Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[MissTeeks]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I have not been to Europe, but I have looked into some of the activites around London, and hopefully we can spend a few days there. Any tips on what the good touristy things are vs. the ones to not bother with? I have to say, we are all Harry Potter buffs, so we probably need to indulge some of the Potter sites.

I'm off to London on Sunday and we are doing the Harry Potter studio tour. I'll let you know how it is!

[brocoli]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I have not been to Europe, but I have looked into some of the activites around London, and hopefully we can spend a few days there. Any tips on what the good touristy things are vs. the ones to not bother with? I have to say, we are all Harry Potter buffs, so we probably need to indulge some of the Potter sites.

WB Harry Potter Studio Tour is a must do for any Harry Potter fan. I was able to spend the entire day there. It's a self guided tour and you can take all of the time that you want to. And as bad as it is, get a Butterbeer. It's not good, but considering there are only a few places in the world that you can get it...I say do it.

There are also plenty of really good free walking tours which hit all of the highlights with facts tossed in. I used New Europe Tours. You just tip the guide after as long as you like what they have done. It starts in Covant Garden and takes you through Westminster

My family all enjoyed the London Eye and have said that it was well worth the price for how you get to see London. It's good because all of the major sites are fairly centrally located.

Borough was a very neat market, but I preferred Spitalfields or Camden Lock had great eats. You can stand upstairs at Camden Lock at some pubs that overlook everyone jamming through that market. It was crazy to see how busy it was and to just people watch.

I agree that the museums are amazing. The Imperial War Museum was probably my favourite followed by the Natural History Museum. Skip the Victoria and Albert Museum as it was quite a drag.

For any sports fan I agree that it's great to take in a football match. But even if there is nothing going on, go to the stadiums. Stamford Bridge in Chelsea does a fantastic stadium tour plus just wondering around the grounds you get a feel for how passionate people are. It's cool in the gift shop as well to see their championship trophies. Or if you are up for it, look at going to Wimbledon. Another great tour and that grass...WOW!

Lastly, just ask anyone for restaurants that they like. Try anywhere. The hole in the walls down the little side streets sometimes house the best food. I couldn't tell you where I ate half the time b/c my brother who lives there just knew of these places, but they were fantastic.

[Fuzz]

London Eye is good, if you can do it first so you get an overview. We did the first ride of the morning and it wasn't too busy, I think if you buy tickets ahead of time it is cheaper. Changing of the guard is always a good time to see Buckingham Palace, it's a nice walk from the Thames through the gardens to get there.

[curves2000]

Has anybody booked any all inclusive vacations to Mexico lately and noticed some massive price increases?

A couple of buddy's are kind of having a really crappy month so we thought we would organize a boys trip to Cancun, somewhere I have traveled a lot to. A bunch of the places I have stayed at very recently are all like a grand or more from what I have paid.

Looking for a young, trendy place of 4.5 or 5 stars. I have stayed at the ME Cancun 4 different times over the last 18 months for $1800 give or take a bit and looking now and its $2700. A few other places I have stayed at are all $800-1000 more than I have paid.

I am just trying to figure out what may have caused the increase in cost as opposed to the usual fuel/currency etc

Thx

[billybob123]

March Break/reading week?

[Wormius]

I am thinking of getting the Eurorail Global Pass for our family during our stay. My question is, I know you can get to a plethora of cities, but how close can you get to hiking destinations? I wasn't planning on renting a car, but if you want to do a day trip to the mountains, is that possible on the train systems alone?

Also, it seems like there are other benefits with the train pass. When I checked some stuff in Switzerland, it said if you show your pass you get free boat rides around Interlaken. I can't seem to find an extended benefits page on the Eurorail website.

[Wormius]

I am thinking of getting the Eurorail Global Pass for our family during our stay. My question is, I know you can get to a plethora of cities, but how close can you get to hiking destinations? I wasn't planning on renting a car, but if you want to do a day trip to the mountains, is that possible on the train systems alone?

Also, it seems like there are other benefits with the train pass. When I checked some stuff in Switzerland, it said if you show your pass you get free boat rides around Interlaken. I can't seem to find an extended benefits page on the Eurorail website.

[FFR]

Originally Posted by curves2000

Has anybody booked any all inclusive vacations to Mexico lately and noticed some massive price increases?

A couple of buddy's are kind of having a really crappy month so we thought we would organize a boys trip to Cancun, somewhere I have traveled a lot to. A bunch of the places I have stayed at very recently are all like a grand or more from what I have paid.

Looking for a young, trendy place of 4.5 or 5 stars. I have stayed at the ME Cancun 4 different times over the last 18 months for $1800 give or take a bit and looking now and its $2700. A few other places I have stayed at are all $800-1000 more than I have paid.

I am just trying to figure out what may have caused the increase in cost as opposed to the usual fuel/currency etc

Thx

Couple of factors this year. First, depends when you are looking. March is generally expensive due to spring breaks from all over North America happening throughout the month. Additionally there was a huge cut in the number of flights going down this year to all destinations. Less supply with same demand means higher prices.

The crappy CAD is also playing a factor - even though you pay in CAD, everything is priced on the back end as USD.

Finally, we have seen a large push of travel at the end of winter because of the media presence of Zika falling off. No one is talking about it anymore so people forget about it and decide to travel. And there is a small contingent of people who might normally go somewhere in the USA who are choosing other destinations.

[curves2000]

Originally Posted by FFR

Couple of factors this year. First, depends when you are looking. March is generally expensive due to spring breaks from all over North America happening throughout the month. Additionally there was a huge cut in the number of flights going down this year to all destinations. Less supply with same demand means higher prices.

The crappy CAD is also playing a factor - even though you pay in CAD, everything is priced on the back end as USD.

Finally, we have seen a large push of travel at the end of winter because of the media presence of Zika falling off. No one is talking about it anymore so people forget about it and decide to travel. And there is a small contingent of people who might normally go somewhere in the USA who are choosing other destinations.

This is all excellent, thanks for this info! What would be the factor in less seat capacity for the airlines? Is this just for YYC or other departure cities in Canada? I would assume it would be economy related to keep the load factors and revenue per seat up if its only an Alberta based scenario.

I guess the dollar is also a factor, I was debating it with a friend but I figured the dollar was in a similar territory give or take when we were there in summer and fall.

Any other suggestions for us finding a deal to somewhere like Cancun? We are flexible with dates 100% so going now isn't necessary.

Thanks again for the excellent info, a lot of it makes more sense now.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I am thinking of getting the Eurorail Global Pass for our family during our stay. My question is, I know you can get to a plethora of cities, but how close can you get to hiking destinations? I wasn't planning on renting a car, but if you want to do a day trip to the mountains, is that possible on the train systems alone?

Also, it seems like there are other benefits with the train pass. When I checked some stuff in Switzerland, it said if you show your pass you get free boat rides around Interlaken. I can't seem to find an extended benefits page on the Eurorail website.

Rail passes, especially for a whole family are expensive. Given your itinerary, you may want to rent a car. I've found rail can be really convenient, but you are also beholden to schedules. If you have lots to see you may want to plan portions with rail, and others with a rental.

For instance, we flew into Amsterdam, took a train to Berlin, rented a car and drove to Prague, Salzburg, southern Germany and Northern Austria to Munch. Then took a train to Paris, train to London, then rented a car and did Southern England Wales, to Manchester and flew home, all in 3 weeks. Looking back, if we had done trains we wouldn't have seen as much and would have lost time to train schedules. The will get yo were you need to go, but often not on one train, or in the same day. It was also far far cheaper than doing all of it by rail.

[Calgary14]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I am thinking of getting the Eurorail Global Pass for our family during our stay. My question is, I know you can get to a plethora of cities, but how close can you get to hiking destinations? I wasn't planning on renting a car, but if you want to do a day trip to the mountains, is that possible on the train systems alone?

Also, it seems like there are other benefits with the train pass. When I checked some stuff in Switzerland, it said if you show your pass you get free boat rides around Interlaken. I can't seem to find an extended benefits page on the Eurorail website.

A few years ago I travelled to about 10 countries in Europe using the rail system. In my experience the stations are always very central in each city, not near any hiking trails on the outskirts. Their rail system is very efficient and easy to use. You just hop on the train and dont have to worry about the delays associated with flying. We did do a few day trips to mountains etc but those were from local tour companies (every city has plenty of these). And btw Switzerland is a beautiful country but is also the most expensive place I've ever seen.

I didn't rent a car while travelling in Europe as I didn't want to drive but in order to get to the sights outside the core of each city it's probably easiest. I guess it depends on where exactly you're going. Driving in central Paris would be a gong show but driving in more rural areas wouldn't be bad at all

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by curves2000

This is all excellent, thanks for this info! What would be the factor in less seat capacity for the airlines? Is this just for YYC or other departure cities in Canada? I would assume it would be economy related to keep the load factors and revenue per seat up if its only an Alberta based scenario.

I guess the dollar is also a factor, I was debating it with a friend but I figured the dollar was in a similar territory give or take when we were there in summer and fall.

Any other suggestions for us finding a deal to somewhere like Cancun? We are flexible with dates 100% so going now isn't necessary.

Thanks again for the excellent info, a lot of it makes more sense now.

It's from everywhere in Canada. All inclusive package prices have been noticeably higher this year, with a lot less great deals from all cities.

Ultimately, all all-inclusive package prices on every website and with every travel agency or travel agent come from the same few sources who offer these packages across Canada (Air Canada Vacations, WestJet Vacations, Sunwing Vacations, Transat Holidays).

So, trying the same dates on different websites to locate a deal will generally be a waste of time. It's best to just try different dates.

Try this search to locate the cheapest dates for a 4* or better in Cancun:
https://goo.gl/eHpwKq

[cmyden]

Calgary to Palm Springs, California - $266 CAD roundtrip including taxes | non-stop flights in April, May, and June on WestJet

Could also be useful for those going to Coachella.

http://yycdeals.com/calgary-to-palm-...ncluding-taxes

-

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by cmyden

It's from everywhere in Canada. All inclusive package prices have been noticeably higher this year, with a lot less great deals from all cities.

Ultimately, all all-inclusive package prices on every website and with every travel agency or travel agent come from the same few sources who offer these packages across Canada (Air Canada Vacations, WestJet Vacations, Sunwing Vacations, Transat Holidays).

So, trying the same dates on different websites to locate a deal will generally be a waste of time. It's best to just try different dates.

Try this search to locate the cheapest dates for a 4* or better in Cancun:
https://goo.gl/eHpwKq

I disagree in the sense that certain websites provide better deals for certain resorts I have found - purely anecdotal though.

These days I have heard people having lots of success booking resorts and flights seperately for cheaper than using westjet/air canada/sunwing/whatever vacations.

[Lubicon]

Wife and I were hoping/thinking about trying to get away in April sometime but were shocked at prices to Mexico this year. Cuba was about the only place that had any deals but going there probably is not in the cards. We'll keep looking to see if any good last minute deals come up otherwise it will likely be a weekend in Banff type vacation or more likely nothing at all.

[Fuzz]

Why not Cuba? We are going in April. Cuba is great.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Why not Cuba? We are going in April. Cuba is great.

The food kills a lot of people. Even the top resorts can have not so good food.

Other than that I think Cuba is fantastic to vacation at.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Why not Cuba? We are going in April. Cuba is great.

Beaches are top notch by all reports but a combination of what we have heard about the food (mentioned above), relatively long distance to get there, and the politics of the country knock it off our list of top choices.

[TheAlpineOracle]

I thought the increases to all-inclusive destinations is that the tour companies buy all their packages up front in USD so last year's prices (2016) didn't incorporate the tanking of the Canadian Dollar. The 2017 packages now incorporate that which is creating the steep price increases.

That could be wrong though. That's just what someone told me.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

Beaches are top notch by all reports but a combination of what we have heard about the food (mentioned above), relatively long distance to get there, and the politics of the country knock it off our list of top choices.

The food isn't fantastic, but it's not horrible. Best to select one of the newer European operated resorts as opposed to the Cuban ones. If you are travelling form Calgary there are direct flights in 5ish hours, so it isn't hard to get to.