|
Any recommendations for lodging in Venice? Staying on the actual island is way too expensive, so I was looking at neighborhoods across the water like Marghera.
|
#
?
May 25, 2017 04:46
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 10, 2024 10:57 |
|
|
I'm hoping to spend 10-14 days in and around Marseille in July. What can anyone recommend for a solo trip?
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2017 05:12
|
|
|
actionjackson posted:Any recommendations for lodging in Venice? Staying on the actual island is way too expensive, so I was looking at neighborhoods across the water like Marghera. Consider staying somewhere else and taking the train in to the center. Train is cheap and fine in Italy
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2017 10:15
|
|
|
sausage king of Chicago posted:I'm going to Portugal with my girlfriend and 2 friends. We're spending 10 days total - flying into Porto and leaving from Lisbon. That's all that has been planned so far. I was thinking we'd spend like 3 days in Porto, rent a car and drive down to Lisbon. From there, possibly take a day trip to Lagos or Albufeira (or Benagil? The sea cave there looks amazing) or maybe spend 2 days. Not sure as I don't know much about either place other than some pictures I saw on instagram and a couple of articles I've read. 1) For Lisbon, check my posts in this thread. As I mentioned before, there's a lot there. Some museums are free on Sunday mornings (I don't think it's for portuguese citizens only): https://pumpkin.pt/eventos/museus-e-monumentos-gratuitos-no-primeiro-domingo-de-cada-mes/ . Partying in Lisbon is all about going through the various hot spots (Bairro Alto, Cais do Sodré, for example) until you end up in a disco until 8 am (Lux is the best, if you like younger people go to K Urban Beach). I recommend renting a bike and going -> Campo Grande -> Saldanha -> Marquês de Pombal -> Avenida da Liberdade -> Rossio -> Praça do Comércio -> Cais do Sodré -> Belém . This is a freaking beautiful course through a big part of Lisbon. I don't know much about Porto, but architecturally it's a wonder. I stayed there for a bit only to go to Porto Primavera (little brother of Barcelona Primavera). 2) Any airbnb in the Principe Real - Bairro Alto - Cais do Sodré is great and has a lot of nightlife. Cais do Sodré has a boat to the "south bay" (Costa da Caparica), that's where the beach is. 3) If you wanna go south, especially if you're renting a car or something, it's not worth doing 3 hours only to go to to Algarve (besides, it's too touristy). For an almost "nature-only" experience, visit the Vincentine Coast (the west coast down to Algarve). Great hiking trails and very beautiful beaches. The Vincentine Coast:  São Torpes:  Porto Covo:  Vila Nova de Milfontes:  Zambujeira do Mar:  Odeceixe:  Aljezur:  As you can see, there's a lot of beautiful stuff to see there. Also, the food in Alentejo is delicious if fatty as gently caress. orange sky fucked around with this message at 13:51 on May 25, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 25, 2017 12:44
|
|
|
liz posted:Hiking in the rain is not ideal, but we had a day on Skye that was completely miserable weather wise but gorgeous in terms of atmosphere... We went to Neist Point and it was so foggy you could only see things once you got close to them but it was actually really neat and spooky. I just returned from a week in Scotland. I actually had great weather. There was one rainy day, dry/sunny otherwise. Beautiful landscape in the Highlands and on Skye.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2017 20:58
|
|
|
Rojkir posted:Consider staying somewhere else and taking the train in to the center. Train is cheap and fine in Italy This. The two times I went to Venice during the spring/summer, I stayed in a decent hotel in Padua for less than 80 euros per night. Everything on the island was 200+. The regionale trains aren't the greatest but will get you there in 30-35 minutes. Also, Padua is worth seeing as well.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2017 21:28
|
|
|
orange sky posted:Portugal Holy gently caress. Thanks for this. Been considering a return for years, this has pushed me over the edge.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2017 03:54
|
|
|
Ally McBeal Wiki posted:Holy gently caress. Thanks for this. Been considering a return for years, this has pushed me over the edge. PM me if you need any more help - it's sometimes hard to find exactly what you want when you don't speak portuguese and what you want isn't in Lisbon or Porto.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2017 10:24
|
|
|
Rojkir posted:Consider staying somewhere else and taking the train in to the center. Train is cheap and fine in Italy I was looking for places in Marghera and such, then came across a heavily discounted single room in a nice hotel on the main island (85/night). It's right across from the train station http://www.cadeipolo.com/en/
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2017 03:08
|
|
|
I'm taking a few weeks off between jobs to vacation in Italy. Do I need to get any sort of health insurance while abroad just in case? I'll be within the COBRA period, so could buy insurance if needed, but I'm not sure if my COBRA policy would cover me internationally. To add to this, I also have a second EU passport. Would I be covered with that?
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 03:39
|
|
|
Residency Evil posted:I'm taking a few weeks off between jobs to vacation in Italy. Do I need to get any sort of health insurance while abroad just in case? I'll be within the COBRA period, so could buy insurance if needed, but I'm not sure if my COBRA policy would cover me internationally. To add to this, I also have a second EU passport. Would I be covered with that? You should get travel insurance, yes, and all travel insurance will come with medical coverage.
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 04:08
|
|
|
always get travel insurance vv I don't know anything about their passport situation tbh, I'm just a big ol shill for travel insurance The Schwa fucked around with this message at 09:17 on May 31, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 07:42
|
|
|
The Schwa posted:always get travel insurance Is it actually necessary for him though? IME travel insurance does NOT cover your medical insurance in either (a) the country where you legally reside, or (b) the country of your citizenship. So if Residency Evil has an Italian passport, I'm not even sure travel insurance even applies.
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 08:29
|
|
|
Saladman posted:Is it actually necessary for him though? IME travel insurance does NOT cover your medical insurance in either (a) the country where you legally reside, or (b) the country of your citizenship. So if Residency Evil has an Italian passport, I'm not even sure travel insurance even applies. Should have made that more clear: I have a passport from another EU country, not Italy.
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 12:30
|
|
|
If you're an EU citizen, you're entitled to the same care at the same cost as Italian citizens are, but a travel insurance will still simplify things if you need compensation for something healthcare related
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 12:40
|
|
|
Get an EHIC card.
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 15:49
|
|
|
I'm an EU citizen (France) and when I got kidney stones in Iceland my travel insurance company still paid out my hospital bill. They didn't even ask if I was an EU citizen as well as a Canadian one. You should have travel insurance anyway in case anything else fucks up during your trip. edit: also doesn't the EHIC depend on the country? I thought some, like the UK, won't give it to you if you don't live in the EU. HookShot fucked around with this message at 17:07 on May 31, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 17:04
|
|
|
You can get an EHIC if you're covered by the national healthcare system of an EU country. In most cases, this is based on residency within the country. Citizenship (or in some cases previous residency, or a combination of both) being enough is the exception, not the rule.
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 17:15
|
|
|
Seconding getting travel insurance. Heck, if you get a heart attack or something on some island in Croatia, you WILL be airlifted and flown across the sea to a hospital in Split or Rijeka, whichever is closer to you. Now imagine having to foot the bill for a helicopter ride, I don't even know how much that would cost but I can't imagine it being cheap!
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 20:50
|
|
GAY 4 ORGANS
|
A SWEATY FATBEARD posted:Seconding getting travel insurance. Heck, if you get a heart attack or something on some island in Croatia, you WILL be airlifted and flown across the sea to a hospital in Split or Rijeka, whichever is closer to you. Now imagine having to foot the bill for a helicopter ride, I don't even know how much that would cost but I can't imagine it being cheap! I don't know about that but couple of years ago there was a story in the news how GSS (Croatian Mountain Rescue Service) doesn't and can't charge for anything. So they'd send a dozen people, helicopters, whatever, to rescue some dumb tourists that went climbing a mountain in flip flops and the rescued people were super shocked to learn it was for free. They even offered to donate and GSS was like sorry we can't take money  This might have changed in the mean time so don't go climbing in flip flops.
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 22:58
|
|
|
I'm going to Italy at the end of August and early September for my honeymoon. We have Rome and Florence planned out, however, we can't decide if we want to go to Cinque Terre. We are afraid it will be too busy and touristy. The pictures look beautiful, however, I've seen mixed reviews online of it being crowded. Is it worth visiting or does anyone else have any suggestions. We are flying in and out of Rome.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2017 01:26
|
|
|
The Sock posted:I'm going to Italy at the end of August and early September for my honeymoon. We have Rome and Florence planned out, however, we can't decide if we want to go to Cinque Terre. We are afraid it will be too busy and touristy. The pictures look beautiful, however, I've seen mixed reviews online of it being crowded. Is it worth visiting or does anyone else have any suggestions. We are flying in and out of Rome. What's you're timeframe
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2017 02:07
|
|
|
August 28 - sept 1 - Rome Sept 1 - 5 - Florence Sept 5 - 8 - Cinque Terre or elsewhere?
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2017 02:31
|
|
|
Thanks everyone. I haven't lived in Europe for over 30 years so I'll get the travel insurance and not bank on some Italian hospital believing that I live in Europe.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2017 03:40
|
|
|
If you don't have travel insurance you are subhuman
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2017 04:10
|
|
|
caberham posted:If you don't have travel insurance you are subhuman I've never used it before. I like to live on the edge. I'll get it for my trip this fall though - which agency would you recommend?
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2017 04:42
|
|
|
The Sock posted:August 28 - sept 1 - Rome I'd put that time into the Amalfi coast, ischia, or Capri instead. I'd also cut two days off Florence and add them to Rome or to your seaside time. Florence is small and 5 days is a lot unless you're crazy about Renaissance art and want to spend two full days in the Uffizi or unless you had day trips planned like to Pisa or Chianti or something. I've been to Cinque Terre in two seasons and spent maybe 5 days total there and it's okay but really way too crowded and the towns are tiny. Vernazza is very cute but takes about 30 minutes to walk up and down every street. Amalfi towns are somewhat bigger and proportionally less touristy and IMO more beautiful (but either way quite similar). It might look farther on your map but travel time would be about the same since the train to naples is super fast (just over an hour from Rome).
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2017 06:05
|
|
|
Saladman posted:I'd put that time into the Amalfi coast, ischia, or Capri instead. I'd also cut two days off Florence and add them to Rome or to your seaside time. Florence is small and 5 days is a lot unless you're crazy about Renaissance art and want to spend two full days in the Uffizi or unless you had day trips planned like to Pisa or Chianti or something. I've been to Cinque Terre in two seasons and spent maybe 5 days total there and it's okay but really way too crowded and the towns are tiny. Vernazza is very cute but takes about 30 minutes to walk up and down every street. Amalfi towns are somewhat bigger and proportionally less touristy and IMO more beautiful (but either way quite similar). I concur with this. I just spent 9 days in Italy and you def don't need 5 days in Florence. It's a small city. I would also highly recommend spending a few days in Amalfi/Capri. Capri was cheaper than I thought but don't go like everyone else does on the morning. gently caress all that it takes forever to get there the crowds are ridiculous. Wake up in Rome or wherever and take a train down to Naples. From there the ferrys run until like 5PM to Capri. You can walk from train station. Spend a night, wake up and see stuff, maybe stay another day if you want (really one is probably sufficent) and than leave on an empty midday boat to Sorrento/Amalfi/Positano. You can than take more ferrys or boats or regional busses around the coast and blow some time doing whatever. Take the train from Sorrento or Salerno out to Rome/Naples. If you stay in Capri we stayed at Hotel 4 Stagori and it was dope. The guy is super friendly speaks like 6 languages and will sit with you and give you a map and write locations if restaurants and bars and places to see. He will also tell you where the local market is you can go buy beer for a euro instead of getting buttfucked at the tourist bars. He's got a beautiful view too. Explains all the bus schedules, super helpful. It's right off the main square if you take the railcar up to the right past the pharmacy and taxi stop on the left hand side. Also the credit card machine works there.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2017 12:46
|
|
|
HookShot posted:I'm an EU citizen (France) and when I got kidney stones in Iceland my travel insurance company still paid out my hospital bill. They didn't even ask if I was an EU citizen as well as a Canadian one. Maybe it depends on what country you're in. As we're Swiss-American, our travel insurance agent (STA travel), who was (edit: and remains) also a personal friend, told us specifically we would not be covered in either Switzerland or America if we had an accident in either country even when neither country was our place of residence. Maybe it's because those are the countries with far and away the world's per-capita most expensive and second most expensive healthcare systems, though! They probably don't really care about due diligence if it's like $100 to pay for your broken leg and two weeks in a hospital, but probably they do care if it's $10,000 for a hospital to give you two stitches after cutting yourself peeling an avocado.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2017 14:44
|
|
|
I agree take some of your Florence days and add them to Rome. I've never been to the coast so can't comment there but Rome is a million times better than Florence.Saladman posted:Maybe it depends on what country you're in. As we're Swiss-American, our travel insurance agent (STA travel), who was (edit: and remains) also a personal friend, told us specifically we would not be covered in either Switzerland or America if we had an accident in either country even when neither country was our place of residence. Maybe it's because those are the countries with far and away the world's per-capita most expensive and second most expensive healthcare systems, though! They probably don't really care about due diligence if it's like $100 to pay for your broken leg and two weeks in a hospital, but probably they do care if it's $10,000 for a hospital to give you two stitches after cutting yourself peeling an avocado. Yeah, that could be it as well. The whole claim for an 8-hour hospital stay, bloodwork and CT scan was $600 CAD, it's not like I was exactly blowing their budget out of the water haha.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2017 16:33
|
|
|
I'm making a few changes after your suggestions August 29 - sept 1 Rome Sept 1 - sept 4 Florence, 1 day includes day trip into Tuscany Sept 4 - 7, amalfi coast Sept 7 head back to Rome and fly out on the 8th My thoughts going to Amalfi are to check out Pompeii, go on a hike, I'm thinking senteri delgi del trail and a relaxing beach / hangout day in one of the cities or Capri. Anything that I need to see or do in amalfi that I'm missing out on? We were thinking of staying in Positano.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2017 12:45
|
|
|
I'll be in Sweden for a month in July and I was thinking of spending a week in Italy, starting in Milan. How many days should I stay there before going elsewhere (I was thinking Venice, Modena or Florence as other possible places to visit)
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2017 13:32
|
|
|
The Sock posted:August 29 - sept 1 Rome Looks nice to me. Positano is a good central base. radlum posted:I'll be in Sweden for a month in July and I was thinking of spending a week in Italy, starting in Milan. How many days should I stay there before going elsewhere (I was thinking Venice, Modena or Florence as other possible places to visit) Depends what you want to do. Milan doesn't really have that many "must see" places besides, I guess, The Last Supper so mostly it's just for wandering around and enjoying the coffee and gelato. If you're a couple or with friends of very social at hostels there's a lot of fun nightlife, otherwise I'd think Milan solo would be kind of boring after you've seen the old fort, the duomo, and last supper. Some places are within reasonable day trip range like Varenna/Bellagio and Desenzano/Sirmione. The latter is probably better as an overnight stop off on your way to Venice though if you do end up doing that.
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2017 16:02
|
|
|
OSLO REPORT! Since I don't think there was a lot of info in the thread before I asked, I'm collecting my responses here and I'll give a little review (it was brilliant). Thanks again for the great tips! Hollow Talk posted:The National Gallery isn't bad, and if you like Munch, the Munch Museum has some nice things. The Viking Ship Museum is fairly small but I enjoyed it, while the Norsk Folkemuseum is practically next door and has a nice replica wooden stave church. The Frammuseet deals with Amundsen, and the layout with the ship is pretty cool inside. From there, you can take a ferry over to city hall, which makes for a nice, scenic view of the city centre from the water. Kopijeger posted:Ascension Day (25th of May only) is basically an extra Sunday: most shops will be closed, but most museums, restaurants and convenience stores will be open. visitoslo.com has more information. Aside from what has already been mentioned, at Bygdøy there is also the Kon-tiki museum and a "Maritime museum" that are worth a look if the subject matters interest you. Also, assuming decent weather it could be nice to take the five minute boat ride from the wharf by the city hall out to Hovedøya, a popular recreational spot with beaches, some woodland and the ruins of a medieval monastery and walk around. There are other small islands nearby serviced by the same boat. The Henie-Onstad Center is a bit out of the way in Sandvika, but has a decent collection of modern art. There are also the Contemporary Art Museum and the Astrup-Fearnley Museum for art, but I haven't visited them myself. The forested area called Nordmarka, north of the city, is also popular for recreational hiking. There are plenty of prepared trails to follow, but also completely legal to go outside them. Hip Flask posted:Restaurants: Most places have vegetarian options, so that shouldn't be too big of a problem. You're probably aware that Oslo is hella expensive, so I'll recommend you some of my relatively cheap favourites: All of these recommendations were spot-on. Opera House (just walking up to the top), National Gallery, Viking Ship museum, Fram museum, Folk museum/village, Kon-tiki museum, Maritime museum, Astrup-Fearnley Museum, Frognerparken and the Vigeland statues were all definitely worth the time we spent visiting them. We also went up the Holmenkollen, did a fjord cruise, took a different ferry (lots of ferries during the trip, actually) and had a picnic on Gressholmen and then took a walk from the Nydalen bus stop through Grünerløkka along the Akerselva. We went to Punjab Tandoori, Asylet and also a really cute little "open garden" where on Sundays one of the houses near the river sells coffee, tea and pancakes and you can sit and chill in their garden and all three were nice and reasonably priced (by Swiss standards, so probably eye-watering for anyone else but nearly not as bad as some of the other places we saw). Something that probably (definitely) influenced our overall impression of the visit was the absolutely stunning weather we had last Thurs-Sat: clear skies and about 22-26 degrees every day, it was marvelous. We were informed that it was rather a novelty (the weather) but the city was just fantastic--the amount of new buildings and modern architecture around the waterfront and along the river is just mind-boggling. It's like the 2005 tsunami was actually in Oslo and the entire city has been rebuilt, I've never seen urban redevelopment on that scale. The other thing that made the trip really good was the Oslo pass. We got the 3 day one which cost around $80, but all of the museums are about $10-$15 and apart from the fjord cruise, everything we did in the list above was covered including public transport (bus, ferries and trains). Overall I think we did a LOT more than we would have if we'd had to pay entrance each time, especially cos we could just pop in to the Kon-tiki museum while waiting for the ferry or go through the National gallery in the last hour and a half they were open. English was absolutely fine everywhere, understood and spoken by everyone and everything was super easy--we had a lot of fun trying to understand signs and menus because somehow, phonetically, Norwegian seems really close to Swiss German, which is bizarre but we were pretty successful overall. However, if you're not able to/interested in guessing at words, you might have to ask people a few more questions than we did. And I swear that just saying "Takk" to one guy did make him smile so that was good advice too. Overall ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Oslo rules, A++ would visit again
|
|
#
?
Jun 2, 2017 18:50
|
|
|
Saladman posted:Looks nice to me. Positano is a good central base. I might stay in Milan a day or two and then move onward to a different city. Is the train the better option for traveling within Italy? where could I get info on prices and schedules?
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 22:25
|
|
|
radlum posted:I might stay in Milan a day or two and then move onward to a different city. Is the train the better option for traveling within Italy? where could I get info on prices and schedules? The train is by far the fastest way of traveling within Italy. If you're on a really, really tight budget then it's worth looking into the slower trains (instead of high-velocity) which are much cheaper per km, or even Megabus/Flixbus, which are even cheaper per km and around the same speed as slow trains. If you go longer distances (particularly just Milan–Naples, or Anywhere-except-Naples–Sicily) then flying might be your cheapest and fastest option too. The only Italian train website is http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en which you can use for everything. I'd really check trains way before considering a megabus unless you're on a really shoestring college summer trip budget.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2017 09:09
|
|
|
Do US carriers make use of foreign carriers network to give you signal/data? I have AT&T, and they have an option to let you use your data abroad at $10/day. Will I have problems actually getting good reception to make use? Should I find a microsim card and use it over there? I'll be in Spain(Madrid/Barcelona) and France (Bordeaux/Paris).
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2017 21:38
|
|
|
Raimondo posted:Do US carriers make use of foreign carriers network to give you signal/data? I have AT&T, and they have an option to let you use your data abroad at $10/day. Will I have problems actually getting good reception to make use? Should I find a microsim card and use it over there? I'll be in Spain(Madrid/Barcelona) and France (Bordeaux/Paris). In Europe you will be fine with that and it may or may not be a better deal than buying a sim. If you want to use it one or two days a lot it's great, if you want to use it a little every day it blows. My parents have used that specific plan when they have come to Europe the past year or two and its always been handy.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2017 21:49
|
|
|
Raimondo posted:Do US carriers make use of foreign carriers network to give you signal/data? I have AT&T, and they have an option to let you use your data abroad at $10/day. Will I have problems actually getting good reception to make use? Should I find a microsim card and use it over there? I'll be in Spain(Madrid/Barcelona) and France (Bordeaux/Paris). They will have a roaming agreement in place with a Spanish and French partner, so you will have no issues picking up signal anywhere. Honestly it depends how long you're going for - if it's more than a couple of days in each place I'd just pick up a local sim and use that instead. $10 a day is okay if you're just there briefly, but if it's a week or more I'd be getting a local sim. Note that in Spain at least (not sure about France), you'll need to show your passport to buy the sim.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2017 22:25
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 10, 2024 10:57 |
|
|
Is there any way to get to Kobarid, Slovenia without renting a car? My friend is getting married in the area in September and the wife and I would like to attend (assuming she can take a week off work) but we are not keen on driving in a foreign country (we are American).
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2017 00:29
|
|
