Travel Addicts/Advice Thread

[WichitaDM]

We do have a travel tales thread but it has been abandoned since pre-Covid so it seems fitting to start a non-LV one. I guess the goal of this thread is to help fellow UPers with both travel advice to various places, post TRs and hopefully entice other people to follow in our footsteps. I trust you all more than random reviews and now that Covid is (hopefully) over I assume a lot of us will be traveling a ton coming up. I’m going to start with just my upcoming trips and previous trips so I can hopefully both get and give advice for these places.

Places I have been(omitting lower 48 destinations outside of NPs):
Cancun
Cabo
Playa Del Carmen
DR
Honduras
Belize
Grand Cayman
St. Thomas
St. Maarten
Scotland
Ireland
England
Azores
Portugal
Spain
Catalonia
Netherlands
Iceland
Croatia
Columbia
Thailand
Alaska
Maui
Puerto Rico
Most Western US NPs
I’m sure I am forgetting some

Upcoming trips I am looking for advice on:
Mexico City in July for a week (PMed FossilKid and he was awesome)
Greece in October for 2 weeks
Landing in Spain but probably France/Italy for a month in November
Ireland for 2 weeks in March

[superuberbob]

Think we have a couple of travel threads but watevs

I’m going to Bulgaria for a couple of weeks next month. Looking forward to it.

Not sure if I’m doing anything special in August.

[WichitaDM]

The only recently used ones are the “take a picture of where you are”(which I don’t want to pollute) and the LV thread right? I am fine nuking this if there is a recent thread but I searched and they are dead since mid-late 2019.

One of my big bucket list trips is to spend a month wandering around E. Europe. Where all have you been? Places you love or dislike? I am very open minded so just planning it and seeing what I think is fine but I am always wanting to hear from people who have been/lived it so I don’t waste a bunch of time in tourist hell.

[Fossilkid93]

Even if there were already 20 travel threads, I would still be excited by a new one.

I haven’t been to many countries in absolute terms (I think 22ish at my last count), but would venture to say I’ve spent 3+ months in more countries than 99% of people.

I’m 37, and grew up in USA and didn’t even leave the country until age 26 for LAPT Uruguay, but since then I’ve spent:

-1 year in Wellington NZ
-2 years in Montreal/Longueuil
-3 months in Nice, France
-1.5 years in Lyon, France
-2.5 years in Mexico City
-3 months in Colombia/Peru
-3 months in Brazil
-6 months in Puerto Vallarta (currently 2 months in)

Along the way, I added a Mexican girlfriend and she’s the perfect digital nomad partner. She saw her first ever foreign country when we spent 3 months in Brazil and I’m excited to take her along to Europe for 3 months in November (most likely the whole time in Spain/Portugal b/c we both hate cold weather, but I know some friends and Unstuckers @MichaelDavis might be in Europe and could be convinced to tag along somewhere else). After that we’ll probably hit Istanbul for a month and then reach our ultimate destination, Tbilisi, Georgia for a year.

It’s great seeing new places thru the eyes of my girlfriend and I’m super excited to see Europe w/her b/c it’s by far my favorite place and she’s obviously never been.

I didn’t know much about E.Europe/W.Asia, but had been hearing so much about Tbilisi and it looks like a digital nomading paradise. Ridiculously cheap cost of living, beautiful city/country, decent infrastructure and public transport, nice architecture w/W Europe vibe in some places, Soviet look, Caucusus influences, etc. So my girlfriend has started learning Georgian and I’m learning Russian to prepare. Probably unnecessary as the level of English is fairly decent, but if possible, I like to learn the local languages.

That area seems hugely underrated as Georgia itself has some incredible hikes/nature. In fact, I checked this link w/the best hiking destinations in Europe, and the top 3 are all in Georgia! The Best Hiking Destinations in Europe
Seems like a stretch, but I’m excited nonetheless. Baku, Azerbaijan also looks super cool and Armenia and Turkey also boarder Georgia. I’ve never been East of Slovakia nor have I seen Asia, so it will be cool to knock some of these places out. I’ll for sure do a couple TRs and the girlfriend and I are debating starting up a YT channel to keep friends/family back home more connected. Unlikely it ever amounts to much, but would be a fun side project.

Not sure what would be next on the agenda. We’d talked about 6-9 months in Buenos Aires, but put that on hold b/c the country is taking forever to reopen and it may not even do so in 2021. Kinda hoping my gf loves Europe as much as I do then we could look into countries w/accessible visas that can lead to citizenship for digital nomads making a consistent salary. Spain and Portugal might be options here.

Anyway, hopefully the thread takes off and we can share some great tips/stories along the way. I’d imagine it will with so many people planning trips in 2021.

[WichitaDM]

Advice for France if you love good food/wine but don’t want to break the bank? I mean that in a relative sense as it seems France is generally expensive. I have basically zero desire to go to Paris and would prefer to stay in wine country.

Forgot PV on my initial list. That is my favorite place in MX that I have been to and I can see living there for months like you did.

[Fossilkid93]

@WichitaDM

Advice for France if you love good food/wine but don’t want to break the bank? I mean that in a relative sense as it seems France is generally expensive. I have basically zero desire to go to Paris and would prefer to stay in wine country.

Lyon is incredible for gastronomy (considered the gastronomy capital of France) and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s also quite simiar to Paris and locals will be more friendly. I’m not really much into wine, but could ask around if you’re really interested. Best bet for good meals without breaking the bank is to set up an account on TheFork.fr. I think it used to be called LaFourchette, but maybe changed names. Anyway, in each city, certain restaurants will put up reservations on the site, often with discounts ranging from 20-50%. At one point in Strasbourg, I ate 4 meals in 2 days, all booked from the site, and all with 40 or 50% discounts. 2-3 of those meals were extremely good iirc, so you’re not sacrificing much in quality.

I think must of the time I was paying $10-25/meal after discount. I don’t really do high end dining, so it was nice to try some mid-range options at a more affordable price.

[superuberbob]

I was looking to go to Caucasia but at the time I was planning my trip, they weren’t accepting vaccine certificates and I didn’t want to take 3 COVID tests while on vacation at my expense just to travel there. Easier to travel within the EU during the pandemic than out.

Since you’re going to Spain, I’ll say that Madrid is probably one of the least appealing cities in Spain. I mean the middle of the country known for its beaches during the summer? No thanks. I lived in Valencia for 3 years. It’s often overlooked by tourists because it’s close to Mallorca and Alicante which tend to be more appealing due to having better beaches. But I’ll say that Valencia is a bit of a sleeper when it comes to places to visit.

[Yuv]

I’ve been just about everywhere in Europe with the exception of most of Germany for very irrational reasons.

I kinda missed out on the standard trip to the east at your early 20’s which is common in my area. I really want to visit Japan but I have no idea how you travel with kids.

[Fossilkid93]

@WichitaDM

Forgot PV on my initial list. That is my favorite place in MX that I have been to and I can see living there for months like you did.

It’s very beautiful and I know it sounds crazy, but I think Zona Romántica has the best food of anywhere I’ve lived. We got some amazing recs and almost every meal has been great and usually very cheap. The main issue for us it that it feels quite small. We’ve been living in Mex City, and then Rio/Sao Paulo, which obviously greatly tilts our perception, so I think we feel a bit bored in cities under 1 million people. In Puerto Vallarta, after a week or 2, you just end up doing the same walk evening after evening. Walk thru ZR, then the malecón (which is only about a mile), maybe a bit of 5 de diciembre, then head back, without too much else to see.

Great place for a week vacation and probably a decent living option for many people who prefer smaller cities.

[WichitaDM]

I agree Madrid is not that great. We stayed in and enjoyed the Malasana district in Madrid. But otherwise it was hot and we did not enjoy the more touristy city center area. We absolutely loved the Catalonia coast staying in Begur, Tarragona, and Girona for a few days each. As far as Portugal goes that was one of the favorite places we have been. Lisbon is fantastic. Riding the old school public transit on the way home after a few drinks is just magical. The food is great and very affordable. We also went to Porto which was different but good in it’s own right. Azores is a several hour flight but if you have not been Ponta Delgada was insane. Great food, an abandoned hotel, some of the most insane views you will ever seen, great hot springs, friendly people.

[Fossilkid93]

@superuberbob

I was looking to go to Caucasia but at the time I was planning my trip, they weren’t accepting vaccine certificates and I didn’t want to take 3 COVID tests while on vacation at my expense just to travel there. Easier to travel within the EU during the pandemic than out.

Since you’re going to Spain, I’ll say that Madrid is probably one of the least appealing cities in Spain. I mean the middle of the country known for its beaches during the summer? No thanks. I lived in Valencia for 3 years. It’s often overlooked by tourists because it’s close to Mallorca and Alicante which tend to be more appealing due to having better beaches. But I’ll say that Valencia is a bit of a sleeper when it comes to places to visit.

Our plan is likely to choose 3 cities for 1 month each until our 90 days runs out. Most likely candidates are Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, and Sevilla.

I’ve only been to Lisbon, Porto, Barcelona, and Valencia in the 2 countries, so that makes it likely that we’ll choose Madrid and maybe Sevilla (for the weather, but Andalucia also seems awesome).

Barcelona is perhaps my favorite city in the world, so I’d like to go there too, but seeing the prices on AirBNB is really scaring me.

Agree that Valencia is a solid destination.

[Fossilkid93]

@WichitaDM

Lisbon is fantastic.

Did you get to see Sintra also? That place is pretty mind-blowing as well.

[WichitaDM]

We did go to Sintra. I absolutely loved it. The walk up the hill after a few beers had the wife complaining that it wasn’t worth it but I thought it was amazing.

[superuberbob]

The weather in Sevilla is worse than Madrid. That said, I like the atmosphere of Sevilla way more than Madrid.

Malaga is a good base for seeing Andalucia. The city itself isn’t that appealing (then again it was under construction when I visited) but it’s a close distance from Granada, Cordoba, and Costa del Sol. It’s also very reasonably priced.

When I lived in Spain, I made it a point to leave the country during the summer (as most Spaniards do). It was too hot and I didn’t have A/C.

[WichitaDM]

I should mention we will be flying into Madrid the Wednesday before thanksgiving and our return flight is December 23rd. If we are ever in the same place I would be interested in grabbing a beer or coffee (I know you said you don’t drink) or food or something and picking your brain as we are very seriously considering doing what you are. No pressure and if it doesn’t work out that’s fine. But I have been watching your journeys for like a decade or whatever so would be interesting to hear your take on everything in person and obviously meeting a fellow UPer and traveler would be awesome.

[Fossilkid93]

@WichitaDM

Upcoming trips I am looking for advice on:
Mexico City in July for a week (PMed FossilKid and he was awesome)

@MysteryConman was also debating a CDMX trip in June/July. Maybe you guys might cross paths.

[WichitaDM]

Same thing for @MysteryConman that I typed above. I will be in CDMX from July 14-21.

[Fossilkid93]

@superuberbob

The weather in Sevilla is worse than Madrid. That said, I like the atmosphere of Sevilla way more than Madrid.

When I lived in Spain, I made it a point to leave the country during the summer (as most Spaniards do). It was too hot and I didn’t have A/C.

We’ll be there mid-November to mid-February. So weather should be pretty nice in Sevilla and a bit cold in Madrid but still much better than the rest of Europe. I’m not sure my girlfriend would survive a Summer in Sevilla

@WichitaDM

I should mention we will be flying into Madrid the Wednesday before thanksgiving and our return flight is December 23rd. If we are ever in the same place I would be interested in grabbing a beer or coffee (I know you said you don’t drink) or food or something and picking your brain as we are very seriously considering doing what you are. No pressure and if it doesn’t work out that’s fine. But I have been watching your journeys for like a decade or whatever so would be interesting to hear your take on everything in person and obviously meeting a fellow UPer and traveler would be awesome.

As of now, we’re done in PV on Oct. 23, will likely go back to CDMX for 2-3 weeks to see my gf’s family, and then head to Spain/Portugal in mid-November. Madrid is the most likely first stop (although Lisbon might be a possiblilty) and we’d stay until mid-December. So it sounds like our itineraries might line up pretty well and I’d definitely be down to hang out. My gf and I don’t drink often, but are down for a couple drinks every now and then.

[WichitaDM]

I’ll shoot you a message when we get closer and see if it works out. We likely aren’t staying in Spain long as we have spent a decent amount of time there but that was where we found a good flight deal so will be in the area for at least a couple days before we head off.

[mjiggy]

I started a travel thread a while back but it doesn’t get that much use so nbd to start a new one. Obviously haven’t done much traveling since last year but daughter’s daycare was closed a few weeks ago so we went to San Diego. Found out it’s closed at the beginning of August so we’re going…back to San Diego. It’s a pretty easy drive from us, we know our way around, and the weather will be much better there than in Arizona so meh.

Also need to page @j8i3h289dn3x7 for the latest on Disney because we are traveling to Orlando in November to see some cousins. I’m hoping Disney is mostly back to normal by then because the COVID version of it sounds awful, even though my daughter is going to lose her shit regardless of whether Mickey is wearing a mask.