Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Island?

Fun fact: Of the 15 nations whose head of state is Charles III (the Commonwealth Realm), Canada and Belize are the only two that are not primarily located on an island or a group of islands.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by getbak

Fun fact: Of the 15 nations whose head of state is Charles III (the Commonwealth Realm), Canada and Belize are the only two that are not primarily located on an island or a group of islands.

14* nations as Barbados peaced out last year.

But that is an interesting fact I never thought of!

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

14* nations as Barbados peaced out last year.

But that is an interesting fact I never thought of!

15 including the UK.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Hopefully they can expand their Korean Air codeshare to offer other destinations in Asia as well.

Looked at the times - will be very difficult to onward connect anywhere from Seoul without staying over night as it arrives very late.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

14* nations as Barbados peaced out last year.

But that is an interesting fact I never thought of!

I always like Barbados

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Looked at the times - will be very difficult to onward connect anywhere from Seoul without staying over night as it arrives very late.

There are some late flights to Vietnam, Mongolia and I think even Tokyo that depart between midnight at 3 AM out of Seoul so maybe a few options. Whether they're airlines that can or will codeshare with WestJet, I'm not sure.

[Bigtime]

Heck stay a few nights in Seoul, it's a great city to check out.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Might be a bit of a distance for only a week trip, but Curacao is nice. The catch is you'd have to connect in YYZ.

Have you been?

Do you have an recommendations on accommodations or the island in general.

My wife and I are looking at 25 anniversary trips in April/May 2023

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Have you been?

Do you have an recommendations on accommodations or the island in general.

My wife and I are looking at 25 anniversary trips in April/May 2023

We went back in January of 2016. Our first proper trip away from the two kids at the time! Stayed right downtown in Willemstad at a hotel that was a training centre for people that wanted to get into the business. Nothing fancy but did the trick for us as a place to sleep.

Can't see to find the place now, but we were in this area:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/deV967v59busrj5QA

Did a day trip to the small island of Klein Curacao, really rough seas heading out there. Not at all ashamed to say I lost my lunch on that ride out! Beautiful deserted island where we spent the day, white sand beaches, and the tour operator for the day trip had facilities set up there for lunch and places to relax.

We spent a lot of time simply walking around exploring Willemstad. I know there are lots of resort options outside the city but we like doing the urban thing. And that small city centre area is great for a Carribbean/Europe city vibe.

There's an incredible museum there about the history of the slave trade, real humbling stuff to see in person.

Oh and there are so many Dutch there. Prepare to feel short (I'm 5'11").

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Have you been?

Do you have an recommendations on accommodations or the island in general.

My wife and I are looking at 25 anniversary trips in April/May 2023

I was in Curacao last March and loved it! Stayed at the Avila Beach Hotel, which is a little bit out of town, but not far. I walked into town one day. There are a lot of nice restaurants around Avila Beach.

One of my favourite activities was walking around Willemstad. There are murals painted on many walls and some of the sidewalks have different art installations.

There are definitely more expensive Caribbean destinations, but Curacao is not cheap.

[surferguy]

When would one expect Boxing Day deals to surface for the airlines? Will they do it? Is that even a thing for that industry?

[MillerTime GFG]

Mayan Riviera - we're surprising our kids on Christmas with a trip in early January. This will be my 5th or 6th time down there, and wanted to see if anyone had recommendations for excursions? I've done Cenotes a few times, and the kids have once, and we'll likely do that again...but looking for one more.


I want to do a waterpark potentially, and looked at Xcaret, but the prices are INSANE. Any other waterparks, or other excursions? Is Xcaret worth it?

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by MillerTime GFG

Mayan Riviera - we're surprising our kids on Christmas with a trip in early January. This will be my 5th or 6th time down there, and wanted to see if anyone had recommendations for excursions? I've done Cenotes a few times, and the kids have once, and we'll likely do that again...but looking for one more.


I want to do a waterpark potentially, and looked at Xcaret, but the prices are INSANE. Any other waterparks, or other excursions? Is Xcaret worth it?

Does the Crococun zoo exist still? Sketchiest zoo ever which made it awesome. It was 3 bucks.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by MillerTime GFG

Mayan Riviera - we're surprising our kids on Christmas with a trip in early January. This will be my 5th or 6th time down there, and wanted to see if anyone had recommendations for excursions? I've done Cenotes a few times, and the kids have once, and we'll likely do that again...but looking for one more.

I want to do a waterpark potentially, and looked at Xcaret, but the prices are INSANE. Any other waterparks, or other excursions? Is Xcaret worth it?

Xel Ha is a bit further down, and we found it pretty good. Don't know how it compares on quality or price to Xcaret but maybe worth a look.


https://www.xelha.com/en/admissions-xelha/

[MillerTime GFG]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Xel Ha is a bit further down, and we found it pretty good. Don't know how it compares on quality or price to Xcaret but maybe worth a look.


https://www.xelha.com/en/admissions-xelha/

Is it just the one waterslide there? Or are there multiple?

[Fuzz]

Really not sure, it's been 17 years since I was there. You may need to find a more up to date review than mine.

[Johnny199r]

I applied for Nexus back in March. I got an email last Thursday that I was conditionally approved subject to an interview. I managed to schedule an interview for today (I live in Winnipeg) at the MB-ND border and was approved. I was in the U.S for 15 minutes. Card is in the mail. Glad it’s finally done.

[spetch]

Anybody ever flown Air New Zealand and used their "skycouch" seats? We are thinking about going to a wedding in Australia this fall and wondered if these would be worthwhile? We are not overly big adults or kids but there would be an 11 year old and a 9 year old with each of us.

[surferguy]

Yup, just did it. We found them very much useful for our 8/5 yr olds.

I’ll send you a PM with my details

[undercoverbrother]

Hawaii

I know nothing about it, but it has moved to the top of my list to take my wife for our 25th.

She has always wanted to go.