Holidays 2022

[HoGi]

Anyone been to canaries (love Tenerife) in feb? Really want to go for half term it says the temp is low 20s which is fine but in reality is it actually nice enough weather to be worth it?

It depends what you want to do.

If you want to sit around sunbathing then no it isn't warm enough for that and the pools will be pretty chilly unless they are heated

If you want to go sight seeing and will be mooching about all day then it will be shorts and t-shirt weather. Will definitely need a cardigan or jumper for the evening.

 

[ginandlipstick]

I absolutely hate CDG and only heard good things about the Eurostar plus you’ll be immediately in the city and won’t have to bothered with taking a train from the airport and back (in fairness I thought that process was very easy but still).

I flew into orly in march and have no complaints! I flew into CDG about 5 years ago but can’t really remember what it was like

Ah thank you both. I know Paris is not too far away - but it’s somewhere I’ve always to go. Had opportunities to go with school/college but didn’t go because I kind of wanted to go on my own terms/itinerary. I just want to try and make the most of it and plan ahead as much as I can so I know what to expect

 

[Monkeybum]

Has anyone traveled from the UK to the USA lately?

Just wondered what the process was like for the COVID test before you go?

I'm going next week all being well, we have to have a supervised lateral flow within 24 hours of the flight. You can book what I assume is a zoom type one or in person. We're flying from Heathrow and travelling the day before so booked the evening before

 

[bumblebees19]

I've seen the most beautiful hotels in Greece and Turkey recently on TikTok that would easily rival/match any more long haul luxury resort. Especially for a 7/10 day break.

 

[Lucie1001]

Anyone been to Gdansk? Thinking about going for a few days late Nov/early Dec. Worth visiting? I like to have a cold pre-Chirstmas city break but I've done all the biggies

I’ve been in the summer and it was lovely! Quite small so a weekend would be fine and I bet it it will be beautiful at Xmas!

 

[Snowjoke]

Cheapest way to get around Belfast for 4 days? I know there are travel passes. But the visitor pass is a miaximum of 3 days and not all the passes work with all companies buses.

I second what the above poster has said, most things are walking distance

 

[Emogoo]

I stayed in Lapad a few years ago and we stayed at Valamar Argosy- it was very nice. The pool area and the view from it is amazing. The beach is just gorgeous. The bus is super cheap into Dubrovnik but there are even little restaurants out there as well. Thoroughly recommend.

My recommendation as a tourist is if you are walking the walls (a must do if you are physically able) do it first thing in the morning before it gets too hot and busy. We were actually able to walk around them as opposed to queue.

two of my separate clients flew out of there yesterday and both said it was crazy busy, i'd say it would be worth paying for the fast track based on that!


yes i'm from there agreed cavtat is lovely and you can reach dubrovnik via boat. if you still want to be somewhere closer, definitely stay in the lapad area rather than the old town. the old town is busy, noisy and expensive. charming of course but lapad is close enough so no need to stay right in the centre. i'd recommend doing the city walls and a big tip is that the ticket to the city walls includes a ticket to the st lawrence fortress as well, and you can visit the 2 parts within 3 days, it doesn't have to be on the same day. next to that fort is dodo beach bar, highly recommended for cocktails!

locals' favourite restaurants would be pantarul for traditional food with a modern twist, trinity/shizuku for asian fusion (amaaazing) and kamenice for local seafood. don't get the local taxis as they're really expensive, use uber because it's very fast (less than 5 minute wait wherever you are) and much cheaper. also you can feel 100% safe, in taxis or anywhere really, we have literally 0% crime here. it's also very clean! and not too busy just yet.

my top suggestion would going to lokrum island, 10 min boat ride from the old town, there are peacocks there and it's incredibly beautiful keep in mind that it's very warm here right now, it was 30+ degrees celsius today so definitely bring swimwear and go to a beach or do a boat trip. most houses have air conditioning so they should be fine in their accommodation but it's very warm outside for sure. lots of sunblock and spf, and aloe vera for after.

i do hope this is useful - sorry for the rant, i'm a tour guide so i kind of get passionate about this
if you have any specific questions let me know and i wish a lovely holiday to your friend!

Thank you both for your tips, even though you posted these almost a month ago! I'm going to Croatia (Lapad) in September and these posts have made me so excited I'm staying at a valamar too!

 

[champagnepinkk]

Where’s everyone off to for a city break this winter? wanted to go to amsterdam but we don’t meet the entry requirements

so we need some new options for October time

 

[Romy]

Yeah. We aren’t vaccinated and we don’t meet any of their other requirements either.

is that the same for you too @Emmelina Ball

Yes, just googled it. It's basically because you're not in an EU/Schengen country or one of the partners like Switzerland, Norway... Otherwise, you could enter without proof of vaccination.

 

[Miss polar]

Anyone been to Gdansk? Thinking about going for a few days late Nov/early Dec. Worth visiting? I like to have a cold pre-Chirstmas city break but I've done all the biggies

On my list! We had flights booked for last December and they were cancelled.
Everything I’ve seen and heard about Gdańsk looks awesome.
Have been to Warsaw and krakow twice and love them both. The other polish city I want to visit is Wroclaw.

 

[wiganuser]

I was thinking Rome! How was that in the winter?

Cold...but still great. Not as hectic as the summer. One of my favourite cities ever

 

[Welshgal]

I’m a bit panicky over these airport queues. I go in 4 weeks, I’ll be 26 weeks pregnant and travelling with a 3 year old. Our flight is early morning

Does your airline and airport offer priority check in or fast track? Both well worth it at the moment and at least for my airlines and airport it really wasn’t that expensive.

 

[mcfeez]

Very jealous of the Maldives/Seychelles chat, both very much on my bucket list but definitely not on our radar at the moment.

I have been thinking about potentially going to Rome in early October. Has anyone been recently and would recommend any hotels or areas to stay in? I have been before but when I was 18 and don't really remember much.

My favourite area to stay in Rome for tourist activities is around Navona/Campo de Fiori. Super central. I would highly recommend a visit to Trastevere, amazing neighbourhood with a very cool vibe. Make sure to research where you eat in Rome. The food is amazing but there are a lot of tourist traps which are just no good. Eat local! The italians are all about eating regionally i.e. pizza is from Naples, steak in Florence etc. In Rome try carbonara, cacio e pepe and suppli.

 

[Warpaint]

Was thinking about booking Amsterdam in June, can't tell if it's a good idea with the current situation in Ukraine (in case it escalates) am I being over cautious?

I'm going to Poland this month and not too worried.

 

[TheGlossy]

Why would you cancel? I presume you're not part of the RF and therefore not personally connected. It's sad when anybody dies and she was a constant for a long time but she was an elderly lady and it wasn't unexpected. There is absolutely reason for you to miss a holiday

No, I’m not, but I don’t know what the vibe will be like in London given it’s a sad historic event in the UK. I’m not looking to cancel out of “sadness”. It’s more related to the atmosphere over there.

 

[Warpaint]

2 hours to get through Leeds/Bradford security the other morning, absolute chaos.

I was there last week and breezed through, even though they told us to come 3 hours early.

 

[his4r2eh]

What have everyone’s experiences of delayed/lost luggage been recently? Ours got left at Vienna on Sunday and world tracer says ‘continuing to trace’. There were really sentimentally valuable things in our case and things compensation won’t cover. I’m really anxious about it and hoping to get an idea of what to expect from others. Thanks in advance!

 

[Happy Lady]

Calling all cruisers! We used to cruise a lot before Covid but not been since - been doing a lot of lift and shifts.

So, we go in September with Celebrity around Greece and Turkey, and have just spent most of the day completing forms for them - nearly all day, and still not finished.

First - we had to take our photos and upload them on their system. OH had half his face missing, and mine just refused to load. Getting frustrated so my son came to the rescue and suggested we don't use the selfies we'd taken, but photo each other. He then made them the right size and it worked!

Second - they wanted us to download their App. Took me ages to recover my Google account, but eventually managed, then opened the App. It tells me nothing that I can't find out on the ship, but it did ask me three THREE 3 questions, one being was I over 23 weeks pregnant. At 66 I doubt it, and my OH is male so!!!

Third - we have to load our NHS Covid Card. Well, I'll be damned if either of us could find it, so I've printed off our Covid Certificates, all three pages, but I've no idea where I could load them.

Fourth - we need an Antigen Test 48 hours or less before we travel. Well, we travel at 5pm on a Monday, so need our test after 5pm on Saturday. A lot of places have now stopped doing these as they are not needed so much. Finally found one in the centre of Leeds that stays open until 8pm - so that's a 24 mile round trip and £30 each for the privilege.

Fifth - they want us to pdf a copy of our passports, but no clue as to where to do this. By now I've lost the will, and they're going to have to wait until we arrive at check in.

Sixth - we still can't print off our luggage labels or eDocs (as they call them) as they need processing

Hey ho.

We are seriously considering cancelling our next cruise as can't be bothered going through all this again, and our insurance to the Caribbean is over £1,000

Anyone else had similar issues? And they wonder why they can't fill cruise ships any more. All the grannies won't have a chance.

 

[Dragon100]

Just a heads up, bring a supply of medical grade masks because here in Germany they do not allow us to wear cloth masks. This goes for shops, restaurants, places of interest, public transport, offices, any public indoor place. Also applies to some outdoor events.

Also, in some states it’s even stricter, where it has to be the n95 (the muzzle type mask) only, and they may extend this nationwide, so you may have to bring a supply of these (they’re available here but you don’t really want to waste time sourcing masks while you’re on vacation).

Thanks for the heads up, my Husband is going to Germany for work in 2 weeks and was not aware of this. In his UK office they have been provided with several company logo fabric masks to wear on site. But are not using medical masks - hubby will talk to his boss on Monday about them providing more appropriate masks for his trip to avoid a scene!

More on topic we have a week booked in Cornwall in June and have a week booked off work in September but no firm plans of where we want to go yet. But will be somewhere in England as i don't fly!!

 

[SpindleWhorl]

Could you get the ferry from Newcastle? It goes to Amsterdam?

I’ve got a holiday to Spain booked (which is a holiday that has been moved 3 times due to covid ), and a cruise with wider family that has also moved due to covid.

Can’t see the cruise happening because of the restrictions for children which sound no fun for them, highly likely we will cancel and I’m not moving it again, will just loose the low deposit I paid back in 2019 (crazy!!!)

I didn't know there was another one! I just looked now and it's cheaper too! Will get the ferry there and fly back