Message: I do appreciate your responses. These tickets have to be used by May of this year. We were not in a position to travel in the fall, when these were offered to us last summer,so we opted for the following Spring which is coming up. However FYI, Delta flys from Vegas to Atlanta, to Paris. Then from Paris their code share partner (in this case Air France) takes us into Kiev. My friend at Delta has kindly extended many passes to friends and family, who have mostly used them for Paris or Hawaii, without relative hassle. Yes, I'm aware we have to pay the taxes. Duh. Yes I'm aware we may not get out, however this has a lot to do with the "seniority" of the passes. Anyway, let me express again what I'm trying to achieve from this posting request. First, I'm not asking for anyone to "decide" where we should go, but looking for replys from ones who may have suggestions, not just on what "they like", but who perhaps are more well travelled and can have a broader perspective on choosing an itinerary such as Paris/Ukraine verses choosing someplace else. In other words, let's face it Ukraine isn't exactly on everyone "gotta go there someday" list. So since this is as I stated in my post a one time shot, should we think of other locations to get a fully European experience? I did state I wanted to go some place that would provide more of a "vacation", rather than all this seemingly chaotic hassle ridden travel that many posters report. Thus, is there anyone out there who has the experience necessary and can be positive yet realistic with their suggestions? And if so can back up their suggestions with explanations as to why they feel as they do? I didn't expect that many would have had the experience of traveling to Ukraine, so perhaps no one has a balanced perspective and thus cannot offer an objective informed "suggestion"? Perhaps this would have been easier if we had had a burning desire to go to particular location, but frankly, we don't. Thanks in advance for any thoughtful replys.



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I haven't been to Ukraine, but I will offer a view based on your desire to "go some place that would provide more of a "vacation", rather than all this seemingly chaotic hassle ridden travel that many posters report".

I haven't been to Ukraine, but I deal with Ukrainian delegations several times each year. I've met some very nice people that way. I think for an experienced traveler with on-location assistance of savvy locals, it might be interesting. I would not choose it myself just yet, but I may feel differently in a few years.

Ukraine is a transitioning democracy with a lot of infrastructure and economic challenges. If I were you, I would look at places with a far more developed support structure for travelers; somewhere you can spend less time figuring things out and a lot more time enjoying yourself. Paris, for example, is certainly a "fully European experience". Adding the last leg of your trip to Kiev is going to make it a lot different trip and I would think very hard before choosing to do that. (Just my two cents worth.)

Just go to Paris and Venice and be done with all the needless footdragging.

You are running out of time with all this unproductive "I can't make a mistake" thinking. You need to start some specific planning ASAP!

Hooray, two intelligent productive replys! To clarify, the Ukraine idea is because we have friends (American) living in Kiev and Lvov so that would be the least hassle of anything. However perhaps not as enjoyable in other ways. And the one poster is correct in stating that Paris on buddy passes would be more problematic than perhaps other cities. We could bypass Paris and go into Warsaw and then into Lvov, but who wants to do Ukraine and Warsaw? Hawaii is looking real good.....

Hi Phan,

For a not to be repeated trip, fly into Paris or Venice and out the other.

Or Fly into Venice or London and out the other.

If you click on your screen name, you'll get a list of the threads that you've posted on, including a bunch of them asking similar questions. Finding the old ones can make things easier than starting from scratch when your thread seems to be too buried to find.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34464426

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34428087

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34426954

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34428241

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34462013

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34463373

First of all, I'm not trying to be rude also. But I understand that you were leaning towards Kiev and Paris. That sounds good to me because if I had friends in Kiev that would be an incentive to visit. Kiev, as I hear, is a nice place to visit.
Forgive me, but after you thought of Paris/Kiev, now you're saying Hawaii looks good.
You know, everywhere sounds good so really it's up to you. If Hawaii strikes your fancy go for it. If Paris/Kiev sounds great do that instead. May 2004 is really not far away in terms of making plans such as hotel and your air reservations (even with free tickets) so you need to decide quickly!

Let me see if I understand you correctly.

Everytime in the last six months you've posted this question, you've received numerous thoughtful and articulate suggestions. Each time you offer global appreciation and then go on to specifically criticize the advice. Now you appear to want the functional equivalent of a curriculum vitae and character references to evaluate whether someone is giving you a "balanced perspective."

If, as you say, you don't have a burning desire to travel somewhere, why don't you stop dithering and give the passes to someone who does?

That thread history is amazing. Stop wasting people's time and get on with it.

Gee, maybe I should have asked something like "what's your most romantic whatever". That seems to be more to your liking. Did you perhaps allow that I didn't get any responses that were germaine to my question? Some obviously try to be helpful and pay attention to the specific question being asked. Some of you unfortunately think this is a forum for you to be critical of what is asked, how many times it is asked, how it is asked, etc. Let me give you the advice I was given as a child...if you have nothing "nice" to say, then say nothing at all! If my postings are not to your liking, then move on to another, please by all mean ignore mine okay?

P. S. The Hawaii comment was a joke. Sheesh, are you people for real? Sheesh.

I'm thinking maybe you are not for real. How do you function on a daily basis since you don't have six months to make simple decisions. I bet you are a real horror story at the paint store or the Mall!

Let me make a post. See if it sounds familiar phandtf and then you can make your wonderful helpful comments. OK?

I've been given two tickets, but I hate to travel. There's nowhere I want to go and I certainly don't want to go to any trouble to get ready or plan to go somewhere. And I can't stand the thought of having any complications if we do go. We do have some friends in the most obscure and hard to get to place in the world, but I suppose if we have to we could go there, but only if it is no trouble and you world travelers can convince me it is just wonderful there. Now before any of you idiots respond to me, let me say I only want to hear from the really brilliant and world traveling experts, no one else please. If you aren't the best expert on travel then I really don't have time for you. So where should I go that will be guaranteed easy and wonderful even though I hate traveling.

Oh, and by the way, I've been working on this for about a year now, and although dozens of people have made comments, none of them have been brilliant. So if you have really perfect ideas, please give them to me.

Sound familiar?

CaGirl!!!!!Muah!

Jeez! The only "hassle" involved here is the inability of the original poster to make a simple decision. Dither, dither, dither. A zillion posts later, and you're still dithering.

It really is disturbing that, after all the information you've asked for and gotten, you still haven't made up your mind.

I suggest you retain a travel consultant. You clearly have trouble taking cogent information and using it to make a decision.

Just go somewhere, anywhere, and enjoy, if you can, which is doubtful.

St Cirq -- I was just getting ready to post back here with the same advice.

Phandtf -- please hire a travel consultant to help you. Perhaps when you are paying someone for their advice, you will take it. At least if you are paying for the advice, you will have some basis for complaining if you aren't getting the sort of advice or information you require.

Your condescending attitude certainly will not get you a better answer than those you have already received.

If your Hawaii comment was a joke, what else about your post is a joke?

Dear Phandft,Please get a Delta schedule or go to their website as the places you pick for you to travel to- most of them are not Delta cities.If you are choosing Warsaw now then you will have to still go through Paris or Milan or Prague on a codeshare partner which is a pain.Hawaii is extremely hard to get back from on a pass.
Yes, I will move on as this has become a 7 different message "soap opera". I should warn you though that if you are new to the board it is in extremely bad taste to assume that you have not received any"intelligent replies"(boy,did that hurt my feelings!!!) after all these months.This board is for friends(some we have met and others who are waiting to be known)so please realize that we were all trying to help you.

"What else was a joke?" Probably the whole thing. Could anybody really take all this seriously?

Why not just get a map and two darts?