Planning our next vacation
- Thread starter ps99472
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Southern Italy seemed a bit drab to me but I loved the countryside between Rome and Florence. Our group had a lot of young children and they loved the little hill towns.
Provence is also similar. Think medieval hill towns, many with intact Roman structures, but with French food. Delish!
I'm intrigued by that Disney cruise...
The $500/ticket seems like a good deal, but in general, is it wise to book airline tickets so far in advance? Don't the prices tend to wildly fluctuate from week to week? I was looking at tickets to Honolulu for next April and they're going for ~$700/person. Those prices have to go down, otherwise, I'm going to look for another destination.
When is your trip? Since you already know NYC, I'd say skip the fancy restaurants. They're the same in any cosmopolitan city around the world. Go to Lower East Side. Almost everything on Orchard, Ludlow or Essex is unique, edgy, fun, but not pretentious
Sweet Chick - hipster take on chicken and waffles
Dirty French - classic french with an edge
Vandal - restaurant hidden behind a flower shop. street art decor but excellent new american with bit of asian influence
Beauty & Essex - similar speakeasy theme, behind a pawn shop.
Disney is pricey, but really worth the premium if you have young kids (ages 3- up to maybe 9 or so I think is best). I'd never go if it was just adults traveling or my kids were teens. We went on the Fantasy to the Bahamas. It was awesome and I'm not generally even such a big cruise fan. The entire ship is just very thoughtfully designed for their target demographic. Bathrooms come with actual tubs and HANDHELD shower attachments for bathing young kids. Two separate bathrooms in the cabin--one with sink and tub, one with toilet and sink, so multiple people can use the facilities without whining "are you done yet?" Can easily connect rooms through internal doors and also balconies, so great for extended family/multigenerational traveling. The movie Inside Out came out while we were on the cruise and they showed it on the boat the night before it premiered in theatres. The Fantasy had this amazing Aquaduck water slide that went around the top deck. The shipboard kids activities are top notch and highly segmented to appeal to wide range of ages.
Good to know. I had been considering the Grand Canyon. The spotty wifi means it has just inched further up my list. Btw, you do realize that I stalk your footsteps, right? I recently went out to the Hoover Dam because you mentioned it on TI last year. I made a mental note. Where did you guys stay / which rim did you visit? I am open to suggestions! Not trying to be a copycat but I have realized that I tend to have the same taste in things that you do. So, it takes some of the work out of it for me. (I am responsible for all of the ideas, research, planning & travel arrangements. Not necessarily by choice.)
You may have had anxiety during TI withdrawal, but, the bright side is that I bet Mrs. Iho loved it because then she gets you all to herself. That's the point of going away.
paydawg
Active member
We just got back from our England/France trip and I'm ready to start planning my next big vacation for 2017 with my wife and 5 yr old child, who happens to be a very good traveler.
I wanted to gauge TIers where they want to go for their next big trip. I think New Zealand (south island), Southern Italy, and Japan are on my short list. I've already been to Japan before but I love that country! For beachy locations, I want to try Fiji.
What's on your list?
I wanted to gauge TIers where they want to go for their next big trip. I think New Zealand (south island), Southern Italy, and Japan are on my short list. I've already been to Japan before but I love that country! For beachy locations, I want to try Fiji.
What's on your list?
paydawg said:
Southern Italy seemed a bit drab to me but I loved the countryside between Rome and Florence. Our group had a lot of young children and they loved the little hill towns.
Provence is also similar. Think medieval hill towns, many with intact Roman structures, but with French food. Delish!
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Corona.
ps99472
New member
I'm waiting for July to book flights for next June, looks like you can only book them 330 days in advance. Air China has some cheap flights to HK/Manila/Taipei. Seen prices around $500 around Nov. you do have to take a stop at Beijing, so it's a 16-18 hr flight. Might be too hard for little ones. There's also a Disney cruise to Scandinavia, that should be good too.
paydawg
Active member
ps9 said:
I'm intrigued by that Disney cruise...
The $500/ticket seems like a good deal, but in general, is it wise to book airline tickets so far in advance? Don't the prices tend to wildly fluctuate from week to week? I was looking at tickets to Honolulu for next April and they're going for ~$700/person. Those prices have to go down, otherwise, I'm going to look for another destination.
ps9 said:
When is your trip? Since you already know NYC, I'd say skip the fancy restaurants. They're the same in any cosmopolitan city around the world. Go to Lower East Side. Almost everything on Orchard, Ludlow or Essex is unique, edgy, fun, but not pretentious
Sweet Chick - hipster take on chicken and waffles
Dirty French - classic french with an edge
Vandal - restaurant hidden behind a flower shop. street art decor but excellent new american with bit of asian influence
Beauty & Essex - similar speakeasy theme, behind a pawn shop.
There is definitely a huge Disney premium. Be sure to consider the specific itinerary offered. The kids will enjoy a Disney cruise regardless of whether it goes to Mexico or the Caribbean or to Europe or Alaska.
Also, Disney has 4 cruise ships. Two are smaller and older (Magic and Wonder) and two are larger and newer (Dream and Fantasy).
Don't grossly overpay for a less than ideal itinerary on an older ship for a place you may only visit once in your lifetime.
If you are going to visit a place multiple times in the future and cost isn't really an issue, then go Disney while the kids are young.
Also, Disney has 4 cruise ships. Two are smaller and older (Magic and Wonder) and two are larger and newer (Dream and Fantasy).
Don't grossly overpay for a less than ideal itinerary on an older ship for a place you may only visit once in your lifetime.
If you are going to visit a place multiple times in the future and cost isn't really an issue, then go Disney while the kids are young.
zovall said:
Disney is pricey, but really worth the premium if you have young kids (ages 3- up to maybe 9 or so I think is best). I'd never go if it was just adults traveling or my kids were teens. We went on the Fantasy to the Bahamas. It was awesome and I'm not generally even such a big cruise fan. The entire ship is just very thoughtfully designed for their target demographic. Bathrooms come with actual tubs and HANDHELD shower attachments for bathing young kids. Two separate bathrooms in the cabin--one with sink and tub, one with toilet and sink, so multiple people can use the facilities without whining "are you done yet?" Can easily connect rooms through internal doors and also balconies, so great for extended family/multigenerational traveling. The movie Inside Out came out while we were on the cruise and they showed it on the boat the night before it premiered in theatres. The Fantasy had this amazing Aquaduck water slide that went around the top deck. The shipboard kids activities are top notch and highly segmented to appeal to wide range of ages.
socal78
Well-known member
One thing I look for in vacation destinations is crappy wifi. Yes, you read that right. Whenever I read Trip Advisor and someone gives a bad rating, my ears perk up and I'm like, "Oh, yeah? Tell me more." I want Mr. SoCal to be as unreachable as possible for work. No conference calls or e-mails eating up our time. I also want my kids to be as tuned in as possible. I think that's one reason Catalina Island has been a favorite spot of mine. I was disappointed when they began "upgrading" and "improving" their internet access a couple years ago. Cruises are another good one. With many liners, it costs an arm and a leg per minute and it is slow. It's another great excuse to remain unreachable. Camping in the desert can be another good one as well.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Heh... I need to be connected (see workplace vacation thread).
When we were at the Grand Canyon, the lack of signal was giving me anxiety.
When we were at the Grand Canyon, the lack of signal was giving me anxiety.
socal78
Well-known member
irvinehomeowner said:
Good to know. I had been considering the Grand Canyon. The spotty wifi means it has just inched further up my list. Btw, you do realize that I stalk your footsteps, right? I recently went out to the Hoover Dam because you mentioned it on TI last year. I made a mental note. Where did you guys stay / which rim did you visit? I am open to suggestions! Not trying to be a copycat but I have realized that I tend to have the same taste in things that you do. So, it takes some of the work out of it for me. (I am responsible for all of the ideas, research, planning & travel arrangements. Not necessarily by choice.)
You may have had anxiety during TI withdrawal, but, the bright side is that I bet Mrs. Iho loved it because then she gets you all to herself. That's the point of going away.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Use the Search function!?
Seriously though, there is a thread somewhere here where I posted where I went with all the deets.
Seriously though, there is a thread somewhere here where I posted where I went with all the deets.
socal78
Well-known member
I certainly would if it worked! The search function has been broken for me for probably 2-3+ years now. I had resorted to Google, which was a good alternative, until recently. Now, it has begun not bringing up results that I know are there or brings it up in some really weird format, not like this forum. I will try manually digging for it...