at midnight. So if you think you’re going to be partying in another district than where you’re staying, you’re possibly wrong. Things I really enjoyed: Golden Gai in Shinjuku. Little tiny bars on a strip with locals and tourists alike. Spent a full night singing sake-fueled karaoke with locals who barely spoke any English but it was my favorite night for sure TeamLAB Borderless digital art exhibit: A hall with all sorts of cool shit. Sells out weeks in advance so get tickets early I liked all the gardens too. Shinjuku’s gardens, Imperial palace, etc… Saw the aquarium too and it was nice but small. Plenty of great food everywhere, I wish I got to try more Things I didn’t really enjoy: Metro stopping at midnight Shibuya crossing is underwhelming but you’ll probably go to Shibuya anyway so whatever Harajuku wasn’t as weird as I thought Skytree. Meh for the price Kyoto (was supposed to be three days but changed to four due to typhoon) Spoiler Great place that I wouldn’t rush. Unfortunately weather kicked my ass here and typhoon damage closed the bamboo forest in parts and the shrine past the first set of gates. Real problem though: the whole city seems to shut down at 6 pm. I basically changed my schedule from a normal 9am-12am to a 6am-9pm while I was there to fit in everything I wanted to see The good: Fushimi Shrine all alone was quite a sight. I wish it was open past the first set of gates since I got up at 4am to be there Bamboo forest is impressive but smaller than I thought it would be and not as rural as I thought it would be. It’s right in the city. Kind of like how I was sad the pyramids of Giza are near a city Monkey park is a lot of fun but more walking than I expected Nikishi market is wild The bad: Everything closes so early The fucking weather Golden temple is far away and only cool for a minute Pics: Bamboo Forest broken :( Gates at sunrise Osaka (just did a day trip instead of three days) Spoiler I just went to a baseball game here, which is wild. They sing and chant and wave flags like a European soccer game. I had a lot of fun. I then went to Shinsaibashi district and that was cool too but the lights weren’t that impressive after having been to Tokyo Pic: Balloon release during the seventh inning stretch
Hakone is a very quiet, but cool mountain area that is near Fuji and near Tokyo so a good option to see Fuji. Wouldn't spend more than a night or two there, but would give a good opportunity to stay in a real Japanese Ryokan and check out the Onsens. There's so much to do in Kyoto, I'd suggest trying to squeeze some more time there. For Tokyo areas to stay my personal recommendation is Shibuya 1, Shinjuku 2, Roppongi 3. Best meal I had in Japan was in Ginza at Andy's Shin Hinomoto. I'd consider it a don't miss. Try to get to a baseball game, and sumo if it happens to be going on.
As promised a post on Amritsar as my contribution to the thread...I'm pulling this from my travel blog so the format may sound a bit weird (and long) as this is aimed at friends and family. If you don't think it's too long, let me know. Have two more on Amritsar and some stuff on India and the United Arab Emirates I'm happy to contribute. Amritsiar - Part 1: Border Crossing Spoiler: Amritsar Some background: Amritsar is a medium-sized city on the extreme northwestern border of India – a few kilometers from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I put this on our itinerary on the recommendation of a friend and it did not disappoint. My fellow travelers would likely say that their favorite part of the trip was the Taj but mine was unequivocally Amritsar. I loved it for many reasons – the border closing ceremony with Pakistan, the Golden Temple and the Sikh people, and the moving memorial for the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. I will covering each of these events in three separate posts. Let’s begin with the border closing ceremony. As mentioned previously, Amritsar is a stone’s throw from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This is significant because India and Pakistan REALLY do not get along. I won’t get in to the full history (would be a novel in itself), but feel free to read about India’s colonial past, Indian Independence Act of 1947, India / Pakistan partition, and the ongoing dispute / conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. To summarize, Indians and Pakistanis are essentially the same people ethnically but Pakistan is overwhelmingly majority Muslim (95-97%) while India is majority Hindu, possesses strong pockets of Sikh and Buddhism, and a strong Muslim minority. When the countries split along religious and political lines, families and mutual cultures split in to two nations. We heard first-hand from people in India about their intense dislike for Pakistanis. I can imagine the feelings are mutual. Adding to the fire is that the two countries have fought three full wars since partition in 1947 and both are nuclear-armed states – forming BY FAR the most contentious relationship between nuclear states and two states sharing an extremely large border with each other. Many policy pundits regard this as the world’s most dangerous rivalry in terms of global risk – far surpassing US – Russia, US – China, Saudi Arabia – Iran, and is potentially China’s greatest security threat. Fun times. The Border Every evening, soldiers from both Pakistan and India perform an elaborate military-style ceremony at the border crossing. Wikitravel gives a good summary: “This ceremony takes place every evening before sunset at the Wagah border, which as part of the Grand Trunk Road was the only road link between these two countries before the opening of the Aman Setu in Kashmir in 1999. The ceremony starts with a blustering parade by the soldiers from both the sides, and ends up in the perfectly coordinated lowering of the two nations’ flags. It is called the beating retreat border ceremony on the international level. One infantryman stands at attention on each side of the gate. As the sun sets, the iron gates at the border are opened and the two flags are lowered simultaneously. The flags are folded and the ceremony ends with a retreat that involves a brusque handshake between soldiers from either side, followed by the closing of the gates again.” The description is spot on – I will provide documentation of each of these elements. It has been described as “carefully choreographed contempt” and in November 2014 approximately 60 people were killed and at least 110 people were injured in a suicide attack on the Pakistan side of the Wagah border. Theories include an 18–20 year old attacker detonating a 5 kg explosive in his vest 500 metres from the crossing point in the evening right after the Wagah border ceremony ended. Sorry I left that out Mom and Dad. Border is a short taxi ride away As you get closer to the border, you must get out of your car and walk the last 1-2 kilometers where you are subjected to multiple rounds of security protocols and pat downs. Bags of any kind are not allowed but one can bring a mobile phone. However – don’t expect your mobile phone to work. We were informed that jamming technology is used on both sides to prevent any texts or calls from getting out close to the border. This is to prevent the use of mobile phones as detonators for explosive devices. Some comforting signs along the way: Men and Women are separated to go through separate pat downs The military is also out in force and the slides on the back of the stadium (for quick escape) are not the most comforting The Setup Despite the pictures and tension between the two countries – I never felt like we were in mortal danger. Some initial unease on the walk to our seats certainly existed but when we sat down the whole thing had the feeling of a sporting event. While we were not allowed on the Pakistani side (obviously) and thus cannot comment on the atmosphere there, the Indian people were laughing, smiling, and taking selfies. People brought their children and pop music was blasting from the speakers in the time before the ceremony commenced. We had a special section for international attendees which was considerably better than most Indian citizens enjoyed. In fact, our seats were second only to Indian VIP’s – those who looked like diplomats and the super-rich. Again, I am reminded of the extreme privilege it is to be a United States citizen and the considerable weight that a United States passport imparts. We were ushered to our special seats quickly and our pat-downs were much less rigorous than those of Indian citizenry or non-Western parts of the world (e.g., Africa, China, SE Asia). Now let’s orient you the seating arrangement. Both the Indian and Pakistani side have stadium style seating: Pakistani side across the border - not gonna lie they had better uniforms and stadium India side - snipers at the ready Iphone Panorama - getting both sides in one shot (click to enlarge?) The ceremony began with a master of ceremonies guy screaming chants in the local language to which the India citizens were responding enthusiastically. Enable sound and full screen view for all videos...it's crazy - the energy is wild on both sides Watch the sweet leg kick at 8 seconds: Soldiers ready to perform Border is now open for the next 30 minutes, after which it's closed for the next 23 hours, 30 minutes Now for some cool videos The Indian side quiets down at 30 seconds and you can really hear the Pakistani side go at it: The ceremony starts to reach its crescendo in the next video…both soldiers are doing elaborate maneuvers about a foot from each other and preparing to take the flags down. I only took a short video – you can understand that I wanted to take most of it in myself and not spend the whole time filming. Watching the soldiers go at it was really fun and got the crowds going The conclusion of the ceremony in this next one…almost three minutes long but would encourage you to stick through it. A lot of different elements all the way up to the end Some final observations: The contrast between the Pakistani (Islamic) and Indian (Secular) sides could not have been more stark. On the Indian side – men and women sat together and my anecdotal estimates put the crowd’s clothing at approximately 60% traditional and 40% Western (e.g., blue jeans and collared shirt). Westerners weren’t common (this place is pretty remote) but there were the odd travelers and backpackers. On the Pakistani side, men were on one side while women and children were required to be on the other. No westerners were discernible and all wore traditional clothing (women required to cover all but the face). Another realization that hit home how close we were to Pakistan was that my phone switched to the local Pakistani wireless carrier from the Indian one. Note to the NSA / CIA / FBI / etc…I never went across the border – I swear. I have to say that with all of the recent revelations around Edward Snowden et.al, every American citizen has this one their minds. The fact that I was detained, TWICE, for special examination and questioning as I was leaving Delhi for the U.A.E. and the U.A.E. for Chicago certainly had me raising my eyebrow and saying “I wonder,” internally. Probably a coincidence, but you never know Finally – the atmosphere on the way back to Amritsar was relaxed. Soldiers were happy to take pictures with us and India welcomed those who had presumably crossed the border from Pakistan. All in all the border closing ceremony provided that unique cultural item that I was looking for. Loud, brash, with a small element of danger…it was a perfect way to start the Amritsar trip. Next up: a moving story about India’s struggle for independence
So stoked. Doing Wed-Thurs the following week in Tokyo. Then Thurs-Monday in kyoto. Probably going to stay in both Ginza and Shibuya in Tokyo. Really excited for Golden Gai though and it’s a bit away from Shibuya
I walk everywhere so I walked from Golden Gai to Shibuya. If you REALLY need to after midnight you'll make it
Just got back from 12 days in New Zealand. Holy Shit, So much fun. Ill do a write up in a few days once I get back on Mtn time.
Lyrtch Like someone else answered, Horseshoe Bend and Antelope can be done quickly and are about 30 minutes apart. You need to book a tour for AC tho. Sedona is about 3 hours from Antelope Canyon and remember you'll be driving by the Grand Canyon. Oct is a good time, its the tail end of the busy season.
I was digging this, I had a class on Sikhism in college and loved it so I always been interested in Armitsar. If you could post the other 2 that be great