Author Topic: Holiday 2017  (Read 43111 times)

Offline Lotus Eater

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #120 on: February 28, 2017, 03:11:40 am »
Hurghada end of April for two week, oh how overdue it is. Cannot wait to get away somewhere warm.

Looking at going away from a week in August. Was thinking Barcelona or Marrakech but doesn't quite meet my budget of £700 so will probably just do Cornwall, flying from Manchester to Newquay and getting a car hired out.

Easy jet flights to Marrakech are dead cheap and hotels can be cheap too.
I think you could do a holiday there for 700 quid.
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Offline CraigDS

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #121 on: February 28, 2017, 09:57:10 am »
Looking for ideas...

14-18 days in July or August, first week or so doing something more active/adventurous, rest of it spent on a beach somewhere doing fuck all. The two places ideally not a million miles from each other to avoid loads and loads of traveling.

First thoughts were something in Central/South America, then either head to the coast in one of those countries or to somewhere in the Caribbean.

Offline Titi Camara

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #122 on: February 28, 2017, 10:27:22 am »
Looking for ideas...

14-18 days in July or August, first week or so doing something more active/adventurous, rest of it spent on a beach somewhere doing fuck all. The two places ideally not a million miles from each other to avoid loads and loads of traveling.

First thoughts were something in Central/South America, then either head to the coast in one of those countries or to somewhere in the Caribbean.
Vietnam :wave

Offline CraigDS

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #123 on: February 28, 2017, 10:29:07 am »

Offline JaimeREDnapz

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #124 on: February 28, 2017, 11:19:29 am »
Hurghada end of April for two week, oh how overdue it is. Cannot wait to get away somewhere warm.

Looking at going away from a week in August. Was thinking Barcelona or Marrakech but doesn't quite meet my budget of £700 so will probably just do Cornwall, flying from Manchester to Newquay and getting a car hired out.

Wouldn't go back to Egypt if you paid for me to go.

Whole family sick both ends after a few days and my wife was admitted to hospital back in the uk with ecoli when we got back.

The people are a nightmare too, trying to lock you in shops, my daughter ( blonde hair ) was harassed non stop in naama bay.

dreadful place.

Offline RJ320

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #125 on: February 28, 2017, 11:30:06 am »
Easy jet flights to Marrakech are dead cheap and hotels can be cheap too.
I think you could do a holiday there for 700 quid.
Yep found good deals on On The Beach so probably book something for September.

Wouldn't go back to Egypt if you paid for me to go.

Whole family sick both ends after a few days and my wife was admitted to hospital back in the uk with ecoli when we got back.

The people are a nightmare too, trying to lock you in shops, my daughter ( blonde hair ) was harassed non stop in naama bay.

dreadful place.
Is that Sharm El Sheikh or Hurghada you went to? Heard Hurghada is much more relaxed as it's a working town unlike Sharm which is a resort so naturally the shopkeepers will see you as pound signs. Also which hotel did you stay in? The one I'm staying at (Steigenberger Aqua Magic) has solid reviews as I did a lot of research before I booked.

As for the shops, it can't be worse than Turkey. Istanbul was terrible and they kept pestering us. Even after a firm no, it's constantly "just come have a look".

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #126 on: February 28, 2017, 11:48:19 am »
He mentions Na'ama Bay so it's Sharm.

I'd never go back to Egypt either - been to Sharm, Dahab, Hughada and Cairo so don't feel any need to visit again. Also, too many people get ill for it to be a coincidence, they clearly have poor hygiene standards.

Also, my experience is that the vendors and restaurant haranguers are worse in Egypt than Istanbul.

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #127 on: March 1, 2017, 12:13:06 pm »
Looking for ideas...

14-18 days in July or August, first week or so doing something more active/adventurous, rest of it spent on a beach somewhere doing fuck all. The two places ideally not a million miles from each other to avoid loads and loads of traveling.

First thoughts were something in Central/South America, then either head to the coast in one of those countries or to somewhere in the Caribbean.

Mexico. Go visit some Mayan ruins then head over to Tulum for a bit of relaxed beach time afterwards.

Vietnam a good shout but you'll need to take some (cheap) internal flights with Air Asia. Can recommend Phu Quoc for the beach time.

Israel? One of the budget airlines fliy to Tel-Aviv. You can head to Jerusalem for a bit (and even do Petra in Jordan for a couple of days too) then head back to the beach at Tel-Aviv for a bit of sun.

Offline CraigDS

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #128 on: March 1, 2017, 12:15:35 pm »
Mexico. Go visit some Mayan ruins then head over to Tulum for a bit of relaxed beach time afterwards.

Vietnam a good shout but you'll need to take some (cheap) internal flights with Air Asia. Can recommend Phu Quoc for the beach time.

Israel? One of the budget airlines fliy to Tel-Aviv. You can head to Jerusalem for a bit (and even do Petra in Jordan for a couple of days too) then head back to the beach at Tel-Aviv for a bit of sun.

Yeah been looking at Mexico. Costa Rica too over that way. Vietnam is on the list now too.

Isreal is a bit of a left field shout but definitely something I'll look at.

Offline aaronaldo

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #129 on: March 2, 2017, 08:47:34 am »
Off to benicassim festival this year. Going to madrid for a night before hand and then barcelona for a few nights after.

Can anyone recommend any hotels/hostels in madrid and barce? and also the best areas to explore

Offline Titi Camara

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #131 on: March 2, 2017, 09:50:25 am »

Offline LallanaInPyjamas

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #132 on: March 2, 2017, 09:50:34 am »
Vietnam :wave

Seconded. I don't think I'll ever go to a better country.

Offline LallanaInPyjamas

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #133 on: March 2, 2017, 09:55:16 am »
Cheers mate, that looks like the sort of thing I was thinking!

It's a decent price providing the hotels are actually decent but as a word of warning, only nine days across those locations will be incredibly tiring. Vietnam is an incredibly long country so there's lots of long sleeper train journeys involved.

I don't know why they always include Hue in these trips. Don't get me wrong as the Imperial City it's got a bit of history about it. But I personally found the place extremely underwhelming

EDIT: Just seen it provides internal flights. That makes it an even better deal.
« Last Edit: March 2, 2017, 10:00:23 am by LallanaInPyjamas »

Offline Titi Camara

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #134 on: March 2, 2017, 10:16:53 am »
EDIT: Just seen it provides internal flights. That makes it an even better deal.
Whoa Whoa Whoa!

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Offline CraigDS

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #135 on: March 3, 2017, 04:42:20 pm »
Got 3 free nights in the same hotel in Barcelona that we stayed in a few weeks ago due to the hot tub that was meant to be in the room being broken (sometimes it pays off to complain!), so just booked flights for the very end of May.

Narrowed it down for the summer to either Vietnam or driving round the East/South US and then on to (probably) Cancun to recuperate.

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #136 on: March 3, 2017, 05:29:44 pm »
Off to Helsinki next Friday for 3 nights, then the ferry across to Tallinn for 3 nights, then the bus to Riga for 3 nights before flying back to London.

Gonna be a long week waiting to get away 😕

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #137 on: March 3, 2017, 06:19:03 pm »
Off to Helsinki next Friday for 3 nights, then the ferry across to Tallinn for 3 nights, then the bus to Riga for 3 nights before flying back to London.

Gonna be a long week waiting to get away 😕

Three nights on a ferry and three nights on a bus! Why don't you go somewhere nice? :P
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Offline Col

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #138 on: March 15, 2017, 03:48:24 pm »
Just finished our road trip across America, California to Connecticut - 12 days, 13 states, and over 3600 miles. Awesome.
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Offline CraigDS

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #139 on: March 15, 2017, 04:09:12 pm »
Just finished our road trip across America, California to Connecticut - 12 days, 13 states, and over 3600 miles. Awesome.

You posted up details on this mate? If not can you?

Think we've decided we're going to do some sort of US road trip this summer then fly to a beach somewhere for a week after to recover.

Offline Col

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #140 on: March 15, 2017, 04:48:58 pm »
You posted up details on this mate? If not can you?

Think we've decided we're going to do some sort of US road trip this summer then fly to a beach somewhere for a week after to recover.

We're in the process of moving house, so that determined the start and end locations.

As for the stops in between, it was a mixture of places we wanted to visit, and friends / family we wanted to see.

Here's the route we took.

Starting point was Redlands, California.
Phoenix, Arizona
(pass through New Mexico)
El Paso, Texas
Austin, Texas
Houston, Texas
New Orleans, Louisiana
(pass through Mississippi)
Memphis, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Roanoke, Virginia
(pass through West Virginia)
Small town in north eastern Pennsylvania to visit family
(pass through upstate New York, dip in and out of New Jersey)
Finish in Connecticut


When we were in Phoenix, we went to downtown Scottsdale in the evening, which is a cutesy, old-west kind of area with good food, good bars, and a lively atmosphere. Worth a visit if you're ever passing through.

We did nothing in El Paso other than eat at a steakhouse and get stopped by border patrol about 30 miles outside the city. It doesn't look like a particularly nice place, to be honest, although it's interesting as it directly borders Juarez in Mexico, and is part of the country that already has a physical border.

We would've liked to have spent more time in Austin and Houston, as they are both supposed to be great cities, but we were visiting people so didn't really get the chance to explore them.

From the places we got to spend any actual time in, New Orleans was our favorite but it nearly killed us. We will be going back and doing it properly over a week or so at some point... and not hitting Bourbon Street quite as hard next time! The architecture, history, and general vibe of the place is awesome - it's a little bit seedy in places, like most big cities I guess, but it's fascinating.

Memphis was a disappointment. Graceland is just a big house on a fairly industrial road. We didn't pay to do the tour and I don't think we missed much. Beale Street was OK, but it's only a few blocks long and very touristy. The rest of the city seemed fairly run down, although there's a lot of new condos being built and regeneration going on so hopefully it's on the up.

The civil rights museum is brilliant. You could spend all day there. It's at the site of Martin Luther King's assassination, and is simultaneously one of the most interesting and heartbreaking things I've seen.

Nashville was an odd stop for us - we didn't make it downtown, but instead hit up a couple of neighborhood places for dinner and breakfast. We loved it. The city looked big and largely modern, and the places we ate in and the areas around them felt safe and like they had their own local cultures. It's another place we'll be going back to.

Roanoke was just a stop in a hotel so we didn't have to drive a straight 12-hour shift - we didn't leave the hotel.

Small town PA is interesting... a lot of it feels like a properly redneck southern state in places, aside from the horrific snow storm we drove in to. The family we visited live in a small rural town not too far from Scranton (where the US Office is based, so essentially the American Slough) - people like to hunt, fish, shoot things, drive big trucks, shoot things, drink beer, eat bar food, and shoot things.

We saw a little bit of everything, overall - drove from the south west of the country to the north east, left with sun and blue skies and drove into blizzards, started and ended in strongly Democratic states but passed through some of the most highly Republican ones, and found a few places to go back to in the future. It would have been better had we been able to spend 3-4 days in Austin, Houston, New Orleans and Nashville, but they can all be re-visited at a later date.

I'd recommend it to anyone... but it's exhausting, and two-day hangovers won't make your life easier. Get on it.
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Offline CraigDS

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #141 on: March 15, 2017, 05:00:56 pm »
Ah man that looks excellent and includes loads of places I want to go - I've only scan read it though so you may end up having me PM you once I've read it!

Offline rob1966

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #142 on: March 15, 2017, 05:45:54 pm »
Got 3 free nights in the same hotel in Barcelona that we stayed in a few weeks ago due to the hot tub that was meant to be in the room being broken (sometimes it pays off to complain!), so just booked flights for the very end of May.

Narrowed it down for the summer to either Vietnam or driving round the East/South US and then on to (probably) Cancun to recuperate.

Brother in law did Vietnam in November and a fella at work got back from there yesterday, both said fantastic must visit place.
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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #143 on: March 15, 2017, 06:06:12 pm »
Ah man that looks excellent and includes loads of places I want to go - I've only scan read it though so you may end up having me PM you once I've read it!

Would you do it alone? I'm stuck on whether to do the USA alone or with a mate

Offline AaronSingh25

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #144 on: March 15, 2017, 07:44:03 pm »
Booked Switzerland on a whim - flight with Easyjet was incredibly cheap to Geneva. However, on doing some research i'm thinking of cancelling. 

Train tickets from Geneva to Grindelwald and Lucerne are incredibly expensive - one way almost double the cost of the flight, and lengthy journey times - just wasn't prepared for that.

Any advice ?

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #145 on: March 15, 2017, 07:45:17 pm »
Would you do it alone? I'm stuck on whether to do the USA alone or with a mate

If you're driving, my advice would be not to do it alone, but make sure it's with someone you're comfortable being sat next to for 8 hours every day!
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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #146 on: March 16, 2017, 12:43:21 am »
Booked Switzerland on a whim - flight with Easyjet was incredibly cheap to Geneva. However, on doing some research i'm thinking of cancelling. 

Train tickets from Geneva to Grindelwald and Lucerne are incredibly expensive - one way almost double the cost of the flight, and lengthy journey times - just wasn't prepared for that.

Any advice ?

I'm on a phone so it's not that easy for me to google but I think you've picked places miles away from Geneva to get to. Switzerland is extremely mountainous (I know you know that but you should look at a map) and then decide where you would like to go to. For example Lausanne is on lake Geneva and a lot quicker and cheaper to get to than Lucerne which is nearer to Zurich.
You can get to loads of places from Geneva on the train or Bus (the airport has both) in around 2 to 3 hours. Message me if you want I've been there a lot. (And it's easy to go to the French alps from Geneva too - and its typically a bit cheaper in France)

Offline AaronSingh25

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #147 on: March 16, 2017, 02:29:56 am »
Vietnam :wave

I found Vietnam rather underwhelming. Very sanitized these days to what it was a mere decade ago. If you've ever been to China, and see them get rid of the old parts and replace them with modern new buildings it's essentially what you have. Just gutted the city and it's charm.

Ho Chi Minh city was a massive dissapointment. The city also has little night life, everything quiet and dry by 10pm, bar a few hotel bars.

Offline LallanaInPyjamas

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #148 on: March 16, 2017, 11:19:16 am »
Ho Chi Minh city was a massive dissapointment. The city also has little night life, everything quiet and dry by 10pm, bar a few hotel bars.

That's because Vietnam runs on a midnight curfew so you've go to go to 'underground' bars. Though agree HCM is certainly a bit sparse for nightlife compared to Hanoi, Nha Trang and even Hoi An but I felt it more than made up for it in terms of history and the bright lights.

And the ridiculous amount of motorcycles. I'll never forget getting out of that airport. A completely different world.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2017, 11:21:22 am by LallanaInPyjamas »

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #149 on: March 16, 2017, 03:29:43 pm »
^ My building in Saigon was next door to a nightclub, I can assure you they were open late  most nights  :no  ;D


and Envy is a recent addition to the burgeoning after-hours scene in Ho Chi Minh City

http://www.wordhcmc.com/food-drink/bar-stool/envy

just saying

Offline AaronSingh25

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #150 on: March 16, 2017, 08:07:33 pm »
^ My building in Saigon was next door to a nightclub, I can assure you they were open late  most nights  :no  ;D


and Envy is a recent addition to the burgeoning after-hours scene in Ho Chi Minh City

http://www.wordhcmc.com/food-drink/bar-stool/envy

just saying

I was there for a week, travelling from north to South, ecompassing Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. Both are very nice cities, i suppose nice to live in for the locals, surprisingly clean in the central districts, and very safe.

However, it was very sanitized. Most trace of old life has been wiped away, in favour of the Chinese models in building crappy high rise appartments. The people themselves too were very timid. There was just no craziness, nothing that would make you want to go back and repeat visit. Previous poster mentioned the motorbikes - that was the sole unique crazy aspect i saw there.

I wasn't aware they had a curfew, which would explain why the place was so shit once it got dark.

It's the one country that for me was a crushing disappointment.

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #151 on: March 16, 2017, 08:42:10 pm »
Anyone been to Mallorca at the end of April/start of May? What was it like? I'm looking for a place in the sun for a week around that time, so I'm thinking about Mallorca. I just want to relax and maybe go for a quiet beer in the evening. So, I don't need loads of places with endless partying, I just don't want to go there and find out that it's a ghost town. I've been to the Canary Islands around that time and found it quite decent, but I'm sick of the long flights, so was looking for a place that's a bit closer...

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #152 on: March 16, 2017, 10:16:17 pm »
Anyone been to Mallorca at the end of April/start of May? What was it like? I'm looking for a place in the sun for a week around that time, so I'm thinking about Mallorca. I just want to relax and maybe go for a quiet beer in the evening. So, I don't need loads of places with endless partying, I just don't want to go there and find out that it's a ghost town. I've been to the Canary Islands around that time and found it quite decent, but I'm sick of the long flights, so was looking for a place that's a bit closer...

Not done Mallorca at that time, but have been to Benalmadena on the mainland twice in May, which was all open and not really busy. First time the weather was very hit and miss, some sun but lots of cloud and one day of rain, following year was really nice. Have read that places only really start to open up in May on the islands. Mate of mine has a place in Mallorca he rents out, they close up for the winter in October and I think his first bookings start again late May/early June.
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Offline LallanaInPyjamas

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #153 on: March 17, 2017, 01:55:11 pm »
I was there for a week, travelling from north to South, ecompassing Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. Both are very nice cities, i suppose nice to live in for the locals, surprisingly clean in the central districts, and very safe.

However, it was very sanitized. Most trace of old life has been wiped away, in favour of the Chinese models in building crappy high rise appartments. The people themselves too were very timid. There was just no craziness, nothing that would make you want to go back and repeat visit. Previous poster mentioned the motorbikes - that was the sole unique crazy aspect i saw there.

I wasn't aware they had a curfew, which would explain why the place was so shit once it got dark.

It's the one country that for me was a crushing disappointment.

It's all personal experiences I guess but personally I'm the opposite, it's the most fascinating country I've visited and will take some beating. Laos and Thailand afterwards were great but actually felt quite underwhelming in comparison.

I'm surprised you didn't notice the curfew as I distinctly remember sitting outside a bar in Hoi An and the police forcing us to leave! Thankfully there was a club nearby which ran until really late. They're always quite well hidden as a result, like Hero Bar in Hanoi.

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #154 on: March 21, 2017, 07:00:21 pm »
Two weddings to attend in Tel Aviv takes care of my holiday plans.
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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #155 on: March 22, 2017, 09:28:20 pm »
Just booked me and my other half a trip to barcelona for a few days middle of august right by the sagrada familia

what are some other good places to visit in and around that area?

cheers

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #156 on: March 23, 2017, 06:31:56 pm »
Just booked me and my other half a trip to barcelona for a few days middle of august right by the sagrada familia

what are some other good places to visit in and around that area?

cheers

What do you like doing, plenty to visit around that and not too far a walk/bus/metro to anywhere.

What dates? As i can advise if there is a festival on etc

And it will be humid at that time of year.
Right which bastards eaten me Tapas?

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Online kevlumley

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #157 on: March 23, 2017, 06:51:13 pm »
Talking to the missus about doing Cuba then onto New York - has anybody been to Cuba and if so are there any places you'd recommend?

Yeah did Cuba in '09 same year as the 50 year anniversary of the revolution. It was a brilliant trip, went for a month. Did Havana, Cayo Largo, Pinar del rio, Cayo Levisa, Havana again, Trinidad and back to Havana. We were very lucky to see some of Buena Vista Social club perform in a hotel in Havana with dinner. That was a highlight, along with smoking some huge Cohibas and drinking mojitos post Buena Vista.

Go for it, beautiful Country. I must admit it was very hard to organise anything and travel that freely, but it could be done with more effort than most places which meant that it was doubly rewarding. I could only hack two decent mojitos, i found that three just tipped me over

Offline Upinsmoke

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #158 on: March 24, 2017, 09:41:24 am »
What do you like doing, plenty to visit around that and not too far a walk/bus/metro to anywhere.

What dates? As i can advise if there is a festival on etc

And it will be humid at that time of year.

Friday August 18th till the 21st

Is it worth getting that t10? Or the other card which has discounts on and you get unlimited travel?

We wanna just go general sight seeing so gonna take in all the architecture but if there is anywhere off the beaten path that is nice then that too and somewhere you can have a few bevvies along the way.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2017, 10:22:49 am by Upinsmoke »

Offline AlphaDelta

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Re: Holiday 2017
« Reply #159 on: March 26, 2017, 11:51:31 am »
Has anyone flown Economy with Virgin Atlantic to New York from Heathrow? I am flying out next month and our aircraft is a Dreamliner, however being 6.1 tall and a fat fucker I concious of being in a seat for 7 hours plus.
Has anyone upgraded for the extra leg-room which I believe is £30 each way, and is it worth it?
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