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Tagged With "world's most expensive"

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Re: Boston in the fall - suggestions please!

Mac ·
Wow! HistoryDigger that is fantastic information, thank you, I will now 'dig' more (pardon the pun) on the web and put some plans into place around those excellent suggestions!! Please - a crucial question for us - would we be "safe" to just book hotels for the arrival and departure days of our tour and simply rely on finding local accommodation as we progress round - or is it really SO busy in this season that I must book every stop along the way? We prefer the 'flexible' approach as it can...
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Re: Boston in the fall - suggestions please!

GarryRF ·
Take a look here for some ideas. Most have All-Inclusive packages. But that doesn't stop me going off exploring on the bus and getting a B+B overnight ! You're not glued to the hotel. Plus you don't want to be on the go EVERY day. Relax and take in the countryside. https://www.thomascook.com/holidays/caribbean/cuba/
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Re: What's the Best City in the World to Eat in?

Paul Heymont ·
I won't claim any city to be the best in the world—at least not until I have time to visit them all! I'm always skeptical anyway about "the best" "the most" and so forth. That said, I'll also add that the best is not always the most expensive or famous. And I'm pleased to see that he's not pushing posh places, but rather inexpensive curry houses and a 24-hour cafe. His point seems to be that London is the best city to eat in because it is, his opinion, the best city to BE in. So, I'll...
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Re: Ghost Images of WWI

Paul Heymont ·
Amazing work...and a stark reminder of how recently all this took place.
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Re: Ghost Images of WWI

PortMoresby ·
Recent, indeed. I've taken to comparing events in history to the life spans of people I've known, or who they knew, and it brings it into shocking relief for me. WWI was a fact during the young adulthood of my grandparents, just 5 years before the births of my parents, one of whom is still alive. In that context it seems like it was just yesterday.
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Re: Ghost Images of WWI

DrFumblefinger ·
The photos are eerie and definitely captivating. Perhaps the most horrific of all the wars, but we always say that until the next ones roll around and are even worse.
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Re: World's scariest hiking trail?

Dr.Y ·
Ha ha Port, if scattered from the "fish back", you will not likely reach the "flat ground or water" there. Most likely will be blown upwards towards the sky
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Re: Whom did you say was flying this plane?

Paul Heymont ·
What would seem perhaps most beneficial would be not only to have auto-pilot type systems with human override but also to have auto-pilot functions that remain active while humans "drive," providing a second opinion. "Hey, human: are you sure you don't want to slow down/speed up a little here?"
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Re: Should Wi-Fi be free in all hotels?

DrFumblefinger ·
Good discussion! WiFi has for me become an indispensable part of traveling. It allows me to stay in touch with family easily and cheaply (remember how hard it was even 25 years ago -- a phone call could run you $5 a minute? And there was no email). It lets me spend evening hours clearing out a hefty email que, and doing research on what I am going to see tomorrow and the next day. And with "Gumbo on the Go", it lets me share my travels as they happen with fellow Gumboites! I echo PHeymont's...
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Re: Should Wi-Fi be free in all hotels?

DrFumblefinger ·
A new article reiterating the overwhelming sentiment of most people on this thread. Here's that link .
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Re: How'd We Live Without Travel Apps?

FlashFlyer ·
A lot to be said for what might be the ultimate travel app category: Maps and GPS. I know people have their favorites (Google's not the only one, according to my wife...) but almost everyone uses some version on their phone or tablet. Another good one is local transit. Most big cities have a route-finder on their transit site, but you have to find it. But Google Maps and HopStop and some others have transit info for most big cities. One downside: Apple is as bad as Google about business;...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,

GarryRF ·
Staying in the UK is no more expensive than being a tourist in the USA. You wont get a month in London. Same as me travelling from the UK to New York. Silly Prices ! So decide on what you want to do over here and start planning, Have a look at the YHA web site. Youth Hostels Association. Forget the Youth reference. My Kids aren't Youths anymore. And I use them too! They are used by Travellers like yourself - and me - across Europe. They are Family groups and Ramblers ( Countryside Walkers)...
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Re: Spring Honeymoon Help

DrFumblefinger ·
Congratulations SueZee! We're delighted in your marriage, and you've picked a great country in which to honeymoon. May is not too early to go to Italy, although pack a light jacket just in case. The crowds won't be there yet and you'll save some money when compared to the peak summer season. Where to go is very much a matter of taste. Most definitely you need to go to Venice and I'd say spend at least 5 days here, maybe with a day trip or two (such as to the glass making island of Murano or...
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Re: Renting an apartment in Europe

JohnT ·
Hi Dreamer I can only tell you about my experiences... 1) How long? It depends. Apartment rental have been around in Europe for a long time. It used to be mostly for a week from Saturday to Saturday, but mostly anything goes now. 2) Buyer beware - It will be up to you to research the neighbourhood. You can do that many ways. Perhaps the easiest is using google streetmaps 3) There is no one way to check in. Sometimes you meet the owner or manager and they will give you the key. Sometimes...
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Re: Renting an apartment in Europe

Paul Heymont ·
AirBnb, and the other major rental agencies, have cancellation policies upfront that give you some choice. AirBnb has several levels ...one allows you to cancel almost up to the last minute, others have shorter deadlines. An advantage of using an agency that works this way...pretty much like a hotel booking site...is that the intermediary is holding your deposit and that can save hassles. Obviously, rules about dissatisfaction vary also, but usually if it can't be ironed out, you'll get at...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,

Hank ·
Thanks for the info on Snowdonia, GarryRF. Sounds like just the place I'd like to be heading towards the end of my stay in Liverpool, to clear my head a little in nautre after all that history and culture I'll be absorbing. Trip planning is coming along fine. I think I've got most everything I squared away right now that needs doing, and need to focus on completing my last months of university and my thesis. Will post again if I have any questions before I go and will give some feedback when...
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Re: Is Pre-check or Global Entry worth it?

Former Member ·
I dunno...most of my overseas flights have come home through Kennedy in NY or gone out that way, and the way it's been sometimes, I think at $100 for 5 years, I'd take it. I'd probably even take it as a $50 per round-trip deal. When you get off the plane, you want to go home, not wait hours in a line...
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Re: Is Pre-check or Global Entry worth it?

DrFumblefinger ·
Fortunately, Gulliver, most of us don't wait hours in line. But if that's your experience, it would be a good investment. But it's yet another thing to take care of.
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Re: Finally some good news! Whistler or Banff

DrFumblefinger ·
I don't ski either (bad knees), but I've visited both of these destinations. There are pros and cons to each. Both is a little over an hour's drive from their closest major airport, Vancouver for Whistler and Calgary for Canmore. Whistler is close to the coast, but high up. So they usually have good snow, but depending on the year, it can get soggy by spring and sometimes ice crusted. Banff area is far more likely to have nice light powder during the spring break season. Some people swear by...
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Re: Share Your Budget Tablet and Laptop Picks

Travel Rob ·
Dreamer, That sounds like a good idea!Hopefully someone will post their own experiences in acquiring used devises. Some of us just need function and don't always need the latest and most expensive. POI's
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Re: How to not miss a connecting flight

DrFumblefinger ·
There are a lot of good tips in the article about streamlining your connections. While I mostly enjoy flying, travel days are busy and tiring enough that I hate to be rushed. I try to get to the airport early (often I've been grateful that I gave myself that extra time), and I don't take flights that have connections I consider too tight. I like at least 1.5-2 hours between my connections. I've been delayed on arrival often enough that having less time than that is no fun. As planes travel...
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline

Travel Rob ·
We flew Norwegian in May, Orlando-Oslo and were really impressed. The 787 made such a difference and we arrived feeling fresh. The moister air, bigger windows and lighting made a world of difference in how we felt post trip. We brought a decent sized carry-on and personal bag each for free too. As far other extra fees, we didn't pay any. They charge for food or drinks, but we just bought those at the airport. And I think they also charge for blankets, but we brought jackets to cover with and...
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Re: 10 Most Popular Tourist Attractions in Udaipur

Professorabe ·
Excellent tips with very useful practical information. Udaipur is one of the most beautiful cities in Rajasthan.
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Re: Help with mobile phone for Morocco

PortMoresby ·
While I haven't been to Morocco for over 2 years, phone service for locals in non-industrialized nations all over the world tends to be cheap phone, available locally, with prepaid sim cards that you reload. It depends a great deal on what services your friend wants and can they, for instance, do without data and use the wifi in their accommodations or will they go to pieces without having it all, all the time. If that's the case, I can't help and will be expensive, all things relative, I...
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Re: GPS v. Sicily = WTF

Paul Heymont ·
Sounds like your GPS just wants you to have the most interesting trip! My wife and I refer to the GPS as Sybil, a nickname we gave after one we used in Chicago kept taking us into dead-ends and up wrong-way streets until we became skilled at interpreting her prophecies...as Heraclitus described an ancient Sybil: The Sibyl, with frenzied mouth uttering things not to be laughed at, unadorned and unperfumed, yet reaches to a thousand years with her voice by aid of the god. Enjoy the rest of...
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Re: Four Days in Berlin

Paul Heymont ·
We meant to do one of the cruises, but never quite fit it on on a day with good weather. There are cruises of varying lengths, and one of the most popular is a one-hour cruise of the central area, so that could fit in nicely. Several companies are doing that one, and they all have docks just below the Berliner Dom.
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Re: Beating Jet Lag

GarryRF ·
You're quite right DrF ! Usually when I return on a long flight the cabin is like a Doctors waiting room. Coughing and sneezing and spluttering. Headache. But the Dreamliner was - a dream ! So much healthier and with the windows darkened 'til just before breakfast - most people slept well - even the babies on board
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Re: How do you use the internet while traveling?

DrFumblefinger ·
I have not been to Japan, but generally my travel experience with internet access has been much more positive than yours. I've generally had good luck with getting on line in Europe, South America and even Southern Africa. Once in a while the internet might be down at a place I'm staying at, but usually it's quickly repaired. Exceptions to this are very rural areas, like in Patagonia and where I'm heading next week, Yellowstone National Park. There is really not internet available at most...
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Re: Books That Sent You Packing (your bag, that is)

DrFumblefinger ·
People always laugh when I tell them this but the book that most inspired me to travel was Arthur C Clarke's "2001 a Space Odyssey". It made me want to see the universe -- or at least Clavius Base on the moon. It wasn't until later that I learned I'd have to settle for staying on the planet. Little did I know those journeys would one day lead me to the home and friendship of the man who wrote the book that so inspired me.
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Re: Books That Sent You Packing (your bag, that is)

PortMoresby ·
I get booksellers' e-newsletters and paper catalogs and run across interesting travel-related items from time to time. Many are on remainder sites so "quantities are limited" but when a post is fresh here, you'll likely get it if you want it. Spotted today in the Daedalus Books catalog is one by Ian Buruma, Bad Elements: Chinese Rebels from Los Angeles to Beijing , " a dissident's eye-view of the world's most secretive superpower, observing, "Strange things happen when Chinese dynasties near...
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Re: World's most attractive libraries

PortMoresby ·
And I thought you weren't a fan of "best of" lists, DrF. There are as many of these lists as there are opinions, I think. Here's another: http://www.miragebookmark.ch/m...esting-libraries.htm I think the Bodleian in Oxford may be my favorite, not because of the Radcliffe Camera, shown, but the interior of the old library proper, which can be seen on tours. It isn't as ostentatious as some on the list, but it's ancient and intimate, which appeals to me infinitely more than huge open spaces...
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Re: World's most attractive libraries

DrFumblefinger ·
Technically speaking, it's not a "best of..." but a "world's most stunning" list. I understand I may be splitting hairs with that argument. In any event, one needs to make an exception for really valuable lists, like libraries or books. There's something special about a great book and a great bookshop. The smells, the textures, the visual stimulation -- always work wonders for me. Thanks for these additions.
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Re: 12 Most Beautiful Museums in the World

PortMoresby ·
A lover of more intimate buildings, they might have called these the grandest, rather than most beautiful, as I see it. In the eye of the beholder and all that implies. A smaller building seems to tell me more, though, about the subjects on display and the origins of the building and collection. For instance, I much prefer the old Getty in Malibu to the new one shown in the link, more building than content by far, monument to ego. In any case, here are some I find more "beautiful."...
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Re: 5 best reasons to go to Scotland now

Himel ·
ok no problem,if you want to come my country please when you come my country please let me know.
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Re: 5 best reasons to go to Scotland now

PortMoresby ·
Himel, I'd be more interested to know the '5 best reasons to go to Bangladesh now'. We hear a lot about Scotland but very little about your country.
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Re: Top 10 Tourist Places In Kerala To Visit During Summer

Elite Travels ·
It seems like Kenala is the most visited place especially in summer
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Re: Has anyone used their Enhanced Drivers License to travel to Canada or Mexico?

DrFumblefinger ·
Most of the people I know who have this license are those who don't want to travel internationally and who live near the Canada-US border. There are a number of town literally split by the border and people migrate across daily to visit friends or work. I think these licenses are intended for them. Same for the Mexico USA border. If you travel internationally and have a passport, no point paying extra for the license for most folks. Passports have become more sophisticated and if you read...
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Re: How do you buy your travel?

Paul Heymont ·
I'd definitely agree about booking.com They generally seem to have a much deeper inventory than Expedia, including the small local hotels I like. I also appreciate the fact that most of the bookings don't expect me to pay in advance and allow free cancellation. Often, too, the price I pay through booking.com with those privileges is the same that Expedia offers as a "special" that must be pre-paid! I would also be less than honest if I didn't mention that TravelGumbo receives a small but...
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Re: How do you buy your travel?

HistoryDigger ·
I use booking.com the most for hotels and apartments because I can cancel. Sometimes I can't decide what part of town I want to be in, so I book more than one and keep researching until I have found the right spot. (I don't hold extra reservations long...just sayin'.) I love that booking.com now shows apartments and houses via villa.com because I always refer having a kitchen when I travel. I, too, use OTAs to see prices and schedules, and then I go to the airline's web page for booking.
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Re: How do you buy your travel?

Paul Heymont ·
Few more thoughts, following HistoryDigger and DrFumblefinger... 1. Definitely check all your affiliations on car rental; after years of getting better price through AAA than any other way I knew, I recently found that going to the same vendors through USAA (my car insurance) gets me even better. 2. Not only does Priceline have good pricing on cars, I've often found I can get 30-40% lower through their blind-bidding (Name Your Own Price) service. 3. RailEurope is something of a red flag for...
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Re: Neighborhoods in Santiago de Cuba

GarryRF ·
I'm not familiar with Santiago de Cuba. Casa particulares will provide you with meals and drinks. Stores and Restaurants are hard to find and most food is still rationed to the Cubans. Cuban water is safe for the locals but carries a high mineral content, which may cause gastro problems. Bottled "Montero" water is available and low cost. Quite nice too. Santiago de Cuba is not on the tourist lists for us Brits. Most Cuban food uses - Rice -Beans - Eggs - Chicken - Pork (No Beef) - Fish...
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Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile

Paul Heymont ·
A lot of questions! Let me try a few answers... Absolutely I'd say stop in Iceland. Every place in the world is unique, but Iceland is more so, geographically, in climate, and in history. Half a week (or even a week) won't do more than scratch the surface, but you'll be able to visit incredible waterfalls, climb on glaciers, see evidence of recent volcanic activity, and realize that under it all is a huge pool of thermally heated water that provides over 70% of the nation's energy. If that...
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Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile

Paul Heymont ·
Well, I said so much about Iceland, I decided to leave the rest for another post. Getting from Barcelona (or Madrid) to Lisbon: the only practical way is to fly. Train takes too long for this one, and costs more! From Barcelona to Lisbon, flights on Vueling, Iberia, TAP, etc. run from $35 one-way to about $80 before you hit the high-priced ones. I just looked in May; Vueling and Iberia have $68 in the morning and $35 at 7:30 pm. Madrid-Lisbon, there's a $40 mid-day flight, but most other...
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Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile

DrFumblefinger ·
Originally Posted by voyager: Hot springs are to die for. You always see pictures of the Blue Lagoon. Are there other places to go for a warm swim in Iceland ? There are lots of places to go for geothermal swims in Iceland, Voyager. Almost every small city and town has a public geothermal pool. The most famous is the Blue Lagoon, but it's also quite pricy, especially if you go for a family. This website gives you some idea of all the pools you can access in Iceland. Here's that link.
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Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile

DrFumblefinger ·
You're most welcome, Travel Luver! Give the VIKING beer a try -- it's pretty good. And made with that great Icelandic water that has a unique taste (and pleasant at that). Also be sure to try their Coca Cola, made with Icelandic water and sugar (not corn syrup as in North America) -- definitely a better product.
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Re: Tips on Traveling with Parents

artsnletters ·
I traveled with my mom when she was around that age, and in much the same way - I was the tour guide and she was along for the ride. I did all the work - ALL of it - and she paid for both of us, so I considered it an excellent deal. She did have some ideas where to go - "I haven't seen Italy, Austria, or Switzerland." But we also went to Amsterdam, Bruges, and Paris (she had been to Paris before but wanted to get up close and personal with the Eiffel Tower). I got to pick where to take her...
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Re: Hotel Rewards Programs. Worthwhile or not?

SayMoi ·
I'm a Holiday Inn Express or La Quinta member. On my most recent road trip, I did get upgraded at the HIE for being a member. The free nights are always great too and that's the main goal. I've used many La Quinta free nights when I do workshops out of town. With HIE, I usually use the points for a discounted rate in expensive areas, like Sonoma or Paso Robles - wherever a vineyard may be!
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Re: Need help planning Morocco trip

PortMoresby ·
I've traveled independently in Morocco a number of times now, it became my favorite destination from the first trip 15 years ago. You've made a good choice. Regarding your reading, literature aside, I have a number of guides and my first choice is still Lonely Planet, bought prior to my first visit and subsequent editions as the years have gone by. If you don't have one I suggest you get one. I won't suggest you not go in February but don't think because it's largely desert that it's...
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !

Paul Heymont ·
I'm not sure on your question about WB's trip, because it depends on routing. From NY, AA most often uses their own seats for the ocean hop, but does use some BA seats from Newark. Other cities...not sure how many BA seats used in that direction. And sometimes it's a matter of class. For instance, last year flying home from Paris, there were AA seats in business class available non-stop, but economy was only available on BA Orly-London-Newark.
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Re: Paris Authentic

Paul Heymont ·
I'll see your Terminal 2 and trump it with a Heathrow T3 to T5 transfer! Actually, the good news about Delta at JFK is that Terminal 2 as you knew it is gone. Most of Delta is now in newly-expanded T4, T3 has been physically dismantled, and T2 reconfigured for Delta Connection and some domestic flights...much different.
 
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