Holidays Advice

Clrnc

Don't see a thread for holiday so I am starting one here.

Doing my annual european holiday trip in march, this time to see Northern lights. Any advice if Tromso or Iceland is better/worth visiting? I am landing in Copenhagen, spending 2 days there, then I have 5-7 spare days to either Tromso or Rejvajvik depending on if I will want to stop over in Stockholm, which some say its a boring city.

After which, I have another 2 weeks in UK so I am thinking to also visit either Dublin or Belfast for 2-3 days. Can't decide which city is more worth my time, would normally like cities with more activities to do/visit. Advice appreciated! Thanks

MistaT

Clrnc hope you catch them Clrnc! I saw my best display ever this June and it was an amazing experience, something I'll cherish forever.

Mirth

Clrnc

If you are going to cross the Irish Sea, I would recommend spending more than 2-3 days and visit more than just Dublin/Belfast alone. The Atlantic coast is worth driving down and stopping along the route.

If you're staying in Great Britain, combining Bath and Bristol is a good shout. You could also visit Cardiff or stop by the Cotswolds as part of the same trip. Cardiff is a fun place for a night out.

Controversially I don't recommend Brighton at the moment - I visited in 2021 and thought Covid has hit the place hard. Plus it's London prices for everything.

Kel Varnsen

Clrnc

I live in Tromsø. What do you want to know?

QuincyAbeyie

Haven't been to Tromsø, but my brother lives there, says he sees the northern lights quite a lot. However, I'd imagine Reykjavik has much more activities to do than Tromsø. Reykjavik has become quite a popular tourist destination.

Clrnc

QuincyAbeyie You are Norwegian but haven't been to Tromso? Is it really that out of the way?

Seen many people say its too far to visit so if we go there we better spend at least a week to make it worth while etc...

QuincyAbeyie

Clrnc it's about 1200 km from where I live, so I actually live closer to London than Tromsø. 😂

Pepe LeFrits

@Clrnc if you do visit Dublin give me a shout and I'll buy you a beer (if I'm in town, I am travelling myself late Feb/early Mar). I can't comment on which city is more worth visiting as I haven't been to Belfast in over 20 years and I'm not really up on touristy stuff anyway. Any tourists I talk to seem to really enjoy Dublin, but they could just be humouring me 😉

Clrnc

Pepe LeFrits Sure mate I will hit you up. I will probably visit in late march, just realised the euros qualis are on as well. Ireland vs France seems like a good idea while visiting Dublin.

Qwiss

Clrnc tickets for Ireland v France won't be easy to get. Like Pepe I haven't been to Belfast in 20ish years.

I was in Copenhagen a few months ago. If you can find the old travel thread there's really good advice there from Klaus and others.

Qwiss

Clrnc tickets on sale for Ireland vs France now. Only come in a package with Ireland vs Latvia though so pricey.

arsedocmd

Annual European holiday.

Give me a year of your life.

Claudius

arsedocmd do you want the whole year or the annual holiday bit?

Don Pacifico

Can validate that Dublin is a good city, albeit I experienced it through the lens of a 40 person hen/stag do so there was only a little bit of culture!

In terms of the UK, it friend what you're after but loads of places I'd recommend outside of London (albeit London is obviously the best).

Clrnc

MistaT Where did you catch them from?

Great photos!

Don Pacifico Sure, where will you recommend? I am coming down from Liverpool > Manchester ..... then London. I am in London annually to catch Arsenal so won't really spend much time there, if you have cities and stuffs to recommend in between it will be great

RocktheCasbah

MistaT Seeing the Northern Lights was one of the most magical experiences of my life - and I've seen Dennis Bergkamp play for the Arsenal. Nearly ten years ago, and I still get goosebumps when I think of it.

Clrnc I run an office in Cardiff, but, apart from a trip to the Millennium stadium to watch Arsenal batter United in 2003, I've pretty much only ever walked from the station to it and then back again. But one of my team tells me it's beautiful. However, I appreciate you might not heed such third party advice!

arsedocmd

Claudius maybe just the holiday bit. I’ll be burnt out watching the amount of football he does in a year lol

MistaT

Clrnc -- Saskatchewan.

1.5 hour display, with the "rainbow" starting it and then it shuddering into the wider display. Was out around a campfire with my cousins, high as balls trying to decide if we should wake up the family (we didn't).

James

Clrnc Sure, where will you recommend? I am coming down from Liverpool > Manchester ..... then London. I am in London annually to catch Arsenal so won't really spend much time there, if you have cities and stuffs to recommend in between it will be great

Manchester is a great city now. Had serious investment in the last 15 years or so, thanks to the Abu Dhabi group largely, but has also kept its feel of culture and history. Lots of excellent options for food/drink, great nightlife, bars and music venues. National Football Museum also worth a visit.

Always quite envious of the life my brother in law has there.

Don Pacifico

Clrnc

Bristol always has a lot going on, very relaxed vibe, vibrant music and arts scene and generally a very friendly city.

I'd say Brighton is pretty similar too in that respect. Can even head over to Margate if you're feeling a tad more hipster. Both will probably bemissing a little off their charm in the winter without warm weather but still got stuff going on and places to visit.

You've also got Oxford/Cambridge if you're after a 'classical' English city - lots of beautiful old buildings and nice eateries.

Alternatively, if you're looking for a break from cities Lake District, Cotswolds, Cornwall (etc.) would all provide some great landscapes and nice village-y pubs.

But yeah, depends what you're looking to spend your time doing.

Clrnc

Don Pacifico Bristol seems like a good idea in combination with a day trip to bath.

Brighton seems a little out of the way, passing by London first.

Any idea if Cardiff is any fun?

Burnwinter

@Clrnc Copenhagen is immense, spent a good while there right before the pandemic. Stayed in a nice apartment Airbnb in Nørrebro, but I think any of the "inner" areas connected by road to the centre would be fine. The whole city is quite flat and has great bikeshares and bike infrastructure, so that's how I got around.

Public spaces are great fun—lots of good parks, bridges, harbourside places to sit etc. I recommend the little off-harbour swimming café spots if it's not cold. Hiring a boat for a three hour boozy picnic was great fun. The club scene was pretty jaw-dropping for me. Very classy, friendly and hyperactive nightclubs. The Louisiana art museum is cool and the couple of "new Nordic" dining experiences I had were excellent.

Don Pacifico

Clrnc

That's a good shout doing Bristol and Bath together.

Don't know much about Cardiff - have heard it's a good night out but not sure if there's loads to see...happy to be proven incorrect!