Going on a business trip and will have time to vacation for 2 weeks around Europe after and then need to visit family. I can choose either June 15th to July 1st for my dates or June 22nd to July 9th. How much of a difference would these dates make in terms of crowds? Looking at Spain, Budapest, and Greece, but sometimes I change my plans on a... Read More

To those of you that have teens that may look older, what was your experience regarding proof of age at the various museums and sites? I know that different sites may have different rules, but in general did you find that a photocopy on a phone was sufficient proof or do they normally require the hard/original copy of the ID? Thanks. Read More

Airbnb in Paris… yay or nay? I’ve always stayed in hotels but I may spend 4-5 nights and thought it would be a great way to save money and have more space. Any recommendations? Reasons not to? Thanks! Read More

We saw a good price for a couple of seats to CDG for the end of March and grabbed them. We are at the early stage of trying to decide where to go and would like some suggestions as we take the weather into consideration. I know we can do Paris at that time of year with all the opportunities for indoor activities and that is a possibility. We hav... Read More

Finally, France. After that endless journey from Australia - 33 hours from home airport to Zurich, then train west. My itinerary : May/June 2024: flight in and out of Zurich Besancon 7N Avignon 9N La Tour-de-Peilz (Vevey) 2N Meiringen 11N Winterthur 1N I’ve visited so little of France, having only been to (and loved) Alsace, trav... Read More

DD and I are in the baby-steps of planning our 2025 holiday. Now that the children are 20-somethings launched in their careers and lives, the need for a family holiday no longer exists. DH and DD are driving about the Cascades later this summer for Father-Daughter time over scary (to me) winding mountain roads; DD and I... Read More

Hello all. We are planning a trip to Upstate NY. We will spend a few days in the Finger Lakes so DH can fish. After that we have another week or so. I would like to see the Adirondaks but I'm hearing a lot of good things about Saratoga Springs. We both love history, waterfalls and great scenery, and DH loves fishing. Should we stay in Sarato... Read More

As part of a longer road trip in northern Italy, we will be staying in a home in Argengo on Lake Como for nine days in September. A friends told us about the Bernino Express train ride - and it sounds lovely. Wondering if this could be a long day trip - or better as an overnight stop. Has anyone taken this four-hour scenic narrow gauge train ride?... Read More

We will be in Galicia for 7 nights and have reservations to stay at Moure near the Cathedral. We do not hike. Our European visits are centred primarily with the occasional sight seeing, walking, and of course eating. our question is can we do day trips and return to Co postulate every night or do you suggest we break it up. If so, where would y... Read More

Regarding tap and go payments on buses, metro and trams in both cities - do you tap just once when you get on, or do you have to tap again before getting off? Thanks. Read More

Sicily has been at the top of our travel wish list for several decades, but it always seemed to get bumped for something else, or put on the back burner for when we had “enough” time. Due to work, pets at home, and other factors, we cannot travel for much more than two weeks at a time—but last year, we decided to make Sicily a priority for 2024.... Read More

I’ve always found Lonely Planet guidebooks the ones I prefer to have along with me. I was vaguely aware that the company had been sold but had no idea, until I borrowed the latest “Mexico” from the library, how truly useless the new editions have become. So, the one I have is #15, 2016. The latest useless edition is #18, 2023. Th... Read More

Live from Madrid....it's Sunday morning live!! (sorry about that!!) I'm a very short time into my stay and am already SO happy! Yes, American Airlines has misplaced my suitcase, so was withering with cold in a long-sleeved t-shirt but all is great now that I am seated in the nearly empty Car One of the splashy new Scarlet IRYO train, bound for C... Read More

I'm looking for a place for our family to visit in Europe for Christmas through New Years. We are not interested in skiing, and it looks like many Christmas markets will be closed by the time we arrive. Most of us have been to Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Scotland, and Rome/Florence/Venice. Given that many places a... Read More

Hi all, I need some fresh ideas for our summer '25 trip. My now 16 year-old son and I will be outside of Berlin in July for a sporting event that ends on July 20th. We will have from July 21st to August 4th (departure date) to travel with my husband and other son. I have promised my older son that we would visit the motor valley in Italy, so w... Read More

Hello: I'm planning a family trip for early August 2024 and, due to a conference, I will be in Dusseldorf for a few days. After the conference, I was thinking of spending 7 - 10 days split in 2 different cities with my wife and kids (4 & 6 year old girls). The kids have never been to Europe before and this will be there first trip there. Origina... Read More

Hi all - After deciding to rent a car for part of our upcoming time in Puglia, we knew obtaining IDPs was necessary. I searched online and the sites I found suggested it would take AAA 4-6 weeks to receive our IDPs, something which concerned me since we are leaving in 6 weeks for our trip. We called our local office and went in with photos in hand... Read More

Hello everyone, we are planning a ~12 days trip in late September to Italy and would really like some advice and suggestions! Some quick facts: [list] [*]Never been to Europe [*]10-14 days, starting from mid/late September [*]Flying from US east coast (NC) [*]3 adults + 2 kids (ages 4 and 7) [*]Not a huge history/art buff [*]Don't speak I... Read More

Thanks to many of you for your excellent guidance/reports/posts on the areas of Spain we are visiting in July. A special thanks to [utag=169187]mikelg[/utag], [utag=171967]Maribel[/utag], [utag=170246]MFNYC[/utag], Maribel, [utag=523521]KarenWoo[/utag], [utag=168707]ekscrunchy[/utag] and [utag=215631]Micheal[/utag]. Your input really helped us shap... Read More

Our trip will start with a week of trekking in the Engadin region of Switzerland, then three weeks later, we meeting friends in Lisbon, Portugal. We thought maybe two weeks in Spain and then 5-6 days in Portugal before meeting our friends. Here is our dilemma… Northern Spain, Basque area, Atlantic costal route. Or Costa Brava. This would most li... Read More

I haven't seen very many trip reports from travellers to the Azores so I am posting mine. We are a couple of Vancouverites in our late 60s and reasonably fit. We loved the Azores. We travelled in April and May, definitely shoulder season, knowing that we could expect all sorts of weather, and we got it! Sata Airlines, the airline of the Azores,... Read More

Debating Where To Go This Summer I recently got 2 weeks of vacation due to switching jobs and I have flexibility to either take it any 2 week timeframe between early ish June and mid July. So one example is leaving Saturday June 15th and coming back July 1st, which means 14 full days in Europe. I'm in my mid 20s and just looking to relax afte... Read More

I was considering. a trip to Berlin in mid July ( thx for your input), but the thought of changing flights turned me to another( direct flight) destination. I have visited Amsterdam many times over the years, the last was a short stay about 7/8 years ago. During my previous visits to the city I made day trips to Haarlem, Hague, Brussels, Bruges ..... Read More

Could I get help with my itinerary? Two weeks flying in and out of Tokyo in August with my wife and 19-year old daughter. [list] [*]Tokyo (4 nights) – Aug 8, 9, 10, 11 [list] [*]3 days Tokyo [*]1 day trip - Hokone [/list] [*]Kyoto (4 nights) – Aug 12, 13, 14, 15 [list] [*]2 days Kyoto [*]Day Trip - Nara [*]Day Trip - Osaka (Spend the da... Read More

We lucked out when an acquaintance posted on Facebook that she had weeks available to rent at the rustic ocean front cottage she had inherited from her grandmother. By the time dh contacted her the only week left was the last week in May. This was our first real vacation together in years and we were no longer the healthy active people we used to b... Read More