2018 Travel Thread

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by motion

Dana Villas and Suites. Very reasonably priced and a good location. There are better spots, but expect to pay much, much more.

Thank you!

Wife read the buses are unreliable and to expect to wait 30+ mins past scheduled time for one to eventually show up.

We are not afraid of walking, we just walked the dog 4 miles this morning to breakfast downtown then around downtown then back.

She read you can rent a Quad runner ATV style vehicle to run around the Island on.

I, personally prefer to walk.. a lot.

Thanks for the info nonetheless we are looking into the Dana Villas.

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by Jims5543

Instead of starting a new thread I am going to post questions here.

In September 2019 my wife and I celebrate our 30th anniversary.


Mrs5543 has expressed her desire to vacation in Santorini Greece we are now gathering info on the location, we plan on spending 3-4 days on the Island.

I am asking if anyone has been there and can give suggestions regarding lodging, sights and dining that we should look into.

We are VERY freestyle people, we hate schedules and itineraries we prefer to wander and take things as they come to us. We did this in Ireland last year having no idea where we would end up or where we would sleep and it was unforgettable.

We had a few spots we knew we wanted to hit, then everything else we just winged it.

That said, any input would be welcome. We are not party type people (hence skipping Mykanos) we prefer a more laid back local scene.

Yes we are already boning up on some Greek so we may be somewhat able to communicate in native tongue when we get there 1.5 years from now.

Only there on a cruise ship stopover. Loved it. Can see most by walking, maybe a bus from the ferry dock north to where those blue domed churches are. (Ferry dock and airport approx in the middle of the island. About 8 miles to each end) Great local beer named "FIX"........Enjoy

[Don Plumley]

Santorini is beautiful - and very walkable. Walked down to see a winery I was interested in - Domaine Siglas - this is years before they became trendy. My kids still complain about the "Death March" in the heat for an hour behind a donkey (seriously) so dad could see a winery. Good times.



This is almost 11 years ago. I note that compared to the pics above, Beth hasn't aged at all:


We had lunch on Kamari beach, wished we spent more time there.

Enjoy!

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by motion

I was in Sri Lanka a couple years ago for around 4 days. There are a couple tourist spots where 90% of the visitors go, but beyond that, not much there. Very, very rough infrastructure. Can't recommend too highly.

Started off looking at a New York city break, then narrowed it down to Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri Lanka

Now booked flights to Oman for end of May for our family holiday

We'll hire a 4x4 and go exploring, mountains, beaches, desert driving, souq's, forts, oasis, luxury hotels, basic guest houses, good food, friendly people etc etc

Really enjoy the contrasting culture this part of the world offers, self driving around Jordan was one of our favourite holidays so I've got high hopes Oman will offer a similar experience

Will be sure to report back

[Eric 951]

In reading this thread, this appears to be a popular itinerary--heading to Scotland/England in September. (1) week of hunting roe deer/pheasant in Ballater, then (1) week of touring England.

Trying to squeeze in a pheasant hunt to either S Dakota or Nebraska in October as well--anyone have suggestions for a lodge with true wild birds?

[jhc]

Originally Posted by Jims5543

Instead of starting a new thread I am going to post questions here.

In September 2019 my wife and I celebrate our 30th anniversary.


Mrs5543 has expressed her desire to vacation in Santorini Greece we are now gathering info on the location, we plan on spending 3-4 days on the Island.

I am asking if anyone has been there and can give suggestions regarding lodging, sights and dining that we should look into.

We are VERY freestyle people, we hate schedules and itineraries we prefer to wander and take things as they come to us. We did this in Ireland last year having no idea where we would end up or where we would sleep and it was unforgettable.

We had a few spots we knew we wanted to hit, then everything else we just winged it.

That said, any input would be welcome. We are not party type people (hence skipping Mykanos) we prefer a more laid back local scene.

Yes we are already boning up on some Greek so we may be somewhat able to communicate in native tongue when we get there 1.5 years from now.

We spent a month last year driving around Greece, driving from Athens to Thessaloniki and then doing the Cyclyade Islands: For Santorini I would recommend staying in Oia to get the classic views, if you have time take the fgerry to other islands. Here are some snaps I took on the islands plus one from the rock top monasteries in Meteora.

[David]

We went to Santorini 4 years ago and loved it. We stayed at Delfini Villas in Oia and really liked it. Oia's at the far end of the island and seems less populated than other tourist areas at least when the cruise ships are gone which fit our desires perfectly. There is more interesting night life (and younger folks) around Faros I think if that's your thing.

We did a lot of walking, took a wine tour, a tour a Akrotiri, a day sail with dinner, and we rented a convertible for a day to explore the beachs and a couple of restaurants on the other side of the island. I don't think we had bad meal in the week or so we were there.

It's the most memorable places I've ever been.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by vash

blew off spending time in Lima. just booked a small plane to fly over to the Amazon..

I spent 2 weeks on a boat in the Amazon in 2013. It was right after the rainy season so the water level was 40-50 feet up from what it is in Nov/Dec right before the rainy season starts. I'd love to go back one day, but at the low water mark.

I bought a new camera and lens. I took about 7500 photos. I trimmed it down to ~1500.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/62319060@N05/collections/72157634889161015/

[David]

I just got back from Portugal. It was a great trip and I highly recommend it. It's beautiful, the people are nice and the roads are incredible. We drove about 2,000 km in two weeks so my one regret is not spending more to rent a BMW or some other better handling car than our diesel Nissan SUV. We did some driving on really rutted dirt roads near the beach so it's good we didn't get something too low. The food was really good but not on par with Spain, France or Italy in my opinion. Hard to beat the low food and wine prices tho.

[David]

Originally Posted by masraum

I spent 2 weeks on a boat in the Amazon in 2013. It was right after the rainy season so the water level was 40-50 feet up from what it is in Nov/Dec right before the rainy season starts. I'd love to go back one day, but at the low water mark.

I bought a new camera and lens. I took about 7500 photos. I trimmed it down to ~1500.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/62319060@N05/collections/72157634889161015/

Those pictures are amazing. Too bad I can't get the wife on a boat longer than a couple hours.

[KevinTodd]

Guatemala for a week....

First few days in Antigua. Beautiful 900 year-old colonial city. Wonderful people, food, architecture. Active volcanoes puffing smoke on three corners. Stayed at Posada del Angel, a wonderfully small (6 suites) boutique property that was simply amazing.

A couple of days in Guatemala City, then flew to Flores for the drive to Tikal. We stayed at the Coppola property there called La Lancha. Again, an amazingly small boutique on Lake Peten Itza, with secluded individual lodges nestled into the jungle above the lake. Just beyond description really--and Tikal was a bucket list visit. We had a private local guide, which made a difference.

[vash]

Stunning!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by David

Those pictures are amazing. Too bad I can't get the wife on a boat longer than a couple hours.

Absolutely no way to see the Amazon without a lot of boating, whether it's the dry or wet season, that's for sure.

Those were also some great shots that you put up of Portugal.

I've spent a weekend in Portugal with my parents when I was between two years of college. I think it was Albufeira, a small coastal town on the south coast a little east of Faro. My dad was stationed in Rota, Spain which is near Jerez and Cadiz. Portugal was very cool, similar to Spain, but also different. Spain was also a fantastic place. Gibraltar was great. Tangier, meh, didn't really do anything for me.

[bkreigsr]

All the bkreigsr's last week.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Just had 8 days family trip self-driving exploring Oman, we stayed in a mixture of 5 star luxury to a small boutique family run hotel, in a town, on a mountian and by the sea.

Drove around in a 4x4 on sand, tarmac and gravel, fuel was cheaper than Coca Cola

We like going to the less popular destinations as we want to see the world through our own eyes not through the biased news reports on CNN or BBC

Was slightly concerned it would be a bit too quiet as it was Ramadam but with everything being very quite subdued with no coffee shops, restaurants open during the day it only made the pace more relaxed. We even had a hotel with the best mountain views all to ourselves

What an amazing country, I'd put it right up there in my 'Top 10 Favourites'

If you want a taste of the true Middle East, desert, beaches, mountains, culture/history, wildlife, oasis, warm and friendly locals, great food etc etc I can recommend it as perfect destination without all the falseness of somewhere like Dubai offers.

Best day was waking up in a desert camp, early morning quad bike ride in the desert before breakfast, sand dunes as far as you could see


A quick lunch then some splashing about in warm surf on a white beach that was all ours


Then finally watching sea turtle laying eggs and a baby turtle starting out its life under a moonlit sky, no Disney animatronics involved as the poor little fella was only an hour old but already had lost an eye in a dust up with a crab


Could have easily stayed another week and explored the south of the country with its green rolling hills and the north with its crystal clear fjords

[Outback Porsche]

Nearly packed. Will be on the NZ north island tomorrow

[Don Plumley]

Originally Posted by Outback Porsche

Nearly packed. Will be on the NZ north island tomorrow

Nice!

[Don Plumley]

Had a meeting in Anzčre, Switzerland. Here’s our meeting room at 2362m:






From there Beth and I went to Lake Garda in Northern Italy, stayed in Bardolino:

[Outback Porsche]

Watching the sun set on Mt Taranaki NZ

[SpyderMike]

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr

Anyone been to Mauritius, Seychelles or Sri Lanka?

Interested to hear your thoughts as I'm having trouble choosing

Did my honeymoon in Mauritius, but that was 24 years ago. I did a project with Air Mauritius and worked there some of the time. I am not sure I could recommend it. Back then it was a few nice resorts and then 3rd world poverty everywhere else. I hope that it has improved...