Central Asia. Where exactly is it? How is it defined? Well, it depends... The most widely accepted definition of the region incorporates the five former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. More expansive definitions incorporate some or all of Afghanistan, East Turkestan,... Read More

What are the most interesting neighborhoods in Madrid and Bilbao for accommodations? We want safe, but non-touristy hotels or bed/breakfast that would be walking distance to cultural sites (art museums, galleries, local music performances, flamenco clubs) also charming streets. Like everyone else we want comfortable, clean rooms and soundproof room... Read More

Hello, We are US family of 4 (2 teenagers) flying in and out of Zurich late May into June for 2 weeks. I had planned for us to train everywhere, but some of the travel time looks like it would be greatly shortened if we rented a car - for all or part of the journey. (picking one up from interlaken and the remaining trip seems like a good idea, but... Read More

I’ll be renting a car in Spain for 20 days. What type of phone charging is usually available in a typical car? I want to make sure I bring the right cords and anything needed. Read More

Hi, I am doing a road trip. On 10th July we will stay the night in Moritz. And on 19th July we have to be in Zermatt. So I have 8 nights for this part of the trip. My main reason was to visit Lavender fields as we never travel to Europe in busy season of July- August. This time is an exception. I was thinking 11th July - See Moritz and drive to Mi... Read More

Hello! My husband and I are planning a trip to France in late September, early October of this year. We will have a total of 15 nights /16 days. We are flying into Paris (arriving early morning, jet-lagged!) and planning to take the train directly to Strasbourg. The plan is to stay there for four nights and then travel to Colmar by train for... Read More

We had a delightful trip to Italy in October 2023 and am finally writing this report! After a wonderful trip to Ireland in 2022, we were eager to plan our next adventure. However, our son was about to propose to his girlfriend and we had to wait on their date selection to move forward with our plans. Our ideal time would have been the last 2 wee... Read More

Its probably obvious that I spend an inordinate amount of time dreaming about, and planning, travel. I admit to spending a lot of time browsing around various review sites, including the very popular Trip Advisor (yes, I know that TA is not a dependable site for selecting restaurants, but I do look at it, mostly for the photos, and the comments fr... Read More

Hi there. I've been reading through some posts and not finding exactly what I'm looking for, so hopefully some of you who travel to France frequently can offer some recommendations for us. We will be in France for 2 weeks in early June: ~3/4 days each in Normandy (Bayeux, Honfleur); Loire (Amboise); Dordogne (Sarlat au Canada); and Provence (Avi... Read More

As some of you who already helped me know, in less than a month I will be taking a bike/barge tour. Prior to the cycling trip I will be spending three nights in Amsterdam to recover from jet lag and to see some of the sights. This is going to be leisurely, and I don’t intend to run myself ragged trying to sightsee. I like to just wander in scenic a... Read More

I'm new to the Fodor's forums and I have found some great info on both Turkey and Greece. We are seasoned travelers in our 60s who are planning to visit Turkey & Greece in Sept/Oct 2024 for about a month. We have never been to either country, and I find I'm struggling with this trip's planning more than any other place we've been. (Even more than P... Read More

We're flying in and out of Bergen in July and will be in Norway for 9 nights. Torn on whether to stay put in one spot and do day trips out of Bergen or to be more "nomadic" to cover more ground. Would prefer to stay in only 2 or 3 places for overnights, however, not a different place every night. We expect we'll rent a car, so won't be limited to o... Read More

I am interested in reading comments by people here who have tried to lean a language from the sites such Babel, Rosetta, and the others. I know zero about any of these. I enjoy leaning new languages but tend to be bored by strict grammar. My goal is to improve my ability to chat, or ask questions, when I travel in Italy. I can get along prett... Read More

I have visited Berlin several times , the last time was a short stay in 2016. I stayed in the east (Melia hotel, I liked), and the western part (Sofitel, didn't like ). I am looking for hotel in an area that is lively in the evening/ at night : a place with restaurants, cafes, movie theatres…etc. , not in bar/night clubs part of town Seven ni... Read More

A thank you to all the Fodorites who helped us plan this trip!! Day 1: arrived in Naples, viewing Vesuvius, we had a challenge with our car rental through Surprice via Discovercars, recommended by Rick Steves. Discovercars helped correct it, but we needed to go to another rental agency, BeRent. Leaving from there to our stay for the night was easy... Read More

This may not be helpful to a lot of people, but in case anyone is thinking about doing one of the Camino routes that start in Portugal, I thought I would share it anyway. In April I cycled the Camino Portugues from Porto to Santiago de Compostela with five friends. Some day by day observations and pictures will follow. I'll start with generaliti... Read More

Looking for help deciding on where to stay for 2 nights in Matera. We will be there late October. We would like to be in the Sassi, with an outdoor terrace for the views. Cave room or not - either is fine. We would like to stay under 250 Euros per night. We are currently considering: https:/... Read More

Hello my friends - we are planning a two week trip in September for two couples to do level 2 hiking in Switzerland. All of us are in our late 50’s/early 60’s and though my wife and I are physically fit our friends have faced some recent health challenges that will limit them to no more than level 2 yet they are capable of walking for 5-6 hours pe... Read More

Was wondering because I am planning to visit and someone bought this up and figured I'd check. I'm not overly concerned about this but I will be traveling with some electronics (mainly a laptop and a spare camera with a few lenses that I may lave in the room in some cases). Obviously when I leave for the day, I will keep everything zipped up in m... Read More

I will be in Brienz area late September. I already have hikes sorted out/thoroughly researched (praying for good weather): ~Maennlichen--> KS ~First--> Bachalpsee ~Iseltwald-->Giessbachfaelle. These are written in stone. I am looking for a 2-3 hour easy hike from Meiringen/Hasliberg/Axalp area ONLY. I have a fear of OPEN heights/ledges, so a... Read More

Hello everyone! My husband and I are planning a month long trip to Northern Italy for May 2025. We have visited Italy only once, and that was a lifetime ago in the 1970’s! We spent a week in Rome and a day in Florence. We are both in our 70’s. This will be our only trip to northern Italy, so we want to visit all the places that intere... Read More

Hi, my sister and I (of “varsity” age) are leaving next Monday 4/8 for Lisbon and Porto. We have been monitoring the weather reports and cannot believe our good fortune - it’s been raining for weeks - and this is the forecast for our trip

I'd had my heart set on a few weeks in Dordogne in September or October in a rental house with friends. Looking for a relaxing not super-charged vacation - a bit of hiking, canoeing, walking, and not-too-distance sights to visit. We are planning to go carless, but it seems to be quite difficult just to get to the Dordogne without a car from CDG.... Read More

Hi All, Have heard the Pyrenees and the villages around them are charming and relaxing. We are planning a trip in September to Madrid/Bilbao,a bit along the coast and want to include a route through (perhaps) both French & Spanish Pyrenees and most importantly a visit through Basque country-not so keen on mountain hiking, but some easy walks with... Read More

I spent twelve days in Japan (March 28-April 8) after disembarking from a cruise ship in Tokyo. Since Fodorites are always helpful with pre-trip questions, I like to provide a trip report in case it sparks someone else’s interest! I’ll cover logistics first and then summarize what I did and sights I saw.