The Travel Thread

[mac5155]

We booked transportation through the tour operator (Aventar or something another.. cheapcaribbean.com).

Did you go to the Mayan Ruins or whatever? My fam wants to do "excursions" but I want to stay at the resort I spent a weeks paycheck to stay at and eat and drink.

My wife and I went to a resort near Playa del Carmen over New Year's and did a tour with Alltournative. It was pretty good. In the morning, we went out into this jungle park they have set up and did snorkeling through some caves, zip-lining, rappelling, etc. In the afternoon, we went to the Mayan ruins at Tulum. I would have preferred a more in-depth lecture about the ruins, but I was probably the only one in the tour group who felt that way.

It says the tour lasts approximately 10 hours. Google maps says 1 hr drive from our resort to tulum which im sure will be more like 1.5-2 hours. Im not spending 3-4 hours on a drive to see them.

[largegarlic]

We booked transportation through the tour operator (Aventar or something another.. cheapcaribbean.com).

Did you go to the Mayan Ruins or whatever? My fam wants to do "excursions" but I want to stay at the resort I spent a weeks paycheck to stay at and eat and drink.

My wife and I went to a resort near Playa del Carmen over New Year's and did a tour with Alltournative. It was pretty good. In the morning, we went out into this jungle park they have set up and did snorkeling through some caves, zip-lining, rappelling, etc. In the afternoon, we went to the Mayan ruins at Tulum. I would have preferred a more in-depth lecture about the ruins, but I was probably the only one in the tour group who felt that way.

It says the tour lasts approximately 10 hours. Google maps says 1 hr drive from our resort to tulum which im sure will be more like 1.5-2 hours. Im not spending 3-4 hours on a drive to see them.

Yeah, the tour was fun, but I also probably would have had fun just staying at our resort for the day. My wife and I usually make it a point to see historical/archeological sites whenever we travel, and while the ruins were cool, they weren't as impressive as some of the other stuff we've seen. Chichen Itza is probably a different story, but I think that's 2-3 hours from most of the resorts on the coast.

[tifosi77]

With a tip of the hat to shmenguin for recommending this to me in the movies thread, I present:

The Travel Bug with August Lindt

An audio podcast featuring travel (and cooking) advice from German-speaking luminaries H.R. Giger, Werner Herzog and Pope Benedict XVI.

(NSFW language, especially the Pope)

[obhave]

Has anyone on here ever been to Iceland? I'm thinking that will be my next trip.

[Letang Is The Truth]

plan our honeymoon. go

[Gaucho]

Iceland.

[shoeshine boy]

planning a trip to Italy next year, likely Milan with trips to Florence and Venice. tips? tricks?

[ulf]

plan our honeymoon. go

Assuming you have all the monies either Whitsunday Islands in Aus, or Switzerland. If not, PCB!!

[Gaucho]

planning a trip to Italy next year, likely Milan with trips to Florence and Venice. tips? tricks?

I'd recommend making the Florence area your homebase instead of Milan.

[obhave]

What time of year is your wedding? (Weather related)

[Letang Is The Truth]

June

[shoeshine boy]

planning a trip to Italy next year, likely Milan with trips to Florence and Venice. tips? tricks?

I'd recommend making the Florence area your homebase instead of Milan.

I would but we have friends that live in Milan so we'll likely be getting free lodging there.

[Gaucho]

planning a trip to Italy next year, likely Milan with trips to Florence and Venice. tips? tricks?

I'd recommend making the Florence area your homebase instead of Milan.

I would but we have friends that live in Milan so we'll likely be getting free lodging there.

That, of course, is a very good reason to stay in Milan.

[DMcGrew]

Alright everyone.. give me your best Boston tips. Looking for things to see/do, places to eat, and best way to travel around the city.

[llipgh2]

Alright everyone.. give me your best Boston tips. Looking for things to see/do, places to eat, and best way to travel around the city.

Boston is a quite walkable city, good subway system as well.

You can follow the Paul Revere trail around the city, it points out key historic places.

You have to go to the North End, Boston's Little Italy. Which in my opinion is better than NYC's. Lots of good restaurants, bakeries, etc.

And tour the USS Constitution.

[npv708]

Here are some highlights from my trip to Croatia, France, Monaco, and Italy. In all we hit: Paris, Zagreb, Ogulin, Plitvice Lakes National Parks, Zadar, Nice, Monaco, and Ventimiglia.

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Definitely one of the most amazing trips I've ever taken.

[eddysnake]

Those pictures are awesome. Thanks for sharing. What beautiful sites!

[shafnutz05]

llipgh nailed Boston pretty well. The Sam Adams Brewery is not convenient at all to get to, and you usually have to reserve a spot...long story short, don't recommend it.

There is a nice green near Boston Harbor that is fantastic to just sit at, feel the breeze and the sun, and just relax.

Faneuil Hall is a tourist attraction, pure and simple. It's basically a historical building loaded with shops and restaurants. If that is your thing, great.

Little Italy is very cool. My wife and I stopped at this gelato place, and are just sitting there talking. Suddenly, this older gentleman comes in with a younger guy that is built like a house (his bodyguard?), as well as three or four younger looking Italians that are dressed in the classic, stereotypical mob look. The proprietor of the place got a "holy crap" look in his eyes, dropped everything he was doing, and brought the guy a plate of stuff and coffee without even being paid or asked. There were two other couples that got uncomfortable and left, but we thought it was pretty bad ass and hung around

Ahh yes, I recommend taking a drive out to Deer Island Park. It's a former landfill that was converted into a park, and it has absolutely beautiful views of Boston from the other end of the harbor. Probably the best photo op would be in the morning, with the sunrise behind you.

That's all I got.

[blackjack68]

Going to Chicago in two weeks...any suggestions?

Going to dinner at Gibson's one night is all I have planned so far.

[Nuge]

The North End was my favorite part of Boston. Get a cannoli at Mikes. I thought the Sam Adams Brewery was pretty cool until they tell you that most of the beer is actually brewed in Cincinnati and Allentown. I took a walking tour of Harvard that was pretty interesting. The T makes getting around really easy. Fenway was awesome too.

[eddysnake]

Going to Chicago in two weeks...any suggestions?

Going to dinner at Gibson's one night is all I have planned so far.

Last summer when we went, we did the Chicago River Architecture Tour and it was pretty awesome. West Egg Cafe has really great breakfast/lunch. Portillo's for a hot dog is a good idea. I had 3 kids with me so a lot of our visits were kid related.

[shmenguin]

harvard square is great.

also, if you want a simple touristy thing, go to the restaurant at the top of the prudential building. amazing panoramic view.

[tifosi77]

planning a trip to Italy next year, likely Milan with trips to Florence and Venice. tips? tricks?

I'm not a big fan of packing and unpacking multiple times when I travel, so I tend to not favor the trips that include 3+ destinations. That said, the Rome-Florence-Venice thing is such a staple of Italian tourism.

Outside of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and AC Milan, I don't know anything about Milan. What little I know a about Venice is mostly thanks to Assassin's Creed. However, Florence is...... amazing.

If you are going to be there for three days and plan to hit many museums, I'd recommend The Firenze Card - it's a card with a 72-hour shelf life that gives you expedited admission to about 60 museums, unlimited bus travel around town, and fee wifi access. You can get them at the airport and at the Santa Maria Novella train station, as well as a few other places around town. (And of course they're available online) Our neighbors three houses down the way were in Italy while we were in Spain, and they said the card was absolutely worth it. The only caveat is you really need to make sure you plan on visiting enough museums to offset the cost, which is about $100 per person. The museum entry fees are usually quite reasonable (under 20 bucks), so the Firenze Card is all about maximizing your time. With the hours you're saving bypassing the ticket lines, you're looking at the possibility of visiting perhaps 3 or 4 whole other museums you would not have been able to visit otherwise.

About the museums....... the lines for the Galleria degli Uffizi and the Galleria dell'Accademia can be thousands of people deep during tourist season. You may spend your entire morning in the line to see the David for two minutes. I'm not sure how the card work in relation to the lines to actually enter the museums (I think you still have to schedule an appointment for some, like the Uffizi), but it does allow you to skip the ticket queues.

We didn't see much of Florence when we were there, but if you have questions about the Chianti countryside I have more useful info for you.

[Kaizer]

Cross country drive #2 coming up. NYC to Seattle

[blackjack68]

Oof. Do not envy.