Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[Knalus]

So, I am planning a long trip to China coming in May, and I am trying to make plans for the trip. I have a sister in China, and following visiting her I plan on taking a tour with my wife. Anyone have any must-see locations in china? Is Shanghai comparable to Hong Kong to a westerner?

Also - has anyone taken tours from the companies Gap Adventures and Intrepid Travel? I'm looking at these tours (even though normally I am NOT a tour kind of guy, but the lack of English signs does make me a little concerned)., and I want to know if they are worth my time and/or money. Anyone with advice?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Knalus

So, I am planning a long trip to China coming in May, and I am trying to make plans for the trip. I have a sister in China, and following visiting her I plan on taking a tour with my wife. Anyone have any must-see locations in china? Is Shanghai comparable to Hong Kong to a westerner?

Also - has anyone taken tours from the companies Gap Adventures and Intrepid Travel? I'm looking at these tours (even though normally I am NOT a tour kind of guy, but the lack of English signs does make me a little concerned)., and I want to know if they are worth my time and/or money. Anyone with advice?

I've never been to China, but there are 3 places there on my world map of things I would like to check out...

1. Huangshun




2. Danxia




3. Guilin




But I have no idea if the reality lives up to the pics

Lack of English can be daunting, but I found in Taiwan (where English is very limited outside of Taipei) that there's always a way to get across what you want. People are always friendly and willing to help someone out that's smiling and pointing and doing mime gestures.

[Flabbibulin]

My wife and I just booked tickets via BA to London for the end of August/earlyseptember. Going for a wedding in Essex, then heading over to Devon for a few nights. Flights were good price- $2400 for 2 return.

Without trying to ask for responses like "why not try something other than Europe", does anyone have any recommendations for a 4-5 day trip, within striking distance of the UK, keeping in mind that we have already been to virtually every major destination in Europe? We have been to just about every major spot (and many less known gems) and want to try something a little unique.

Some thoughts so far have been

Northern Scotland
Southern Portugal
Southern (but not coastal) France

[jjbouma]

Originally Posted by Knalus

So, I am planning a long trip to China coming in May, and I am trying to make plans for the trip. I have a sister in China, and following visiting her I plan on taking a tour with my wife. Anyone have any must-see locations in china? Is Shanghai comparable to Hong Kong to a westerner?

Also - has anyone taken tours from the companies Gap Adventures and Intrepid Travel? I'm looking at these tours (even though normally I am NOT a tour kind of guy, but the lack of English signs does make me a little concerned)., and I want to know if they are worth my time and/or money. Anyone with advice?

I wouldn't bother with a tour, they are way overpriced. I've been to China 3 times, once by myself and didn't have many issues getting around. As long as you do your research you shouldn't have many issues.

I've been to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xian, Guilin, Guangzhou, HK, Macau, and Hainan. I would definitely go to Beijing and then it's really up to you depending on how much time you have and what your interests are. If you're into history and culture I would say Xian and Chengdu are musts. If you're into scenery I would go to Guilin and again Chengdu. If you want big cities than HK would be appropriate. Hainan is good if you want hot weather and beaches. There's so much to see in China though that this list has barely scratched the surface. I'm going again in September and want to check out Yunnan province, Shandong province and perhaps Taiwan.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

My wife and I just booked tickets via BA to London for the end of August/earlyseptember. Going for a wedding in Essex, then heading over to Devon for a few nights. Flights were good price- $2400 for 2 return.

Without trying to ask for responses like "why not try something other than Europe", does anyone have any recommendations for a 4-5 day trip, within striking distance of the UK, keeping in mind that we have already been to virtually every major destination in Europe? We have been to just about every major spot (and many less known gems) and want to try something a little unique.

Some thoughts so far have been

Northern Scotland
Southern Portugal
Southern (but not coastal) France

Have you been to Turkey? Geographically Europe, but culturally Ottoman and Middle Eastern! 4 hour flight from London, around $200-$300 roundtrip after taxes from London to Istanbul.

Or maybe head north as far as you can, ie northern Norway. 2012 is supposed to be an amazing year for Aurora Borealis.

[rd_aaron]

cmyden, I'm looking for a flight from Calgary to Vegas on September 1st (Labour Day weekend). I already got a decent deal coming home with Air Canada ($162 after taxes) but I'm looking for a one way flight to get there. Everything I've seen is over $300 with taxes right now. Any suggestions or price points I should jump on?

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Have you been to Turkey? Geographically Europe, but culturally Ottoman and Middle Eastern! 4 hour flight from London, around $200-$300 roundtrip after taxes from London to Istanbul.

hmmm, no havent been to Istanbul, but have always been interested in it. Have been to Morocco and Egypt, which would be the only moderately comparable places.... if at all

I wonder how my wife would react to the idea of Istanbul. I know if I dont come up with something, Im going to get suckered into going back to Paris for about the 4th time now in 7 years.

[Knalus]

Originally Posted by jjbouma

I wouldn't bother with a tour, they are way overpriced. I've been to China 3 times, once by myself and didn't have many issues getting around. As long as you do your research you shouldn't have many issues.

I've been to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xian, Guilin, Guangzhou, HK, Macau, and Hainan. I would definitely go to Beijing and then it's really up to you depending on how much time you have and what your interests are. If you're into history and culture I would say Xian and Chengdu are musts. If you're into scenery I would go to Guilin and again Chengdu. If you want big cities than HK would be appropriate. Hainan is good if you want hot weather and beaches. There's so much to see in China though that this list has barely scratched the surface. I'm going again in September and want to check out Yunnan province, Shandong province and perhaps Taiwan.

What I want is as representative a trip of China that I can get. I have no idea if I will ever be back, and I want a long trip that will cover all the bases, instead of just a few things. That being said, I prefer history and culture. Would you say that Hong Kong and Shanghai are comparable?

[Knalus]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

My wife and I just booked tickets via BA to London for the end of August/earlyseptember. Going for a wedding in Essex, then heading over to Devon for a few nights. Flights were good price- $2400 for 2 return.

Without trying to ask for responses like "why not try something other than Europe", does anyone have any recommendations for a 4-5 day trip, within striking distance of the UK, keeping in mind that we have already been to virtually every major destination in Europe? We have been to just about every major spot (and many less known gems) and want to try something a little unique.




Some thoughts so far have been

Northern Scotland
Southern Portugal
Southern (but not coastal) France

I've been to Europe plenty, but mostly Germany. My preferred spots would be the Rhine between Frankfurt and Koln, and Denmark. The Rhine is pretty compact, and if you rent a car there is tons of cool exploring to do. Had a blast in Denmark, there were a lot of cool Viking things to see on the peninsula, and I can assure you that is off the beaten track.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by rd_aaron

cmyden, I'm looking for a flight from Calgary to Vegas on September 1st (Labour Day weekend). I already got a decent deal coming home with Air Canada ($162 after taxes) but I'm looking for a one way flight to get there. Everything I've seen is over $300 with taxes right now. Any suggestions or price points I should jump on?

Not too much you can do other than watch and hope! A decent price would be around $200ish after taxes one way. A Saturday flight would normally give some hope, because everyone wants Thursday/Friday there, Sunday home. But long weekends to Vegas tend to be very high demand and pricier overall, as anyone looking to go May long weekend can tell you.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

hmmm, no havent been to Istanbul, but have always been interested in it. Have been to Morocco and Egypt, which would be the only moderately comparable places.... if at all

I wonder how my wife would react to the idea of Istanbul. I know if I dont come up with something, Im going to get suckered into going back to Paris for about the 4th time now in 7 years.

First world problems! It's always more exciting to go somewhere you haven't been.

Pamukkale, Turkey

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by cmyden

First world problems! It's always more exciting to go somewhere you haven't been.

Pamukkale, Turkey

Nice.

Yah, I lived in Prague for 18 months, so it made trips to destinations in Europe quite easy. Have been back now for 5 years, but we still seem to end up in Europe every summer. Kind of sucks getting into the habit of only vacationing in Europe, and we'll have to break out of it soon.

Theres reason to our madness though- all of my family is in UK and Finland, so our trips are usually half time visitng/half time going off somewhere for a week or two.

[Arsenal14]

Originally Posted by Knalus

So, I am planning a long trip to China coming in May, and I am trying to make plans for the trip. I have a sister in China, and following visiting her I plan on taking a tour with my wife. Anyone have any must-see locations in china? Is Shanghai comparable to Hong Kong to a westerner?

Also - has anyone taken tours from the companies Gap Adventures and Intrepid Travel? I'm looking at these tours (even though normally I am NOT a tour kind of guy, but the lack of English signs does make me a little concerned)., and I want to know if they are worth my time and/or money. Anyone with advice?

I did China with Gap Adventures in 2009 on their Essential China tour (my photos). I've done a few other tours with them in Peru/Eastern Africa as well. The nice thing about a tour is that you don't need to worry about arranging accomodations/transportation. Most days there were opportunities to get out and explore on your own though obviously if you are doing the river cruise or something your options will be limited during that time.

The area around Guilin/Yangshuo was spectacular and I really enjoyed the panda breeding center by Chengdu. For me the Three Gorges were not that impressive. Hong Kong and Shanghai are only comparable in that they are big cities. From what I saw Shanghai has more history with the modern skyscrapers contained in a relatively small area. Hong Kong is just incredibly urban. Personally I loved both of them.

[cmyden]

Calgary to Panama - $199 roundtrip after taxes!

I'm pretty sure this is the most insane price ever found from Calgary to Central America. I'm also glad that Calgary's dry spell is over, there hasn't been anything too exciting from YYC in a little while.

Here's how to find it...

1. http://www.thomascook.ca/

2. Change it to Flights, and search for Calgary to Panama, departing March 7, returning March 14.

3. Hit Search

screenshot of verified price:

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by Knalus

So, I am planning a long trip to China coming in May, and I am trying to make plans for the trip. I have a sister in China, and following visiting her I plan on taking a tour with my wife. Anyone have any must-see locations in china? Is Shanghai comparable to Hong Kong to a westerner?

Also - has anyone taken tours from the companies Gap Adventures and Intrepid Travel? I'm looking at these tours (even though normally I am NOT a tour kind of guy, but the lack of English signs does make me a little concerned)., and I want to know if they are worth my time and/or money. Anyone with advice?

I was in China in October/November for about 3 weeks. I did Beijing, Xian and Chengdu areas. I did the entire trip solo (except for the odd hook-up with other travelers) and had absolutely no problems. I'm not sure about the tours you listed, but tours you pick up in China are insanely expensive (sometimes 100x the cost if you just went on your own). Just bring a guide book with places written in both english and mandarin. The biggest problem I had was getting cab drivers to go where I wanted, so having locations in mandarin is important. Ditto for when you book hotels.

[Knalus]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

I was in China in October/November for about 3 weeks. I did Beijing, Xian and Chengdu areas. I did the entire trip solo (except for the odd hook-up with other travelers) and had absolutely no problems. I'm not sure about the tours you listed, but tours you pick up in China are insanely expensive (sometimes 100x the cost if you just went on your own). Just bring a guide book with places written in both english and mandarin. The biggest problem I had was getting cab drivers to go where I wanted, so having locations in mandarin is important. Ditto for when you book hotels.

I would consider this if it were just myself - but in my case, I have a wife who is very leery of going to China, and who is a vegetarian on top of it all, who pretty much insists on a tour. It was quite a job convincing her to go even with a tour in the first place.

Any suggestions on what is a must see, and what is a pass for China?

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by Knalus

I would consider this if it were just myself - but in my case, I have a wife who is very leery of going to China, and who is a vegetarian on top of it all, who pretty much insists on a tour. It was quite a job convincing her to go even with a tour in the first place.

Any suggestions on what is a must see, and what is a pass for China?

I really liked Beijing as a starting off point. Lots to see, good food options and the metro was very easy to use (in english and mandarin). I spent a full week there and it was worth it. The consensus seems to be 4-5 days to see the must see areas though. Seeing one site of the wall is a full day.

Xian has a lot of history. If you're a history buff, the entire area is interesting. Xian as a city, left a lot to be desired in my opinion however. Big, dirty, slow moving traffic and poor public transit. I spent 5 days there, which was probably 1-2 days too many for what I saw. I also made a full day trip to nearby Hua Shan, which was cool but I was not overly impressed with Chinese "hiking". If you like hiking in the Rockies, it is nothing like that in China. Very scenic, yes, but people are yelling everywhere and (as with most places in China) there are people all over the place. Not serene in the slightest.

I loved Chengdu and spent a week in the area. Giant panda research base is a must see and there are several good day trips around (ie. giant buddha at Leshan). In many ways Chengdu is just a regular city, but I enjoyed the food and the more relaxed pace.

Pictures I posted after I got back.

[SebC]

Any hotel recommendations for Panama?

[brocoli]

cmyden, i'm looking for a place to go at the end of sept. (29 - Oct. 6). I was looking into california, but was wondering if you had some cheaper alternatives for 2 people. I found flights for 580 to SNA, but was wondering if there were some good deals for all inclusive anywhere else? Or is there a time when I should be looking at this?

[cmyden]

Calgary to Dominican Republic or Mexico - $199 roundtrip after taxes

[insert obligatory Mexico fear comment here]

Two more crazy flight prices to warm destinations, this time from Air Transat.

Here's how to find them...

1. http://www.airtransat.ca

2. Look for one of the following flights:

Calgary to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - departing March 9th, returning March 16th

Calgary to Cancun, Mexico - departing March 11th, returning March 18th
OR
Calgary to Cancun, Mexico - departing March 13th, returning March 20th

3. Hit Search

screenshot of verified price: