Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie - Page 195 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Strange Brew · 02-08-2019, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wormius

So even though I have paid for the flights, I can't collect all of the miles and 3/4 of the miles are wasted, unless I get my wife and young kids some rewards cards?

ANA has some kind of family account that I haven't looked into fully. I presume you could then use those for any of the Star Alliance flights? What exactly can I do with a mashup of Aeroplan, ANA, and KLM miles?

You absolutely need to make sure your wife and kids are enrolled in a rewards program. My kids had a FF account as soon as we started having to pay for their own seats. It will add up.

Slacker · 02-15-2019, 04:47 PM

I'm looking to book a flight from Dublin to Berlin in October. Is there a recommended airline to fly with a luggage?

I saw Aer Lingus offer a flight for 45 Euros without luggage and 103 Euros for the direct flight, luggage and some extra perks.

Any recommendations is appreciated

Calgary14 · 02-22-2019, 10:58 AM

Flair Airlines has suddenly stopped flying to some US destinations.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/fla...ions-1.5028320

rotten42 · 02-22-2019, 11:48 AM

Anyone have any recommendations for staying in Belize. The wife and I are going to do a quick trip down there.

Johnny199r · 02-26-2019, 07:51 PM

On vacation in Phoenix. Staying like a block from ASU's baseball stadium in Tempe. Area seems good to me.

A few minutes ago (7:30pm) we hear 4 gunshots from our hotel room and now there is a police helicopter and tons of police at the gas station beside our hotel. We just walked through there 30 minutes ago.

Now the police are in our parking lot and the police helicoptor is shining down on our parking lot. Police tape up everywhere and they are searching the garbage bins.

Hmmmmm maybe I wont walk around here anymore.

Johnny199r · 03-01-2019, 07:51 PM

Travel tip:

If you don't have $300-500 USD to stay in expensive hotels with really nice pools (ie- seemingly everywhere in Phoenix/Scottsdale in February) and you want a really nice pool day for you and or/ the family, you can use a website called resort pass and can buy a pass (usually $25-$30 per adult, less for kids) to spend the day at a ballin' resort you could otherwise never afford to visit.

Considering the daily resort fee is often higher for those actually staying at these resorts, it's a great deal.

Engine09 · 03-09-2019, 02:25 PM

2 months away from a trip to Poland, Germany, Czech Republic and Hungary. Starting to do some research on trains.

Which websites should I look at to buy tickets? Any particular train lines/companies to choose over others?

Do they each sell their own tickets?

Thanks!

topfiverecords · 03-09-2019, 03:14 PM

We used Deutsche Bahn http://www.bahn.com in Germany and Frankfurt to Brussels

cmyden · 03-09-2019, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Engine09

2 months away from a trip to Poland, Germany, Czech Republic and Hungary. Starting to do some research on trains.

Which websites should I look at to buy tickets? Any particular train lines/companies to choose over others?

Do they each sell their own tickets?

Thanks!

Any time I see someone ask a question about train travel, inevitably, people tell them to check out The Man In Seat 61 - https://www.seat61.com/ - it must be a goldmine of good info.

I would also try searching on Rome2Rio - https://www.rome2rio.com/ - which will show you the options between each city (speed, price, etc) and the train companies involved on the route.

I do remember the English version of the Bahn website being the best for searching for train travel, anywhere in Europe, back in the day... https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml
- but it may have been surpassed by sites like Rome2Rio which are building really great interfaces for searching train travel schedules.

-

tete · 03-09-2019, 08:52 PM

We're off to Australia (Sydney, Melbourne) in 10 days and while we're there, we are renting a car (thankfully not right away, we have 8 days beforehand to get used to stuff) - any advice for driving a right hand drive? I'm a bit nervous, we are driving from downtown Melbourne down to Phillip Island for the first drive (then Great Ocean Road, and circle back to Melbourne over 5 days).

Johnny199r · 03-09-2019, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tete

We're off to Australia (Sydney, Melbourne) in 10 days and while we're there, we are renting a car (thankfully not right away, we have 8 days beforehand to get used to stuff) - any advice for driving a right hand drive? I'm a bit nervous, we are driving from downtown Melbourne down to Phillip Island for the first drive (then Great Ocean Road, and circle back to Melbourne over 5 days).

I drove from Melbourne to the Great Ocean Road. You get used to it pretty quickly. Remember, no left turns on red.

cmyden · 03-10-2019, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tete

We're off to Australia (Sydney, Melbourne) in 10 days and while we're there, we are renting a car (thankfully not right away, we have 8 days beforehand to get used to stuff) - any advice for driving a right hand drive? I'm a bit nervous, we are driving from downtown Melbourne down to Phillip Island for the first drive (then Great Ocean Road, and circle back to Melbourne over 5 days).

It's way easier than it seems. When you get in the car just repeat "stay left" over and over to yourself. In New Zealand they actually attach a "stay left" sign to the steering wheel on rental vehicles. Haven't seen them in Australia.

Most of the time, there's someone in front of you that you can follow. Not blindly of course, be aware and use your judgement, but following someone makes it pretty easy as to where to go next. And if there's nobody to follow, just always choose to "stay left" and you will be fine.

calgarywinning · 03-10-2019, 08:51 AM

Just did some driving in Melbourne/Sydney. Keep your signal hand (the right hand) floating as a reminder for your signal stick.

Driving in Melbourne a little more difficult as they have the trams in the city, which are king, and the "box" which is a little confusing (turning right you hang out until all the traffic has gone in the left lane), but other then that, pretty easy.

You will notice your lane orientation is off a bit, no big deal.

Talk through your maneuvers, have a passenger ready to hit the hazards if you are confused. Coming in and out of gas stations can cause you to revert. As long as you stay attentive and all that you will be fine. Drivers here are very decent, plus it's the best way to do some touring.

Also, follow the person in front of you whenever you can, that makes it easy.

The major tip is when you take some Ubers, sit behind the driver and get your practise emulating what you would do as he does it. This really worked for me. In the city a combo of tramming and ubers works best.

Fuzz · 03-10-2019, 12:40 PM

I drove around England, your brain picks it up pretty quick, and when you get it wrong your wife will be yelling "LEFT LEFT LEFT!" in your ear, which helps.

jdso · 03-10-2019, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tete

We're off to Australia (Sydney, Melbourne) in 10 days and while we're there, we are renting a car (thankfully not right away, we have 8 days beforehand to get used to stuff) - any advice for driving a right hand drive? I'm a bit nervous, we are driving from downtown Melbourne down to Phillip Island for the first drive (then Great Ocean Road, and circle back to Melbourne over 5 days).

Practice going through roundabouts in your head or watching a few videos since they're pretty popular there. It took me a bit to wrap my head around them and was lucky that there were cars to follow.

surferguy · 03-10-2019, 07:21 PM

Be prepared to look into the top corner of the windshield checking your rear view mirror. That should happen about 15 times before you leave the parking lot.

FireGilbert · 03-10-2019, 07:27 PM

Downtown Melbourne with the trams and hook turns is probably the worst place in all of Australia for someone driving on the left hand side for the first time. Good luck!

It really is no big deal though and you will get used to it very quickly. The big issue for me going back and forth between right and left driving is my lane positioning. I've also had issues with turning my head back in the wrong direction while reversing and repeatedly hitting the wipers instead of the indicators.

tete · 03-10-2019, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I drove around England, your brain picks it up pretty quick, and when you get it wrong your wife will be yelling "LEFT LEFT LEFT!" in your ear, which helps.

I am the wife, it'll be my husband and 7 year old yelling at me.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

calgarywinning · 03-11-2019, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

Downtown Melbourne with the trams and hook turns is probably the worst place in all of Australia for someone driving on the left hand side for the first time. Good luck!

It really is no big deal though and you will get used to it very quickly. The big issue for me going back and forth between right and left driving is my lane positioning. I've also had issues with turning my head back in the wrong direction while reversing and repeatedly hitting the wipers instead of the indicators.

Yes, having left Melbourne today, there really is not much reason to drive around in the CBD and other inner city districts since you have tram and trains covering most of that area. The tram within the district is all free zone as well. So driving in Melbourne should be highways and outer precincts with highways to do the Great Ocean Road, etc...

Oh and don't miss out on SuperNormal on Flinder's Lane. Just don't!

UKflames · 03-12-2019, 11:14 AM

If anyone is interested in visiting Scandanavia or any of the Nordic countries and need a trip planning drop me a line. I work for a company that specialises in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Faroe Islands and Greenland and we organise tailor made holidays for travellers from around the world, including USA and Canada, we can even price the trip in US dollars if it helps.

I am not sure if i can mention the name of the company, as that maybe advertising.