Vacation / Travel

#1,801
#1,801
walkenvol said:
Were you on a tour or did you go it on your own? If on your own, how did you plan that out?
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Bus tour, our first. In this case, we had seen an Irish band, Jig Jam, play near us several months ago, and they asked, Who wants to go to Ireland??? Of course we raised our hands, and soon began to count the cost. So, Jig Jam will do this same bus tour one year from now (their off-season for their concert tour). But other bands also link with Hammondtours.com. The 4 lads in the band took us to their home-towns and fav pubs; it was great.

So, trade-offs with a bus tour. You go where and when they say, but there is little stress about worrying about accomodations -- they will be there.

Conversely, 2 yrs ago, my wife planned and scheduled our entire 2 weeks in Scotland and we did all the driving. Much more freedom and flexibility that way, but more tiring. So, trade-offs.🤷
 
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#1,802
#1,802
walkenvol said:
Were you on a tour or did you go it on your own? If on your own, how did you plan that out?
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Smokey X said:
I would also like to know more about the trip planning and details. We are in the thinking about planning a trip there stage.
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We did 2 weeks (spent 15 nights) in Ireland in 2023. By far the best vacation we’ve ever done. Besides when we were in Dublin, we just rented a car and did everything on our own. Highly recommend it.
 
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#1,805
#1,805
Outofmyvolcanmind said:
Did a river tour in France last year. Paris to Normandy and back. Ama Waterways. Highly recommend. No stress at all and see so much.
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We’ve done 3 of the Viking river tours and they went great removing all the stress by taking care of everything. It’s a bit intimidating to me to try and figure out all the destinations, hotels, food and travel on my own. Lots of folks do it successfully, but I haven’t gotten brave enough yet to try.
 
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#1,806
#1,806
walkenvol said:
We’ve done 3 of the Viking river tours and they went great removing all the stress by taking care of everything. It’s a bit intimidating to me to try and figure out all the destinations, hotels, food and travel on my own. Lots of folks do it successfully, but I haven’t gotten brave enough yet to try.
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I told the wife I will only travel two ways abroad.

1. River Cruise
2. Go to 1 or max 2 cities/towns

I am past the days of packing and unpacking every day(every other day). I want to decompress as much as explore.
 
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#1,807
#1,807
walkenvol said:
We’ve done 3 of the Viking river tours and they went great removing all the stress by taking care of everything. It’s a bit intimidating to me to try and figure out all the destinations, hotels, food and travel on my own. Lots of folks do it successfully, but I haven’t gotten brave enough yet to try.
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Just so I know, where did you go and would you recommend?
 
#1,810
#1,810
Outofmyvolcanmind said:
Just so I know, where did you go and would you recommend?
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I’d recommend going to Viking.com to view the many options as there’s lots of choices and time lengths available. We went down the Rhine and Danube rivers on 3 separate trips and took a larger ship on the northern Mediterranean with an extended stay in Rome. All the trips were great and IMO surprisingly good value for what we got. Got another one scheduled for July starting in London ending in Norway 2 weeks later so TBD on that one.
 
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#1,811
#1,811
Wife could go to only London, and stay in the theatre district and be happy.
Plenty to see in the UK. A trip to most places in Europe/the world make you realize how new we are.
I say the people in England speak English funny. In Ireland it is harder to understand. In Scotland it sounds like a different language.
We love to travel. Hate to fly to get there.
 
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#1,813
#1,813
walkenvol said:
I’d recommend going to Viking.com to view the many options as there’s lots of choices and time lengths available. We went down the Rhine and Danube rivers on 3 separate trips and took a larger ship on the northern Mediterranean with an extended stay in Rome. All the trips were great and IMO surprisingly good value for what we got. Got another one scheduled for July starting in London ending in Norway 2 weeks later so TBD on that one.
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How is the evening entertainment on Viking Ocean?
 
#1,815
#1,815
@1RBFjr said:
I agree that Poland is great. Been top to bottom. Had a knowledgeable friend set up most of our sightseeing. I wouldn’t go in winter, however.
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We started in GDansk, down to Krakow for a week, and then some hiking on the border near Zakopane. Beautiful country.
 
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#1,816
#1,816
walkenvol said:
I’d recommend going to Viking.com to view the many options as there’s lots of choices and time lengths available. We went down the Rhine and Danube rivers on 3 separate trips and took a larger ship on the northern Mediterranean with an extended stay in Rome. All the trips were great and IMO surprisingly good value for what we got. Got another one scheduled for July starting in London ending in Norway 2 weeks later so TBD on that one.
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Wife and I will be doing both the Rhine and Danube in the years to come. Thanks WV!
 
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#1,818
#1,818
Carp said:
The family and I are going to Boston in early October. Anyone that has been to Boston in recent years have recommendations on things to do or places to eat? I've done a little research, but aside from seeing Harvard and visiting some Freedom Trail sites, we don't have too much of an itinerary. My dad wants to go to Union Oyster House so I'm sure we'll do that 1 night.

We will technically be there for 4 days, but we only plan on being in the city for 2 of those days, as we want to go to Cape Cod for 1 day and go to Salem another day before driving up to Maine.
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Forgot to follow up on this.

We ended up doing Boston for 3 days to start the trip and then drove up to Maine. This was my 2nd time visiting Boston but first for my wife and child. Boston was better than I remember. Even my daughter, who was only 6 at the time, had a ton of fun. Didn't get a chance to do everything we wanted, but it was great nonetheless.

We spent the first 2 days touring Boston and eating some fantastic food. Our last full day we took the train over to Salem. It's a very cute town and my daughter loved seeing all the locations from Hocus Pocus and seeing the different street performers. We also had arguably the best lobster roll of the entire trip in Salem at a little place called the Lobster Shanty.


We rented a car on Monday night, checked out of the Air BnB on Tuesday morning and drove up to Maine. Maine was absolutely phenomenal. We went during peak fall season. The views were gorgeous and the food was even better. I'll definitely be going back as soon as I can. Just wish it wasn't so far away from Tennessee. It doesn't help that there aren't many flight options up to Maine from here that don't cost $600 or more round trip. Highly recommend Maine for vacation, especially if you love the outdoors.
 
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#1,820
#1,820
Go aeiou said:
How is the evening entertainment on Viking Ocean?
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My one experience is it’s very average compared to the larger ships that leave out of Florida. Viking caters to an older crowd and if you leave the ship each day to explore the new city your in, by the time dinner is over I think the majority of the ship is ready to turn in.
 
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#1,821
#1,821
Carp said:
Forgot to follow up on this.

We ended up doing Boston for 3 days to start the trip and then drove up to Maine. This was my 2nd time visiting Boston but first for my wife and child. Boston was better than I remember. Even my daughter, who was only 6 at the time, had a ton of fun. Didn't get a chance to do everything we wanted, but it was great nonetheless.

We spent the first 2 days touring Boston and eating some fantastic food. Our last full day we took the train over to Salem. It's a very cute town and my daughter loved seeing all the locations from Hocus Pocus and seeing the different street performers. We also had arguably the best lobster roll of the entire trip in Salem at a little place called the Lobster Shanty.


We rented a car on Monday night, checked out of the Air BnB on Tuesday morning and drove up to Maine. Maine was absolutely phenomenal. We went during peak fall season. The views were gorgeous and the food was even better. I'll definitely be going back as soon as I can. Just wish it wasn't so far away from Tennessee. It doesn't help that there aren't many flight options up to Maine from here that don't cost $600 or more round trip. Highly recommend Maine for vacation, especially if you love the outdoors.
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Acadia is one of my favorite National Parks. We went 5-6 years back. Flew into Portland and the tickets were pretty reasonable. Rented a car and checked different things on the way up including the LL Bean store everyone orders from and several lighthouses. I hope to go again sometime.
 
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#1,822
#1,822
walkenvol said:
My one experience is it’s very average compared to the larger ships that leave out of Florida. Viking caters to an older crowd and if you leave the ship each day to explore the new city your in, by the time dinner is over I think the majority of the ship is ready to turn in.
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Ha, we've cruised several times on Holland America. It is rightfully known as the old folks line. Their ships are about 1400-2600 passengers. Still small when compared to the newer ships of some lines, i.e.Princess. HAL sails around the world including Antartica.
 
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#1,823
#1,823
DrRosenRosen said:
We started in GDansk, down to Krakow for a week, and then some hiking on the border near Zakopane. Beautiful country.
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On the second trip we went to Auschwitz Birkenau. It was mind numbing. Couldn’t go there on the first trip because we had one of our kids with us.
 
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#1,825
#1,825
walkenvol said:
Acadia is one of my favorite National Parks. We went 5-6 years back. Flew into Portland and the tickets were pretty reasonable. Rented a car and checked different things on the way up including the LL Bean store everyone orders from and several lighthouses. I hope to go again sometime.
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We did the New England trip in 2023. Acadia N.P. is fabulous, along with Bar Harbor & the lighthouses. L.L. Bean's is a must stop. :cool:
 
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