Albania is badass. I really regret not making it to Theth—try to check that out assuming you’re going in the summer.
Berat and Gjirokaster are the small towns famous for Ottoman architecture—definitely visit at least one.
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It randomises the order of photos when I upload them which is kind of annoying but not so annoying I’m going to do anything about it
I don’t see the point in this, just stay in Springdale for two days and then drive to near Bryce and stay in some random place near there. I think Zion has quite a bit more to do than Bryce (though to be fair I didn’t stay in Bryce long at all) and the fact that you need to get shuttles into the park also argues for staying nearby. As others have mentioned Angels Landing is awesome but requires a booking these days, you don’t want to be afraid of heights and I wouldn’t take kids up there, so it might be a non starter for you.
Yeah, the kids and wife are definitely not up for that level of hike. While we will do some hiking, we’re much more “visitors” rather than hikers. So the idea of Kanab is to have more activity options on top of Zion and Bryce - we’re not going to spend full days hiking. There’s some well-known animal sanctuary in Kanab, and the north rim of the Grand Canyon is within driving distance if it’s still accessible.
I think the north rim is closed by now.
As of yesterday all services were closed but access should be open until 12/1 weather permitting.
Going in March
Unfortunately, I don’t have a driver’s license. So I can’t get to Theth. If I can get there, I guess it’ll be through a tour group.
Hmm I was thinking with Japan just getting international tourists back, and without the Chinese, that hotels wouldn’t be booked up too much. Maybe not?
Will the peak autumn crowds be down by December?
But yeah probably will get a rail pass to make my life easier, I think I’ll be moving around quite a bit.
Shouldn’t be as bad as peak tourist Japan pre-COVID, but if you’re heading to Kyoto in the next few weeks when autumn leaves are at their peak, there’s always a mad rush. Tokyo should be easier to book.
December shouldn’t be too bad, so if that’s when you’re coming, yeah, might not have to worry too much about hotels.
Rail Pass is always a good deal if you’re going to be doing any kind of long-distance traveling.
The top part of Angel’s landing is closed anyway. The hike isn’t very sketchy up until that - but it is kind of hard. I doubt there would be a huge issue with permits this time of year.
Not sure if you saw my post but the kids might like Ruby’s near Bryce. It’s got a pool and a lot of stuff to distract them.
We decided to stay in Kanab, found this place which checks a lot of boxes: https://www.timberandtinkanab.com/
The people who own/run that place also have a tour company so we’re doing a slot canyon tour with them. Some interesting stuff around Kanab actually.
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Yeah guided tour sounds like a great idea.
This is the view from our hotel room, we’re in the “cloud forest” of Costa Rica, in the mountains. It’s been a really nice, we’re on the gringo-friendly resort lifestyle but having lots of fun.
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Looks awesome. How are the bugs?
Practically none. Its the end of the rainy season here.
We are headed to CR from fhe 16th-30th. Glad you enjoyed it. We’re flying into Liberia and spending a week in the forest near Montaverde and a week on the beach. Would be happy to field recommendations from anyone who’s been in that area.
We are in Montaverde right now. Yesterday we went for a short horseback ride that was fun. Today we’re heading out for some nature reserve hiking. I’ll share some comments after we complete our trip on Saturday.
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Love Monteverde. Did you do the night walk?
As I mentioned night walk is cool. A week in Monteverde might be a bit long if you have someone who is pining for warm beach. 3-4 nights seems optimal for most. Here’s a post I made a post a while back:
If you go to Tamarindo - make sure to get the pineapple pie. There’s a place that’s famous for it.
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