Holidays Advice: Page 7 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Holidays Advice

Dragan

Mirth Went on a 2 week trip to Colombia this January. The itinerary included Bogota - Medellin+Guatape - Cartagena - Island resorts to recharge the batteries - Bogota and a flight back.
Our group included a 5-month pregnant friend so we avoided the more adventurous excursions and stuck to the more urban areas. Medellin was the highlight of our trip, I would highly recommend spending a few days there.
Overall Colombia was amazing, but it felt rushed as you can easily spend 3-4 weeks in the places we visited, and on top of that you have Cali, Santa Marta, Amazon/coast regions as alternatives. It felt like basic Spanish is a must to get the most out of the trip (i.e. museums had only Spanish labels). Luckily we had a Colombian friend with us which helped. I am happy to answer any more specific questions you might have.

Mirth

Dragan thanks! We’re doing the same itinerary as you except we’re also heading to the Coffee Valley region for a few days.

We’re doing the Coffee Valley > Medellin > Parque Tayrona > Cartagena > Bogotá (1 night to fly back)

We’re spending 4 days near Cartagena, how did you narrow down the islands to visit?

Did you fly between all the regions or bus it? I’ve heard mixed reviews about taking taxis/buses

Did you get a local SIM card?

HomeSteak

Clrnc Budapest is great but don't do airbnb there. Had someone try to get into my room in the middle of the night, also happened to a friend of mine. The host sold us out. Just get a hotel. It's a nice city, other then Budapest there is nothing to see in Hungary. You can just cross the border and we can have a beer.
Prague is great, cheap and good beer, great city, one of my favorite. Also, if you want to party...thats the place to be.

Don Pacifico

HomeSteak thanks for giving that recommendation. We're going there in May and we normally book AirBnB when we travel round Europe but didn't realise it could be so sketchy in Budapest. Did a quick Google and found a Reddit thread straightaway which reflected your experience (from a 'Superhost' no less).

If I remember correctly are you based in Romania? I should have tapped you up for advice as I've been in Sibiu for the past few days (going back day after tomorrow). Visiting Sighisoara and Biertan today then Brasov tomorrow.

HomeSteak

Asterix I have not made any specific plans. I might just book a tour and that was Sydney for like 5 days and then Melbourne. That was the plan for this new year but I had to postpone. Then again I hate snakes so maybe it's not meant to be.

Don Pacifico I was in Sibiu last week ...never been to Sighisoara or Biertan but I do like Brasov, you will like it too. If you love hikes, it's the place to be. Night life is also good.
Yes, that thing in Budapest as I have said, happened to a friend of mine as well....so it's pretty fucked. It's not fun trying to hit people with a lamp in the middle of the night while they try to get into your room. Also the cops are in on it(the most corrupt cops in europe by far, got away with speeding there with a 5 euro bribe) and won't do anything, no point in even calling them.

QuincyAbeyie

Mirth Did you get a local SIM card?

Haven't been to Colombia, but would highly recommend just buying an esim with a data pack. I used this service when I was in Turkey and it worked great.
https://www.airalo.com/colombia-esim

Dragan

Mirth We used flights for our trips apart from Medellin - Guatape - Airport where we booked a van ride. Planes seemed the safer option and the ticket prices were quite affordable.
We spent 4 nights in Cartagena as well, 2 nights in the city, and 2 nights on Isla Grande (Rosario Islands). There are day trips from Cartagena to one/several islands depending on your preference. We decided to spend a couple of nights in a full board hotel to recharge the batteries and enjoyed it quite a bit.
Regarding SIM cards you have the eSim option as Quincy mentioned, or a physical Sim. We went with a Claro physical Sim - it's the local operator with supposedly the best network coverage. You can buy directly at the airport (for a slightly higher price) or pretty much on every corner in the cities.

Mirth

Clrnc make sure you check out the ruined bars in Budapest. Other than that it’s a nice city to just explore, it’s got all the quintessential European checklist items but at a reasonable price. However, there isn’t much to do outside the city centre. The spa is fine but nothing close to a Japanese onsen so manage expectations accordingly

If you can, I’d stop by in Vienna or Bratislava - even for a day - as it’s in between Prague and Budapest. I’d recommend Vienna of the two.

Asterix

HomeSteak Next year it will be Australia for me. I always wanted to go there, but don't want to be killed by some 4 ft spider.

There are no dangerous animals in Australia...

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/20/north-queensland-snake-bite-death-deeragun-townsville-hospital

Which bits are you planning to visit? Sydney is great for beaches and the Harbour. If you come here jump on the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly. It's the cheapest harbour cruise you will get, and Manly beach and the walk to Fairy Bower is nicer than Bondi. Although the walk from Bondi to Coogee is spectacular.

If you're in Sydney for a while and want to get a few hours out of town you have your pick of dozens of superb beaches.

If you're going to multiple cities / places then you'll have to fly - it's a 10 hour drive from Sydney to Melbourne for instance.

Hamilton Island is great for a Barrier Reef experience.

The Top End where Burnsy sometimes is, is great for a visit to Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks.

Perth is great for a stopover and a few days driving south to the wine region of Margaret River. You can go snorkeling with whale sharks at the right time of year at Ningaloo Reef - but it's a long way even from Perth, which is itself a long way from anywhere.

Melbourne is ok too.

Clrnc

Asterix I tried Australia road trip for 3 weeks before. From Melbourne to Sydney to Brisbane. From 12 Apostle all the way to Noosa Park, stopping by every interesting town en route daily. The speed limit with its various speed camera makes the drive unbearable.

I was the only driver, never doing it again.

Burnwinter

Asterix Perth is great for a stopover and a few days driving south to the wine region of Margaret River. You can go snorkeling with whale sharks at the right time of year at Ningaloo Reef - but it's a long way even from Perth, which is itself a long way from anywhere.

Without prejudice, southwest WA probably has the best beaches in the country. It is a great place to spend time, but I think you can have a lot of the same sorts of things but a bit more action-packed over in Tasmania. That said I will be camping out on West Cape Howe on Saturday eve, and it'll be stunning.

@HomeSteak Honestly, nothing wrong with Sydney and Melbourne but I can't understand why anyone would fly here to tour them.

These would be my 2 week Australian itineraries …

Tasmania circuit … something like Hobart, MONA, wine and cheese, hike and camp Cape Freycinet, Port Arthur, Bruny Island and then maybe jam in a Cradle Mountain hike would be a pretty good combo for a week or two … this one's for the summer months. Head back to Melbourne or drive the Great Ocean Road a bit.

Queensland city to the tropics tour … Brisbane, Glass House Mountains, Atherton tablelands, Hinchinbrook Island (especially if you like hiking, the Thorsborne track is amazing but you've gotta book early), Cairns, dive the Great Barrier Reef, hit up the Daintree. That is a lot of beautiful stuff.

Mirth

In general I can’t be bothered with Airbnb anymore unless you’re with a large group. Airbnb peaked in the mid 2010s. Hotels are better value and offer a better experience

Don Pacifico

Mirth depends what you're after. I actually tend to find hotels less 'comfortable' (unless you're going top of the range, which we don't tend to do for week-long Euro breaks) as I prefer a bit more autonomy (eg. No need for pointless daily room cleans or having breakfast at prescriptive times) and a bit more privacy (space from other tourists).

invisibleman18

Mirth I've used Air BnB a lot for NZ domestic travel. Tends to be better value than hotels/motels and you get a larger space with more of a fridge and usually just out of the city centre so you get parking which can be a hassle if you're right in the CBD. For overseas if I'm not driving and want to be near attractions and public transport I'd probably go hotel though. Although did use a couple of Air BnBs in USA in 2019 which worked out well and much cheaper.

invisibleman18

Clrnc NZ North Island is good for a road trip (can't say for the South Island as not done it by road and less main towns with larger amounts of nothing in between the main ones). But agree Australia is too big for it. Just too far between the places you'd be visiting.

Asterix

Certainly you couldn't all of Australia in a single road trip - unless you have about 12 months to spare. But, like many countries, it is possible to set up a fantastic itinerary for a short driving holiday. I'd say Clrnc's trip, especially being the only driver, would have been quite taxing. If you want to go to more than one city or state, you really need to fly.

It's interesting to hear about the issues with Airbnb in some places - it certainly pays to do some research. We used Airbnb's in Rome, Florence, Venice and Interlaken about 18 months ago and they were fantastic and trouble free. And I've used them extensively in Australia without a problem. Try to go with something with ratings of over about 4.85/5. Anything down around 4.5 usually has a few compromises or issues.

Asterix

Burnwinter Without prejudice, southwest WA probably has the best beaches in the country.

I really have to go there so I can verify this for myself. So far the NSW coast has the best beaches I've visited anywhere, and Sydney is ridiculously well blessed - Palm Beach, Bilgola, North Curl Curl, Freshwater, Manly, Fairy Bower, Balmoral (in Sydney Harbour), Bondi, Bronte, Clovelly, Coogee - these are all in Sydney and are all wonderful. The water is a bit warmer on the east coast too. Mollymook on the NSW South Coast is gorgeous, with dolphins visiting nearly every day. The beaches of Jervis Bay are also fabulous. Then there are countless coves north of Sydney up to Byron and Yamba.

The WA beaches do also look absolutely stunning, I'm hoping to spend a few weeks there next year - I get my long service leave in a couple of months. My youngest child is finishing high school this year so once that's done I'm working on convincing the missus to take a leisurely tour of WA. She won't need much convincing.

Clrnc

On a side note about Abnb, during my Australia road trip years ago when I stayed in Byron bay and Coffs Harbour, I met 2 of the nicest hosts ever. We chatted a lot and they even brought us to nice local restaurants and those 2 days in those towns went by so fast. I told both of them (old couples who were retirees) that if you would want to visit Singapore, drop me an email I will bring you around and they could stay over at my place. I dropped my contact in both their welcome book at their home as well as Abnb message.

Few years later, I chanced upon one of their email! Filtered into spam mail in my google inbox. It was more than half a year later and I immediately replied to the email. Didn't receive a reply for weeks so I remembered I had their daughter's contact number from one of our trip, texted her and found out her parents was killed in the forest fire while trying to protect their house, which they singlehandedly built from recycled material from a nearby school that was torn down. Heartbreaking

Coombs

Clrnc wow clrnc, that story took a turn I wasn't expecting. Tragic.

Don Pacifico

Clrnc wow, how sad. Things like that can really stay with you and remind you of the fragility of life.

Burnwinter

Clrnc Ah, fuck man … that is a sad tale. Hate to hear stuff like that. Those fires have been brutal in recent years, so much was destroyed in NSW and Victoria over summer 2019–20, whole towns wrecked.

Burnwinter

Asterix So far the NSW coast has the best beaches I've visited anywhere, and Sydney is ridiculously well blessed - Palm Beach, Bilgola, North Curl Curl, Freshwater, Manly, Fairy Bower, Balmoral (in Sydney Harbour), Bondi, Bronte, Clovelly, Coogee - these are all in Sydney and are all wonderful.

I lived in Canberra for quite a while and visited south coast of NSW often, never saw anything I'd rate in comparison to Margaret River round to Esperance. Can't comment on central to north coast, never really had a look. I think Lucky Bay was recently voted "world's best beach", though the landscape off the beach is a bit less compelling—Cape Le Grand a bit windy and exposed. Hellfire is nicer anyway 😛

Add to that I've twice had dolphins come and swim with me for over an hour off the beach in waters round Esperance. Not an everyday thing but it's not impossible.

Google Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks for two of the most popular spots round Denmark, anyway. Looking forward to a swim round there over the weekend. Lowlands Beach pictured below is about a five minute drive from my folks' place. Never seen more than 10 people there, and usually there's none.

Lowlands Beach

Daz

Asterix
Northern NSW is where it's at. Sydney beaches don't come close 😉

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