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Post by ada92 on Jan 28, 2018 9:17:52 GMT
Just about to investigate and book an Australia trip for Autumn. Looking to do Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth - a belated "retirement" tour for me and hubby. Want to include at least one train journey (did a Rail Discoveries European tour last year and it was fabulous). Boot really interested in going to Alice Springs or Ayres Rock. Any insider tips/suggestions very welcome! Have a look at a trip on either the Indian Pacific ( Sydney to Perth via Adelaide - 4 days) or The Ghan (Adelaide to Darwin via Alice Springs & Katherine -4 days,or Adelaide to Alice Springs overnight} Neither trip is exactly cheap but they are all inclusive . From Alice Springs you can get a transfer to Ayers Rock ( the town is still called Ayers Rock) ,where there is a resort with a range of accommodation and access to trips to to Uluru and Kata Tjuta. While you are in Sydney, you can take a day trip to the Hawkesbury River . Not an epic train voyage (about an hour from Sydney Central) but some beautiful scenery along the way, and then join the river postal service for a cruise up the river. It is quite beautiful and feels very remote. www.riverboatpostman.com.au/Thanks - sounds great!
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82 posts
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Post by ada92 on Jan 28, 2018 9:18:39 GMT
Just about to investigate and book an Australia trip for Autumn. Looking to do Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth - a belated "retirement" tour for me and hubby. Want to include at least one train journey (did a Rail Discoveries European tour last year and it was fabulous). Boot really interested in going to Alice Springs or Ayres Rock. Any insider tips/suggestions very welcome! Couple of tips: Everyone calls it Uluru rather than Ayers Rock - it's the Aboriginal name for it and therefore respectful to use it given it's a sacred place for them. Make sure you do a sunset viewing, and get up early to watch the sun rise over Kata Tjuta (also worth visiting). Alice Springs doesn't really have much in it (and that's coming from relatives who live there!) - the wildlife park is ok, but only requires a couple of hours. Otherwise it's only really necessary to go as the starting point for the drive out to Uluru. The Outback is great, but take lots of bug spray and fly nets (you can get them in Alice Springs) - you might think they look ridiculous and are over-cautious, but they are really, really necessary, especially if you decide to go further through the Outback to Coober Pedy (which is worth a visit) and then on towards Adelaide (you'll finally escape the flies when you hit the Flinders Ranges). Thanks for that - will bear it all in mind
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2018 11:14:31 GMT
Travelling is my favourite thing to do after going to the theatre. Should the two interests cross over then even better! Unfortunately I caught the bug very late in life as the first time I had travelled abroad was on my honeymoon.
So far I have been to: USA (Florida, New York, Washington DC) Germany (Berlin, Cologne, Oberhausen) Italy (Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello)
Next week I’m off to Reykjavik though which I’m extremely excited about! It’s my 30th birthday next year so naturally I’m planning a big trip away. I’m hoping to do a mini tour of the US West coast with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas on my list.
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Post by Elle on Jan 28, 2018 20:19:28 GMT
I have been very lucky in that I spent 29 years working for a tour operator and so got to go to amazing places both to work and on holiday. Miss it terribly as now I have to pay for my holidays... God aren't they expensive! One of my favourite places to visit is Cuba especially the capital Havana I have also very fond memories of Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife as I lived there for 9 years. Also had some amazing times in the old Soviet Union when I got to visit Moscow, Leningrad (as it was called), Murmansk in the artic circle, Samarkand, Tashkent and Buckara in the south. Copenhagen is also a favourite destination and its great for a weekend city break. Worst place I have ever been to was Gambia, went a 2nd time in case I was wrong in my opinion but nope it was still awful. Thanks alece10. Tivoli is on my must see list and the restaurant is noted. 👍 Btw I really enjoyed reading your post. Working in the travel industry for so long must have been very interesting and I'm sure you have a lot of great stories. Your last sentence made me smile as Gambia isn't exactly next door but you gave it another chance anyway. I'm curious, why was it awful? I have only been to Tunisia and Morocco so I'm not very familiar with Africa. I'm enjoying everyone's posts here actually, what a well traveled bunch on this board!
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218 posts
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Post by Elle on Jan 28, 2018 20:45:11 GMT
Italy (Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello) I love Italy and that region seems so beautiful, the Amalfi coast is definitely on my wish list. I have been to the Lake Como region, Puglia region, Rome, Florence and Venice. Haven't been to Milan yet. That is great that you're going to Iceland! Please tell us about your trip after. Interested to know more about that country. Have a wonderful trip.
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Post by anthony40 on Jan 28, 2018 21:06:19 GMT
Coming from Australia, we are s far away that when we travel, we do do for weeks, nay months at a time.
I have travelled so much, it's probably easier to list the places that I haven't been- and there are lots but I fear the places (countries ad cities) that I've been to probably outweighs the places that I haven't.
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Post by Dawnstar on Jan 28, 2018 21:25:50 GMT
I don't actually enjoy travelling abroad much but in the last 3 years my mother has developed a passion for going on cruises so I've done quite a lot of rather reluctant travelling (I have a lot of anxiety problems & can't cope with remaining at home on my own). This has massively increased the number of European countries I've been to. Up to 2015 I'd only been to France, Germany & the Netherlands twice each & Italy & Spain once each. Since 2015 I've been to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Latvia & Russia for the first time each, plus Germany, the Netherlands, Spain & France again. My favourite port of call so far has been St Petersburg. Given we usually only get a few hours in each port we always make a bee-line for museums, art galleries and (my personal favourite) churches. On this past summer's Baltic cruise I managed to visit 15 churches between the 6 ports of call.
I've only ever twice been abroad for theatre: opera in Munich for my 21st birthday, when one of my favourite sopranos was giving her final performance of one of her greatest roles, and to see the Paris production of Zorro, having loved the show in London (it wasn't the same seeing it with a different cast so that's cured me of doing that again).
I have no desire to visit anywhere too exotic, partly because I hate hot weather, but I would like to make it to North America some day.
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Post by viserys on Jan 29, 2018 10:39:06 GMT
Ah, how could I miss this thread... well, because I was travelling of course. As a non-Brit London is my favorite destination for theatre travelling (I somehow managed to rack up four trips in the last five months) but I also try to do as much other travelling as possible.
My favorite area being South East Asia, where I feel safe on my own as a female traveller. I went to India once and despite having taken a companion and did a semi-organized tour with a car/driver and pre-booked hotels, I didn't feel safe or at ease there, so I'm not returning despite being fascinated by the country, its culture and history.
My second-favorite area is the Mediterranean, again for culture and history. I'm finding myself on my second "leg" now, returning to places I've visited years ago when I was too young and uninformed to really appreciate history. This summer I'm going back to Italy, even braving the tourist chaos that is Florence again.
I either travel on my own (my favorite) or sometimes with my mother, but she's developed a love for cruises and I've tried four cruises now and always came home thinking that I might as well done a similar trip on dry land and got way more out of it by being my own boss and create my own itiniaries. All this skimming the surfaces of many places without seeing a single one properly is nothing for me.
Still need to see Japan (hopefully this autumn), New Zealand (some day...) and more of South & North America.
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Post by alece10 on Jan 29, 2018 15:48:38 GMT
I have been very lucky in that I spent 29 years working for a tour operator and so got to go to amazing places both to work and on holiday. Miss it terribly as now I have to pay for my holidays... God aren't they expensive! One of my favourite places to visit is Cuba especially the capital Havana I have also very fond memories of Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife as I lived there for 9 years. Also had some amazing times in the old Soviet Union when I got to visit Moscow, Leningrad (as it was called), Murmansk in the artic circle, Samarkand, Tashkent and Buckara in the south. Copenhagen is also a favourite destination and its great for a weekend city break. Worst place I have ever been to was Gambia, went a 2nd time in case I was wrong in my opinion but nope it was still awful. Thanks alece10. Tivoli is on my must see list and the restaurant is noted. 👍 Btw I really enjoyed reading your post. Working in the travel industry for so long must have been very interesting and I'm sure you have a lot of great stories. Your last sentence made me smile as Gambia isn't exactly next door but you gave it another chance anyway. I'm curious, why was it awful? I have only been to Tunisia and Morocco so I'm not very familiar with Africa. I'm enjoying everyone's posts here actually, what a well traveled bunch on this board! The reason it was so bad first time was because the place was not ready for mass tourism. I was on the inaugural charter flight so it was the first time they had received large numbers of tourists. Hotels poor standard of accommodation and hygiene. 2nd visit they were more savvy but you couldn't leave the hotel and go to the beach for fear of being bombarded with people trying to sell you stuff including drugs. All very intimidating and uncomfortable. Not a nice experience.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2018 16:01:11 GMT
Oh I just love it. I always find that there's no cure like travel to help you unravel the worries of living today. When the poor brain is cracking, there's nothing like packing a suitcase and sailing away. Take a run 'round Vienna, Granada, Ravenna, Sienna and then around Rome. Have a high time, a low time, and in no time you'll be singing "Home, Sweet Home".
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Post by 49thand8th on Jan 29, 2018 16:07:00 GMT
I have a paranoia about visiting countries where I don't speak the language, so somehow I've found myself in Australia three times since 2005, which I guess is fairly impressive for an American.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2018 16:10:27 GMT
I have a paranoia about visiting countries where I don't speak the language, so somehow I've found myself in Australia three times since 2005, which I guess is fairly impressive for an American. Oh me too. Which is why I try to avoid the USA as much as I can.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2018 16:13:44 GMT
^ I’ve been to the US many times now, and seen some wonderful siights in wonderful places, but... I still find they speak a completely different language there from us here in the UK!
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Post by 49thand8th on Jan 29, 2018 16:21:45 GMT
Generally if you grunt and wave some dollars in the air you can get something done.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2018 16:29:19 GMT
Yes, as your president discovered!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2018 16:38:13 GMT
Generally if you grunt and wave some dollars in the air you can get something done. I daresay but isn't that what got Hugh Grant into trouble all those years ago . . . ?
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Post by 49thand8th on Jan 29, 2018 16:43:51 GMT
Yeah, but he got it done, right?!
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Post by 49thand8th on Jan 29, 2018 17:08:56 GMT
Next week I’m off to Reykjavik though which I’m extremely excited about! It’s my 30th birthday next year so naturally I’m planning a big trip away. I’m hoping to do a mini tour of the US West coast with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas on my list. HA! OK, back on topic, I had missed this — I'm from the San Francisco area and have been to Las Vegas a lot too. Let me know if you have any idle curiosities.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2018 17:46:40 GMT
Travelling is my favourite thing to do after going to the theatre. Should the two interests cross over then even better! Unfortunately I caught the bug very late in life as the first time I had travelled abroad was on my honeymoon. So far I have been to: USA (Florida, New York, Washington DC) Germany (Berlin, Cologne, Oberhausen) Italy (Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello) Next week I’m off to Reykjavik though which I’m extremely excited about! It’s my 30th birthday next year so naturally I’m planning a big trip away. I’m hoping to do a mini tour of the US West coast with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas on my list. Can recommend: geoiceland.com/for the Golden Circle Tour.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2018 18:34:25 GMT
I like doing things myself as much as possible. I don't like things being too organised or structured or there being too many other people around.
I like the odd city break - usually with my mother over the years, but sometimes alone. Thinking about them though, I've tended to do less of these in recent years. I especially liked Vienna, Amsterdam and Boston. My mother loves Paris because she lived there in the 60s, and I do like it, but I find it a bit touristy for me I have to say.
We've also done a few American road trips, which I've loved. We did one across the midwest to Laura Ingalls Wilder places - we went from Chicago up through Wisconsin, along the Mississippi and west to South Dakota and the Black Hills, and back via Nebraska. I loved that trip. Also another one up through Cape Cod, the White Mountains, and round in a circle through Massachusetts. We did another in the southwest - Vegas (urgh, hated it!) then through Utah via Bryce Canyon, Moab, Canyonlands & Islands in the Sky, Arches, 4 Corners, Grand Canyon etc. And then in 2014 we too my disabled dad on another road trip from Salt Lake City through the Tetons and to Yellowstone.
I'm a fan of US National Parks, clearly!
Alone, I go camping in the UK - love the Lakes, Dorset, Northumberland... I'm currently planning a trip to the Outer Hebrides this summer.
Edit: As a kid, I travelled a lot more than any of my friends. My dad was a mountain guide and was always off all over the world for work, and because you don't get rich as a mountain guide, we didn't do 'holidays' as such, we just ended up going with my dad a lot of the time. I went to Israel twice with him, once when I was maybe 3, and again for a 6 month period when he worked for a kibbutz climbing club and I went too. We were often off camping in the French/German/Swiss alps. I remember as a very small child hitchhiking all the way to the Alps with my dad and a ton of climbing equipment. I think I only really went to European places with him as a kid, I didn't get further than Europe til I started working and went to New York in my 20s.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2018 7:29:55 GMT
Next week I’m off to Reykjavik though which I’m extremely excited about! It’s my 30th birthday next year so naturally I’m planning a big trip away. I’m hoping to do a mini tour of the US West coast with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas on my list. HA! OK, back on topic, I had missed this — I'm from the San Francisco area and have been to Las Vegas a lot too. Let me know if you have any idle curiosities. Thank you! Good to know! @caiaphas I’m not sure who the tour operators are we’ve gone with. I definitely looked at GeoIceland, we used Viator for booking all our tours as I’ve never booked a bad one through that website. We we are doing a Northern Lights tour, Golden Circle, South Coast and Glacier Lagoon coach trip, plus a day exploring the city and a visit to the Blue Lagoon of course!
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Post by viserys on Jan 30, 2018 8:16:46 GMT
HA! OK, back on topic, I had missed this — I'm from the San Francisco area and have been to Las Vegas a lot too. Let me know if you have any idle curiosities. Thank you! Good to know! @caiaphas I’m not sure who the tour operators are we’ve gone with. I definitely looked at GeoIceland, we used Viator for booking all our tours as I’ve never booked a bad one through that website. We we are doing a Northern Lights tour, Golden Circle, South Coast and Glacier Lagoon coach trip, plus a day exploring the city and a visit to the Blue Lagoon of course! You could also consider a Whale Watching boat trip from Reykjavik's old harbour to get out onto the sea. And don't forget the penis museum in Reykjavik. *fnarr
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2018 8:20:38 GMT
Thank you! Good to know! @caiaphas I’m not sure who the tour operators are we’ve gone with. I definitely looked at GeoIceland, we used Viator for booking all our tours as I’ve never booked a bad one through that website. We we are doing a Northern Lights tour, Golden Circle, South Coast and Glacier Lagoon coach trip, plus a day exploring the city and a visit to the Blue Lagoon of course! You could also consider a Whale Watching boat trip from Reykjavik's old harbour to get out onto the sea. And don't forget the penis museum in Reykjavik. *fnarr Just the thought of that gives me the willies.
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Post by Elle on Jan 30, 2018 8:21:33 GMT
A question, what do you guys think is a better time for a theatre trip to London: mid-December or the first week of January? I didn't know about the Gilt sale before. Do others from outside the UK plan their trips around that?
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Post by viserys on Jan 30, 2018 8:48:50 GMT
A question, what do you guys think is a better time for a theatre trip to London: mid-December or the first week of January? I didn't know about the Gilt sale before. Do others from outside the UK plan their trips around that? I used to plan my January trips around GILT, but found that during the last years I rarely ever used GILT anymore. Either the shows I wanted weren't available at all or offered awful seats. Last weekend for example I had booked cheap full price ahead for Pinocchio at the National Theatre for £15 and Grinning Man at Trafalgar Studios for £35 and had planned to dayseat for Jamie. But since it was selling so well, I spontaneously booked a seat ahead after all (Dress Circle Box for £55). I'd still recommend January though when London is less crazy with tourists and christmas shopping hype. I was surprised how "empty" the West End felt last weekend, I could even easily get a seat at Five Guys in Covent Garden which is usually so crowded that I started to avoid it. The Eurostar was pretty empty too, on the way home I could move from my seat beside another lone traveller to a free double seat across the aisle for more leg room and I had got a decent deal on my hotel room, too (2 x £41). Hotel prices for my next trip in May are already insane.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2018 9:15:12 GMT
You could also consider a Whale Watching boat trip from Reykjavik's old harbour to get out onto the sea. And don't forget the penis museum in Reykjavik. *fnarr Just the thought of that gives me the willies. While we're erm...going there. A friend and I managed to go to the 'wrong' "Sex Museum" in Amsterdam. The erm 'proper' one is a tasteful museum that shows you depictions of Sex across history and generally is quite informative and, well a proper museum (obviously with a lot of amusing statues and the like). The OTHER one is basically some old lady's dodgy attic off the Red Light District. It kind of looked like the place the killer would hang out in a detectivedrama as well...
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Post by Elle on Jan 30, 2018 9:19:29 GMT
Thanks viserys. You're right, it was crazy busy in some area's in London in December. I was wondering if there were good seats in the GILT sale because when I looked I didn't see many. I like sitting in the front stalls. I thought first week of January could be good because the Christmas decorations are still up and also the stores have sales. Wow, what a great price you paid for your hotel! The only hotel tip I have is the Strand Palace Black Friday sale which gives 40% off for bookings from December until March. But that's only useful once a year.
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Post by viserys on Jan 30, 2018 9:44:07 GMT
The winter sales were still going on last weekend. I spent too much time (and money) on Oxford Street on Saturday before the shows But yea, I think anything past New Year should be good for a relatively calm trip. I tend to stay in one of the many Travelodges - the further out you go, the cheaper it gets. This was my first time in the Travelodge Finsbury Park which I thought was fine. Just two minutes' walk from the tube station and the tube ride after the evening shows wasn't too long either. Certainly not the same league as the Strand Palace (I once stayed there with my mother when she tagged along) but I can only justify all these trips to London by keeping costs as low as possible and I'm only in the hotel for sleeping anyway. GILT used to be fine some years ago - I got front stalls more than once then. But more recently it was usually something in the back stalls when I checked for shows. Then I rather waste a morning queuing for a day seat that is even cheaper and definitely gets me the front row. Last good seat I got from GILT was for the ballet "Giselle" at the Coliseum last winter, front row Dress Circle for 50% off - couldn't have been more perfect. But it's much harder for the popular musicals.
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Post by Elle on Jan 30, 2018 10:09:13 GMT
chlodulf Welcome to the board. I believe we have some Tenerife experts here. viserys I only looked at the Travelodge Covent Garden and that wasn't cheap. I don't make things easy for myself by insisting on staying in the center. It means I can visit less often because of the hotel prices. I had also looked at the St Giles but I got discouraged by some reviews on Tripadvisor.
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Post by viserys on Jan 30, 2018 10:15:55 GMT
chlodulf Welcome to the board. I believe we have some Tenerife experts here. viserys I only looked at the Travelodge Covent Garden and that wasn't cheap. I don't make things easy for myself by insisting on staying in the center. It means I can visit less often because of the hotel prices. I had also looked at the St Giles but I got discouraged by some reviews on Tripadvisor. I understand - the Travelodge Covent Garden is the one I stay in most often because it's central, but sometimes their prices are just too much to stomach considering what you get for your money. Since I started travelling on the Eurostar instead of flying, I often stay in the King's Cross area so I can stumble out of bed and to the station for the 8.58 to Brussels within a few minutes' walking time. And I've found that if I need to take the tube in the evening anyway, I might as well take it a few stations further (Finsbury Park for example is just two stops beyond King's Cross). One thing you could look at is the Citadines Holborn - I stayed there last summer for two nights. It's just around the corner from Holborn tube station and you get an apartment with a tiny kitchen, so you can save on meals by buying something at the supermarket to heat in your microwave.
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