2023 Travel Plans?

[Miss Tick]

16 minutes ago, dirty ethel rackham said:

Something to add to our travel list ... research the signage and rules of the road when we go to NZ.  

I've often seen this in guidebooks (library), in the general travel tips section at the back (usually).

[SKL]

11 hours ago, theelfqueen said:

I always say rental car companies should include a drivers manual in the glovebox that explains the signs and things (What does three pentagons mean? What are the red wavy lines?)

I seem to remember signs and explanations all around the walls at the rental car places in NZ and Iceland.  🙂  The rules are definitely different there, so it's worth studying in advance.

[MEmama]

22 hours ago, whitestavern said:

Just to update… two weeks ago I cancelled my entire Andalucia trip and changed it to Portugal! I just wasn’t feeling great about the Spain trip. I was wondering if everywhere would feel too similar. I’m really excited for Portugal and would love if you have any info to share. We are starting in Lisbon, driving to Evora and around Alentejo, then moseying up to Douro Valley, Peneda-Geres NP and ending in Porto. I’m hoping you liked Portugal as much as Spain! 

We just spent a week in Portugal: Lisbon, Sintra and Porto. I looooved Lisbon, every building and alleyway was utterly charming and fascinating, and the food was incredible. It was a city clearly built for living and enjoying. Sinatra is well worth the day trip (easy train ride) to explore a palace and a 10th century Moorish castle. Personally I wouldn’t recommend spending much time in Porto, but obviously a lot of people enjoy it. Enjoy all the good and drinks—everything we had was amazing. 

Edited March 28, 2023 by MEmama

[ScoutTN]

Made a campground reservation for June.

We’ll need a hotel for the last night of our stay. Might look for a cute B&B instead. Anyone have suggestions for the area near Brevard, NC?

[whitestavern]

3 hours ago, MEmama said:

We just spent a week in Portugal: Lisbon, Sintra and Porto. I looooved Lisbon, every building and alleyway was utterly charming and fascinating, and the food was incredible. It was a city clearly built for living and enjoying. Sinatra is well worth the day trip (easy train ride) to explore a palace and a 10th century Moorish castle. Personally I wouldn’t recommend spending much time in Porto, but obviously a lot of people enjoy it. Enjoy all the good and drinks—everything we had was amazing. 

Yay! This is getting me so psyched! We are going to all these places. I’m Finding through my research that people definitely prefer one of the cities over the other. It’s team Lisbon or team Porto. Will be interesting to see which we enjoy more. 
 

Any don’t miss reccs? Or great restaurants? There seems to be a few steps to get to the palace/castle. Is it pretty easy to figure it all out?

[MEmama]

11 minutes ago, whitestavern said:

Yay! This is getting me so psyched! We are going to all these places. I’m Finding through my research that people definitely prefer one of the cities over the other. It’s team Lisbon or team Porto. Will be interesting to see which we enjoy more. 
 

Any don’t miss reccs? Or great restaurants? There seems to be a few steps to get to the palace/castle. Is it pretty easy to figure it all out?

Yeah, Lisbon (and Porto, which is smaller) is very walkable and has an easy to navigate metro, trolly and bus  system. Beware the trolleys get insanely crowded and you’ll have to be aggressive in fighting for space. Also know in advance that both Lisbon and Porto are *very* hilly, and you’ll climb a lot in Sintra as well. Of course all the climbing means you can justify all the tempting treats 🙂 I don’t know that I’ve ever seen more bakeries, each more incredible than the next. Definitely try a pastel de nata in Lisbon! 
 

The climb to the castle in Lisbon was well worth it (and there are peacocks!). The nearby Dear Breakfast was a yummy and filling cafe to recharge. If you like hip areas, definitely check out LX Factory and Time Out Market. Bring appetites for both. We had Argentinian food at LX Factory (and the most delicious lemon gin cocktails) and doughnuts from heaven at Time Out Market. Near the market is the former red light district with streets now painted pink. Oh and definitely try the cherry liquor—there are stands all over the city where you can get a shot for like 1€—extra delicious in a chocolate shot glass 🙂 
 

In Sintra we took the bus to the palace (it stops right outside the train station and you can buy tix on board, very easy), then walked to the Moorish castle (both parts) and down the hill through the woods into the village. I’m glad we walked down, but admittedly the trails were a bit tricky to figure out. The village is very cute and fun to explore, but it is a bit of a walk back to the train. 
 

Porto has a very different vibe from Lisbon. I especially enjoyed wandering around the oldest, medieval alleyways by the water and along the ancient walls. If you like sardines, this is a great place to get them grilled. Yum! One afternoon we went out to the beach and watched people kite surfing in impressive waves. 
 

Have a fantastic trip! 

[whitestavern]

2 hours ago, MEmama said:

Yeah, Lisbon (and Porto, which is smaller) is very walkable and has an easy to navigate metro, trolly and bus  system. Beware the trolleys get insanely crowded and you’ll have to be aggressive in fighting for space. Also know in advance that both Lisbon and Porto are *very* hilly, and you’ll climb a lot in Sintra as well. Of course all the climbing means you can justify all the tempting treats 🙂 I don’t know that I’ve ever seen more bakeries, each more incredible than the next. Definitely try a pastel de nata in Lisbon! 
 

The climb to the castle in Lisbon was well worth it (and there are peacocks!). The nearby Dear Breakfast was a yummy and filling cafe to recharge. If you like hip areas, definitely check out LX Factory and Time Out Market. Bring appetites for both. We had Argentinian food at LX Factory (and the most delicious lemon gin cocktails) and doughnuts from heaven at Time Out Market. Near the market is the former red light district with streets now painted pink. Oh and definitely try the cherry liquor—there are stands all over the city where you can get a shot for like 1€—extra delicious in a chocolate shot glass 🙂 
 

In Sintra we took the bus to the palace (it stops right outside the train station and you can buy tix on board, very easy), then walked to the Moorish castle (both parts) and down the hill through the woods into the village. I’m glad we walked down, but admittedly the trails were a bit tricky to figure out. The village is very cute and fun to explore, but it is a bit of a walk back to the train. 
 

Porto has a very different vibe from Lisbon. I especially enjoyed wandering around the oldest, medieval alleyways by the water and along the ancient walls. If you like sardines, this is a great place to get them grilled. Yum! One afternoon we went out to the beach and watched people kite surfing in impressive waves. 
 

Have a fantastic trip! 

Thank you thank you thank you! Great info here 😊

[MEmama]

16 hours ago, whitestavern said:

Thank you thank you thank you! Great info here 😊

I’ll add that nearly everyone we encountered knew enough English that we were able to get by without any problems despite not knowing any Portuguese. I always like to learn at the very least a few basic words and phrases but this time that didn’t happen; I’m uncomfortable expecting anyone else to know English but it really was fine. I’d say no one we talked with was as fluent as one commonly finds in Scandinavia or the Netherlands, but everyone was happy to try and happy that we tried too. Just wanted to throw that out there because it was a concern for me before we went. 
 

Along those lines—some gendered words like Obrigado/obrigada (thank you) are gendered according to the *speaker*, not the recipient. I made that mistake frequently 🤦‍♀️

[katilac]

Anybody have any input for vacationing in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale? Mid to late October. 

We want to hit both Miami and Palm Beach, and dh was thinking Ft. Lauderdale would be an easier base than Miami. We actually lived there a million years ago, but no longer have any useful information, lol. 

I was thinking that just staying in Miami and taking the train to Palm Beach would be easier, and if we stayed in the heart of things we might not need a car, but that's just at first glance. I'm open to all the things. 

Palm Beach would likely be just a day trip, but at least a couple of days in Miami if we don't stay there. 

We'll have our two young adults with us, and they like the idea visiting a vibrant city like Miami. They want to drink mojitos and pretend they're in an episode of Burn Notice, but we could use additional ideas, good places to stay, and all the things. 

[Spryte]

We’ve just decided to extend our June road trip. Looking at 3 1/2 to 4 weeks, staying at a combo of Airbnbs, hotels, and cabins.

We will fly to Vegas to start there, then a week in Sedona with day trips. On to a few days each in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos. Durango, Mesa Verde. Then Page, AZ and Antelope Canyon, Bryce, Zion and back to Vegas to fly home. 

I think we are feeling like it might be the last trip with all 4 of us, and also that it will be more difficult to get out that way in the future, if we move. 

Also feeling like this is a bit much to tackle.

 

Has anyone been to the Hopi lands? Considering an overnight there, but a bit on the fence. 

[Ottakee]

7 hours ago, Spryte said:

We’ve just decided to extend our June road trip. Looking at 3 1/2 to 4 weeks, staying at a combo of Airbnbs, hotels, and cabins.

We will fly to Vegas to start there, then a week in Sedona with day trips. On to a few days each in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos. Durango, Mesa Verde. Then Page, AZ and Antelope Canyon, Bryce, Zion and back to Vegas to fly home. 

I think we are feeling like it might be the last trip with all 4 of us, and also that it will be more difficult to get out that way in the future, if we move. 

Also feeling like this is a bit much to tackle.

 

Has anyone been to the Hopi lands? Considering an overnight there, but a bit on the fence. 

The tour at Antelope Canyon was one of my favorites.  I also loved The Nautilus  near there.  Just be prepared with a ton of water (and electrolytes) and willing to do things very early as some of those areas are extremely hot in the summer.  

[Spryte]

1 hour ago, Ottakee said:

The tour at Antelope Canyon was one of my favorites.  I also loved The Nautilus  near there.  Just be prepared with a ton of water (and electrolytes) and willing to do things very early as some of those areas are extremely hot in the summer.  

I’m really looking forward to Antelope Canyon! Which tour did you do? (Is it upper or lower? I can’t recall now, but remember there are two.)

[Pam in CT]

re Miami

15 hours ago, katilac said:

Anybody have any input for vacationing in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale? Mid to late October. 

We want to hit both Miami and Palm Beach, and dh was thinking Ft. Lauderdale would be an easier base than Miami. We actually lived there a million years ago, but no longer have any useful information, lol. 

I was thinking that just staying in Miami and taking the train to Palm Beach would be easier, and if we stayed in the heart of things we might not need a car, but that's just at first glance. I'm open to all the things. 

Palm Beach would likely be just a day trip, but at least a couple of days in Miami if we don't stay there. 

We'll have our two young adults with us, and they like the idea visiting a vibrant city like Miami. They want to drink mojitos and pretend they're in an episode of Burn Notice, but we could use additional ideas, good places to stay, and all the things. 

Miami is awesome.  And I'm not even a beach girl.

One of my dear friends has an apartment that she generously makes available to us, so I have no insight on where to stay.

Things I love to do:

Wynwood Wall area- soooooo much fun, both the "museum" itself and the surrounding neighborhood, filled with increasingly serious quality galleries and fun cafes and many many many taco & other trucks.

Versailles Cuban restaurant - sure the two large front rooms are a tourist trap, but hey we're actually tourists, what're'ya gonna do.  Oxtail or ropa vieja.

Doce Provisions - arguably more "authentic," definitely more calm, Cuban food experience.

Perez Art Museum - this is relatively new and I only got there once before Covid and haven't been back to Miami since, but really enjoyed it that one time.

Obligatory Art Deco Hotel walking tour on South Beach - you don't really need a guide; you can pick up at map at the museum or print out the addresses of the grand houses and just gawk, or, it's more fun if you go into each and every bar and get an overpriced beverage  with or without alcohol as you go.  You can't do it justice after dark, though; and you do need to go INTO the lobbies at a minimum.

Biscayne NP (which is right there) and Everglades NP (a portion of which is within a really easy half day trip; time it to late afternoon to see the birds roost).

There also are tons of open-air arts festivals and food festivals and music festivals going on constantly, just figure out what's happening and go on over.

[Ottakee]

9 hours ago, Spryte said:

I’m really looking forward to Antelope Canyon! Which tour did you do? (Is it upper or lower? I can’t recall now, but remember there are two.)

Lower Antelope.    I don’t know the difference and didn’t compare them as friends planned that trip, but it was awesome.

They did say though in the summer that they have to close sometimes as temps reach 120…..so I suggest calling ahead to places you are interested and asking the operators/ park rangers about when seasonal closures happen.

[katilac]

On 4/4/2023 at 12:53 PM, Pam in CT said:

re Miami

Miami is awesome.  And I'm not even a beach girl.

One of my dear friends has an apartment that she generously makes available to us, so I have no insight on where to stay.

Things I love to do:

Wynwood Wall area- soooooo much fun, both the "museum" itself and the surrounding neighborhood, filled with increasingly serious quality galleries and fun cafes and many many many taco & other trucks.

Versailles Cuban restaurant - sure the two large front rooms are a tourist trap, but hey we're actually tourists, what're'ya gonna do.  Oxtail or ropa vieja.

Doce Provisions - arguably more "authentic," definitely more calm, Cuban food experience.

Perez Art Museum - this is relatively new and I only got there once before Covid and haven't been back to Miami since, but really enjoyed it that one time.

Obligatory Art Deco Hotel walking tour on South Beach - you don't really need a guide; you can pick up at map at the museum or print out the addresses of the grand houses and just gawk, or, it's more fun if you go into each and every bar and get an overpriced beverage  with or without alcohol as you go.  You can't do it justice after dark, though; and you do need to go INTO the lobbies at a minimum.

Biscayne NP (which is right there) and Everglades NP (a portion of which is within a really easy half day trip; time it to late afternoon to see the birds roost).

There also are tons of open-air arts festivals and food festivals and music festivals going on constantly, just figure out what's happening and go on over.

I think the board ate my response to this. 

Thank you so much for this! I could probably fill our trip just with your suggestions and random happenings - pretty much everything suits us. We'll add in the beach, though! 

The art deco hotel walking tour will definitely be in the plans. 

 

[Faith-manor]

I am on a trip that was NOT planned. My niece, husband's family, invited his mother to come for Easter, and she refused to fly, and suckered dh I to driving her even though once here, we could only stay four evenings and three days due to his work schedule. Niece is a wonderful person, lovely hostess, lots of fun. If I was here without mil, I would really be enjoying myself. However, mil is being a vicious, snotty, jerk to me and only slightly better to dh. She was so awful this morning that I told her that I was done. She isn't my mother, and do not talk to me or ask me for any help. Niece was really surprised her grandmother is treating me this way, and has taken over dealing with her. Mark ignores her except when she needs help up and down the stairs since the last thing we need is her getting a broken hip while here. I won't go into details, but the gist is she has been so awful to her own son that we agreed we will never travel anywhere with her again, and her only chauffeur services from us will be medical appointments, grocery store, and pharmacy. If she wants to go anywhere else, she has to hire a driver or stay home. 

So, now that I have that off my chest, I can honestly say I cannot wait for Mark and I to head out together to Virginia in May. We are also changing up our anniversary plans. We had a vacation house rented in June so we could kayak in the Traverse Bay area, but the home owners had to cancel our reservation because a tree fell on the home during a storm, and they have to do extensive repairs. I am not sure where we will go. Mark only has 3 days he can take, and June is huge peak travel time in Michigan. Everything books up well in advance. We may not end up going anywhere since I am not willing to spend my 35th in a Super 8 eating microwave food. Might be better to just stay home, and drag the kayaks to our favorite beach on Lake Huron.

[mommyoffive]

Bump.  Any new trips?  How did the ones you went on go? 

[SKL]

Our winter break trip (2023-2024) to Africa had to change, because the ticket prices skyrocketed while we were waiting for friends to decide about coming with us.

Now the plan is to go to Argentina/Brazil.  I've been to both before, but I guess we're going to work in some cool stuff we haven't seen.  TBH I'm not that thrilled about this trip.

We were supposed to bring 3 friends along - 2 teens and the mom of one of the teens - but one boy and mom backed out, so the ticket buyer decided not to include the other teen either, saying we'll try again next year (2024-25) ... but at that point, all the kids will be adults in college, so I dunno what will happen with that.

[Frances]

6 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Bump.  Any new trips?  How did the ones you went on go? 

What about your family. Any recent or upcoming trips?

[Faith-manor]

Our trip to the American Rocketry Challenge was a wonderful success. We loved helping run the event, and plan on going back next year. We met so many amazing young students. Just awesome. The little 6th and 7th grade "Men in Black" team was a riot to be around. At one point when I was interviewing them, they asked if they could "neuralize me". The false memory they gave was a hoot. 

We still have our vacation to North Carolina with nephew and niece in law on deck July 15-22. 

[TexasProud]

So we served for 5 weeks: part of Feb all of March  and a little of April, in Kenya.  It was amazing. Loved the people. Loved the pace of life.  We went and stayed at a safari lodge the last weekend we were there and saw so many amazing animals. So fun.

For April, we took our RV to Indiana to see our daughter in a musical. We took my MIL and she had SO much fun and we did, too.  She had a ball with RV life.

We returned for a few days, in May then drove to MIL's house, got her and took her to our middle son's graduation from seminary and spent several days exploring New Orleans and visiting with him. Very fun. 

About to head to Honduras for the mission trip we are leading.

In middle of July to middle of August we will be serving in Kenya again.

Sept 4- October 7th we will take the RV up to a fun trip to the upper peninsula of Michigan and then come down through Indiana to see our daughter starring in another musical. We will stop in Little Rock for a fundraiser for our medical mission organization on that final weekend.

In November we lead another team to Honduras for a week. 

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we are flying out to Indiana for a long weekend (Thurs-Mon) and staying in an AirBnB to see our daughter as a lead in another musical.  We are paying for our sons to come as well, so they can see their sister in action.  They haven't seen her in anything since high school.

For one weekend in December, we will go to the annual mission trip leader conference in Bristol, TN.  

Edited May 29, 2023 by TexasProud