To those of you that have teens that may look older, what was your experience regarding proof of age at the various museums and sites? I know that different sites may have different rules, but in general did you find that a photocopy on a phone was sufficient proof or do they normally require the hard/original copy of the ID? Thanks. Read More

Airbnb in Paris… yay or nay? I’ve always stayed in hotels but I may spend 4-5 nights and thought it would be a great way to save money and have more space. Any recommendations? Reasons not to? Thanks! Read More

Finally, France. After that endless journey from Australia - 33 hours from home airport to Zurich, then train west. My itinerary : May/June 2024: flight in and out of Zurich Besancon 7N Avignon 9N La Tour-de-Peilz (Vevey) 2N Meiringen 11N Winterthur 1N I’ve visited so little of France, having only been to (and loved) Alsace, trav... Read More

Hello all. We are planning a trip to Upstate NY. We will spend a few days in the Finger Lakes so DH can fish. After that we have another week or so. I would like to see the Adirondaks but I'm hearing a lot of good things about Saratoga Springs. We both love history, waterfalls and great scenery, and DH loves fishing. Should we stay in Sarato... Read More

As part of a longer road trip in northern Italy, we will be staying in a home in Argengo on Lake Como for nine days in September. A friends told us about the Bernino Express train ride - and it sounds lovely. Wondering if this could be a long day trip - or better as an overnight stop. Has anyone taken this four-hour scenic narrow gauge train ride?... Read More

Hello: I'm planning a family trip for early August 2024 and, due to a conference, I will be in Dusseldorf for a few days. After the conference, I was thinking of spending 7 - 10 days split in 2 different cities with my wife and kids (4 & 6 year old girls). The kids have never been to Europe before and this will be there first trip there. Origina... Read More

Sicily has been at the top of our travel wish list for several decades, but it always seemed to get bumped for something else, or put on the back burner for when we had “enough” time. Due to work, pets at home, and other factors, we cannot travel for much more than two weeks at a time—but last year, we decided to make Sicily a priority for 2024.... Read More

I'm looking for a place for our family to visit in Europe for Christmas through New Years. We are not interested in skiing, and it looks like many Christmas markets will be closed by the time we arrive. Most of us have been to Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Scotland, and Rome/Florence/Venice. Given that many places a... Read More

Hi all, I need some fresh ideas for our summer '25 trip. My now 16 year-old son and I will be outside of Berlin in July for a sporting event that ends on July 20th. We will have from July 21st to August 4th (departure date) to travel with my husband and other son. I have promised my older son that we would visit the motor valley in Italy, so w... Read More

Live from Madrid....it's Sunday morning live!! (sorry about that!!) I'm a very short time into my stay and am already SO happy! Yes, American Airlines has misplaced my suitcase, so was withering with cold in a long-sleeved t-shirt but all is great now that I am seated in the nearly empty Car One of the splashy new Scarlet IRYO train, bound for C... Read More

Thanks to many of you for your excellent guidance/reports/posts on the areas of Spain we are visiting in July. A special thanks to [utag=169187]mikelg[/utag], [utag=171967]Maribel[/utag], [utag=170246]MFNYC[/utag], Maribel, [utag=523521]KarenWoo[/utag], [utag=168707]ekscrunchy[/utag] and [utag=215631]Micheal[/utag]. Your input really helped us shap... Read More

Hello everyone, we are planning a ~12 days trip in late September to Italy and would really like some advice and suggestions! Some quick facts: [list] [*]Never been to Europe [*]10-14 days, starting from mid/late September [*]Flying from US east coast (NC) [*]3 adults + 2 kids (ages 4 and 7) [*]Not a huge history/art buff [*]Don't speak I... Read More

Our trip will start with a week of trekking in the Engadin region of Switzerland, then three weeks later, we meeting friends in Lisbon, Portugal. We thought maybe two weeks in Spain and then 5-6 days in Portugal before meeting our friends. Here is our dilemma… Northern Spain, Basque area, Atlantic costal route. Or Costa Brava. This would most li... Read More

Hi, My wife and I are planning a trip to Rome from September 27th to October 13th, and we have a few questions: [list=1] [*]Do Americans need a visa for Italy? [*]What are some good 3-star hotels in Rome that are clean, affordable, in a SAFE area, and within walking distance of major tour... Read More

I was considering. a trip to Berlin in mid July ( thx for your input), but the thought of changing flights turned me to another( direct flight) destination. I have visited Amsterdam many times over the years, the last was a short stay about 7/8 years ago. During my previous visits to the city I made day trips to Haarlem, Hague, Brussels, Bruges ..... Read More

Hi all - After deciding to rent a car for part of our upcoming time in Puglia, we knew obtaining IDPs was necessary. I searched online and the sites I found suggested it would take AAA 4-6 weeks to receive our IDPs, something which concerned me since we are leaving in 6 weeks for our trip. We called our local office and went in with photos in hand... Read More

I haven't seen very many trip reports from travellers to the Azores so I am posting mine. We are a couple of Vancouverites in our late 60s and reasonably fit. We loved the Azores. We travelled in April and May, definitely shoulder season, knowing that we could expect all sorts of weather, and we got it! Sata Airlines, the airline of the Azores,... Read More

Debating Where To Go This Summer I recently got 2 weeks of vacation due to switching jobs and I have flexibility to either take it any 2 week timeframe between early ish June and mid July. So one example is leaving Saturday June 15th and coming back July 1st, which means 14 full days in Europe. I'm in my mid 20s and just looking to relax afte... Read More

Here's a report on our recent trip to Puglia (with a few nights in Matera), at the very end of April, through mid May. We were away for 19 nights total, including overnight flight and last night in a B&B near Milan MXP prior to flight home, so 17 nights in Puglia/Basilicata. Flights: Delta round-... Read More

Could I get help with my itinerary? Two weeks flying in and out of Tokyo in August with my wife and 19-year old daughter. [list] [*]Tokyo (4 nights) – Aug 8, 9, 10, 11 [list] [*]3 days Tokyo [*]1 day trip - Hokone [/list] [*]Kyoto (4 nights) – Aug 12, 13, 14, 15 [list] [*]2 days Kyoto [*]Day Trip - Nara [*]Day Trip - Osaka (Spend the da... Read More

Hello, Our family (2a,2c) is planning our first trip to Europe from mid September to early October. After some research I think this will be best for us: London - 4 nights paris - 5 nights agvinon - 2 nights nice - 2 nights Vienna -2 nights grindelwald - 3 nights lucern or Zurich - 2 nights (then fly out late back to Australia) I initially planned... Read More

September 2025 is an age away, but I'm looking ahead to 2025 as I need to do a bit of juggling with work and a family reunion overseas. We'd like to try to do about three weeks in Spain and one week in Italy from early Sept to early October. This would be our third trip to Italy and our first to Spain. Mainly heading back to Italy for the food a... Read More

Hello I'm leaving the US tomorrow and flying to Zurich where I'll be renting a car from Hertz. We'll be driving through France, Switzerland and Germany. After researching countries requiring International Drivers Permits I thought I wouldn't need one. Now I'm seeing various opinions about this. I know its probably a good idea if I have to deal wit... Read More

Still cannot decide on my summer plans. I've enjoyed northern visits the last few years (Iceland in 2022, Denmark and Sweden in 2023) and so I'd like to keep that trend going. Maybe Maine, then? If you did a road trip to Maine from DC, where would you stay overnight on that drive to break it up a bit? Doesn't have to be half and half but I'd like... Read More

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