Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[me_dennis]

Originally Posted by tete

I've just booked train tickets via the French rail site SNCF in the past. You can take the TGV from Paris to Barcelona - I think it's about 4 hours? I'll give you a warning, there is not a lot of luggage storage area in most trains, I'd strongly suggest travelling with a very small umbrella stroller and not bringing the car seat. Even though I am crazy anal about car seat safety here in Canada, I suck it up and travel without one for my kid for overseas travel - if we need one for a rental car, I rent one there. Most taxi drivers will not be thrilled with you trying to install one in a cab.

Thanks, we are thinking of leaving the car seat at home as well. We're not sure how strict Europe is about car seats, but we assume the cab driver will not refuse us for not having the proper car seats?

We do have a small umbrella size stroller that we'll be bringing, but I remember easyjet charging even for carry on items, which is why we're thinking about the trains.

Would you suggest travelling by train over flying?

[tete]

Originally Posted by me_dennis

Thanks, we are thinking of leaving the car seat at home as well. We're not sure how strict Europe is about car seats, but we assume the cab driver will not refuse us for not having the proper car seats?

We do have a small umbrella size stroller that we'll be bringing, but I remember easyjet charging even for carry on items, which is why we're thinking about the trains.

Would you suggest travelling by train over flying?

We've done three European trips (Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, France) and one Asian (HK, Malaysia) trip with our now 5.5 year old and have never been refused in a cab without a car seat. We only took an umbrella stroller once, on our first trip (9 months old), the rest of the trips I wore her in a carrier and didn't bother with a stroller. I've never used the ultra low cost carriers in Europe, so I don't have much of an opinion. I do like the train, it's pretty laid back and neat to see the countryside fly by. Just remember that you need to get on and off the train fairly quickly - the train won't wait for you and your luggage.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by tete

We've done three European trips (Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, France) and one Asian (HK, Malaysia) trip with our now 5.5 year old and have never been refused in a cab without a car seat. We only took an umbrella stroller once, on our first trip (9 months old), the rest of the trips I wore her in a carrier and didn't bother with a stroller. I've never used the ultra low cost carriers in Europe, so I don't have much of an opinion. I do like the train, it's pretty laid back and neat to see the countryside fly by. Just remember that you need to get on and off the train fairly quickly - the train won't wait for you and your luggage.

Just wondering, where have you been around the Netherlands? We are planning a leg of our journey this summer through there and the prices in Amsterdam are pretty high for accommodations. Thinking of maybe basing ourselves out of The Hague for 3 or 4 days and taking the train out to Amsterdam and other nearby spots for site-seeing. Does this seem like a reasonable compromise for location? The schedule is no worse than my commute to work everyday, but wondering if there are any gotchas.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Thinking of maybe basing ourselves out of The Hague for 3 or 4 days and taking the train out to Amsterdam and other nearby spots for site-seeing.

I stayed in the Hague for 4 days. Never left it actually. Stayed right on Scheveningen Beach.

Definitely hit this up:
https://www.madurodam.nl/en

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by jwslam

I stayed in the Hague for 4 days. Never left it actually. Stayed right on Scheveningen Beach.



Definitely hit this up:

https://www.madurodam.nl/en

Thanks. I would definitely like to check out a beach while we are over there. Any idea what it is like during the summer? We are probably going to need the Benelux/France rail pass, so I am wondering if there is anything else worthwhile seeing near there? I don't know if going to Bruges just for kicks and giggles is worth the time, although it is on the way back to Paris.

[tete]

Sadly, I've only been to The Hague - we were visiting friends there while on a layover on our way to Portugal. I'd love to go back, I have a great-uncle buried in the Netherlands, killed at the end of WW2. We took the train to Schipol and it was quite quick, and I know my friend said that there are people who do a Hague/Amsterdam commute every day.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Thanks. I would definitely like to check out a beach while we are over there. Any idea what it is like during the summer? We are probably going to need the Benelux/France rail pass, so I am wondering if there is anything else worthwhile seeing near there? I don't know if going to Bruges just for kicks and giggles is worth the time, although it is on the way back to Paris.

I was there early June. Sand was hot, almost too hot to walk on, almost.
Sunsets are gorgeous. North end of the beach there's a nudist area, but I didn't find anything worth seeing... just all the old people.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by jwslam

I was there early June. Sand was hot, almost too hot to walk on, almost.

Sunsets are gorgeous. North end of the beach there's a nudist area, but I didn't find anything worth seeing... just all the old people.

Uh. I wonder what August will be like then. I am considering packing light with only short-sleeved shirts and shorts. Is that too optimistic?

[Amethyst]

A couple years ago my friends took a major bike trip around Europe. They did a few train sections when they needed to make time. Getting on and off with bikes was a major PITA according to my friend, as was trying to find a decent spot for them. They found that trains that were at platform level, versus ones where you had to climb up steps to get on, were a lot better. Not sure if you can find out ahead of time about that.

[Weitz]

My Fiance and I are thinking of heading to Greece for our Honeymoon. My mom told me she thinks May/September are the best months to travel there. Anyone have any comments on this timing? And whats the best way to get flights there?

Thanks.

[temple5]

Originally Posted by Weitz

My Fiance and I are thinking of heading to Greece for our Honeymoon. My mom told me she thinks May/September are the best months to travel there. Anyone have any comments on this timing? And whats the best way to get flights there?

Thanks.

Best weather for beaches/islands etc is May-Sep. Its also the most expensive months to visit. The Hotels there have their different seasonal rates posted and I think the summer months were double the low season. The Euro instead of the Drachma has made Greece a very expensive place to visit.

I have been there in both March and August - March was like our spring weather. All the Greeks were bundled up tight and we were walk around in shorts

Normal way to get there is YCC-Europe-ATH on any number of carriers

There are also direct flights from YYZ, YUL, NYC, and ORD to ATH if you dont want to connect in Europe.

Least expensive and least convenient would be Westjet to England then a discount carrier to ATH if you have plenty of vacation time and dont mind the hassle.

[StrykerSteve]

Anyone had any experience with IHG all-inclusive resorts?

https://www.google.ca/amp/first2boar...ls-points/amp/

Thinking about surprising my wife with a trip to Jamaica and I have a ton of points to use.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by StrykerSteve

Anyone had any experience with IHG all-inclusive resorts?

Thinking about surprising my wife with a trip to Jamaica and I have a ton of points to use.

No comment on the resorts, but I've been collecting for years and barely have enough for a free night. How often are you travelling?

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Thanks. I would definitely like to check out a beach while we are over there. Any idea what it is like during the summer? We are probably going to need the Benelux/France rail pass, so I am wondering if there is anything else worthwhile seeing near there? I don't know if going to Bruges just for kicks and giggles is worth the time, although it is on the way back to Paris.

I was in The Hague for three weeks last summer. My GF lived there for another 5-6 months. It is certainly a great spot as it has a lot of good restaurants and coffee shops etc. near the city center. The city is fairly wealthy with a ton of ex-pats but not a lot of tourists. So its got the nice things in life without being totally catered towards taking your money.

A couple other spots you could base yourself out of would be Haarlem (close to Amsterdam and near the ocean) or Utrecht (mini-Amsterdam).

EDIT:

The weather there can be quite erratic (like Calgary). You will need a few different layers most likely.

[StrykerSteve]

Originally Posted by jwslam

No comment on the resorts, but I've been collecting for years and barely have enough for a free night. How often are you travelling?

I have to travel for work, so I'm in hotels daily and on flights 4 times a week, on average. We've been to Vegas three straight years, flights, hotels and rental cars are always taken care via points. I work like a dog, but this is the one perk that at least makes it semi-worthwhile.

I'm thinking of doing a 12-day trip to Jamaica this time around, but as I've never been there, I'd like to hear from someone who has been before to know if it's the right call.

[Weitz]

Check out Trip Advisor. Probably your best bet on getting reviews of the hotel.

[cmyden]

Aeromexico's cheap flights from Calgary to Peru are back, and the price is a new record low...

Calgary to Lima, Peru - $475 CAD roundtrip including taxes

Also available for a similar price:

Quito, Ecuador (UIO)
Medellin, Colombia (MDE)
Bogota, Colombia (BOG)

Availability for travel:
August, September, October, November 2017

full list of dates: http://yycdeals.com/calgary-to-lima-...ncluding-taxes

-

[killer_carlson]

holy cow that is cheap!

It's not getting you to Maccu Piccu mind you, but that is cheap.

[billybob123]

There are also flights to many places in Central America for March break of 2018 - Mexico City for $400, San Salvador for $440, Managua for $469.

Incredible. I wish my kids and wife were more adventurous. Maybe I can convince the bosses (i.e. kids and mom) to go to Mexico City for a week instead of a cruise?

[StrykerSteve]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Check out Trip Advisor. Probably your best bet on getting reviews of the hotel.

Reading trip advisor, sounds like the water isn't great, with a lot of seaweed and the rooms are a little rundown. Going to rethink this... where can I take my wife that has amazing beaches and nice ocean view rooms with IHG points... hmmm.