The Travel Thread

[JustSteve]

i concur, my 3 months backpacking through europe was the best thing i could have ever done. i honestly feel really bad for people who never get a chance to travel like that. trying to talk my 22 year old nephew into doing so before it is too late.

[idrive1life]

Happy new year/travels everyone!

2011 was almost as great as 2009 & 2010 ... last year - have an unforgettable wild summer at Cinque Terre, Lake Como, Bellagio, Ibiza, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Bologna and Milan; celebrated my birthday in Seoul; have had the best Christmas & New Year's Eve ever in Sydney (made it and was in Hawaii still New Years day; finally (re)visited some of the nice beaches in FL. And finally got to see what it's like in SF around Christmas time.

2012 ... thinking of going to Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Rio, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Kyoto ...

[Sleepingrock]

Cinque Terre is beautiful, did you stay in all 5 villages?

[idrive1life]

Yes.

[captncrzy]

Have any of you ever stayed in a yurt? Thinking of renting this place on Maui in the fall:

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p388083

[boarderwoozel3]

I enjoy using Kayak's explore feature. You can also sign up for price alerts.

Honestly, for good deals I tend to scour the web almost daily for months. You never know when you will find a good deal or where. I check all the aggregator sites expedia, orbitz, etc. Then I check the airlines directly as well.

http://www.kayak.com/

http://www.kayak.com/explore/

alerts and recent low fared purchased

http://www.kayak.com/buzz

That thing is dangerous. $510 rt to Barcelona!? Gives me an itchy trigger finger.

[faxman75]

$460 to Zurich in a few weeks too. That's about $100 less than what I paid in November which was already super super cheap.

[boarderwoozel3]

Off season travel is where it's at, apparently.

[Courtney]

January, February and October are traditionally the slowest months for air travel, so it makes sense that fares would be very cheap right now.

[TomAz]

Paris, Barcelona, Rome, meh. I'm in Omaha bitchez.

[Courtney]

Glamorous.

[TomAz]

and fucking cold.

[JustSteve]

January, February and October are traditionally the slowest months for air travel, so it makes sense that fares would be very cheap right now.

took my wife(then girlfriend) to paris back in '05 for valentine's day and it was $400 each rt. basically sealed the deal with that trip, haha.

[TomAz]

I swear I posted something in here about the Faroe islands the other day.

[fikus222]

I'd really like to see Ottawa and go to Montreal again. I wonder how cool it would be to roadtrip from Toronto -> Ottawa -> Montreal.

Toronto


Ottawa


Montreal


Countryside


I like to dream big

[Originalbob]

I found an amazing deal on a flght from PVU to SAT only 2 weeks ago for me and my son at $504 RT! It turns out the other little airport (Provo) is now doing commerical flghts at a substantially cheaper rate than SLC. This will also be the first airplane trip for my son--I'm so excited for him. I also haven't flown since my trip to NY 2 years ago.

[ykill5]

1. Many countries require you to have outbound tickets, or at least proof you are planning to leave the country at a certain time (i imagine before your visa expires) What is the best way to get around this? Do most countries actually require you to show this proof before entering the country? What if I planned to leave the country via land or boat? For the trip I am planning, i want it loose as possible. I have heard you can buy business class tickets and then just cancel once you are in the country. seems sorta a sketchy pain in the ass, but business class is usually fully refundable so that might be the way to go. Any ideas or experiences with this?

i spent 6 months in NZ on a working holiday visa, minus the working. i believe i had a bank statement that i printed out showing sufficient funds for an outbound ticket, but they never asked for any proof. somewhere in SE asia i was required to have an actual ticket, i really couldn't tell you where though, it was almost 4 years ago. but i did the whole refundable ticket thing and immediately got my refund after i entered the country. it really isn't that big of a hassle, just make sure you buy the ticket with a major airline, no problemo. safe travels!

[captncrzy]

None of you aholes answered my yurt question

[PlayaDelWes]

None of you aholes answered my yurt question

This place looks right up your alley.
http://inhabitat.com/el-cosmico-a-hi...tage-trailers/

[whynotsmile99]

countdown started for me. leave for Singapore the 29th. everything is coming along well.

[captncrzy]

Which is better....Barcelona or Madrid? Please back up your declaration with evidence.

[sonofhal]

Barcelona - Better food, better nightlife, Gaudi and great beaches. I'd also pick Valencia over Madrid.

Also - I have a week to kill in March. Anyone want a visitor?

[algunz]

Definitely Barcelona!

[scenicworld]

Flying into New York on march 23rd and staying until the 26th. Then I'm taking a train to Philadelphia before I sloy back home on the 28th. It's the first time I'll be east of Vegas, so I'm pretty excited!

Then in either June or July I'll be back in Philly and visiting DC for a few days.

[TomAz]

Which is better....Barcelona or Madrid? Please back up your declaration with evidence.

Madrid has La Reina Sofia, the Prado, and Thyssen-Bornemisza. and isn't stuck up like Barcelona.

[MoSetsfire]

Im headed to Denver next week. Any suggestions?

[TomAz]

Leave Denver.

[MoSetsfire]

business trip. not exactly an option

[sonofhal]

I've never got a stuck up vibe from Barca. Everyone I've met there seems pretty chilled. I've been to Madrid once - never been back. Have gone to back to Barcelona twice (or about 10 times if you also count Primavera).

[MoSetsfire]

I did my study abroad in spain. I liked barca. especially if you take the time to go more into the city and away from the beaches.