The 5-8 Night Solo Winter Trip - help narrow it down!
Aug 13th, 2013 | 02:49 PM
#1
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The 5-8 Night Solo Winter Trip - help narrow it down!
Hi! I'm hoping to plan a brief solo trip for just after Thanksgiving. I will have 5-8 nights to spend, so I'm thinking about places as 5 night or 8 night itineraries. I've been looking at flight prices most of today, and it looks like there are some decent deals during this time period. Now I'm just trying to put together itineraries that make sense for my interests and don't require too much running around. Want to keep flights from New York under or around $700 roundtrip, which helped me narrow my focus. No real budget, but would be more apt to go to the more expensive destinations for 5 nights, and extend the trip in countries where I get more euro for my dollar for 8 nights.
Since it's winter, I want to focus on great indoor activities (museums and fantastic architecture especially, local culture, live music/sport viewing opportunities). Great food is a priority: I'm a lover of street food and cafe/small eatery culture, nice restaurants are not too important on this trip. I'm coming from New York, so I'm not looking for sunshine and great weather: I'm prepared to embrace cold in exchange for culture. I love great scenery and would be into outdoor sports like snowshoeing/cross country skiing as well, but less of a priority. And I want to go someplace I’ve never been before. So my shortlist:
ISTANBUL (& CAPPADOCIA) - flight $582 with Austrian Airlines, 5-8 nights. 5 nights would be Istanbul only, 8 nights would be Istanbul and Cappadocia. This checks all my boxes, especially great food and easy street food. I think my only hesitation here is I've always thought about visiting Turkey in spring, fall or summer , and not sure about going when the weather is likely to be rainy and wet (versus other places I don’t have preconceived ideas about). Istanbul I’m less worried about than Cappadocia/countryside in winter solo.
ISTANBUL (& VENICE) - flight $663 with Air Canada/SWISS airlines open jaw, 8 nights. Variation on a theme, this would be two cities with some interesting shared history and a great compliment: Istanbul hits my interests in history, Venice fulfills with art. I’d do an even 4 and 4 night split, even though the Venice piece would probably be a bit more expensive, though better than high season. The foggy winter ambiance and lack of tourists is appealing, is the l'acqua alta manageable as a tourist? And food X two!
AMSTERDAM – flight $715 with Icelandair, 5-8 nights. A little more expensive flight, but worth it because I’d very much like to see the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum now that both have reopened. I don’t know much about Dutch food, but I’d imagine they have some interesting street food options and some specialities to warm up cold souls! Canals would be great scenery. Bonus that I could stop over in Iceland for free if I wanted to. 5 nights would be Amsterdam only with maybe Iceland stopover, 8 nights maybe a daytrip (Bruges? Haarlem? Leiden?) and definitely an Iceland stopover
ICELAND – flight $661 with Icelandair, 5-6 nights (more expensive). This is the semi-wild card for a full trip, because I've heard while wonderfully unique, the food isn't great and there aren't a ton of traditional sightseeing opportunities. Scenery is the big draw, and it will be cold. With 5-6 nights, I'm thinking mostly in Reykjavik, maybe some trips (Golden Circle, Vik?) and Northern Lights chasing. Shouldn’t be too short in my opinion since the plane flight from NYC is about 6 hours.
ST PETERSBURG – flight $579 with Lufthansa (there is a cheaper one with Austrian but an oddly long layover but not stopover in Vienna), 5 nights (more expensive). This is the real wild card for me. So the flight is cheap, but I guess I make up the costs later with time on the ground? Hermitage and other sights sound great, but a little worried about language (don’t speak/read Russian), visa and costs, and not looking particularly Russian or white, so thinking this isn’t the right place for solo travel right now. I’m only leaving it in because the flight is the cheapest.
Help steer me in the right direction?? What sounds most reasonable? Any itinerary where I’d be doing much too much in too little time? Thank you for your thoughts!
Since it's winter, I want to focus on great indoor activities (museums and fantastic architecture especially, local culture, live music/sport viewing opportunities). Great food is a priority: I'm a lover of street food and cafe/small eatery culture, nice restaurants are not too important on this trip. I'm coming from New York, so I'm not looking for sunshine and great weather: I'm prepared to embrace cold in exchange for culture. I love great scenery and would be into outdoor sports like snowshoeing/cross country skiing as well, but less of a priority. And I want to go someplace I’ve never been before. So my shortlist:
ISTANBUL (& CAPPADOCIA) - flight $582 with Austrian Airlines, 5-8 nights. 5 nights would be Istanbul only, 8 nights would be Istanbul and Cappadocia. This checks all my boxes, especially great food and easy street food. I think my only hesitation here is I've always thought about visiting Turkey in spring, fall or summer , and not sure about going when the weather is likely to be rainy and wet (versus other places I don’t have preconceived ideas about). Istanbul I’m less worried about than Cappadocia/countryside in winter solo.
ISTANBUL (& VENICE) - flight $663 with Air Canada/SWISS airlines open jaw, 8 nights. Variation on a theme, this would be two cities with some interesting shared history and a great compliment: Istanbul hits my interests in history, Venice fulfills with art. I’d do an even 4 and 4 night split, even though the Venice piece would probably be a bit more expensive, though better than high season. The foggy winter ambiance and lack of tourists is appealing, is the l'acqua alta manageable as a tourist? And food X two!
AMSTERDAM – flight $715 with Icelandair, 5-8 nights. A little more expensive flight, but worth it because I’d very much like to see the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum now that both have reopened. I don’t know much about Dutch food, but I’d imagine they have some interesting street food options and some specialities to warm up cold souls! Canals would be great scenery. Bonus that I could stop over in Iceland for free if I wanted to. 5 nights would be Amsterdam only with maybe Iceland stopover, 8 nights maybe a daytrip (Bruges? Haarlem? Leiden?) and definitely an Iceland stopover
ICELAND – flight $661 with Icelandair, 5-6 nights (more expensive). This is the semi-wild card for a full trip, because I've heard while wonderfully unique, the food isn't great and there aren't a ton of traditional sightseeing opportunities. Scenery is the big draw, and it will be cold. With 5-6 nights, I'm thinking mostly in Reykjavik, maybe some trips (Golden Circle, Vik?) and Northern Lights chasing. Shouldn’t be too short in my opinion since the plane flight from NYC is about 6 hours.
ST PETERSBURG – flight $579 with Lufthansa (there is a cheaper one with Austrian but an oddly long layover but not stopover in Vienna), 5 nights (more expensive). This is the real wild card for me. So the flight is cheap, but I guess I make up the costs later with time on the ground? Hermitage and other sights sound great, but a little worried about language (don’t speak/read Russian), visa and costs, and not looking particularly Russian or white, so thinking this isn’t the right place for solo travel right now. I’m only leaving it in because the flight is the cheapest.
Help steer me in the right direction?? What sounds most reasonable? Any itinerary where I’d be doing much too much in too little time? Thank you for your thoughts!
Aug 13th, 2013 | 04:27 PM
#2
Joined: Nov 2005
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Lucky you - lovely choices.
Russia sounds so exotic .... not sure about the weather!?
Personally, I think I would lean to either Istanbul and Cappadocia OR Istanbul and Venice.
We are just shortly back from Turkey and visited both Istanbul and Cappadocia (9 days) - lovely trip! Cappadocia was very hot and we felt we would have enjoyed it when it was cooler. Not sure how cold and wet it would get at the time you are proposing however. Wet weather in Cappadocia would be unfortunate as I feel it is largely an "outdoors" type of destination. Hopefully others can give you their opinion.
I have been to both Istanbul and Venice in January. Sure it was cold, but we loved the ambiance of the cold, snow, short days etc etc. Plenty to do in both places irrespective of the weather I think.
Russia sounds so exotic .... not sure about the weather!?
Personally, I think I would lean to either Istanbul and Cappadocia OR Istanbul and Venice.
We are just shortly back from Turkey and visited both Istanbul and Cappadocia (9 days) - lovely trip! Cappadocia was very hot and we felt we would have enjoyed it when it was cooler. Not sure how cold and wet it would get at the time you are proposing however. Wet weather in Cappadocia would be unfortunate as I feel it is largely an "outdoors" type of destination. Hopefully others can give you their opinion.
I have been to both Istanbul and Venice in January. Sure it was cold, but we loved the ambiance of the cold, snow, short days etc etc. Plenty to do in both places irrespective of the weather I think.
Aug 13th, 2013 | 05:48 PM
#3
Joined: Jan 2003
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I'd probably go to Amsterdam and plan some day trips or overnight excursions. It feels like the "Goldilocks" option from your list.
I'd want more time for Turkey.
If Istanbul + Venice, depending on the flight options, getting to Venice could eat up the middle of a day, making that day more or less "lost."
The days in Iceland would be too short for me. Sunrise at 10:45a, sunset at 3:45p.
I'm an avid skier, but Russia might be too cold for me to enjoy. Average high temp at about freezing, average low in the mid-20s F. Sunrise at about 10:30a, sunset at about 5:00p. Also, the State Dept. commentary on tourist security and crime would be in my head the whole time I was there. I would definitely feel safer traveling in a group rather than solo.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...1006.html#page
I'd want more time for Turkey.
If Istanbul + Venice, depending on the flight options, getting to Venice could eat up the middle of a day, making that day more or less "lost."
The days in Iceland would be too short for me. Sunrise at 10:45a, sunset at 3:45p.
I'm an avid skier, but Russia might be too cold for me to enjoy. Average high temp at about freezing, average low in the mid-20s F. Sunrise at about 10:30a, sunset at about 5:00p. Also, the State Dept. commentary on tourist security and crime would be in my head the whole time I was there. I would definitely feel safer traveling in a group rather than solo.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...1006.html#page
Aug 13th, 2013 | 07:09 PM
#4
Joined: Feb 2003
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I visited Istanbul and Cappadocia just after Thanksgiving two years ago. Its a great time to go, because there are so few people there. When I went to the Goreme National Park in Cappadocia, at one point I was the ONLY person in the park besides the security guards. It was extraordinary.
The weather for the whole trip (just over two weeks) was cold but clear and dry - not a drop of rain. I did miss being able to go to some of the rooftop bars in Istanbul, but I can do that another time.
You might not find much street food in Cappadocia at that time, but you certainly would in Istanbul.
Combining Istanbul and Venice would be fantastic if you had more time. I'd say 5 days in Istanbul and 3 in Cappadocia (including a travel day) would be better than going all the way back to Venice.
Your other choices sound interesting too!
I wrote about my winter adventure in Istanbul and Cappadocia in my blog - would be happy to send (or post) the link if you'd like.
The weather for the whole trip (just over two weeks) was cold but clear and dry - not a drop of rain. I did miss being able to go to some of the rooftop bars in Istanbul, but I can do that another time.
You might not find much street food in Cappadocia at that time, but you certainly would in Istanbul.
Combining Istanbul and Venice would be fantastic if you had more time. I'd say 5 days in Istanbul and 3 in Cappadocia (including a travel day) would be better than going all the way back to Venice.
Your other choices sound interesting too!
I wrote about my winter adventure in Istanbul and Cappadocia in my blog - would be happy to send (or post) the link if you'd like.
Aug 13th, 2013 | 08:19 PM
#5
Joined: Dec 2006
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Any of these trips could be quite interesting!
Personally, I think I'd wait for St. Petersburg until (a) you have time to visit Moscow on the same trip and (b) you have more daylight hours. Even though there are many indoor sites in St. Petersburg, it is amazing to see the city in the sunshine and to see from the Winter Palace to the gardens outside (etc.).
As for Iceland, have you checked the likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights at the time you would go? My personal choice would be to go there in winter only if I had a good chance of seeing them. (But I haven't been there yet.)
Re: ISTANBUL (& VENICE) - ... "I’d do an even 4 and 4 night split." That makes sense, but it also makes me think that it would be better to wait until you can give Istanbul at least 5 full days.
I think there was a recent thread on Istanbul and Cappadocia in the winter -- do look for it! Again, I think it would be to your advantage to have at least 5 full days for Istanbul, but it really depends on what you want to see and experience. If I recall correctly, experts thought 8 days for Istanbul and Cappadocia could make sense in winter. (No guarantees on that!)
Amsterdam might be a very good choice in terms of the amount of time you have, but I'm not sure how the weather would affect your plans. FWIW, I loved Bruges and would give it more than a full day (so at least 2 nights); I would have been frustrated with just a day trip to Bruges, especially if I didn't have much time to see it in its full sunlit glory. But maybe that's just me. I haven't been to Haarlem or Leiden yet.
Hope that helps!
Personally, I think I'd wait for St. Petersburg until (a) you have time to visit Moscow on the same trip and (b) you have more daylight hours. Even though there are many indoor sites in St. Petersburg, it is amazing to see the city in the sunshine and to see from the Winter Palace to the gardens outside (etc.).
As for Iceland, have you checked the likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights at the time you would go? My personal choice would be to go there in winter only if I had a good chance of seeing them. (But I haven't been there yet.)
Re: ISTANBUL (& VENICE) - ... "I’d do an even 4 and 4 night split." That makes sense, but it also makes me think that it would be better to wait until you can give Istanbul at least 5 full days.
I think there was a recent thread on Istanbul and Cappadocia in the winter -- do look for it! Again, I think it would be to your advantage to have at least 5 full days for Istanbul, but it really depends on what you want to see and experience. If I recall correctly, experts thought 8 days for Istanbul and Cappadocia could make sense in winter. (No guarantees on that!)
Amsterdam might be a very good choice in terms of the amount of time you have, but I'm not sure how the weather would affect your plans. FWIW, I loved Bruges and would give it more than a full day (so at least 2 nights); I would have been frustrated with just a day trip to Bruges, especially if I didn't have much time to see it in its full sunlit glory. But maybe that's just me. I haven't been to Haarlem or Leiden yet.
Hope that helps!
Aug 14th, 2013 | 02:40 AM
#6
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Thanks everyone! This has been really helpful, I think I can eliminate St Petersburg and Iceland as the main trips, especially because the two Istanbul ideas and Amsterdam seem more geared to my interests and more feasible to pull off solo in winter.
I did find the post on Cappadocia in winter, thanks kja! That family was planning 7 nights in early December for IST and Cappadocia, so I can probably work with that skeleton and add my extra night.
Jean, thanks for your feedback on the Istanbul-Venice flights. The timing isn't bad (nonstop from Istanbul to Venice at 7:55 AM, so wouldn't miss a day, but its $236 for that one way flight!
Rialto, I would love a link to your blog post: sounds like a great trip, and would be very helpful!
I'm going to narrow further and look at Turkey only (Istanbul and Cappadocia) and Amsterdam + daytrip as the final ideas. Maybe map both out with itineraries and see what seems to make the most sense.
I did find the post on Cappadocia in winter, thanks kja! That family was planning 7 nights in early December for IST and Cappadocia, so I can probably work with that skeleton and add my extra night.
Jean, thanks for your feedback on the Istanbul-Venice flights. The timing isn't bad (nonstop from Istanbul to Venice at 7:55 AM, so wouldn't miss a day, but its $236 for that one way flight!
Rialto, I would love a link to your blog post: sounds like a great trip, and would be very helpful!
I'm going to narrow further and look at Turkey only (Istanbul and Cappadocia) and Amsterdam + daytrip as the final ideas. Maybe map both out with itineraries and see what seems to make the most sense.
Aug 14th, 2013 | 04:04 AM
#7
Joined: May 2005
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I will cast my vote for Amsterdam. The weather will not be great, but its a place that's built around gray weather. You can sip coffee in cafes, visit museums, and enjoy a lot of indoor activities. The day trip opportunities are also quite varied. Choices include Bruges, Ghent , Cologne, The Hague, and lots of other places too. Happy planning!
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Aug 14th, 2013 | 02:48 PM
#8
Joined: Feb 2003
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wanderingspirit, here is the link to my blog and I've tagged the posts so all the ones from Turkey are here. You might want to start at the bottom and work your way up.
http://poptarticus.com/category/turkey/
I just read my blog for the first time in a while and I guess it DID rain one night.. but it must have been the only time. I mostly remember clear and cold.
I hope you'll keep us posted on your plans.
http://poptarticus.com/category/turkey/
I just read my blog for the first time in a while and I guess it DID rain one night.. but it must have been the only time. I mostly remember clear and cold.
I hope you'll keep us posted on your plans.
Aug 17th, 2013 | 05:22 AM
#9
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Joined: Aug 2013
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Thanks everyone! I have chosen to go with Amsterdam, mainly because I'm shorter on time, and I really would like/need more time for Turkey.
Thinking about Amsterdam and an overnight (or two) in Bruges. I found an open jaw on Aer Lingus that's cheaper than the roundtrip on IcelandAir. What do you think about this logistically:
Day 1: arrive Amsterdam at 2:05 PM from NYC via Dublin overnight. night Amsterdam
Day 2: Amsterdam / night Amsterdam
Day 3: Amsterdam / night Amsterdam
Day 4: Amsterdam / night Amsterdam
Day 5: train to Bruges / night Bruges
Day 6: Bruges / night Bruges (or Brussels)
Day 7: depart Brussels at 10:05 AM for NYC via Dublin
Should I spend the night in Bruges or Brussels on Day 6 with a 10AM flight (so at airport at 8 AM)? I tend to be someone who errs on the side of caution, so while I'd prefer to spend a second night in Bruges, I'm thinking that it'd be easier waking up in Brussels and heading directly to the airport than to wake up early in Bruges, get train to Brussels which takes an hour, and then get train to the airport. But if others have done this and its not too difficult, then I'd consider the second night in Bruges.
Thoughts? Thanks for everyone's help with this!!
Thinking about Amsterdam and an overnight (or two) in Bruges. I found an open jaw on Aer Lingus that's cheaper than the roundtrip on IcelandAir. What do you think about this logistically:
Day 1: arrive Amsterdam at 2:05 PM from NYC via Dublin overnight. night Amsterdam
Day 2: Amsterdam / night Amsterdam
Day 3: Amsterdam / night Amsterdam
Day 4: Amsterdam / night Amsterdam
Day 5: train to Bruges / night Bruges
Day 6: Bruges / night Bruges (or Brussels)
Day 7: depart Brussels at 10:05 AM for NYC via Dublin
Should I spend the night in Bruges or Brussels on Day 6 with a 10AM flight (so at airport at 8 AM)? I tend to be someone who errs on the side of caution, so while I'd prefer to spend a second night in Bruges, I'm thinking that it'd be easier waking up in Brussels and heading directly to the airport than to wake up early in Bruges, get train to Brussels which takes an hour, and then get train to the airport. But if others have done this and its not too difficult, then I'd consider the second night in Bruges.
Thoughts? Thanks for everyone's help with this!!
Aug 17th, 2013 | 05:27 PM
#10
Joined: May 2005
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I like your overall plan! I think you will really like Amseterdam, as well as Bruges. I have never flown out of Brussels, so others may know better, but I wouldn't risk staying an hour away the night before a morning flight. Even if I theoretically could make it in the morning, I'd be so nervous that I wouldn't get any sleep that night anyway. I'd spend the last night in Brussels.
Aug 18th, 2013 | 07:00 AM
#12
Joined: Mar 2004
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Excellent choice of Amsterdam. Of course, I'm biased because it's one of my favorite cities. Since you want to visit museums, you might want to look into their National Museumkaart. We've always gotten our money's worth out of the card, and it's allowed us to visit museums that we normally wouldn't have visited.
http://www.museumkaart.nl/
If you're travelling just after Thanksgiving, you will be in Amsterdam at the height of the Dutch Christmas holidays. I believe they celebrate on December 5th. They have some interesting customs. Here's a link to a thread about Sinterklaas and the Zwarte Pieten.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rdam-today.cfm
And, as you are winding up your trip, I think you should spend the last night in Brussels - for two reasons... to be closer to the airport for the early arrival, and to see the Grand Place at night. The square is large and lovely to look at during the day, but when the lights come on in the evening, it glows with splendor.
Enjoy your travels.
Robyn
http://www.museumkaart.nl/
If you're travelling just after Thanksgiving, you will be in Amsterdam at the height of the Dutch Christmas holidays. I believe they celebrate on December 5th. They have some interesting customs. Here's a link to a thread about Sinterklaas and the Zwarte Pieten.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rdam-today.cfm
And, as you are winding up your trip, I think you should spend the last night in Brussels - for two reasons... to be closer to the airport for the early arrival, and to see the Grand Place at night. The square is large and lovely to look at during the day, but when the lights come on in the evening, it glows with splendor.
Enjoy your travels.
Robyn
