We spent a week in Mexico City at the invitation of our daughters who rented the apartment and did the basic research for sightseeing and eating, making reservations where necessary. We arrived at the airport. Money changing places everywhere, and it took some effort to find a bank ATM. There is one about 100 ft. from the official taxi reservation... Read More

Hello! Planning to bring kids to Europe for first time this June- we have two full weeks, not including flights from NE US. Our kids are young teens. We have narrowed down trip to Italy and/or France, focusing on coastal or lake areas as much as possible (it will be hot, and we all like to swim). I'm thinking Cote d'Azur and then Italian coast, but... Read More

Hello, We are a family of 4 (19 and 16 yo daughters) traveling to Europe in July. We will be ending our trip with 8 nights in Paris. I have just started looking for places, and these are the ones I like so far. We want a place with 3 beds (not including a pullout if possible). These places all look fairly central, but I'm not familiar with Paris n... Read More

Hello everyone! We are set to fly to Paris to celebrate a milestone birthday on March 22 (next Wednesday). With the protests happening in Paris, we are not sure if there are safety issues to consider. Can anyone in Paris help us by letting us know what the situation is looking like please? Thank you! Read More

Ok Pros! After countless hours of research, reading this forum, watching Rick Steves, and reading books, I think I have a roughed out itinerary and welcome any suggestions. This area is foreign to me and it took a while to get a handle on distances. Basics: We have 26 days, and will fly into Nice and out of Paris. It’s just my husband and me and... Read More

First I want to say that I have searched through several threads and the frequently asked questions on the right about passports but I have yet to find a source that I can print or refer to that I can use to back me up. We are scheduled to fly RYANAIR out of Porto next week and even though we thought we had covered our... Read More

At this point I think I've reserved so many hotels I need to start canceling but I'm so confused! We will be landing in Athens 4/30 (evening) and leaving out of Heraklion 5/15 (morning). Here's what I have so far: Athens, Greece: Which hotel option? Amalia or Astor? We arrive after 9pm on 4/30, take m... Read More

I am finishing up my travel plans for this June. Generally I believe to really experience a city and travel comfortably you have to spend at least 5 days, if not 7; in the place you are visiting. This is my first trip to Europe, and I am trying to figure out exact points where me and my party may be overwhelmed by too much to see, and may ne... Read More

We are 3 couples in our early 60's all in good active shape. Planning on a few days in Edinburgh for the Tattoo and sightseeing, then off to Stirling for 2-3 days of more sightseeing. Intent is to rent a car(s) once we're ready to depart Edinburgh. Where should we go next? We want to experience the "Highlands" and more rugged areas but do not h... Read More

I am planning to take my mom (along with my spouse) to Europe for two weeks around Summer. My spouse and I (both in our mid-30s) have been on short work trips to Europe before but my mom (in her mid-60s) will be going there for the first time. Below is the itinerary (Paris+ Italy) I am leaning towards which seems to be close to $10,000 US... Read More

Over the years, we have had similar discussions on the Forum. But, I think there have been same changes , perhaps because of covid losses for the industry. Normally. I would check hotels’ and booking.com rates first. If identical, I made a booking with booking.com for easy cancelation. Last year , I found a couple of hotels offered a wider se... Read More

I am looking to go with hubbie to Greece for several weeks in August. June and July are even higher! I am absolutely appalled at the prices this summer!!! New York to Thessaloniki, with one stop, is upwards of $1300- $1400 dollars RT each. The website lures you in in with lower prices, ($1100 - 1200 +) and at booking, return flights are 2 s... Read More

Hi Trip report on extended trip to Portugal. A mixture of practical, logistical “stuff”, everyday living in Portugal and some tourist “stuff”. We have previously traveled extensively in Portugal and have seen most tourist attractions, this time we are focused on being “snowbirds”. Airport arrival – Lisb... Read More

It’s now Saturday, May 7, and we arrived in Portugal just 2 days ago - though it feels like we’ve been here forever! After 2 flights from NYC, we arrived in Lisbon around noon, and proceeded to get the Via Viagem card in the airport , took the metro 3 stops to the Oriente station and changed to the Sintra train, which was sitting in the station wai... Read More

Has anyone received a new passport recently? Mine expired in 2021 and when we decided to travel overseas this May I immediately renewed it online in late January. When it was received I was told by email that regular turnaround was 6-8 weeks. It’s now been 7 weeks and when I go online all it’s continues to say is that passport application was recei... Read More

After a week of hiking parts of the Lechweg with my daughter, my husband and I will arrive at Lake Constance the 3rd week in August. Rather than an organized bike tour (we generally use radreisen), we’ve decided to base in 2 cities for about 3 nights each, renting bikes and doing some nice rides. I’m thinking one should be Konstanz but not sure whi... Read More

This report is part of 37 days we spent in Europe (Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia between September 5-October 12). We initially booked, with credit card miles, flights in and out of Athens without any fixed itinerary. Then, we were invited to a family grape harvest in Sicily. Eventually, Athens airport became our base, and we went... Read More

I've decided to visit Italy (finally) in May 2024 - plenty of time to go but I need to get at least a rough itinerary sorted as I will be using points to book my flights so will be booking those flights this May. I have about 3 weeks at my disposal (give or take a few days) and want to take in the beautiful history, architecture, people, and of... Read More

[center]Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” – John Muir[/center] Switzerland has long been a winter destination for us, often visiting in late November and December. We don’t go to... Read More

I know this schedule might sound insane, but is it feasible (and could it be enjoyable as a first time smorgasbord of Italy?) FYI it’s our first time in Italy traveling with 2 teens, 16 and 17 (their first time in Europe). My husband and I were always ‘3 towns a day’ crazy travelers prior to kids: Rome - 2 days Pompeii/Amalfi coast /Naples/ -... Read More

My family and I will be arriving in London early July on a Sunday afternoon and we are staying a week. We will be flying in from Athens, Greece so we will have already adjusted from the jet lag. It's my daughters first visit (not the adults). Initially, I was hoping we could do a Fat Tire Bike tour to get a nice overview of some of the city that... Read More

We will be doing a trip to England and Ireland this coming June. We used Orange Holiday SIMs with success on one or both of our last two trips in the same general area, but with our new Samsung Galaxy phones with eSim capabilities, we'd like to avoid having to open the darn SIM tray, fumble with insertion, and chance losing our US SIM somewhere alo... Read More

Hello all, We have never been to Hawaii and desperately need some "real world" general advice regarding which island and general locations to stay. Here are some insights: [list] [*]Going in August for 8-12 days [*]Leaving from Austin, Texas [*]We are okay to rent a car for the entire say [*]Probably staying in an AirBnB (resorts are too expe... Read More

I guess I could find some answers in existing threads, but I don't have the patience to use a large amount of time reading possible dozens of threads to find the answers I'm looking for. I was looking at the opportunity for spending a longer amount of time, perhaps three weeks or more in southern France in the spring/early summer. May and early ju... Read More

Just arrived in Porto yesterday. Overwhelmed. So much to see and do, so much lovely wine. Must pace myself.