Cash, debit and credit for Italy trip Recently, I posted a question here about bringing cash for an 18 day driving trip from Rome to Sicily. Hubby and I ended up taking 400 Euros in total, along with two different debit and credit cards each. This worked out well because, depending on the vendor, if one form of payment wasn’t accepted for whatever reason, another one was. Occasional…

Just got back from Istanbul on a 10 day visit. Some thoughts 1) Smart phone with mobile data is your friend. I got airaloo, which is an eSim (make sure your phone is compatible), that worked well with me with directions. I downloaded the Moovit app but I generally used Google maps to get from place to place. 2) Get an Istanbul metro card. Do not rent a car and unless you have a lot of bags or are in an em…

Overwhelmed and looking for Portugal itinerary advice! I (29F) will be traveling to Portugal during the latter half of December. I’m flying into Lisbon and will have a bunch of solo free days before meeting up with a friend. I’m saving most of the Lisbon activities/day trips (like Sintra) for when we meet up, so I’m looking for advice on where to go in the meantime. I’ve done some research and am so…

14 days to see Rome, Paris, London Next year, we want to see these three cities in 14 days. The trip will breakdown as follows: Thursday: Leave U.S. Friday: Arrive in Rome Saturday: Rome Sunday: Rome Monday: Rome Tuesday: Fly to Paris Wednesday: Paris Thursday: Paris Friday: Paris Saturday: Train to London Sunday: London Monday: London Tuesday: London Wednesday: Fly Home This wil…

Compression socks are magic My calves always hurt after any flight over 4 hours. I need massages, they feel like rocks and the pain shoots up my whole leg so I can’t sleep well for a few days after. As per a recommendation on this sub, I got some compression socks off Amazon and just finished a 36 hour economy trans-Pacific commute. My legs are already ready for action. Ze…

Lonely in Japan – I Might be doing it wrong… Japan is beautiful & I feel so fortunate to have experienced so much here already. But I’m a little down out at the moment.. & I think it’s from a lack of company… In my previous travels through Europe I regularly found great people at hostels, on walking tours & random activities which often lead to an impromptu group on an adventure. My gut re…

Airbnb Warning Have used AirBnb for years, always opting for Airbnb over hotels. Seldom ever had any issues, but if I did support was quick and fair! Have probably stayed at close to 100 airbnbs! Posting a warning as support has gone significantly downhill, and Airbnb is not here to support you! If you take anything away from this: IF you use AirBnb AT ALL pl…

How bad actually are the Greyhound Buses and Bus Stations? Are Greyhound bus stations and busses as bad you see on Google reviews? Are homeless people coming up to you and trying to get drugs off you? Buses breaking down on the road. submitted by /u/TigerLeo23

What are some of your travel highlights this 2023? It’s November and we only have 1 month and we will say goodbye to 2023. And, so far, in your travels this year, what are the highlights, accomplishments, new experiences that made it so worthwhile. Mine: Solo Backpacking to India (14 days) – Visited Kashmir and Golden Triangle. And even though I won’t do it again due to some interesting and tra…

Turkish Airlines Layover: do I need to get my check in luggage and re-check? Years ago I flew Turkish Air LAX to IST with a layover in NY. On the way back, we were told our luggage would go straight to LAX but it did not, we were supposed to pick it up at customs and recheck to LAX. We didn’t and our luggage had to be sent to us. Is this a U.S. entry thing? When I fly LAX direct to IST will my luggage reach final destina…

Can I add luggage during my layover? Frontier offers active duty service members two free checked bags and I had one with me from my initial point of departure. Can I add a second (free) checked bag during my layover in a different city? submitted by /u/TheLastMorsel

Skip Ha Long Bay Vietnam travel hack: Skip Ha Long Bay completely and stay on Cat Ba island. Much more of a cultural experience, plus it’s cheaper & better. You also can go on boat tours that cover the exact same area of Ha Long Bay. Also sidenote, Ha Long Bay isn’t a super confined area where the landscape looks like the pictures, it looks exactly like that for…

Bitter melon in Malaysia Has anyone had bitter melon in Malaysia? I ate a bunch the other day and had explosive diarrhoea and stomach pain for about an hour or two, I looked it up and apparently I could’ve suffered bitter squash syndrome, anyone actually lost all their hair after eating this? 😅 submitted by /u/pseye1991

Flying internationally for the first time, LAX to SYD and back. Which airline should I go with? So I’m a broke-ish 20 something going to visit a friend in Australia in March. I’ve always been big on just trying to book the cheapest flights possible because I’m usually on a budget and would rather spend more money elsewhere. My slogan is basically if it gets me where I wanna go, I don’t care about the amenities. However, I’ve never been out…

Is it worth going to japan for only a week (for first time)? I’ll be going to visit relatives in Philippines & possibly business related stuff there soon for a week and since Japan is nearby and I’ve always wanted to go all my life… is it worth it going there for a week? In combination 2 weeks total for both countries. I would love to go to Tokyo Disney / Sea because I wanted to visit every Disney Park a…

Two weeks in Egypt Surprisingly had a better time than expected. We went with a tour guide and had minimal pestering while with our private guided tour. We spent time in Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada, and Alexandria. I will say I did not expect to spend as much money as I did on this trip but I was being overcharged everywhere I went and was unable to haggle the p…

In defence of India I see a lot of misinformed posts about India here. While, being an Indian, I am obviously biased, but I think there are some common misunderstandings. Everything is not a scam: I saw a post a few weeks ago where tourists were offered rooms by the cab drivers and people called it scam. It’s not. They are getting a commission which is not the sam…

First solo travel ever – Austria in July Hello! I am planning my first solo trip ever!! I finalized Austria after looking at my major interests – history, culture and nature. Equal parts excited and terrified. Current plan is to spend 2 nights in Vienna, 1 night in Halstatt, 2 nights in Salzburg and 2 nights in Mayrhofen and hike to Olpererhütte while I’m there. I plan to drive from V…

What has been the dumbest piece of travel advice you’ve ever been given? There’s a lot of useful/excellent travel advice that we’ve all received. But let’s turn that question upside down a bit. If you’ve ever received genuine boneheaded or just plain dumb advice, do share. Even more so if it’s accompanied by a good or funny story. I‘ll start things off with my favourite story from a few years ago. Dude was hauling 3-…

Being pressured to give high ratings I had a time when I was checking out, the owner came (who didn’t exchanged a single word before) was pressuring me to give 10 star rating on Booking. The place wasn’t great at all, but I didn’t want to be direct and confront the staff with all the cons I experienced. In the end I refused to do the review and told the boss that I’ll do it later. …