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Old 04-05-2022, 11:23 AM   #41
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anybody travelled by land to the States recently? I read online you just need to have proof of vaccination, no covid testing. my family (wife and kids) had covid a few weeks ago. I have heard you can test positive for up to 90 days. should I be worried about random covid testing or anything or is it pretty much open as long as you are vaccinated?
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Old 04-10-2022, 04:05 PM   #42
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anybody travelled by land to the States recently? I read online you just need to have proof of vaccination, no covid testing. my family (wife and kids) had covid a few weeks ago. I have heard you can test positive for up to 90 days. should I be worried about random covid testing or anything or is it pretty much open as long as you are vaccinated?
If your driving they ask if your vaccinated I never had to show proof. They don't do random testing at a land border, going into the states.

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Old 04-13-2022, 12:46 PM   #43
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anybody travelled by land to the States recently? I read online you just need to have proof of vaccination, no covid testing. my family (wife and kids) had covid a few weeks ago. I have heard you can test positive for up to 90 days. should I be worried about random covid testing or anything or is it pretty much open as long as you are vaccinated?
I just went to Portland a couple weeks ago and they just asked me if I was vaccinated.
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Old 07-05-2022, 11:37 AM   #44
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What's the process with gate-checking items for young kids?

We're flying in a couple weeks for the first time in a while and we want to bring a folding wagon to the place we're going (more practical than a stroller, and my youngest turned 2 a few months ago). Is it as simple as getting a tag at check-in and dropping it off at the gate? Would such a thing even be allowed to be gate checked?

Flying with WestJet in case that matters
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Old 07-05-2022, 02:28 PM   #45
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We tried calling westjet ahead about a foldable wagon and nobody would give us a straight answer. We ended up just giving it a try and we had no issues at YYC or YYZ. Just tagged at check in and dropped at the gate. The wagon was our MVP of the trip, so good call. We also got child seats through our car rental for free (we think it might have been because we are AMA members, but we still aren’t completely sure what happened) and that made life so much easier.
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Old 07-06-2022, 10:25 AM   #46
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What's the process with gate-checking items for young kids?

We're flying in a couple weeks for the first time in a while and we want to bring a folding wagon to the place we're going (more practical than a stroller, and my youngest turned 2 a few months ago). Is it as simple as getting a tag at check-in and dropping it off at the gate? Would such a thing even be allowed to be gate checked?

Flying with WestJet in case that matters
Unless things have changed recently a folding wagon should be fine. You don't need to get anything at the check-in counter but at your gate you can ask the agent for a door delivery tag. When you get to the aircraft door you just told up the wagon and the ground crew will put it in the cargo hold. At your destination it will be brought back up to you at the aircraft door. If you are connecting at an airport you can have the door delivery tag filled out so that you either get the wagon at your connection point or at your final destination (unless you are connecting at a Canadian airport to a US flight in which case you have to take the wagon through security/customs.)
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Old 07-06-2022, 01:37 PM   #47
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Thanks guy - was hoping/figured as much - haven't flown since 2019, so wasn't quite sure if anything was overly different, but seems like we might be in a great spot!
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Old 08-31-2022, 09:41 AM   #48
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Anybody travelled to Cuba recently and can confirm if the airline gives you the required tourist card to enter? Last time I went was in 2013 and I recall standing in line at passport control to get the tourist card. Looks like now they want people to either buy it online before at a markup, or have the airlines issue it to you on the flight.

I recently booked our trip with Westjet vacations. I am assuming the airline will give us the tourist card prior at some point. Is this true?
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Old 09-09-2022, 01:15 PM   #49
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What are people's thoughts on non all-inclusive Mexico trips/hotels? I've only ever been to AI resorts but I'm considering a Mazatlan hotel that is on the beach but not AI. It is in the "golden zone" zona dorada which seems to have all sorts of amenities but I'm not sure what safety is like there.
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Old 09-24-2022, 11:13 AM   #50
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Thinking about booking a trip to Croatia/Slovenia for next year.

Has anyone been?
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Old 09-26-2022, 07:24 AM   #51
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Thinking about booking a trip to Croatia/Slovenia for next year.

Has anyone been?
Croatia is wonderful. Don't know anything about Slovenia.
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Old 11-25-2022, 10:52 AM   #52
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I'm sad this thread hasn't been bumped today for Black Friday, I'm praying for something good this weekend. Been too long, got the itch so bad!
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Old 12-10-2022, 03:10 AM   #53
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Thinking about booking a trip to Croatia/Slovenia for next year.

Has anyone been?
I've been to Slovenia and loved it. Stay in Ljubljana and you can do day trips to anywhere in the country, and come back to the same hotel.

I have not been to Croatia, though.
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Old 12-16-2022, 11:42 AM   #54
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My wife and I are planning a trip to Italy in September 2023 for 2 weeks. Neither of us have ever been. We both like food and looking at the history/art but would also like to relax a couple days too. We've been deciding whether to do the following travel plans:

Option 1
Milan
Venice
Florence
Rome
Somewhere on the Amalfi Coast
Naples/Pompeii

Option 2
Florence
Rome
Somewhere on the Amalfi Coast
Naples/Pompeii
Sicily

Any recommendations on which would be better or places to check out?
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Old 12-17-2022, 04:15 PM   #55
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My wife and I are planning a trip to Italy in September 2023 for 2 weeks. Neither of us have ever been. We both like food and looking at the history/art but would also like to relax a couple days too. We've been deciding whether to do the following travel plans:

Option 1
Milan
Venice
Florence
Rome
Somewhere on the Amalfi Coast
Naples/Pompeii

Option 2
Florence
Rome
Somewhere on the Amalfi Coast
Naples/Pompeii
Sicily

Any recommendations on which would be better or places to check out?
I went to Italy this summer with my wife for just over 2 weeks and visited all of those locations.

We went

Rome
Naples (day trips to Pomepi/Mt Vesuvius, Amalfi Coast and Capri)
Florence
Venice
Milan

Our tips:

Rome is overrated. St Peters/Sistine Chapel and the Coliseum/ancient ruins areas are must sees. Once you do those, leave Rome. We found the city pretty over rated. I'd only spend a day and a half there if I did it again.

Naples - We stayed in the Spanish Quarter. Naples is hot, crazy and frantic. It was super interesting. Pizza is fantastic there (its where pizza was invented). Many people skip Naples and stay in Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast instead. You either love or hate Naples. We loved it, but others hate it. It is rough and has character. The Spanish Quarter is incredibly cool.
Sorrento is nice and you can take the public bus a short distance away to Positano, which is another luxury town in the Amalfi. The town of Amalfi itself is not interesting.

Ferries from Naples and Sorrento go to the island of Capri. It's a very popular day trip. Capri was a highlight of our trip. It's amazing. Words don't do it justice. You must visit. The ferry is a bit shorter from Sorrento than from Naples. If you can find a hotel that isn't too crazy priced, then try to stay a night. Get ferry tickets in advance. The Ferry is 30 mins or an hour depending on where you are coming from.

Pompei is closer to Sorrento than Naples, by about 20-30 mins. We took the train/subway and just booked a 2 hour guided tour there. There's no reason to book a full day tour from the town you're staying in including transportation costs to Pompei. The train/subway stops right at Pompei.

We took a public bus to Mt Vesuvius from Pompei. It takes you right to the top, where you then hike the last bit. You must get tickets in advance which have a set time. We took a public bus back to the train and took a train back. Very easy and way cheaper than a full day tour. My spouse really liked Pompei, it wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. There's no bathrooms on Mt Vesuvius, be ready to hold your bladder for several hours. The view is really cool. The ride up the mountain is "interesting".

Florence was great. There are lots of places you can walk to and get great views of the city. The highlight of our trip was doing a half day scooter tour in the Chianti Hills (wine area just outside Florence). We stopped for a prepared lunch in a vineyard. It was incredible. You meet up in Florence and then they bus you to the garage in Chianti and then you ride out. Tuscany is beautiful. Try to do a trip or two outside of Florence. We saw "the David statue" which is a big attraction. The scooter trip was insanely fun. Probably the most fun I had the entire time in Italy.

Venice is interesting. We felt one day there is enough. Get a private water taxi through the canal to your hotel, rather than the crowded public water taxis. It was mesmerizing, like being in a dream when we took the private water taxi to our hotel from the train station. It cost 90 Euros and is worth every penny.

We spent a day at the island of Lido at a beach club (take a public water taxi, it takes 20 minutes). The beach club is like being at a resort in Mexico. It's like $25 for a beach chair. Lido is where the Venice film festival is held.

Milan is a boring big city. We went to an AC Milan soccer game which was a crazy experience and the only thing I really liked about the city. We went to "the last supper" - meh, my wife loves art.

We did a day trip to Lake Como from Milan. That was outstanding. It's amazing there. Take the train to Varenna, explore and then take a ferry to Bellagio and then ferry back to Varenna to take the train back. Very easy. The sights were incredible.

1. Always take the train. It's really efficient, good value and a great experience. Very easy to do. Always take the train.

2. Any attraction you want to see will always require tickets. No exceptions. Always get your tickets in advance. Many attractions/exhibits/sites require you to book months in advance. They have specific times, too.

3. It's very hot in Italy. Air Conditioning isn't widespread. Get ready to sweat.

4. Crowds are insane. Venice has narrow alleys and is insanely packed with people. Florence is also packed. Likewise with Rome.

My advice: skip Milan (but still try to find a way to get to Lake Como!) I'd also spend more time in Tuscany (outside of Florence itself)

Also considering going to Cinque Terre from Florence for a day or two. Many people do one of Cinque Terre or Amalfi coast, but I wish I did both.

I can't offer any advice on Sicily as I haven't been there.

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Old 12-18-2022, 04:29 PM   #56
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Great tips above but I'd suggest at least one more day in Rome to hit up Ostia Antica as a day trip (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostia_Antica). It had amazing Roman ruins and was basically empty while we were there. If memory serves me right it's on Rome's train system and incredibly easy to get there. I also really enjoyed the Borghese Museum and saw some amazing sculptures there.

I'll also throw some love to Pisa. I had expected it to be a construction filled tourist trap but got pretty lucky while there with no construction and the Leaning Tower area was pretty awesome.

Hope you have a great trip!
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Old 12-27-2022, 01:13 AM   #57
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Rome is called the eternal city for a reason. There is so much to see there. I can't imagine staying less than 4-5 days there.

I studied in Rome for a semester and didn't run out of things to see. I can't imagine only giving it a day and a half.
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Old 12-29-2022, 01:57 PM   #58
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Rome is called the eternal city for a reason. There is so much to see there. I can't imagine staying less than 4-5 days there.

I studied in Rome for a semester and didn't run out of things to see. I can't imagine only giving it a day and a half.
I agree, I've spent four days there and I feel like I've only scratched its surface. As a previous poster mentioned, the Borghese museum is spectacular and less well-known place to visit.

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Old 03-27-2023, 02:34 AM   #59
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About 30 mins from Petra, Jordan and I am pretty excited. I have wanted to see it since I first saw a photo of the place in my parents 1977 encyclopedia Britannica. Just left Egypt and I have to say while the Pyramids are cool I think Saqqara is even better.

After Petra we have a brief stop in Saudi Arabia and then are off to Dubai for a week.
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Old 03-27-2023, 06:20 AM   #60
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Drink lots of water! I ended up with heat stroke there after a long day of exploring, you just want to keep looking around. It's incredible. Enjoy!
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