steady saver
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That's great to hear, Old Conch. Tommy! I love that! Sounds like you had great tour guide and a fun time.
2024 Travel Plans
- Thread starter audreyh1
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flyingaway
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I was thinking to make a trip to Iceland in July. But people on TripAdvisor said that it is too late for a trip this year, and I should plan a trip next year. When I looked at the hotel prices, it is twice as expensive as those for the next year. But hey, I might not be alive next year at this time.
It was our 2nd time with Gate1, so not a ton of experience with them, but we like their tours.
Pro's: They take care of hotel, transportation, some meals etc. for the duration of the tour, so a lot less booking/planning for us. The "classic" tour seems to have good hotel selections that will cost more if we were to book ourselves. Destination selection has been great IMO. Gate1 tour managers tend to be very good (so far for us). An excellent tour manager makes a big difference. Price is reasonable. We have a lot more energy not having to drive and look for hotels, buy tickets to get into places etc.
Con's: Larger group (We have not tried small group tour). But so far for us, it has been good since people have been very responsible. Gate1 has side resources to take care of sick folks/other emergencies etc. We don't like super long drive, so we avoid those tours. We don't mind some interaction with other folks within the group so that helps (but you can keep to yourself most of the time also)
Hope the above helps
We will stop by Naples, Italy in August for the first time. I am looking for suggestions for a hotel walkable to main attractions in Naples? We will be staying in Naples for 5 nights. Thinking of taking day trips to Almafi Coast and Pompeii + checking out Naples. Many thanks in advance.
steady saver
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Yes, that was very helpful, thank you. How large are the Classic tour groups? Or at least how large was yours?
DW just came in and said "If we are going to get that cruise to Panama Canal we need to get busy. So for the expert cruisers on here a question; Is it better to use a travel agency or to go thru the cruise lines directly for best deals and such. We are looking possibly at an 8 day out of Tamppa on Carival or a 10-to 12 day on Celebrety or Royal Carribean! We have cruised before but the last one we did our DD was over here and she and my DW got to talking and she yelled Daddy bring me you Credit card to book this cruise. About 30 minutes she said y'all are booked and you leave next wed. for a week out of Ft. Lauderdale. IT was great but we want to plan a little more this time. Anyone here used Costco and is so was it better or worse for you? Thanks for any info!
explanade
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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I've never stayed in Naples, only passed through there.
I think one of the main attractions there is the archeological museum.
The food is suppose to be the big draw, with pizza and some other street food as well as gnocchi Sorrentina and all manner of seafood.
My interests were mainly in scenery so I stayed once in Sorrento and a couple of times in Amalfi, though Positano seems to be the most popular place on the Amalfi Coast.
Of course you have attractions like Pompeii and Herculaneum for the history. And Capri isn't too far away either.
Certainly Naples is easier as gateway to these places, with the major train station there. Day trips to the Amalfi Coast may be long if you're doing the driving.
In our 1st tour, the group was in the low 30's. Our 2nd was in the low 40's. As in most of today organized tours, the "whisper" devices (ear pieces) they provided made a huge different, you no longer need to be near the tour guide to hear them, so the group size matters much less. We took a less organized cruise excursion, and they didn't provide a listening device, and it was horrible. One thing that stood out for us was the skill and dedication of the Gate1 tour managers. They went out of their way to ensure everyone's safety, and they were well trained to handle such tours (the good one was half-comedian, and they can make the boring hours in the bus much more fun and shorter)
Our travel secret is: if we lower our expectation, things tend to be much happier whether with a tour or anything else.
We like to explore, so our thinking is to make the travelling portion part of the fun by taking the train and then ferry to Amalfi for a day trip (hopefully it is not too much for us). Appreciate your info very much.
We are no cruise expert, but it is our own experience, based on where we live, that going thru a travel agency typically costs you 10% (it seems like the cruise lines don't pay them from their own pocket any more). So if being hand-offs worth the extra cost to you, then that should be fine. YMMV of course.
explanade
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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First time I visited, I stayed in Sorrentino and took the bus around the peninsula to Positano and Amalfi.
Probably wasn’t that long but the bus ride felt long and it felt you had to rush through the towns before the bus back.
Train to Salerno and then ferry to Amalfi is definitely better.
Amalfi, Positano, Ravello are all beautiful but there are other towns in between which also have stunning views.
I’ve gone back a couple of times.
grasshopper
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When we go to a new country city, we like doing walking food tours. Naples was a stand out, we learned a lot about the lay of the land and other things to do.
GalaxyBoy
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Two weeks away from our Switzerland rail tour. This is our first post-COVID trip so we’re due. I booked business class and looking at Google flights it looks like I got the best fare available since I started looking. For some reason, though, going from here to IAD, then ORD, to Zurich was much cheaper than home to IAD to Zurich. A bit of a PITA but whatever.
OldConch
Recycles dryer sheets
Love a good food tour when visiting new city. Walking and bike/e-bike tours can also be fun. We prefer smaller groups and usually book through Viator or GetYourGuide. Reviews on both sites seem authentic, helpful, and give you an opportunity give feedback (and we do).
Iceland is always expensive, but so worth it.
OP
OP
audreyh1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Heading to Munich soon. So many good traditional food places to eat! I made a list of my favorite dishes and several locations.
Anyone have their favorites city center area?
Anyone have their favorites city center area?
Sunset
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
We took the train to Pompei from there, and return on our own. It's a direct run.
Watch out for pick pockets everywhere. Have local currency for the water closet (bathrooms).
Sunset
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Our experience has been the cruise line website / agents are usually the most expensive, after take into account the kickbacks offered. But sometimes they email you with a real killer deal and it's the best deal anywhere.
Basically find the cruise you want, then simply compare all the sites (work through each to see the final price), can even compare for the same room many times.
Be sure to sign up for the reward plan at the cruise line site, including for the cruise you already took. Over the years it will have a small benefit at no cost. Sign up for the emails to hopefully get a super deal one day.
Yes, the above is our plan. We will also expect the crowd and the heat in Aug. The view from the ferry (you tube) looks good.
Augustiner Keller and Paulaner am Nockherberg are pretty much unbeatable.
For a higher end dinner, Pfistermühle at Platzl is impressive.
OP
OP
audreyh1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I’ve been to Augustiner Keller and had a great duck dinner. I’m definitely looking for a repeat of Bavarian duck.
Looks like asparagus season lasts through June.
Looks like asparagus season lasts through June.
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We learned a few facts booking our tickets too. Flying round trip from SFO to Rome with a stop in Istanbul is cheaper than doing a round trip just from SFO to Istanbul. So by taking 2 extra flights (to and back from Rome), we pay $1K less for the same dates. My theory is the non-stop flights are for working business people (more expensive) while the 1 stop flights are cheaper for lower status retired folks like us
This will be our 1st time with them. They seem to have strong present to all major Italian cities. I have heard their Istanbul lounge is among the best. We certainly picked them for the more competitive price.
We have been to the metro and train stations in Rome in our last trips, those are the most affected. Much less of an issue in Florence. It is fair to say the locals don't like it, and some of them fought back against the pick pocketers and warned us about them. Except for these few problem makers, the people are all wonderful there.
