travel

The original post: /r/travel by /u/whats_a_handle on 2024-11-14 19:27:31.

I am planning to visit four countries in Africa next year and want to make sure I understand the vaccine requirements or anything else I should be aware of. We are going to be going to South Africa and staying around Cape town and Zimbabwe/Zambia in the Victoria Falls area and a safari in Chobe. We are coming from the US as US citizens and our layover will be in London. My review of the vaccine requirements is all four countries require proof of yellow fever vaccine if coming from an infested area but I do not think any of those areas are so we wouldn't be required to get it, the US also does not require a vaccine for return is my understanding.

For visas all but Zimbabwe do not require visas for US citizens and Zimbabwe I can get a visa on arrival is my understanding but correct me if I am missing something.

I plan to talk to my physician of what is recommended vaccine wise such as yellow fever, malaria medication, rabies vaccine, etc but I don't see any of these are required for travel is that correct? Has anyone had any experience in this area and what vaccines they got prior to travel? Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated and I thank you all for your time.

The original post: /r/travel by /u/Scary_Procedure7585 on 2024-11-14 19:26:47.

Hi everyone, I was recently denied boarding for my flight from Milan to Tokyo as the flight had two layovers in China, one in Beijing and one in Xi'an. Apparently, foreigners in transit through China are visa exempt if they travel through one city, but because I was flying to a second city in China before my flight to Tokyo, I did not meet the visa exemption for foreign citizens in transit. I have confirmed this with my nearest Chinese embassy.

Prior to booking the flight there was no notice of the visa requirement and I incorrectly assessed that I would be visa exempt. Is the airline responsible in any way or is this my bad? Is there any way to get my money back for the flight I was denied boarding, or the new fight I had to book?

The original post: /r/travel by /u/hastyyyy on 2024-11-14 18:40:35.

Hi,

My soon-to-be wife and I are planning to fly over to Edinburgh for our honeymoon next month and explore most parts of the country (excluding the east side): Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fort William Skye Island and Inverness on a clock-wise road trip.

I think I've got most of details down but would really appreciate other people's opinions to spot any bad planning or misjudgement on my part. Here's what I've been planning:

1. Edinburgh (starting the day after we land) (spending 2 days. 3 nights in total)
   1. On the day we land, we arrive around noon so not much can be done
   2. Explore the city in the following two days
   3. On the 3rd day, take the train to visit Stirling Castle
   4. Could possibly pass through Doune Castle afterwards but not sure if there's good public transportation or if there's enough time due to ~7h of daylight (is it worth visiting after the sun has set?)
   5. Take the train to Glasgow
2. Glasgow (1 night, 1 day)
3. Fort William (likely 2 days, 2 nights due to the amount of daylight vs the amount of sights to see)
   1. Rent a car when leaving Glasgow (looking at Sixt): probably a SUV with automatic gear box and not sure whether I can / should ask for winter tyres? Tbh I'm a bit concerned about driving since it's on the other side of the road and I'm not used to the potential winter conditions / icy roads
   2. Loch Lomond
   3. Wee White House
   4. The Meeting of Three Waters
   5. Three Sisters Viewpoint
   6. Signal Rock
   7. Glencoe
   8. Glencoe Lochan Trail
   9. Ben Nevis
   10. Also wanted to visit Glenfinnan (to see the Jacobite Express line) but not sure if I should fit it elsewhere / other day
4. Skye Island (2 nights, 2 days) (not sure of the best order to visit these spots in)
   1. Fairy Pools
   2. The Fairy Glen
   3. The Storr
   4. Lealt Falls
   5. Kilt Rock
   6. The Quiraing
   7. Stay in Portree
5. Inverness (2 nights, 2 days)
   1. Visit the Eilean Donan Castle on the way from Skye
   2. Loch Ness
   3. Urquhart Castle
   4. Stay in Inverness
6. Return to Edinburgh
   1. Do the trip through Cairngorms National Park
   2. Stay for the night and return next day

I'm mostly worried about:

• With only around 7 hours of daylight (from ~8:30 am to ~3:30 pm), will we have enough time to see everything listed?
• Is it too dangerous / difficult to drive at this time of the year?
• Are any of the places I've listed not recommended at this time of the year?

Would also appreciate some input on:

• What would you add to the list?
• What would you remove from the list?
• What activities would you recommend in Fort William, Portree, and Inverness for evenings when it’s dark?
• Which of the listed places could still be visited after daylight is gone?

Thanks!

The original post: /r/travel by /u/chokemypinky on 2024-11-14 18:28:00.

The original post: /r/travel by /u/divaro98 on 2024-11-14 18:03:26.

The original post: /r/travel by /u/daddydabin on 2024-11-14 08:19:17.

If I could give Frontier negative stars, I would. For the second time, they've canceled my holiday flight, and I'm losing it. First, they wrecked our trip to Portland by delaying the outbound flight and then moving the return flight up by a whole day, basically making our "trip" just a rushed overnight. We obviously had to scrap that whole plan and settled on a new holiday to Guadalajara. Booked hotels? Check. Prepaid tours? Check. Feeling confident? BIG MISTAKE! Because less than two weeks out, they cancel again.

And, just to twist the knife, guess why I even booked Frontier in the first place? A flight voucher from last year, when they overbooked my original flight and I had to voluntarily give up my seat in a hostage-style standoff at the gate. The voucher was my “reward” for that ordeal, and now it’s cursed.

Here’s where it gets wild. I spent the entire day trying to get help. Called support—no luck since I'm not flying within 24 hours or a so-called "elite" member. Sent an email at 10 AM, not a word back by end of day. Finally, I leave a public comment on Instagram at 5 PM, which magically gets their attention. They tell me to DM them, which turns into a 6-hour DM conversation that leads nowhere. Their rep, John, has the audacity to tell me, “only the ticket counter has access to that system,” so they can’t do a thing for me.

Their one “solution”? Rebook within five days before or after the original flight. Cool, except for one problem—NO FLIGHTS are available within that window. In fact, no flights at all outside the window either. They say they're "sorry" for the inconvenience, yet the same flights are mysteriously available if I try booking through Capital One. My partner's convinced they oversold the flights and are quietly kicking us voucher holders off to make room for those who paid full fare.

And then the cherry on top: “We always hope to give you the best experience…this situation is unexpected for us.” Is it, though? They’ve canceled back-to-back trips, and all they do is throw polite but empty words at us.

Is this standard for Frontier? Has anyone else dealt with their constant cancellations and managed to hold them accountable? If I get another voucher, are they going to bump me off again? Airlines can’t keep ruining people’s plans and just walk away scot-free. If you have any advice on where to take this or who to contact for actual solutions, please help! At this point, I’m desperate for something beyond fake apologies and seat-of-the-pants customer "service."

TLDR: I have been screwed over by Frontier cancellations three times. What could I do to hold them accountable, if anything?

The original post: /r/travel by /u/Lakelander6 on 2024-11-14 08:07:03.

Hello all,

My partner and I are planning a trip to South Africa in May 2025 and came up with the following rough plan, for those who've been before or any South Africans lurking on these forums, is this feasible or is it too much?

For anyone who's been or again any locals, how much are car rentals, fuel and eating out going to cost roughly? Getting a lot of mixed answers online

1. Fly overnight to Cape Town

2. Land in Cape Town: wander around town, lions head hike? Try all the delicious food

1. Cape Town – Table Mountain (hike up and cable car down), head to the beach
2. Cape Town – Robben Island, boulder beach colony or head out to Stellenbosch wine tour and stay overnight?
3. Gansbaai/hermanus – cage dive or whale tour

6, 7, 8. Garden route - Tsitsikamma, Storm river, Mossel bay, Knysna, Garden of Eden and or Addo Elephant Park (Any combination of the above?)

9. Fly to Durban, straight out to Drakenberg or Royal Natal National Park (RNNP)

1. Hike in the Drakkenberg (Tugela Gorge?)
2. Chill out day, possibly back to Durban for more food adventures

12, 13. Travel (plane and car) Arriving in evening at Sabi Sands for 2 nights

1. Panorama Route or extra day in Kruger

16.  Day of travel back to Johannesburg and fly out in the evening

Let me know your thoughts! Looking forward to heading out there, also hoping to catch some rugby out there but unsure if there are any international games on but might be some super rugby

The original post: /r/travel by /u/sanjayporwal02 on 2024-11-14 07:29:46.

Hi, I have booked a Turkmenistan airlines flight from Delhi to Frankfurt via Ashgabat. Mine is economy class where my ticket says 40kg baggage allowance 2PC 20KG whereas website says 1PC 20kg baggage allowance for economy clas on this route. I don't want to end up in situation where the ground staff say that it's some sort of mistake on the ticket and I have to pay for another checkin bag. I have tried reaching out to the airlines through [email protected] but no response since 2 weeks even after followups.

Does anyone has any idea about the baggage allowance or how to reach them?

Ps - I am not a resident or citizen of Turkmenistan.

The original post: /r/travel by /u/TinkerTornado on 2024-11-14 07:28:38.

I'm looking for a planning tool that works with my brain, and I'm struggling to find one. It seems like all the tools I've come across are focused on planning specific attractions and restaurant stops first then travel, then accommodations, with the entire trip only spanning a small number of locations. For me this doesn't work as I don't generally have specific things I want to do, just places I want to explore. I also don't get to travel often, so having a little sample of a bunch of places is more attractive. The travel to/from the region and between cities (4-7) matters more, then where I will sleep each night (potentially while en route to a new location), then once I know how much time I have in each place I will look for specific attractions to slot in while leaving lots of space to be flexible and just wander/experience the non tourist parts. I should also mention that I don't mind a larger than average number of travel/transition days when it is train travel. I come from a boring land locked, car-centric region and will enjoy the train journeys. Also I will be traveling solo, so flexibility is much easier.

You may not need to read the rest to provide a suggestion, but I wanted to provide lots of context.

Here's sort of the logic I've been using to plan so far, and I'm looking for a tool that will keep track of everything and help calculate total time needed for various items on the itinerary .

I earn time off hours at work based on number of hours worked, this will determine how long I can travel for (adding in weekends later). I select a region I would like to explore, based off posts I've seen online for my hobbies/interests, and any attractions I've heard of and found interesting in that region. (In this example Western Europe). I research what times of year are the best balance of cost, tourism traffic, and weather, usually the shoulder seasons (mid April to early June). Once I know the optimal periods to travel I calculate how many hours off I will have for a given period, this tells me how many consecutive working days I can travel in that period (say the standard 10 days or 2 weeks). I then account for weekends and any bank holidays that can give me an extra day and determine the total number of travel days. 15-17 in my example, 10 workdays, 4-6 weekend days, and a bank day on the Monday after the last weekend. Usually the exact start and end dates can slide forward or back by +/-3 days to add/remove a weekend while still maintaining my maximum days off work. This sliding range is then used to search for flights. Because I'm not tied to a specific list in of attractions in a specific order to see, my arrival and departure airports can be different, and can be any in the region. I use flight search tools to find the cheapest flights based on my sliding start and end dates, and all major airports in the region.

Once a likely pair of flights are selected, I plot a route from arrival airport to departure airport via any cities that have attractions I've noted, allowing 2-4 days per city. I optimize the order of cities to reduce or remove backtracking, and drop/swap cities that are too far out of the way to allow efficient travel (say a city that requires more than 10 hours travel between it and the cities before and after it). For example I would drop Vienna and Rome if my other cities were Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Hamburg. Instead I would add London or Luxembourg. Now that I know what cities I am visiting, I need to know how much time will be needed for traveling between cities, and if night trains are available. I prioritize taking short trips (<4 hours) during the day and long ones (>7 hours) during the night. Next knowing if trains normally run all day or only at certain times is important so I can block out travel time in my day so I know if I will have an extra morning in City 1, or an afternoon/evening in City 2.

With all of this figured out I can now see all the nights I wont be sleeping on a train, and what city I will be in. I then find accommodations for those nights (likely a hostel) and pencil them in. Finally the plan is taking shape and all thats left is filling all the gaps with attractions, activities, and food. These are all roughed in with flexibility to swap what day each one happens in a city, with the exception of a few that may require reservations or date specific tickets.

In the end I'm wanting a plan that looks something like this:

Day 0 - Depature

Arrive at ABC airport by 18:00PST

Flight KLM441 departs from Gate C32 at 19:40 Duration: 9h50m

Time Change to GMT+1

Day 1 - Paris

Flight KLM441 arrives at CDG 13:30

Lunch: At airport after arrival

Afternoon: Walking tour

Accommodation: Le Hostel Paris

Check in by 20:00

Address - Contact Info

Dinner: cafe near hostel

Day 2 - Paris

Morning: Activity 1

Lunch: Options A-C

Afternoon: Activity 2 or 3

Dinner: Option A/B

Accommodation: Le Hostel Paris

Day 3 - Paris & Brussels - Travel

Check out of Le Hostel Paris

Morning: Activity

Go to XYZ station - Trains to Brussels leave every 30 min

Lunch: bag lunch on train

Afternoon: Travel to Brussels

Accommodation: Brussels International Hostel

Check in by 21:00

Address - Contact Info

And so on.

The original post: /r/travel by /u/mileysighruss on 2024-11-14 06:33:55.

Advice please. I'm about to board an international flight (non-schengen to/through Europe) with an overnight hotel and morning connection. Both legs are international.

I checked my bag and went through security to the gate, and just remembered there's a pretty great bottle of booze in that carry-on. I guess security missed it somehow.

What should I do for my second leg (after the overnight airport hotel)? I'll need to go through security again in Munich but the airline is keeping my checked bags until my final destination.

I don't want to assume that I can check the extra bag for the second leg. Is this possible? Extra bag fee will apply I presume but this bottle of liquor may be worth it.

Any other ideas?

TIA

The original post: /r/travel by /u/RiseOk8741 on 2024-11-14 06:13:56.

Hello! I have a very long layover in Beijing PKX, I arrive at 1.40PM and leave the next day at 10 AM. I've made some research and I have access to a 24h visa thanks to my home country, but I have read people saying that I cannot leave the airport if I dont retrieve my luggage, has anyone experience that? I'm travelling with China southern airlines.

Also if you have advices on what to visit and where to stay? I dont know what is realistic in the time I have.

Thank you!! :)

The original post: /r/travel by /u/Might_Time on 2024-11-14 05:56:55.

I am booking a property on booking.com there is a discounted option to pay on dec 5th or pay at pproperty. It mentions free Cancellation till Dec 10th.

Does this mean that I will be charged at 5th and can cancel and get refund by 10th or means I can only cancel at 10th if I choose pay at property?

Thank u!!

The original post: /r/travel by /u/Falconflyer75 on 2024-11-14 05:33:10.

Never been in a greyhound before but last min situation and the air fare was kinda pricy (about $700)

So I Thought I’d give it a shot

But having second thoughts about a 12 hour bus ride

Does anyone have any experience with this trip?

The original post: /r/travel by /u/No_Jicama6015 on 2024-11-14 05:13:07.

My family is wanting to experience a white Christmas in 2025 and we’ve decided on Colorado. But I need suggestions on where in Colorado.

What we’re looking for: * Nice views * A town that feels Christmassy (streets and shops decorated, maybe a town tree, etc.) * Skiing isn’t a big deal for us. If it’s there great, if not oh well. * We would like to snow tube or sled and maybe ice skating. Dog sledding would be cool.

Some towns we’re looking into: * Steamboat Springs * Crested Butte * Breckenridge * Ouray * Silverton I’ll look into any others if suggested.

Most likely will be 4 adults and 2 kids (5 & 3) Probably be there 12/21 - 1/2 ***By “white Christmas”, I mean snow on the ground not necessarily snow falling.

The original post: /r/travel by /u/Huge_Spread_5180 on 2024-11-14 04:37:33.

Next month I am flying into Prague, I plan to take the train from Prague to Vienna and Vienna to Budapest; I will be flying home from Budapest. My question relates to train travel- is it best to buy tickets in advance? Like now? Also, I’ve read that rail ninja is a scam- is that correct? Which train company is the best to book with directly? Would OBB be a good option?

The original post: /r/travel by /u/luv2eatfood on 2024-11-14 03:27:20.

Any recommendations for tour companies / agencies that help plan slower paced travel (non-cruise)?

Context: We're in our 60s but don't like the fast-paced tours (e.g., one or two nights at a hotel is too quick). We've tried Gate 1 but it's still too fast for us. Is there another tour group or agency that offers travel packages?

Additional considerations:

• Happy to spend more and increase our travel budget
• We still like group travel and would prefer being in groups (even with strangers) rather than alone

The original post: /r/travel by /u/BensonBean on 2024-11-14 02:33:27.

I received notification from Expedia a week before my trip that the hotel booking "could not be honored" because the hotel was closed the dates of my reservation. Expedia offered to cover a different hotel in the same area, and cover any additional cost. I contacted Expedia and booked a different hotel through them, and they did cover a small additional cost.

My second day at my destination I got a voice mail from the original hotel asking why I had not checked in. I also got a charge to my credit card for the cost of the reservation for the previous night.

I contacted expedia and explained the situation, they promised to contact the hotel and handle this for me. After two days, I recieved an email from Expedia that the hotel was refusing to refund the reservation and they were very sorry but there was nothing they can do. I asked that they refund me the cost, as it is a result of miscommunication between the hotel and them that caused the expense. They have not replied to my email.

Do I have any recourse here? I can dispute the charge, but what it seems like is Expedia mistakenly cancelled the booking without telling them. It's possible they were completely legit. They are refusing to refund the money and say it's on Expedia to issue a refund.

The original post: /r/travel by /u/DrDrank101 on 2024-11-13 23:39:36.

We are going to Iceland on Saturday and I will be proposing to my partner after almost 7 years. Feels very surreal.

What are some recommended unreal nature spots in Iceland that would be relatively quiet? Cheers!

The original post: /r/travel by /u/spankyourkopita on 2024-11-13 23:14:43.

So I stayed in Hawaii for 2 weeks and it felt like it went by so fast. Now that I'm back home 2 weeks feels like an eternity. Granted I'm not on vacation and doing something different everyday but I just notice how much slower my normal day is back home. I remember on vacation I felt I needed to make the most of every second there and the days went by fast.

The original post: /r/travel by /u/bennnig on 2024-11-13 23:13:33.

Hi there. Going Hanoi in Vietnam and going around Vietnam for 11 days at start of December with a couple of mates. I’m staying out there in Asia for another 6 days after. Can someone suggest what I should do for them 6 days.

Context: never been to the east of Asia. I wanted to go Japan for skiing because I was recommended that but I don’t know whether to go cheaper and look around the SE Asia for the last 6 days.

The original post: /r/travel by /u/Desmelenao on 2024-11-13 22:30:51.

My girlfriend and I really enjoy the foggy mysterious, melancholic vibe. So we would appreciate any recommendations. Towns, cities, forests… in Europe

Also perfect time of the year to catch the fog?

If there’s an actual mystery or haunted fun location it’s also appreciated!

Thank you!

The original post: /r/travel by /u/maximo084 on 2024-11-13 19:43:58.

I will be in Germany in December, and want to spend 1.5-2 days in a cute Bavarian town. I will be traveling from Berlin to Nuremberg and then Munich, and plan to stop somewhere in between.

As of now I am leaning towards Bamberg, but I am open to suggestions. Any advice?

The original post: /r/travel by /u/RJDoute on 2024-11-13 19:41:48.

Hi all! I'm 40, a single father, my son joined the Army making me an empty nester. I resigned from my job a couple of months ago, and I am 30-45 days away from being able to cut away and disappear for a while.

I plan to not have much of a plan - I want to take a suitcase, my golf clubs and a passport and just... go for a while. I've budgeted $100k for a year of travel and intend to see the world until I get bored or run out of money, whichever comes first.

I have never taken a true vacation before; the reality of what I'm about to do (and my lack of experience) is settling on me. What am I not thinking of that could make this go poorly? What *should* be planned? Is bringing my golf clubs dumb?

In my brain I envision something like this: Go to SE Asia first, Vietnam and Thailand I'd like to visit. I don't know how long I'll stay, but I'm confident I can find a place to stay that's decent and stretches my budget. From there, I really want to learn how to scuba dive in New Zealand and see Poor Knights(edit). I've never been to Europe so if after those two stops I'm still hungry for more I figure I'll just start in Portugal and work my way up to Berlin for what I hear is a great place to go dancing.

I'm not married to any ideas. I love EDM, I want to go dance and see the world and have fun for a while with no responsibilities or obligations - meet new people, figure out who the hell I am, y'know that kind of stuff.

I've fantasized about this moment for a very long time. I am equally excited and terrified. If you were in my shoes, what kinds of things are you doing to ensure this year goes smoothly?

EDIT: Golf clubs are out, I was on the fence there thanks all lol

The original post: /r/travel by /u/gbreezychi on 2024-11-13 19:18:46.

Im flying in on the 29th, my flight home is at 6am the following day. Would I be able to get through security around midnight, and stay in the terminal for those 6ish hours? I'm trying to avoid spending money for a room l, but wouldn't be able to make it to the airport any earlier than midnight.

The original post: /r/travel by /u/50shadesofPuppies on 2024-11-13 19:17:32.

Hello,

Metro-Detroiter here. My parents have booked our entire family (kids, grandkids, etc) a condo in Orlando over spring break- end of March 2025. No an ideal time to travel because of crowds, but 2 of my siblings work for school systems and requested it.

Right now, flights from DTW to Orlando are hovering btw $600-700 a person (nonstop, roundtrip). For my family of 4, this is going to cost us around $2500 in flights alone. I noticed that we could fly from Toronto Pearson Airport to Orlando for $150 a person, or around $500 for our family. That flies our whole family for less than 1 ticket from DTW. I'd plan on driving the 4 hours the day before and staying in a hotel that offers week-long parking (around $300- so still less than half of DTE price). I feel like this would reduce the rushing and stressing of traveling with 2 toddlers.

Now for my questions...is it worth making the trip to Toronto? I've barely flown domestically, so flying internationally is terrifying. We can check in online the day before, so do we go straight to security? Is customs after that, or only at the destination? Is there any service like TSA pre-check that could improve our wait times? I've read some horror stories about long flight delays and cancellations...was this just a covid-era issue, or is Toronto still bad for that?

I'm an anxious person, especially in new environments. If anyone is to walk me step by step through your Toronto airport experience, I would be SO appreciative!