Clementis got in before I could edit:
"Or even walking: I used a road atlas extensively to plan my travels in Okinawa last year, though most of it was without a car. In fact the only things I used to plan that trip were the internet and a road atlas."
Do people on the Thorntree count as "friends"?
Hi! How many days do you plan to stay in St Petersburg? If only 3-4 days, it is very short time to see this beautiful city. So I advise you to spend these 2 gap days in St Petersburg. You can go to the suburbs - Tsarskoe Selo, Peterhof, Pavlovsk, Kronstadt, visit famous museums and small unusual ones, explore other interesting places. Only local people know about them. There is really so much interesting to see! By the way, it will be better to explore the city with professional local English- speaking guide and you will save much time, have no problems with communication. I can recommend you a good guide, just let me know!
Have a nice trip to Russia!
I am planning to go to China for the spring break with my 14 years old - he studies mandarin and is very interested by discovering China.
We don't like big cities, so I am thinking Hangzhou (so we can stay at the Amanfayun) and maybe Huang Shan and the Yixian villages. I see there is a Banyan tree in Huang Shan but wondering if there is a smaller hotel option, still high end but more like a Japanese ryokan?
Also should we spend a night in Shanghai ?
Thank you!
I think the first thing to decide is what you want. Is the goal to cover the distance quickly or do you want to take plenty of time for sightseeing and relaxing? Related to this, do you want to plan as much as possible ahead of the trip or do you want to be flexible and adjust plans on the fly? Flexibility is great as you can adjust your trip depending on how things go (wind, rain, break downs, spending more/less time at places, unexpected things to see, etc) but as it's high season last minute accommodation may be hard to find in some areas (in my experience rarely a big issue) and, specially if you're picky with your accommodation, may be more expensive and cheaper options may be sold out.
For example, how to most efficiently split the route into smaller sections,
Largely depends on your personal preferences and priorities. On my first bike trips it was mostly about biking and just rode and late afternoon I started looking for a place to sleep. Over time I moved away from cycling for cycling and now see it more as a good mode of transport. The consequence is that stages are more decided around what there is to do/see. If the distance between two sights is too far for a days ride I look for a place that might offer a decent off the beaten track break or just see how far I get and near days end start looking for a place to sleep.
how to find accommodation (i signep up on warmshowers, does this work?),
Nowadays there are plenty of apps that offer a fairly comprehensive 'real time' view of what is available. There are some apps for campings too, but in my experience they lack the comprehensiveness of hotel sites. If you have camping gear with you it's also possible to simple find a decent quiet spot to put out your tent, I think however that this is mostly illegal (but often tolerated) in Germany and plain illegal in the Netherlands so if you go that way keep a low profile and camp out of sight. No experience with warm showers, couchsurfing etc. in general non-professional accommodation is harder to arrange last minute.
which app to use to navigate and so on.
Personally use a dedicated gps with maps.me as a backup on my phone. There are plenty of apps out there, I don't know which ones are best. I guess it depends on personal preferences. I would in general advice to use an openstreetmap (osm) based app that supports offline maps. Specially for Netherlands and Germany osm is of very high quality.
Dears,
Being an Indian National living in UAE for almost 20 years and wife hailing from Pakisthan(Karachi) desperately would like to know whether any NOC is required to visit beautiful places like Hunza Tour(Gilgit-Baltistan), Skardu Tour, Swat Tour or similar places in the northern areas of Pakistan.
Kindly note that I and my kids(Indian Nationals) have a valid Karachi visa; however, does it suffice the requirements to visit northern areas of Pakistan with any Tour & Travel agents? Its true that on the visa page, it's specifically mentioned as Karachi but would there be any permission in the form of a NOC is required to visit such places? I have plans to celebrate Eid at Karachi with my family & relatives.
Latest news from Pakistan Foreign Ministry says that various parts of the country that were earlier out of bounds to foreigners and required No-Objection Certificates (NOC) to visit are now open to them. Does it mean that it applies to only 171 countries excluding India and Israel? Under such circumstances where half of my relatives hail from Northern areas(Dheer, Abbottabad); how could my wish come true?
For a moment, if I consider visiting the Ministry of Interior, Islamabad then I would be violating the visa rule and asking a government official directly to provide NoC.
Kindly advise under such circumstances; how could I proceed? I truly admire the beauty of the Northern Areas in Pakistan. Should I opt to visit Switzerland from Dubai; with such package price; I could have a luxurious Gilgit-Baltistan package (or) Skardu package for 10 days along with family & kids.
Kindly advise.
Three years after the first referendum, the UK left the European Union at 11.00 pm on 31 January 2020, and now Brexit is reality. Being Northern Ireland part of the UK, you may wanna have all the information to plan the best trip in the area.
In our guide on how to visit Northern Ireland after Brexit, you will find all the information you need, plus extra bonuses for your stay!
Hiya’s, I’m a videographer planning a trip to Greenland this year. I live in Dublin, Ireland.
I have two questions:
The most efficient way to travel from Dublin seems to be via Reykjavik? (I can fly directly to Reykjavik)
The prices seem crazy, 700/800 from Reykjavik? Is this normal? (That would be over 1000 in total, I could fly to the other side of the world for cheaper)
Thanks, any positive and helpful suggestions welcome!
Cheers
Hi,
I am planning my second trip to India over the Chinese new year holidays at the end of January and start of February and I can spend 12 days there.
I am thinking of flying to Sikkim, Assam, Darjeeling and then fly back to Kolkata for a night or 2 before leaving.
Has anyone been to these places at this time of year? Is it too cold? I can always do the south if it is not a good time to visit.
Also what would be a good itinerary? Should I expand my itinerary? I will hire a driver to save time so I can see more places.
Thank you so much for your input.
James
Hi,
We're planning to go to Hoi An in late November and considering adding a few days to spend on the beach in An Bang which looks beautiful however we're concerned about the mixed reports about rain. Although I know you can NEVER predict the weather just wondering if anyone has any insight into what the weather has been like there this year or what the local long rang forecast for November 2019 is. In other words, I hoping someone says this has been an unusually dry year and that trend is expected to continue through November. :)
Any local insight would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Jay