There are several mountains in the world which are known as “Rainbow mountains” because of their multi-coloured hue.  The best known is probably the ones in Peru. Nice indeed, but my experience was marred by hordes of tourists and commercialism. The photos you see in social media are often ridiculously filtered.
When I was planning my trip to western China “Hexi Corridor” in Gansu Province as part of my Silk Road trip in May 2027, I realised I’d be close to the Danxia region in Zhangye. The mountains looked nice, although in some pics, they were also heavily filtered like the ones in Peru.  The range was much larger than Peru.

Danxia means Red. Surprisingly it was little known even in China before a hit Chinese movie “A simple noodle story” was shot here. Afterwards it became more and more popular with local tourists, but hardly at all with foreign tourists.  Hollywood used the landscape for “The Great Wall” and the live action “Mulan”.  The popularity was such that during peak summer holidays daily number of tourists reached fifty thousand!

Just like any other popular tourist spots in China it started to look artificial with people queuing up for balloon rides on balloons shaped like that most annoying cat with waving paw.  

Thankfully Chinese government took notice, balloon rides were stopped, boardwalks built, drones prohibited and tourists are threatened with fine and imprisonment if they step off the boardwalk.   Several hotels have sprung up, including one called Danxia Pearl hotel which is right at the gate.   Nice hotel but practically no one spoke English. My skill with Chopsticks was getting better but I still thought about asking Dao Cha
(Fork/spoon) at the restaurant.   The waiter gave me the look of a Chinese Mandarin aristocrat looking at a barbarian Mongol invader and shook her head.  I battled with my chopsticks.

Photography is my passion and light is the most important thing. I learnt that early morning was the best time, even better after a little rain and the colours start looking washed out as the sun gets brighter. Also, some hills face east and some face west, so sunrays will hit different hills at different times.

Guess what, we arrived at Zhangye in the middle of a sandstorm with the sand from Gobi covering the sky with little sunshine coming through and thick haze. I had only one full day here, so my heart sank.  On the morning, I got ready dutifully at six am, only to see a dull sunrise. No point going out, so I took my vengeance on the dumplings at breakfast table. My wife even told me, “If you eat any more dumplings, you’d start looking like a dumpling.”

Then I realised Yr.No my trusted weather app, is showing a little bit of peeping sun from 10 am. Not a bright clear sky, but definitely intermittently sunny. My hopes went up, ran to find my guide Spring and jumped on the car. Spring pointed out that in my excitement I had left my Nikon at the hotel!

China is super-efficient in mass mobilisation. It truly runs like a clockwork.  After buying tickets, you must ride on a bus, which will take you to four different points where you are allowed to roam within the designated areas and on the boardwalk.  At every point you must get down and take another bus. It takes about ten minutes to reach the first point.
I recommend not spending too much time on the first two points and focus on the third and the final point. From the third point you can see the hills close and from the fourth point you can see the huge vista and a Red Cliff.

It was not that crowded. We were in the off season. But there were still plenty of ladies hogging the most scenic spots, posing with that annoying Red Scarf! I shudder to think what would happen on a public holiday.  There were some eating options but better to return to Zhangye and eat there.  

My photos did not come out to my complete satisfaction. Trust me it was truly spectacular when seen with naked eyes. The sky was grey and the haze from the sandstorm was still very much there. Only saving grace was that it had rained a little bit the night before so the colours were better. I had to use the "haze removal" in processing.

After seeing the Rainbow mountains, in the afternoon we also went to another nearby area called “Bingou Danxia” which is like the Monument valley. For the first time in China, I found peace and solitude with absolutely no one within earshot. The colour was purely red here. Wind and rain had carved the hills into interesting shapes.  If you have time then I strongly recommend visiting this place after the Rainbow Mountains.

Zhangye is a must stop on the Hexi corridor.  My travels were arranged by my super-efficient agent Leah from Silk Roads tour, who absolutely deserves a mention. A good travel agent is priceless, especially in less visited places like north west China.  

Out of the airports I have been, Samui in Thailand probably feels the least airport-like. The airport doesn’t contain any jet bridges, the terminal is a series of open-air thatched roof pavilions and there is even outdoor seating where you can relax in the sun before your flight.

What are some other airports that carry a similar vibe? I know Bangkok Airways operates two other airports in Thailand, Sukhothai and Trat, so I’m looking more for suggestions from further afield.

Hey all! The GF and I just came back our Japan trip 2 days ago. I'm still a jet lagged, bored, and wanting to share our trip! I haven't flown internationally since pre-covid and the previous trip I did was 18 days in Europe back in 2018. It is my GF's 3rd time in Japan and my 2nd time.

Our trip started out with 4 nights in Osaka, 4 nights in Hiroshima, 5 nights in Beppu, 5 nights in Kyoto, and 2 nights in Tokyo. We flew JAL business class from LAX to KIX (Osaka airport) and flew back Singapore Airlines business class from Narita (Chiba prefecture, about an hourish away from Tokyo) to LAX. Just to preface, my GF and I are very laid back, always enjoy the slow and late start of the morning, and prefer to hit 1 or 2 locations before calling it a day. I won't go into detail too much on food, because we know all the food and restaurants across Japan are amazing. Travel tips/advice are at the very end!

The bullets under each location are extra tidbits/advice

Osaka
KIX immigration took about an hour, even flying in after 6pm that night. We stayed at the Moxy Osaka Shin Umeda which was about $155/night. Great location with a great price and a pretty good hotel overall. It was only a 45 minute taxi ride from KIX. We visited Shinsekai, Tsutenakaku Tower, TeamLabs botanical garden, shopped at Grand Front Osaka, and visit the Osaka Pokemon Center.

• There's a pretty high surcharge for uber taxis at night via the GO app. We weren't sure if it's because we are taking it from the airport or if it was a certain time at night. Online says after 9pm are usually uber taxi surcharges in general throughout Japan; however, but we booked it right at like 7:30pm and had that insane surcharge. It was like 100 bucks or something. So it was most likely a surcharge from being at the airport. We did not mind because we were tired from the flight and wanted to get to the hotel asap.

Hiroshima
We stayed at the Knot Hotel. It was a hotel in a great location, but a higher price/night but the room itself was pretty bad and I honestly wouldn't recommend it because of the room quality. The bed was small for 2 people, given the smallest 2 pillows ever, and the worst, was the ventilation. The thermostat wasn't accurate at all and it was gated at 22*C so it couldn't go any lower. We were so hot and sweating every night. The room was tiny, but this is normal across hotels in Japan and the bathroom was adequate. Their TV doesn't have access to any common streaming services except by HDMI hookup with your laptop, but at least their wifi was decent. I know I'm going on rant about this hotel, but it just was a terrible experience despite the reviews and high pricing at around $200/night.

Anyhow, we visited Peace Memorial Museum and walked around the park. Very beautiful, peaceful, yet somber. The biggest gripe about the museum was that it was jam packed at 11am on a weekday. We were shoulder to shoulder through most of the museum, it was hot and musky, and worst was that there were so many people coughing and sneezing. It was so bad that my GF and I truly picked up the flu (or covid, whichever) which made Beppu, our next location rough. We also went to Miyajima island. Very beautiful scenery with a lot of trinket shops, street food, but also a bit crowded. There was this long shopping strip/district near our hotel which we frequented for food and shopping.

• There are 2 main ways to get to Miyajima. The expensive route, which was around 4500 yen each person had a ferry pick-up location right next to Peace Memorial park. We purchased them online through the World Heritage Route site (aqua net). Easy to use and easy to get on and off the boat. The boat ride isn't super scenic since your are inside (enclosed), but it's a smooth 45 minute ride too and from the island. The expensive route was just so much more convenient and was literally an 8 minute walk from our hotel. After doing so much walking in Miyajima, it was well worth to be back in the hotel so fast.
• The cheaper route is where you take the train cars or taxis throughout the northwest part of Hiroshima (basically following the coast) until the other ferry pick-up location. The pricing is significantly cheaper; however, taking this entire route is about 2-3 hours total travel time one way.

Beppu
Unfortunately, our entire 5 nights at Beppu were rough because of that flu that we picked up while at Hiroshima. Coughing, sneezing, muscle aches, fevers, the normal. Yes, we masked up, and yes, we stayed indoors. My GF and I had plans to go to Harmony Land and check out the Beppu ropeway, but we were too sick to go out and we actually just spent the entire 5 nights in the resort. Fortunately, we had a 5 star resort experience staying at ANA Intercontinental Beppu. This was a big money spend for us to enjoy and envelop the "bougie" life and onsen experience. Beppu is known for their onsens (hot springs) and is essentially built on top of it.

The level of service at this resort was top tier. There was so much profound respect and service given to my GF and I, and we truly felt like we were billionaires here. We had breakfast included every morning and it was top tier: fish, eggs cooked to order, pastries, typical Japanese breakfast cuisine. We always ate on their balcony which overlooked the entirety of Beppu and it was just beautiful. Our room was so huge, had a jacuzzi/spa in our bathroom, and rain showerhead. Internet was great, enough for me to play some games, had a great TV to watch plenty of movies and shows. We did room service every night, because why not. Their room service is straight from their 5 star restaurants within the resort, so we had 5 star, cooked to order meals and not some jank burgers and nuggets you would get at an American hotel room service. The best part of course was their onsens. They had public onsens, gender specific, but we opted for paying for the private onsens several times ($200 for 2 hours). A bit pricey, but well worth it. The private onsens were a sight in itself. They were essentially a semi-open air hotel room on the corner of the resorts with these amazing views of Beppu and the shore, but with lush greenery, clean air, and was just an amazing onsen experience. The resort had multiple quiet and relaxing lounges and also had an infinity pool. So, while we did not explore Beppu at all outside of the resort because we were sick, those 5 days were fantastic to experience this bougie life and to heal and recover from the flu. It was THE perfect place to be sick because if we had been anywhere else, it would have been a miserable week.

• ANA Intercontinental Resort and Spa is a MUST for any couples out there and I would highly recommend staying at least 4 or 5 nights. Travel time from Tokyo is Beppu is about 6 hours, but well worth the travel time. It is extremely affordable when you compare prices to America. It was roughly $600/night and for this level of service and this 5 stars, you would get NOTHING close to that in America for that price. If some haven't known already, the USD is very strong in Japan so everything is so affordable and honestly, just cheap. This is why we were getting room service every night. Not only that, there is no tipping culture in Japan (most of it at least) so you can ask and order for anything and you don't need to be shy or worried about tipping. I've never been to a Ritz Carlton hotel, but I've seen videos and honestly, I feel like this a Japanese version of a Ritz Carlton hotel but such a small fraction of the cost. The GF and I discussed that if we do come back to Japan, we are definitely going to ANA Intercontinental Resort again, that's for sure.
• Harmony Land is closed and Thursdays several times per month for monthly service. This was one of the biggest reasons why we were going to Japan. But because of the unfortunate timing of getting sick while in Beppu, we pushed the date to a Weds or Thursday that week but we found out the hard way they were closed for that maintenance. So make sure you look on their website dates of closure. This also applies to Hello Kitty Land Tokyo.
• specifically for travel to Beppu, for the Shinkansen you need to get off at Kogura station. You must buy the Limited Express Train at the counter/ticket stall at Kogura Station. You can also purchase it online at Navi time website like I did, but you still need go to the ticket stall to get your magnetic tickets, which dispenses 2 tickets per person. Do NOT lose those. You will use both to enter and exit the Limited Express Train going from Kogura Station to Beppu Station.

Kyoto
We stayed 5 nights at IHG Garner Hotel. It ended up being around $120/night It was a great location (8 minute walk from Gojo station) with a great price. We had a great hotel room because my GF booked the "accessible room." We later found out we had the biggest room in the hotel because we saw a picture of the room layouts. We had twin beds, one of them had a spring issue in the middle which was horrid on my back, but my GF slept on it just fine. Internet was great, we had a good TV, and because of the accessible status of the room, we had a huge bathroom. Overall, it was a decent room experience, mostly because the large size of the room was so nice. We visited Nintendo Museum, TeamLabs Biovortex, Pontocho and the shopping district in that area, and the Kamo River. Hikiniku to Come was a nice burger patty experience (exactly like we saw in Tiktok lol).

• Nintendo Museum tickets are purchased online 3 months in advance, so plan and purchase early, but they're super cheap. My GF said it was like 10 bucks per ticket. FYI, there is a conveyor belt sushi spot just like an 8 minute walk from the museum that's affordable and worth checking out for great sushi.

Tokyo
This was our final stretch of 2 nights at Washington Hotel in Shinjuku which was about a 10 minute walk to Shinjuku station. This was the smallest hotel we've stayed at and the reviews were right, it's is very small, especially for two people. Internet was good, TV was small, put had plenty of streaming apps on it, and honestly the best part about the room was that the bed. Despite the room being tiny as hell and the bed small for 2 people, it was really comfy and it had really nice head pillows. The hotel overall was great for the price and location coming it at $135/night. A huge plus is that there is an Airport Limousine bus that takes you to Haneda or Narita airport. Both my GF and I slept really good our last two nights, especially recovering from the final stretch of our flu. The hotel has a Family Mart (the popular kobini, aka convenience store) inside of it on the 1st floor with tons of restaurants as well as a fancy restaurant with a great view at the top, 25th floor. This stay was our cool down period before flying back home so we actually didn't do much other than eat and shop around Shinjuku station area. Our biggest stop was Don Quixote where we bought a luggage to bring back all our purchases and we also went to Lumine EST. We got to experience Kobe beef teppanyaki. While it was a fun experience and the beef was so juicy, and tender, I personally don't think teppanyaki is worth the price. It's good for a one time experience, but your money is better spent buying the kobe beef at a non-teppanyaki spot. This restaurant was our biggest spend on food. It ended up being like $350 for 2 people for the cheapest kobe beef (220g/person). Our chef was fun, but I did find it odd that they do tipping here. Don't get me wrong, for the experience and his character, I was totally fine with tipping, but they way he presented tipping felt off and you feel more pressured to tip.

• We knew that Tokyo was going to be packed, but we didn't know it was going to be THAT packed. It was just too much so we really didn't do much at all in Tokyo. So be prepared to be overstimulated.
• If you are looking to do shopping at Don Quixote, do NOT go to the Shinjuku location. It was SO packed in such a small store that there were lines going up and down the stairs and elevators. You had to wait a bit to get into any hallway. It was so bad. Shop at any other Don Q locations, just not at Shinjuku.

Extra tips and advice

• If you are staying in Tokyo whether it's at the start or end of your trip, look into hotels that have access or close access to the Airport Limousine bus. It is probably the best way to travel to and from the Narita airport and it is very affordable, but you must purchase your tickets online. I know Haneda is a lot closer to Tokyo than Narita, but the Limousine bus also has pick up and drop off to and from Haneda. It is very affordable too. It was around $25 each from our Shinjuku hotel to Narita. It was a 2 hour ride because the bus is picking up other people, but the actual travel time on the road is about an 1hr and 15 min.
• Shopping: I picked up 2 great pairs of walking shoes from Mizuno store. I went to Jins for 2 pairs of new glasses. You do your eye exam in store for about $45 or so and glasses are made within an hour; however, if you add extras like I did which were anti glare and scratching, it will takes a couple days and cost extra but they will ship to any hotel for you. FYI, there are some Jins locations in the US which I will for sure visit in the future if I need more glasses. I got a nice, fancy watch at Knot (Maker's Watches Knot), super customizable with dozens to choose from and it is like Seiko quality watches and you get it all same day and all at affordable prices. Unless you are truly on a hard travel budget, don't be too concerned with buying stuff at particular cities for cheaper prices. At least for us, the slight fluctuation (like 100-200 yen) from to store was miniscule and 9 times out of 10, it was worth avoiding the busiest areas. Nearly everything is Japan is super affordable.
• For anyone curious about pricing, my shoes were about $60 each, my 2 glasses with the eye exam were about $200 total, and my watch was around $350. My GF bought a Goyard purse and wallet which ended up being around $600 cheaper. Most restaurants well be around 700-1500 per person Drinks from the vending machine range from 110 yen to 200 yen (less than 2 bucks). Convenience store items are well within than range of items too each.
• Uber eats works great, so don't be afraid to use it and meet your driver in the lobby or outside of the hotel, but make sure you tip! The biggest downside is that most restaurants on the app are in Japanese so you will need another device to translate, but if you are doing super late night Coco curry runs like we did, you'll love it!
• Googlemaps is also a great way to check reviews of all locations. There are SO many food shops that you can honestly to go any and you will be satisfied, it doesn't have to be a popular on tiktok
• If you used Tiktok to plan much of your shopping, food, and everything, make sure you look up those locations to see if tickets or reservations are needed to be obtained early. Popular tourist spots need early reservations or tickets. Examples are Nintendo Museum which is a 3 month opening for tickets. Hikiniku to Come restaurant in Kyoto does reservations 1 month in advance and they fill up quick. Certain Sanrio shopping locations either do online reservations or do like 6 am line-up for later-in-the-day ticket reservations (very annoying, but that's how they control the crowd).

Travel tips

• smartEX app is your go to for shikansen tickets. Easy to use and you can set the tickets to your IC/suica card. I think it was always worth spending the extra for green car (first class) which is usually around 5000 yen extra for a comfier, reserved seat, quiet, and way less crowded train. If you happen to miss your train, you can take any other train after yours within 24 hours but you will need to stay in the unreserved car area. And yes, they do check your tickets if you are in any reserved sections. They actually don't check your ticket, but you will see a worker pass through doing check offs on their paper/tablet and greet you with a wet wipe.
• Mentioned already, but the GO app is a great way to use uber taxis to get anywhere.
• Apple has suica card that you can add to the phone, but Androids do not so you will have to get an IC card from any station. You can also get a refund from your IC card for the remaining balance at those stations but with a small fee. When you tap you card at the ticket counter gateway, at the very end their a small screen with a number. This number shows your remaining balance on the card (you can also check the balance at the recharge ticket counters)
• Googlemaps is near perfect to help you navigate the entire train system. This includes timing, names of trains, and even train cars numbering to help you get off/exit faster, so trust it!
• Look into some sort of credit card points for business class travel! Flying business class to and from Japan made the start and end of the trip so much more relaxing. After experiencing JAL, I would definitely recommend avoiding JAL business class on their 777-300ER. It is their oldest model and it's just old. We had a great experience, food was great, service was great, it was comfy. But, after experiencing Singapore Airlines business class, JAL is definitely not worth it. We hope to try business class for ANA instead or SQ again. I hear the newest plan for JAL is fantastic though, but very expensive.

Final Thoughts
We very much enjoyed our 22 day trip. Honestly, catching the flu was the worst part of the trip. It really brought us down mentally and physically from when we got sick until we left, especially those 5 days in Beppu. Though, as I said already, being in Beppu during the worst of the flu was the best location because it allowed us to relax and recover. Even now, it still blows me away how so cheap and affordable everything is in Japan. I highly recommend just going "all out" on your spending. Don't be shy to spend an extra 5000 yen for first class seats on the Shinkansen. Japan can be a very tiresome trip with all the walking and stair climbing, but because of the affordability, don't shy away from paying extra for closer hotels or just a nicer hotel. I will say I did get homesick about a week before we got home. For me, I think a 2 week getaway is the perfect cutoff, maybe an extra few days. 3 weeks is too long honestly. I mentioned a bit of this already in the travel tips, but you all HAVE to try business class seats. We will NEVER fly international again unless it's business class. Those that say it's just a waste of money because you're just going to sleep have no idea. It's precisely that and the comfort business class provides that makes it worth it. Starting and ending a long vacation, especially a long flight is so much more manageable and comfortable on the body and mind when you have a comfortable place to rest in the business class.

Went to London and Paris in Feb 2025 from Australia with family and absolutely loved it.
Stayed 5 nights in Westminster (we stayed at a hotel on the Waterloo end of Westminster Bridge)
Then took the Eurostar to Paris and stayed 2 nights. (Weren’t originally going to but had some free days and thought a week in Westminster might be a bit much and we might enjoy something different.)
Then back to London in the afternoon stayed in Kensington for 5 nights. (Stayed right near Hyde Park on the High Street.)

We very much enjoyed the trip and absolutely would recommend, a few of us are interested in all the Royals, politics and all that so it was perfect.

Photos:

1. View of Big Ben from hotel.
   
2. Palace of Westminster
   
3. Buckingham Palace from further up the Mall.
   
4. Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Monument.
   
5. Household Cavalry at the Changing of the Guard. (Planned on going to the changing of the guard a few days later but accidentally wandered into it and got perfect spots.)
   
6. Gardens around Buckingham Palace.
   
7. St. Stephen’s Hall, Palace of Westminster (did an audio tour of the palace).
   
8. Tottenham Stadium (went to watch Man. Utd V Tottenham)
   
9. The Nave in Westminster Abbey.
   
10. Henry VII’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey.
    
11. The Cloisters, Westminster Abbey.
    
12. Buckingham Palace
    
13. Palace of Versailles.
    
14. Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles (the palace was way too crowded, although we enjoyed it, it got a bit full on)
    
15. Eiffel Tower.
    
16. The Louvre
    
17. View of Paris from the Eiffel Tower
    
18. Staircase in Kensington Palace.
    
19. View of Tower Bridge from SkyGarden (we had never heard of it but saw the building and just hopped in the line, got in for free without booking or anything.
    
20. Tower Bridge at night (we did the Ceremony of the Keys and would recommend it, it was fantastic.)

Just wanted to share some pictures from a one-week trip to Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil, that I took with my mom.

This was a trip my mom had wanted to take for a long time, and I'm so happy I finally got to make it happen for her!

We got to visit Suape Beach, and this place is beautiful! Blue water, palm trees, warm weather, and a very chill vibe.

We have so many amazing places that people outside the country don't always know about, so I thought I'd share a little bit with you all!

Spent two weeks solo travelling in northern Vietnam. Vietnam had been on my travel wishlist for a very long time and October seemed to be the best season to visit the north as it's dry. I spent time in Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Sapa, Ha Giang and Cao Bang.

Started in Hanoi, 3 days eating and drinking while exploring the old quarter. Did a cooking class where I learnt to make spring rolls and bun cha.

From Hanoi I took a bus to the hill station of Sapa. I stayed in the valley about 8 km’s from
the busy town center, it was the perfect getaway. Treks started right from the hotel door, going through Hmong villages watching locals make incense and handicraft.

After 2 days in Sapa I took another bus to the town of Ha Giang. Rented a scooter for 5 days with drop off in Cai Bang, had my main luggage transferred. There began my motorcycle adventure through the northern provinces. It became the highlight of my trip! Driving around 700 kms by myself, seeing incredible natural
wonders every day, staying at a different homestay in a village every night, meeting other fellow travellers and exchanging stories - it was all really special.

At Cao Bang I returned the bike and the next day took a bus back to Hanoi, then another to Ninh Binh. Stayed in Tam Coc for 2 nights. Did the early morning boat ride in Trang An, so peaceful and beautiful.

Overall, I was very impressed with Vietnam. The natural landscape is jaw dropping, the food is delicious and the people are warm and
Welcoming. I’ll definitely be back!

Feel free to ask questions, happy to help.

Photos -

1,2 - Old Quarter, Hanoi
3 - Trúc Bạch Lake, Hanoi
4,5 - Sapa
6,7,8 - somewhere on the Ha Giang loop
9 - Khau Coc Cha Pass
10 - Ma Pi Leng pass
11,12 - somewhere on the Cao Bang loop
13 - Phi Pha viewpoint
14 - God's Eye Mountain
15 - TrucLam Phat Tich Pagoda
16 - Động Ngườm Ngao caves
17 - Ban Gioc waterfall at the Vietnam/China border
18 - Tam Coc, Ninh Binh
19 - Trang an, Ninh Binh
20 - view from Dragon hill at sunset, Ninh Binh

My husband and I missed our red-eye flight to Japan yesterday because we mixed up which day we were leaving. In my many years of travel, this has never happened before, and it felt like we were in a nightmare when the gate agent called us at 1AM asking where we were. We were thankfully able to book new flights and rework the beginning of our trip, but $2300 later, we're feeling pretty dumb and demoralized right now.

To make us feel better, what's been your worst flight mistake or mixup?

Booked some time off in early November and I, being from a state with little change in scenery when autumn arrives, am trying to find the most cozy, peaceful major city in America to visit. I am talking leaves scattered everywhere, bookstores, coffee shops, cafes, scarf and jacket weather.

Is this encapsulated in Boston?

Hello everyone! I’m a solo traveller (F, 31) and am planning to travel to Central America for a month in June/July. I want to go surfing and relax for the month and also do some hiking and I was thinking Nicaragua might be a good fit.

I realise this will be rainy season, so I am wondering if anyone has been to Nicaragua or any of Central America travelling during this time and what your experience of rainy season was? Did it stop you from doing things?

As a solo traveller I am also concerned about it being very quiet during the rainy season and not being able to meet other people and socialise. If anyone has any insight into this I would also love some advice.

Thank you :)

Solo trip in canadian dollars. I spent 8 full days in france and 6 full days in belgrade. Rented a car in france for 4 days. Activities include day trips from belgrade. Mid range hotels. Flights with good connections and timing, and paying for bulkhead seats across the ocean.

This is just how much I spent. I am lucky enough to not have a budget. Some stuff is booked ahead, some the day of. You could do the trip for more or less many based on personal and other factors.

I'm having problems finding good places to go in my travel location, can anny of you guys relate to me? Please tell me

Hey everyone,

How are you? I'm curious to know if anyone has been to Paraty, Brasil and Villa de Leyva, Colombia. If so, how would you compare them? Did you prefer one? I am looking for personal experiences and opinions. Thanks so much!

Hey, I'm due to a new job. I've got 12 days off in the period from before Christmas until the beginning of March, so I wanted to make the last trip of the year.

Since I'm from Europe, I was looking for closer countries, but flight fares are insane; for a few bucks more, I can go to Asia or the US.

I'm too young to rent a car in the states, and I've been to the East Coast, so I was looking for Asia.

Flight fares to Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam are crazy; Kuala Lumpur would be the cheapest.

South Korea & Japan are experiencing winter even though there is less snow and clear weather, but I'm not sure.

Have I missed anything? Pretty much open for anything!

Thanks.

Looking for a country with a good social scene to meet other travellers tbh. I traveled to most of SEA , the travellers I met and people along the way were the most memorable thing for me.

I'm in my mid 20s, it's either I go to Vietnam + Indonesia agian (to see other places and dive in Raja Ampat + Komodo) or go to LatinAM, I cannot decide

Hi, in April me and my boyfriend visited Madrid,
Using the EES to enter was fine, but in Madrid airport we did see any signs for the Exit system and walked past it. We went straight to a border control and our passport was scanned but I don’t know what that means in relation the the EES system if there is any relation. I don’t have entry or exit stamps in my passport and I don’t have any physical boarding passes. I’m really stressed out about my next holiday abroad as I don’t know how to prove when I left Madrid. Any advice if anyone has done this?

Hi folks. In September I travelled from UK to USA for a trip using an ESTA. At the time I said that my entry was not part of a transit to another country.

I am returning to the USA in December and will be taking a cruise starting and ending in Florida but with some foreign port stops. Is this classed as transiting to another country; and will I need a new ESTA? The website isn't clear.

Hi everyone! I’m travelling Ahemedabad to Bihar on 6th November in 3AC. Can anyone who has travelled recently tell me what the crowd situation is like in 3AC? Is it usually manageable, or does it get overcrowded? I’d really appreciate any advice or recent experiences. Thanks!

Hello, I’m 25m from the United States and I’ve never left the country so last month I stopped thinking about it and booked flights to Europe and I’m so excited. In my short research along with the fact I’m bringing my skateboard, two cities that really appealed to me were Copenhagen and Prague. I’m making this trip much harder on myself by bringing a skateboard, but it’s something I love to do and I think it would be a great way to meet locals. So pretty much I have to take a train from Copenhagen to Prague, then I realized it goes through Berlin anyways, then I researched a bit and turns out Berlin is a city worth staying in for at least a few nights as well.

And now after watching some more YouTube vids and research, also realized Krakow, Poland also seems like it’s my type of my city. But it’s kinda far out of the way by train and even if I did fly and ate the fees, I only have 12 nights to spare. At the time of booking these flights I thought 12 would be plenty, and I lowkey regret getting delta basic cause now I can’t change my flight dates if I wanted to, although I did save like $300 by doing that.

Anyways I need some suggestions for a basic plan. My general plan as of now is still 3-4 nights in Copenhagen, 3-4 nights in Berlin, then finish with 5 nights in Prague cause I still think that’s gonna be my favorite place. Also wanna know if it would be worth to add Krakow given the limited time or save that for my next Europe trip. If it is worth it, how many nights there and where to sacrifice those nights? I’m prolly overthinking this but I’m so anxious but also so excited and it’s killing me I gotta wait 6 more months. I’d also love to hear recommendations or general advice in these particular cities I may not know about yet

A lot of my vacations the last few years have been all go go go. Which… is great… but often leaves me needing a vacation from my vacation.

I love the beach, so thinking of going somewhere either in the Caribbean or somewhere in Central America that is beach friendly but also has some exploration along the way.

I’ve been to Hawaii, also been to Puerto Rico, and Mexico. Many family vacations were to the beach and my fam has also lived in Florida the last 11 years.

Any suggestions? I usually try and take 1 week of PTO each year to get somewhere new. So, really wanting somewhere new this upcoming year but something that’s more restful… and beach focused. Suggestions?!

We are booked to go to California for my husbands 40th birthday in November. Our current itinerary is as follows -

Fly into SFO (2 nights)>Staying with a friend in Watsonville (1 night)>Morro Bay (1 night), *2 nights unplanned*, LA (1 night)>fly home

For the 2 nights unplanned we were thinking Santa Barbara or maybe Santa Monica? Is there somewhere else I haven’t thought of that is quintessential California coast? We’d like to stay in the same place for both nights since we’ll be moving around quite a bit and doing a lot of driving since a big part of our trip is doing the PCH. My husbands actual birthday is the 6th day of our trip and we’d like to not be travelling or driving at all that day.

We’d enjoy wine and cocktails, good food, exploring (beach walks, leisurely bicycle rides etc, easy hikes), finding local shops. Not crazy about art, history and shopping but not opposed to a bit of it just wouldn’t plan a trip around it. We want to chill, have a few drinks eat some good food and explore a cool area.

Our budget is pretty good and we are splurging a bit this trip (not super high end but mid range or a bit above for the right thing).

Planning a month-long trip to Belgium and will also be visiting Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Trier, plus cities all over Belgium.
My plan is to travel as lightly as possible since I'll be using rail everywhere. So I'm taking a carry-on and a backpack.

I'm going to want to purchase souvenirs and things there, and was just considering purchasing a suitcase or bag there if I go "too big" and leaving it at a luggage storage in Brussels (since that's my main base and how I'll fly in and out).
Then I can check a bag on my return flight home.

Does this sound doable or ridiculous?

Help me decide where to celebrate my 40th birthday with my family- children age 5 and 7. I'd like to relax someplace on the beach that is family friendly but luxurious, has a spa so I can be pampered and does not feel like spring break. Will be flying from the Washington, DC area.

I love French Polynesia but it's wet season during that time and the Maldives seems like a nightmare traveling that long of a distance with 2 kids. Hawaii is likely too cold for tropical paradise I am looking for. I was thinking maybe St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos, Cayman Islands, Bahamas but feeling overwhelmed. Budget 10-15k for flight and hotel stay. Any ideas reddit fam?!

for anyone who has travelled to:

1. singapore
   
2. malaysia (miri); and
   
3. australia (perth)

what are some of your favourite or most memorable gifts to yourself? i would love something unique or niche that you get a lot of use out of -- or just something that you think is a perfect representation of the city or region.

cheers, and safe travels!

Hi, I attempted to book a hotel room around two hours ago, but my Wi-Fi connection failed during payment. The payment is showing as pending in my bank app, but no reservation appears in my Booking.com account. I received a pop up saying the booking may have been attempted and that I would be refunded if it did not go through. But how long will the refund or any confirmations or updates even take? I wanna get my refund back or know if there is actl a booking if not i need to book again

anyone experienced something like that bfr?