Many people we have talked to have expressed trepidation about renting a car and driving in a foreign country and while there are certainly places where you should NOT drive (India and Vietnam come to mind) in much of the world it is the best way to get around. Honestly, it’s not too scary with a few simple tips. Driving is a great way for groups to get around and is the best way to visit smaller towns and villages in most countries – even in countries with great public transportation.
Continue reading » “Driving Overseas”Author: Jeff Klingman
Avoiding Mob Scenes
Italy in mid to late September. Should be shoulder season: temperatures cooler, crowds diminished, right? Well yes and no. In charming, tiny little Vernazza in the Cinqueterra we waited while a continuous stream of people descended the railway stairs for at least 10 minutes before we could even attempt to go up. The tiny main street was wall to wall bodies. Up above on the trails between towns it was bumper to bumper hikers. The reason? 4 cruise ships in the nearby port.
Crowds can be a fact of life for the most popular sights and can seriously diminish your enjoyment. Here are some tips to work around them…
- Get out early or see sights later. If you are fighting tourist crowds getting to a site when it opens is almost always a way to dodge the mobs. Most attractions start peaking with people from about 10:00 and start to diminish by around 4PM. Plan things to do that may be less mobbed in the middle of the day. In the Cinqueterra for example a daytime boat trip (they can only let so maybe people on the boat), a day on the beach, or a visit to a more inland winery would be possible good choices during peak mob times.
- Stay in the place you want to see. We had Vernazza and the trails between towns to ourselves before the mobs arrived (and after they left). Same with Dubrovnik – these places can be so much more charming when the hoards depart.
- Check out cruise ship arrivals in your planning. This was a new discovery for us, but we plan on using it extensively in the future. CruiseDig.com or Cruisetimetables.com allow you to look at how many cruise ships will be in port on a given day. For La Spezia (cruise port for Cinqueterra) for example, next week the number of cruise passengers varies from over 6800 on October 9th to 2080 on the 12th to 0 on the 14th and 15th. If you are going to be in a popular port you should probably consider planning around the big boats. To use this just search by port and they tell you the boats and number of passengers each day.
- Buy tickets far in advance. Even in what we thought was shoulder season it pays to buy well in advance. The Borghese gallery in Rome (don’t miss it) for example, sold out mid-week in late September. Much as it reduces spontaneity and flexibility may more places now require advanced tickets and planning.
- Travel off season. In March and April you will have the Cinqueterra to yourselves. The disadvantages can be fewer travel services (much of Croatian tourist services go into hibernation) and you might not be able to enjoy a dip in the Mediterranean, but off season can be a good choice for particularly crowded destinations if that’s an option for you.
- Plan your airports. Some airports handle things better than others, and it is not static. Last spring we got an email the day before departure that Schiphol Amsterdam Airport was having long wait times and to arrive 4 (!) hours early even for short internal European flights. They were not kidding – lines were unbelievably long – snaking around for what looked like miles outside the terminals. I would NOT fly out of there again until I verified that they have fixed their problem. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a site that collects and displays reliable wait times for international airports (there are quite a few for the US). If travelling internationally it is a good idea to check your airport’s website for how long ahead they want you there at the very least.
- Skip the Line Tours. In some places the ONLY way to get in is to pay a little extra for a “skip the line” tour. The Last Supper in Milan, for example is practically impossible to see any other way and you can combine it with a nice walking tour of town. This varies by attraction however – so if you have your heart set on a site, research in advance when and how to get tickets.
- Crowds = pickpockets. Get yourself a money belt, some pants with security features (like Aviator) and / or a pack / bag with security (Pacsafe), Keep your wits about you particularly in crowds.
Our favorite gardens around the world
Happy Spring!
Today is the first day of Spring and here in Northern California the hills are all green, poppies are starting to appear, and the fruit trees of the Central Valley are in full bloom. This time of year makes us think of some of our favorite gardens of the world. In no particular order, here they are:
Continue reading » “Our favorite gardens around the world”Itinerary Planning 101
We have put together a LOT of itineraries based on our trips and research because we’ve been asked a lot and also plan a lot. But you too can plan a trip and get the cost savings and flexibility you may not get from an organized tour. Here are the basics of planning:
Continue reading » “Itinerary Planning 101”Choosing and Booking Flights
Flying can be stressful, but for most travel you’ll need to choose a flight. While that seems straightforward, after flying hundreds of times and making a lot of mistakes, we have some suggestions that we hope will keep you from making some of our mistakes and lead to a more pleasant experience.
Continue reading » “Choosing and Booking Flights”The Twelve Months of Travel
This holiday season, instead of the twelve days of Christmas, why not the 12 months of travel? We’ve selected the ideal location month by month to celebrate a year of travel. From our experience, there are places to visit at certain times of the year which offer the perfect vacation spot. The right month can put you sitting in a hammock or skiing down a mountain and thinking, “There is literally no better place in the world to be right now.” Be it weather, festivals, blooming flowers, starry skies, we’ve selected our choices for the best place to travel during each month of the year.
Continue reading » “The Twelve Months of Travel”Essential Travel Apps
There’s literally thousands of travel related apps out there and we thought we’d share some of our favorites that we go to time and again that help with planning and during travel. If you have a favorite we should know about and missed please let us know via comments. In no particular order….
Continue reading » “Essential Travel Apps”How to Appreciate a Pandemic
Note: Two of us are physicians and at the front lines of this all. We don’t take COVID lightly, but humor in dark times can help.
Feel like the word is coming to an end? Sheltering in place? COVID-19 cases soaring and the health care system at risk of being overwhelmed? No toilet paper and stuck at home with your kids full time? Or worst of all – had to cancel that dream trip?
This will eventually end but before you feel too sorry for yourself, let’s talk about the worst pandemic in all of history: the Black Death (bubonic plague) that swept through Europe in the 12th-15th century killing off one third of the population of Europe.
There are some particularly fascinating and bizarre artistic and cultural artifacts left behind by the Black Death that perhaps can give us a glimpse of what life may have felt like at the time. Eventually COVID 19 too will pass and travel will again be possible and for when it is, we give you (in the macabre atmosphere of the time): The Great Plague Tour of Europe.
Continue reading » “How to Appreciate a Pandemic”Museum Survival – in 10 Steps
OK we’ll admit it – we really do love museums. We understand that they are not for everyone – but we really think they should be. Museums are designed to store many of the greatest achievements of humankind, and we think, approached properly, are an essential part of experiencing the world and the wonders of travel. But it is easy to get bored or overwhelmed. Especially in large museums you need a strategy and a game plan. The Louvre, for example is so large that if you spent just one minute on every piece of art in the museum it would take you 64 days to get through it. The Met boasts more than 600,000 square feet with 2 million pieces of art. How do you avoid massive sensory overload and actually enjoy your museum experience?
Continue reading » “Museum Survival – in 10 Steps”Passport Control and Airport Security Lines – How to Make it Easier
The last thing you want to face after a 14 hour flight from overseas is a huge line at passport control, where you have to stand in line with 100 other bleary-eyed passengers. Likewise, running late for a flight and approaching a giant security line can be a nightmare. Fortunately there are some great ways to sail through these obstacles.
Continue reading » “Passport Control and Airport Security Lines – How to Make it Easier”