Re: Berlin metro, you definitely want to pay for transit, my buddy got a 60 euro fine for not having a valid ticket.
+1 These people are a ton of fun and not as uppity as a lot of the Europeans. edit: I think I mentioned this guy in my write up. He's a crazy fucker. He wound up having a threesome with two of the girls from the tour the night I went.
I spent 9 days in Italy in March that was part of a larger backpacking trip. I did three days in each city. I would say spend two days in Venice at most. No need for three. Rome is so massive with a ton of historical sights that you could do four days there. If you're going 9 days I would do four in Rome, three in Florence, and two in Venice. I highly recommend a wine tour while in Florence. I did the Super Chianti tour through http://www.tuscan-wine-tours.com/. You get to meet the butcher from this Anthony Bourdain episode. He stuffs you with food and wine for a few hours. Plus visits to two other wineries.
Maybe I will get to it in a few pages but did you ever find anything regarding this secret entrance into the Louvre? EDIT: Found. Any other suggestions you might have? What AirBnB did you stay in? I noted the comment about the Latin Quarter, didn't know if you would suggest your specific place.
I stayed at the Madhouse in Prague as well. I swear a game of beer pong was started there every morning at 11AM. It was the only hostel during my trip where I was able to actually hook up with a girl in my bed. Place had no rules. I also wasn't that big of a fan of Amsterdam. The Anne Frank house was a great experience, however.
Yea Madhouse was without a doubt the best hostel I stayed at. Everyone working there was awesome and all the people staying there just wanted to have a good time and were up for anything. We had a good group while I was there. Our first night there a bunch of people came in at 6am making a ruckus and I lost my shit on them. Ended up meeting them the next morning and we all had a good laugh about it. We ended up hanging out with them for the rest of our time there.
Been getting the itch again, looking at destinations everywhere---after working for just 2 months. Will head somewhere on the West Coast for a long weekend b/w now and NYE---San Fran/Vancouver/Portland/maybe up to Alaska (RT for like $300) NYE in Ecuador/Galapagos July 2018--Africa. Just started looking into it. Am either going to do Kenya --> Uganda/Ethiopia/Tanzania, or only Madagascar (saving South Africa for its own trip) Probably a short week in Europe of somewhere in March/April 2018---Norwegian Air and some of the other long-haul budget Euro airlines have non-stop to Europe for $4-500 Dear diary
I've been close to pulling the trigger before and finally decided I will being doing Eastern Europe winter 2018/2019 Destinations will be Munich or Berlin, Krakow and Prague for NYE Hostel Recs would be great. Looks like Madhouse would be a great choice for Prague. Any other info y'all have as far as which airlines to avoid and cool places to visit would be great.
Wombats in Berlin was legit, though their wifi was absolutely useless. And I can't recommend Madhouse enough, but book well in advance as it's always full.
Also, I don't think I mentioned this in my trip post, but I didn't have any problems carrying on my farpoint 55 on Iceland air, transavia, and sas. The woman at the check in counter did make me put my bag in the cage, but it fit.
Sucks to hear about your issues with myCar in Iceland. I unfortunately had a similar experience of them not being there when we landed, although I still had an email from them in my inbox so I connected to the airport wifi and emailed them and said we were at the meeting point and they were there in a few minutes. Minor annoyance but I can deal with it for how laid back they were about the car, super easy pick up/return and no problems with them since
Looking for some recommendations on Chicago. We have a group of about 12 father and sons going up for the NC State v Notre Dame game in late October. Looks like most will be getting there sometime Thursday, so we will have Thursday night and then all day Friday. Looking for any info on where to stay, eat, do, etc. Probably wanna do a pretty good/nice dinner one of the nights as well. Didn't see a Chicago thread anywhere and didn't see any extensive breakdowns when I searched this thread.
Yea, it all worked out. I was worried they'd try to get us for body damage like I'd heard about other car rental companies since we drove on some dirt roads, but we had no issues. Only other thing is their insistence on the hourly airport shuttle for dropping off the car. I laughed when they said that and asked where the hourly shuttle was when we were waiting to get picked up from the airport.
Well I can tell you where not to go for a good/nice dinner: North Pond. A group of us did that the night before PSU-NW a few years ago and were highly disappointed. I haven't eaten there yet but Girl & the Goat is supposed to be fantastic, as well as a bunch of other restaurants in that general area (Au Cheval, Little Goat, etc.). Little Goat is solid for breakfast/brunch. Not super nice but I enjoyed the Gage. Get the Scotch egg if it's still on the menu. If you like Korean BBQ, Cho Sun Ok, near Lincoln Square and the Half Acre taproom, is one of the best meals I've ever had relative to the price. BYOB as well and there's a beer store, Bottles and Cans, nearby. Piece is a great spot if you want to try some awesome non-deep dish pizza. It's also a brewery. Their beer is just ok but the New Haven-style pizza is fantastic. Lots of TV's as well. If you want recs on bars/breweries I can get into that.
Pretty sure there is a Chicago thread somewhere, but not sure. Anyhow, check out Big Star in Wicker Park. It's a beer and bourbon bar that serves good tacos. Indoor/outdoor joint with a great vibe. Get a shot of bourbon, michelada, and a few tacos. Not sure how well versed your group is on Chicago, but if there's a lot of first timers you may want to do an architectural boat tour. It's the best way to see the city plus all the boats have bars on them which means you can basically turn it into a booze cruise.
I second the boat tour and Big Star. Personally prefer Lou Malnati's for deep dish and an italian beef from most places.
All booked---getting scuba certified in the Galapagos December 28-30. Will be a gametime decision on when I head back to Quito. May just hop around islands for my whole trip, flying back on Jan 3.
Just got my open water license Monday in Utila. Great experience although my left ear is still fucked up from all the pressure.
That's what I'm getting as well. The first day is in the pool, then the next 2 days has 4 open-water dives at various sites. Depending on how it goes, may try to fit in one more dive while I'm down there over my remaining days.
We watched about four hours of video the first day. Second day started in the morning with more classroom crap. Then the afternoon was getting accustomed with the equipment and getting in the water. Did some training in about six feet of water. Third day we started by doing additional exercises, but at 12 meters deep. Took a break for lunch then more exercises that afternoon. Fourth day we started by going to the max depth for an open water certified diver (18 meters) and explored the reef. Then everyone in the class had two free dives that they could use whenever they wanted.
Thankfully they send me all the classroom stuff to do online before I arrive, so we put on equipment and get in the water immediately when I get there. Really, really want to get in the middle of a school of sea lions.
Yeah, was gonna say you should look into that. Some people there had done classroom stuff prior since they were on vacation and had limited days on the island.
47 straight -- we stayed in Madhouse Prague right? The best hostel I've stayed in was definitely Yes! Porto. -- I had such a fucking blast at that place. Best hostel city is Budapest in my experience. Worst hostel I've stayed was Hans Brinker in Amsterdam, just a few months before this article was written: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ns-Brinker-Amsterdam-boasts-filthy-rooms.html
We stayed at Madhouse Prague, yes. My 2nd trip to Prague, I stayed in Hostel One Home (I think). Both were great
All anecdotal, but my favorite hostel was Hostel One Home in Prague. St. Christopher's Inn in Amsterdam is one of the worst I've stayed at. I also stayed at some horrendous places in India, but I also paid like $1-2/night in certain places, so I don't know what I was really expecting. Spicy Pai, in Thailand, is another great one. Eco Pampa is Buenos Aires is a great party scene, not the greatest facilities. Pariwana in Peru (both in Lima and Cusco) is very good.
Agreed, you almost can't go wrong there. I think favorite hostels I've stayed in are Happy Buddha in Medellin and Francesco's in Ios.
for those wanting to get certied to scuba dive, I would highly recommend getting certified on home soil, preferably in your hometown. Online can save you some time, but I haven't pursued those. You spend so much time (I forget the # of instruction hours required) getting certified that I would never want to use vacation time in the classroom or in anything other than the actual dive sites. I have 3 certifications (OW, OWA, and EANx) and have done them all at home. Generally speaking, the instructors and equipment you get trained on will be of a higher quality than a dive shop in a 2nd/3rd world country. edit: also many big cities are more competitive $$$ wise, and you can actually enjoy the dives, because you hit the ground running.
Has anyone here not had a bad experience in amsterdams hostels? I definitely would find a hotel or airbnb if I ever went back, which I won't anytime soon.
I would also recommend the architectural boat tour as others have suggested. I've been there a bunch of times but never done much touristy stuff. There's the giant bean although I don't think it really sounds like something your group would be enamored by. Bars: Sheffield's - Near Wrigley, always has an excellent tap list. The Map Room - Pretty well-known beer bar although I thought their tap list was just ok the time I was there. Cash only. Fountainhead - Solid tap list. Wouldn't necessarily seek it out but worth stopping at if it's near something else you're going to see. Breweries: Half Acre - Previously mentioned but probably my favorite in Chicago. Haymarket - Gets a lot of hate in the Good Beer thread but if you go to one of the restaurants near there, stop in for a drink. Lots of TV's. Piece - Mentioned in my previous post; come for the pizza, not the beer. Revolution - They make several really good beers and the food there is also solid as far as breweries go. Vice District - Very small place near the South Loop. I think it was pretty new when I went there but they had several different styles on tap. There are a bunch of other new breweries that have opened since I've been back. If you look through the last few pages of the beer thread we discussed Chicago in there not long ago.
Just got back from tayrona. Holy shit that place is gorgeous. Also, lots of butts walking around for your viewing pleasure. Perfect place to just get away from everything (no cell/wifi) and relax. Will provide pics (except butt pics) when I get back to the states.
Where did you stay? I thought Tagonga as a town sucked and didn't spend any time in Santa Rosa, but the park is gorgeous and if I went back I would camp.
Stayed Monday night in Santa Marta at Drop Bear hostel. P solid. Big place with a restaurant, pool table, ping pong, huge TV viewing room, pool, bar. Also, they just put everything on a tab which is nice so you're not trying to constantly make change in foreign currency like I was in cartagena. Also, great jumping off point for tayrona, taganga, Playa Blanca, and Minca (the last 3 didn't have time to visit but all the pics look amazing, especially minca). Santa Marta as a city isn't much, but pretty cheap and plenty of options in the area with a ton of beauty. Tuesday and Wednesday nights I stayed in the tents at Cabo San Juan. I would recommend hammocks bc those tents get hot as fuck during the day when you need a reprieve. Also, being in shape helps bc you have to hike everywhere. Back at drop bear now and flying to cali tomorrow around 11.
It's not all international but August and September are going to put a hurting on my liver and bank account. In August I have a bachelor party in Savannah, a bachelor party in Asheville, and a guys weekend in NOLA. In September I head to Paris, Manchester, and London as well as trips to Buffalo and Blacksburg, VA.
This was/is me Wedding April 21, apr!l 29, Croatia may 1-14, bachelor party end of May, wedding June 15 weekend, bachelor party last weekend, wedding July 15. Then I get a break thank God Also bought a house April 14 Im broke nigga I'm broke
I don't really recall where I stayed but I remember liking it. It was one of the higher rated ones on hostel world at the time.
United changing their rewards program Nov 1. I imagine it's going to be for the worse, which sucks because their redemption is currently awesome