vacation advice superthread

[jf30]

Thanks for that, i plan to do a fair bit of travel around europe.

Rotterdam seems like it could be a bit boring being a port city and all, do they have coffee shops (cafe's?) like in Amsterdam??

copenhagen seems a bit out of the way

[aak]

put it this way, scandinavian women are beautiful

i know where i would go

[Tisswat]

Thanks for that, i plan to do a fair bit of travel around europe.

Rotterdam seems like it could be a bit boring being a port city and all, do they have coffee shops (cafe's?) like in Amsterdam??

copenhagen seems a bit out of the way

It's not as bad as you think. R'dam does have some good clubs, plenty of quality coffeeshops, nice bars and awesome restaurants. The city may not be as buzzing as A'dam or even Copenhagen are, but there's still plenty to see and do.

Oh and I wouldn't worry too much about the women. R'dam is renowned for it's multicultural community, resulting in a mix of SE Asian, South American, Carribean and Dutch people. Just search for 'Zomercarnaval' and 'Rotterdam Dance Parade' on Flickr to see what I mean.

Amsterdam has Schiphol which is the main hub, but R'dam's own smaller airport is where many no-frills European carriers are based.

[keysonawire]

I don't know anything about Rotterdam, but I went to CBS for the Fall of 2006. Copenhagen has a very high standard of living, great nightlife (Barcelona is the only other city with clubs open this late), stunning women, and everyone speaks English. Plus you will meet students from all over Europe studying abroad there.

I wouldn't have gone anywhere else. Best semester of my life. I actually met up with some study abroad friends in Toronto and San Fran this summer.

[keysonawire]

Copenhagen seems a bit out of the way

This isn't true. The metro in CPH is SO convenient/clean it's crazy. From CBS you can take the metro to the airport in 15 minutes and find a cheap flight anywhere. Plus you can take the train over to Sweden. I know some people took trains south to places like Berlin but you might as well fly. Just check Ryanair (I think that's what I used a lot...). Copenhagen is actually a really nice place to get to know Europe from.

I traveled through all of northern Europe and parts of Russia.

Also, CBS is just awesome. They have a bar inside the school and have parties every Tuesday. The Danes drink... alot. Classes are much like anywhere else in Europe-- you meet twice a week for what are usually 2-4 hour classes with breaks in between. If you're the type that like to get to know your profs and participate in class, you're definitely welcome to. I skipped a lot of class to travel. Grades for each class are based almost entirely on a 4-hour exam at the end of the semester. I mostly just crammed before each exam and finished with a B average (I graduated with a 3.6 gpa).

Seriously man I am jealous that you're about to start this. Good luck!

[jf30]

keys thanks so much for the info. I put in my application this week but i put U of Copenhagen ahead of CBS, hope that wasn't a mistake. Where abouts did you stay, i've heard good things about katherine kollegiet, tietgen kollegiet and the dorms in general

I'll be going in Autumn 09 so it should be interesting.

[hapsical]

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Edited July 24, 2014 by hapsical

[S3lf1shly3mpty]

I spent last year studying at the University of Copenhagen and I say to go for it. It was one of the best years of my life. You'll meet so many different people since there is a huge international program and like someone else mentioned, everyone speaks English. There's tons of nightlife and shopping, and it's incredibly easy to get around the sitting. Hop on a bike and you can be anywhere in like 20 minutes max. Just be prepared for the ridiculous prices. Everything is crazy expensive over there, but sadly, you get used to it pretty quick.

As far as places to live, Tietgen is amazingly nice, but it's also one of the most expensive kollegiums to live in. It's right next to the Humanities campus so if you'll be taking classes there it's pretty convenient. It's quite a ways from CBS however so keep that in mind, but the Metro does pick up right down the street.

[andrewisalsorad]

I am living in CPH now [originally from Los Angeles] and just got back today from a trip to Rotterdam/Amsterdam. Both cities have much to offer. In terms of architecture [my focus] both cities are very different. CPH has retained much of its original medievil city but has a nice a collective mix of contempoary buildings in the area. Rotterdam on the other hand was wiped out after WWII and has been completely rebuilt, lots of expiremental design.

I throughly enjoyed my time in the Netherlands and consider it my favorite country I have visited in europe so far. Both are excellent choices, one thing that gets me about CPH is the cost of living is drastically higher, defintely something to consider. Both cities cater extremely well to biking. I think a lot of it has to do with the type of city you're looking for. But even so Amsterdam is a short hop away from Rotterdam. Either decision, I am sure you will enjoy it.

[ghostdeini]

I've suddenly been struck by the urge to go on vacation... I really don't care where I'm going, and I'm pretty open to the idea of those "last minute" all-inclusive deals that open up a couple weeks before you're supposed to leave. I like TravelZoo a lot, but there's got to be other reputable deal sites out there.. any suggestions?

Another thing I was thinking about was instead of a package deal, I'd get cheap airfare to somewhere (right now I'm leaning towards central america/carribean/hawaii) and stay in a cheap-ass hostel or bungalow. traveling on a budget would seem to be in most peoples' interests nowadays, but I have yet to find any threads on it that are not location-specific...

[samsikle]

i think when i went to japan ('05) my friend booked our flights with http://www.airlineconsolidator.com/ round trip was $800, but we also booked 3 months in advance

this winter i'm going to france, the only reason why i didn't book through them was because i wanted a direct flight. are you traveling by yourself?

[ghostdeini]

first off, just wanted to say thanks for the quick responses... my budget would be ~$1200 US. although I'm open to going anywhere in the world, I'm leaning towards central america since my money would go further there. I'd also be plenty happy in the caribbean. not really looking for an overly-cerebral travel experience but definitely not the standard hokey tropical vacation.

I don't plan on doing stupid dumb shit like shopping for clothes, but I'm open to the idea of balling out on a nice meal. Airfare would be obtained as cheap as possible and I don't really care where I sleep as long as it isn't pest-ridden. I'd most likely end up traveling by myself, so I'm also looking for good nightlife (I'm 22). any places I should make sure to look into?

[samsikle]

oh yeah check out http://www.studentuniverse.com/ (i'm assuming you're a student) you might also find good deals there.

[freevolous]

so would a trip to Iceland be good for a solo excursion? has anybody been or heard about what prices are like now that their economy has collapsed, I know its about 130 krona to the dollar but I dont know how much things cost out there.

[mojinho]

i went to iceland solo back in 2000. it was pretty cool but unless you like going out to bars and clubs by yourself it might be a little lonely. depends what your agenda is. stuff was pretty expensive back then but obviously with the currency collapse things'll be way cheaper for most people. i was trying to make a pre-christmas trip happen with icelandair's specials but couldn't do the dates they needed

[yusu2415]

Hey guys, I searched and there wasn't any around the world thread. (well, around the world of america yer but im talking about around the world EARTH).

So here it goes!

Im planning to start like this ->

Sydney - Honolulu - Los angels - NYC

NYC - Paris

Paris - Berlin

Berlin - Beijing - Shanghai - Japan

Japan - Taipei - Hong Kong - Sydney

any advices? thanks~

[poly800rock]

asia would stretch your dollar even more, check out thailand, cambodia, laos, and burma. my first trip was SEA, and I spent maybe $1200 in like 3 months total, maybe less. Granted, I wasn't ballin it up, i was roughing it and hosteling it everynight, but had an amazing time. Where else in the world besides Thailand can you get a fucking bungalow ON the SAND on one of the most beautiful beaches you will ever set eyes on for $5.00 a night. Our place was actually pretty nice too. Plus thai girls are really hot.

if you're on a budget, avoid Europe and avoid fucking hawaii. If you go to EU, go east, fuck the regular path

[Boston.]

If you seriously want to go to S. America then I would highly reccommend getting an all inclusive package with unlimited drinks and food because despite the much higher value of the $ - the tourism industry down there knows how rich Americans are and willfully exploit it daily - been there done that - and if you want to be in a city the all inclusives will be your best bet for nightlife/hotel/fun.

If you do speak Spanish however, I would highly recommend getting out of the major cities and into the countryside.

[Cue]

Hey guys, I searched and there wasn't any around the world thread. (well, around the world of america yer but im talking about around the world EARTH).

So here it goes!

Im planning to start like this ->

Sydney - Honolulu - Los angels - NYC

NYC - Paris

Paris - Berlin

Berlin - Beijing - Shanghai - Japan

Japan - Taipei - Hong Kong - Sydney

any advices? thanks~

eurostar to london from paris

thailand over taipei ...

[JayPee]

Croatia (Hvar in particular)

French riviera

Thailand over Taipei is spot on

[poly800rock]

BOSNIA over Croatia. Just my preference though. Pag was a blast though

[gre]

youre planning to do a world trip with only berlin and paris to be seen in europe? no way.

[coquin81]

@Mike

frankfurt is a big city in Germany, where all the financial institution in germany are located. there are nice part of it (except skyskapers & the banks) , maybe you havent discovered it.

I wud recommend London first, cauz it offer loads of cheap flight from states and asia. then you can take the train to ANTwerp.. my favourite city in belgium, the country of good beer:-P

From Antwerp you can go to holland and northern part of europe. please take time cauz scandinavia is beautiful both sumer & Winter

(DK/NO/SE&FI and maybe iceland too).

Or you can take the train to Paris then from Paris take ryanair (air france is oki too.. not too expensive) to Barcelona/Madrid/firenze or Milano.

for germany, i think it wud take you laods of time.. i say the southern part is the best....Hamburg is worth to visit esp St pauli:-P

Düsseldorf is my 3. favourite city.

it costs loads of money if you want to visit moskov & St petersburg.. there two cities are amazing.. or maybe an idea for a trans-siberian trip..

good luck.. any question? just ask!

[Swissas]

Me n my family of 8-10 people are going for a 10 day vacation in April and I wanted to hear some ideas as to where to go and stay and do. My sisters want to go somewhere warm and by the beach and with a decent night life. I would also like somewhere close to a city and that has a lot to offer outside of the hotel. A good nightlife would also be great. We usually stay at 5 star hotels or resorts. We are currently considering the Maldives, the Mauritius islands, Dubai, South Africa, St. Tropez. I would also love to go somewhere relatively unknown but preferably not at the cost of comfort because we are travelling with my 7 year old sister and my parents would like somewhere to relax. If you guys have any suggestions I would really like to hear them as we hope to make reservations soon.

Thanks

[andreas]

Beirut for sure. Although the number of tourists is growing fast, it doesn't have that overexposed touristy vibe (yet). Five-star accommodation galore, great food, a booming nightlife that'll stun even the most jaded, beaches + beach parties nearby and plenty of high-end stores to burn cash. Next to that there are plenty of sights to see. Have fun.

[todesengel]

Didn't see a general 'recommend me a vacation/trip/place to go/etc' thread, so I figured I'd create one so people can avoid making one-off threads. before I get this started, here's an amazing trip planning tool for the indecisive:

http://www.kayak.com/explore/

Anyways, I'm looking to take a trip in the fall (sept-oct timeframe) but I've been really indecisive about where to go. Prerequisites: warm (or at least not cold), doable in a 2 week timeframe from the west coast USA, mid-end to cheap accomodations available. I'll try to wrangle up some friends to come along, but it's possible that I'll be solo. I've been to SE asia/china a fair amount, as well as southern/central europe, the balkans and turkey. I'm fine with off-the beaten-path type shit.

I've been thinking about egypt (heard a lot of good and a lot of bad experiences), laos or cambodia (still haven't been), spain (haven't been since I was 13, euro is cheap now), morocco (heard it was a little boring, but still intriguing) or somewhere in south america (brazil/argentina?)

Anyone have any particular preference for any of the above? Other places that I should be going?

[frofivealpha]

Booked tickets for Reykjavik in October, now starting to plan for the Blue Lagoon and Concert Hall. Any other recommendations for the tours? Other cities to check out?

[Njalle]

i liked vestmanna islands a lot when I was there back in 2002.

of course you shouldn't miss they geysirs, and gullfoss and the althingi, which is the only place on earth where you can spot the continental crusts above sea level. it also happens to be the site of the first parliament in iceland and is insanely beautiful.

I had the best lobster soup ever in iceland, but I forgot the name of the place. maybe if you google it, it will show up.

oh yeah and maybe eyjalafökull or whatever the name is might be fun after the whole flight ban thing...

Edited April 29, 2012 by Njalle

[swapnakarna]

Switzerland is the nice place to go for vacation.

[MintyJames]

Check out Costa Rica man. Just thinking about a vacation I immediately have flashbacks to the luscious beaches, warm weather, natural beauty and fun. Not to mention its a surfers paradise and the nightlife is pretty sweet. Definitely suggest Tamarindo for a beach escape. They have other close cities that are each very different. Arenal is a Volcano town (you can see live volcano), Monte Verde is Rain Forest, San Jose is big city.

Hope you can use this one day soon!