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

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

  1. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    once the shit kicks off i dont really notice it. all fucked up from killing myself for a couple of weeks and you just shuffle from plane to plane dozing in and out of body shut downs
     
    southside likes this.
  2. CoastalOrange

    CoastalOrange Well-Known Member
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    I keep holding out hope for some cheap flight deals for UK (preferably Manchester) to crop up for my trip in April. Starting get a bit antsy.
     
    Kit likes this.
  3. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    Getting to SA is going to be a bitch, but there's really no quick way (unless you can snag that Delta 15 hour non-stop to Jo-burg):

    -Seattle to Dubai - 14 hours
    -3 hour layover
    -Dubai to Jo-burg - 9 hours
    -land at 5:30 AM, van departs at 7:00 AM
    -Van from Jo-burg to Kruger - 6 hours
     
  4. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    Alabama Crimson TideSeattle MarinersAtlanta BravesNew Orleans Saints

    Where are you at? I've been looking for flights around Labor Day and Norwegian has a lot of deals to London right now, at least the dates I've been searching.
     
  5. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    TO: London (LGW)

    Los Angeles (LAX) - $432


    TO: London (LHR)

    Boston (BOS) - $356

    Chicago (ORD) - $393*

    Denver (DEN) - $435

    Fort Lauderdale (FLL) - $384*

    Las Vegas (LAS) - $445*

    Miami (MIA) - $392

    New York City (JFK) - $342*

    New York City (LGA) - $398

    Newark (EWR) - $392

    Oakland (OAK) - $430

    Orlando (MCO) - $407

    San Francisco (SFO) - $392

    San Jose (SJC) - $415*

    Seattle (SEA) - $469

    Tampa (TPA) - $434*


    * - nonstop / direct


    WHEN: Varies depending on origin. Generally February through May and August through mid December 2019, including Thanksgiving for most. Routes departing BOS include July availability. All routes have August availability
     
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  6. CoastalOrange

    CoastalOrange Well-Known Member
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    Charlotte would be absolute best for me. But I am going to take a look at Arkadin 's deal above once I get the email. Roundtrip between CLT and NYC is pretty cheap and there are tons of flights.
     
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  7. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    when in april? i'll help
     
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  8. BayouMafia

    BayouMafia Thought Leader in Posting
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    using flight benefits through work

    On the plus side it's $550 each for round trip in Business Class. Negative is we're going the long way around and Lufthansa doesn't fly to Viet Nam. The connections in Singapore or Hong Kong either had long layovers or really tight connections, so BKK it is. Plus it's super convenient to get to Siem Reap from there. The way back has 2-3 hours in between each flight so luckily not long layovers but it turns the flight part into an ultra marathon

    Yeah I found our return from Thailand a few years ago (6 hours overnight to Tokyo, 16 hour layover to see the city, then 15 hours to DFW) to be quite enjoyable.

    Wicket
     
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  9. Why?Pokes

    Why?Pokes Take me back to the kine
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    My better half is more schedule/sight oriented than me, but my favorite part of both cities were the days we spent wandering around with no real plans checking out random cafes and shops that looked good. I have a good sense of direction and familiarized myself with the general layout of the city centers, and from there we just made some big looping walkathons trying to see as much as we could without killing ourselves on museums and landmarks (although we did those too).

    In Paris, I really enjoyed the 5th, 6th and 7th Arrs. from around the Sarbonne to the Hotel Invalides, as well as the 2nd, 3rd, and 9th Arrs. from the Louvre up to Sacre Coeur. Amsterdam was awesome all over.

    For Paris, we had a great dinner one night at Frenchie’s east of the 2nd Arr., their reservations fill up but they accommodate walk in’s across the street in a bar/tasting room attached to the kitchen. Also kinda liked Le Speakeasy piano bar near the Arc for drinks and atmosphere although I thought it was a little too showtune-y to wanna eat dinner or stay all night for the music. I wish we coulda found more live jazz spots.

    Don’t remember by name any of the good restaurants we hit up in Amsterdam, but we had a lot of fun wandering around looking for bitterballen and unusual beer at the cafes.
     
    harvey birdman likes this.
  10. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    This is rare

    TO:

    Phnom Penh (PNH)


    FROM:

    Denver (DEN) - $616

    Los Angeles (LAX) - $546

    Portland (PDX) - $617

    Raleigh (RDU) - $655

    San Diego (SAN) - $617

    San Francisco (SFO) - $558



    WHEN: Varies by origin. Generally February through May 2019 and August 2019 through early January 2020, including Thanksgiving but excluding Xmas/NYE
     
    BayouMafia likes this.
  11. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Lol get the fuck out of here with this

    TO:

    Barcelona (BCN)


    FROM:

    Newark (EWR) - $199



    WHEN: September through early December 2019 including Thanksgiving
     
    aspenbuff likes this.
  12. AptosDuck

    AptosDuck Pedantic Hausfrau
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    California Golden Bears

    Looks good but you seem to have misspelled things like Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Danube, Cesky Krumlov, and Dresden
     
  13. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Ppppaaassssss
     
  14. rv12

    rv12 Cowabunga
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    Looking for a 6-7 day trip near end of March for some solo travel. I'm wanting to do a few days of hiking and a few days of beach relaxation. I'm thinking Costa Rica but wondering if y'all have thoughts? Don't want to spend a ton of money once I'm there (will book air fare on points) but really just need a 5-7 day vacation where I can relax and do my own thing.
     
    941Gator likes this.
  15. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Yeah, Costa, nica, or even fly into Cartagena and go to tayrona if you really want to be out there doing your own thing
     
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  16. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    Kuang Si is a must in LP. Besides that the night market is cool, but thats about it.
     
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  17. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Will kuang si for sure. Want to do caves and some temples there. Should have plenty to fill the days allotted.
     
    PJP3 likes this.
  18. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    Where should I look to stay in New Orleans? Gf and I are looking at going for 5 days in April after tax season ends for me.

    Only other time I've been there was going to/from PSU getting destroyed in the TicketCity Bowl 7 years ago. We got drunk on Bourbon Street NYE, went to the Sugar Bowl coming back from Dallas, and stayed at a casino hotel. So I've basically never seen the city.

    Something centrally located would be ideal I guess.
     
  19. Room 15

    Room 15 Mi equipo esta Los Tigres
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    Stay along the street car line, it’s real convenient
     
  20. CoastalOrange

    CoastalOrange Well-Known Member
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    April 12 - 22. General plan is:
    Fly out of CLT and into Manchester
    13 - 14/15 in Liverpool for a Liverpool match
    14/15 - 19/20 in Edinburgh, Inverness/Highlands, and maybe a day in Glasgow
    19/20 - 21 in Manchester for a City match.
    22 Fly back to CLT

    Issue is the dates of the matches are subject to change based on champions league.
     
  21. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    Any particular neighborhoods? Found a spot near the WWII museum that looks promising. No idea how the street car runs but that would be a plus.

    Think we're going to Airbnb.
     
  22. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    April 12-22 is 440 out of nyc right now id just book that asap. probably 650 with the flights from charlotte. its like twice that from charlotte itself.
     
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  23. Fran Tarkenton

    Fran Tarkenton Hilton Honors VIP
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    If youre going Airbnb then stay in Garden District along Magazine/StCharles.

    If hotel then stay in Central Business District between Canal and Poydras.

    I would try to go with the former.
     
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  24. NC Wolfpack

    NC Wolfpack Go Pack Go
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    Used one when in Iceland earlier this year and it was awesome. We would be 3 hours out on a hike and I was able to make Facetime calls without any issues. The hotspot was called Trawire and I picked it up once I got into Iceland. $10/day.
     
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  25. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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  26. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    CBD

    In the middle of everything
     
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  27. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    i had an airbnb at almost the corner of esplanade and bourbon near Port of Call that was perfect
    Hes going to south africa....
     
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  28. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Africa is a pretty small country

    HTH
     
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  29. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
    Tampa Bay LightningSan Diego Padres

    Well shit, I ate at this same spot. Place was packed when I was there. I mainly made it my mission to eat every bahn mi in the city though, so don’t have much other pho to compare it to.
     
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  30. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
    Tampa Bay LightningSan Diego Padres

    Auckland > Brisbane > Sydney > LAX > Houston > Tampa was the worst for me.

    Hanoi > Saigon > Singapore > SFO > TPA is second.

    Best: LAX > SFO > CLT > TPA on no sleep after 2013 national championship.
     
  31. FriendsofJtyler

    FriendsofJtyler I strenuously object
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    Having done both (look at me) they both have their pros and cons. The abundance of animals in the Seregenti is mind blowing, but you can get closer to the animals in Kruger.
     
  32. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    First off, I was messing around -- I'm sure Krueger is amazing. Secondly, wrt the Serengeti, it depends on your guide I suppose, because we got increddddibly close to most of the animals we saw in the Serengeti -- as close as possible without exiting the vehicle and sitting on them. Not as close, but about 10 feet of a cheetah, and about 15 feet from a leopard. On top of all that, our guide seemed to know the park better as we'd go hours without seeing a single other jeep.

    I've done Pilanesburg as well. It was pretty amazing -- I got to see my favorite (African Wild Dogs), and 4 of the big 5 in only 2 rides (can't remember the actual term), but still, the Serengeti trumps all from my experience.

    Of the safaris I've done, here are my power rankings...

    1. Serengeti
    2. Pilanesburg
    3. Ngorrogorro
    4. Tarangire
    5. Disney's Wild Kingdom
    6. Alabama Safari Park

    ZIIING.
     
  33. Room 15

    Room 15 Mi equipo esta Los Tigres
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    You must’ve had a bad guide at ASP
     
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  34. two

    two Hello
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    Bought this last night
     
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  35. FriendsofJtyler

    FriendsofJtyler I strenuously object
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    We loved Tarangine. We must have seen 1000+ elephants in the 3 days we were there. The downside is the tsetse flies, good god I had so many bites. We saw everything imaginable in the Serengeti too and having our own guide for that long was amazing. We could go out for as long as we wanted and go search for whatever we wanted. The Serengeti is so big we would sometimes go miles without seeing another vehicle, it felt like we had the place to ourselves.

    If we ever do another one I would love to the Okavango Delta or Namibia.
     
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  36. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    Also worth noting, that the very first animal we saw after starting the safari drive -- like under 5 minutes, was a rhino. I thinnnnnk it was a black rhino as well, I don't remember exactly because it was almost 9 years ago. That, and I didn't realize the difference between black and white rhinos.

    This is why it ranked where it did. I almost put it ahead of Ngorrogorro, but then I remembered those flies.
     
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  37. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
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    could really use an amazing deal to africa

    ~2400 to get to JRO in economy is steeeeeeeep
     
  38. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    They come a decent bit. Week or two ago there was 650 to joburg. I'll post when I see it
     
    Lyrtch likes this.
  39. FriendsofJtyler

    FriendsofJtyler I strenuously object
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    Yep, Scott's had LAX/DC to Cape Town for $531 a month ago and same price to Joburg from most of the East coast. Something will pop again

    What was life like before Scott's.
     
  40. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
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    need to do the pre-research so I can jump on something when it comes up
     
    Arkadin likes this.
  41. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    They were there but it wasted significantly more of my time finding them lol
     
  42. Room 15

    Room 15 Mi equipo esta Los Tigres
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    I love computers.
     
    Arkadin likes this.
  43. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    I dont even read those 25 other websites anymore
     
  44. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
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    Depends on what you’re looking to do. Downtown is very touristy (but fun), while uptown is just as much fun but fewer tourists. Windsor Court downtown is the nicest hotel in town, if that’s what you’re looking for.

    FYI Jazzfest is the last weekend in April and the first weekend in May, and is the busiest time of year in NOLA. 100% worth going if that’s your thing. Great food and music all around town. On the other hand, if you’re looking to go either of those weekends and not attend Jazzfest be prepared for massive crowds everywhere you go. If you’re looking to do 5 days, consider going the days between the two weekends of Jazzfest. Lots of great music, the city is “more alive” and there’s lots to do, but not as crowded as the weekends themselves.
     
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  45. two

    two Hello
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    Late May a decent time to visit Thailand? Gonna shoot for May 15-30
     
  46. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    Yeah. It's the beginning of rainy season so the andaman sea side could get storms but there's plenty of other places to be and its entirely possible it doesnt rain
     
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  47. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    You'll get afternoon showers a lot of places but it's basically the same as the ones in the southern us coastal areas
     
  48. Arkadin

    Arkadin inefficiently efficent and unclearly clear
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    I've been on a laos Instagram bender for several days now and I'm getting more and more excited only 135 days but who's counting
     
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  49. Arliden

    Arliden Well-Known Member
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    Here for the Google Fi talk a couple pages back. It’s legit, easy to use going from country to country, put in a new SIM card and it’s good to go. Different number is really not that big of a deal.

    In other news booked all our accommodations for Seychelles and Cape Town. Getting shots has been kinda of a pain though.
     
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  50. Arliden

    Arliden Well-Known Member
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    Not sure your interests but as a local I’ll throw out some ides for the beginning of your trip as there’s probably less information on it.

    I’ll skip SB cause I’m sure it has info.

    From Santa Barbara, I would hit Los Olivos it’s a small wealthy little wine town, good for lunch, wine tasting location, and fig mountain brewery. I’d avoid Solvang I personally find it extremely overrated. As an alternative to highway 101/1 You can take Hwy 154 out to get to Los Olivos, if you take a right off 154 onto east Camino Cielo at the top there and go for a bit you will get pretty spectacular views of Santa Barbara and the pacific. (Check it out on google maps) Also along 154 on the back side of those mountains there is a little eatery called cold springs tavern good tri tip sandwhiches, (tri tip is a California thing especially out of the central coast/Santa Maria.)

    I’d stop in SLO, San Luis Obispo charming college town with Farmers markets on Thursday nights that are pretty fun the whole main drag shuts down for them. Barrel house brewing (local) has an underground bar there as well as a larger tap room in Paso Robles.

    As far as beaches after Santa Barbara, Avila beach or Shell beach are nice beaches to stop at to break up the drive.

    There’s plenty of really good wineries in Santa Barbara/Los Olivos, Slo or Paso Robles