BP Vacation Thread: What To Do Where You're Going

[gbearbuck]

In the first weekend in April we booked a 4 day to Garmisch Germany. We've been there before and have seen Neuschwanstein Castle and a couple of the local attractions. This time we are going to hike up the mountains more and also take a trip over to Berchtesgaden Germany where Hitler had the infamous Eagles Nest. Going to tour that and I want to see St Bartholomew's church and see what is open around the Konigssee.

Sounds nice... report back... Southern Germany is quite nice...

 

[BayBuck]

Will be going to Seattle for a conference in July -- would love to get out to one of the National Parks but I'll probably be confined to the city due to time constraints. So I've got the Space Needle and a ferry ride (to Bainbridge Island?) on the list, any other must-do's in Seattle in the summer?

 

[BayBuck]

We enjoyed Excellence Punta Cana and Princess Punta Cana. If you like to party Princess might be a bit too subdued for you (older and more mature crowd). I also heard they are renovating so it might not be the best time to go. Excellence is great as well. The only major concern I had is it was quite secluded as it was an hour and a half away from the airport. My wife and I were always a little jittery about going on long walks since we were so isolated. My wife wasn't too crazy about feeling so isolated in a third world country. It didn't bother me so much. There are no resorts around Excellence for about a mile and a half each direction. We're heading to Majestic Colonial in PC in a couple of weeks and heard it is also very good.

So how was the Majestic Colonial?

 

[muffler dragon]

Will be going to Seattle for a conference in July -- would love to get out to one of the National Parks but I'll probably be confined to the city due to time constraints. So I've got the Space Needle and a ferry ride (to Bainbridge Island?) on the list, any other must-do's in Seattle in the summer?

Pike's Place Market
Original Starbucks

The downtown is not an area that's unpleasant to be stuck in during the summer. Great weather in July, great food. Should be a solid time.

 

[RB07OSU]

Will be going to Seattle for a conference in July -- would love to get out to one of the National Parks but I'll probably be confined to the city due to time constraints. So I've got the Space Needle and a ferry ride (to Bainbridge Island?) on the list, any other must-do's in Seattle in the summer?

Love Seattle in the summer. As mentioned already, ferry to Bainbridge, Pike's Place Market, and if you are into craft beer there are a ton of good brewpub's...I personally liked Pike's. Hot tip on craft brews...super cheap happy hour at Hard Rock (from like 3-8 or something)...very generous prices for what you get. The Taphouse is great too, over 160 beers on draft and they have a good happy hour too. One final suggestion is to check out the Washington campus...quite beautiful in more ways than one.

 

[buckeyboy]

So how was the Majestic Colonial?

Excellent. My wife and I had a blast. If you decide to go, make sure you stay in the Colonial Club section (adults only - assuming you do not have any kids). The rooms are nice and the Club lounge is gorgeous. We met several Buckeye fans down at the resort which was great. Unfortunately, ran into a scUM fan down there who refused to talk football with me. LOL

The beach is spectacular as usual. You know what you're going to get in that regard. The food was good. It wasn't the best but was more than passable for the Caribbean. We are seriously considering going back next February.

 

[Nutriaitch]

spent Tuesday night at a cabin a few hours north of here.

nothing special, but was a nice place on a good sized fresh water lake.

was quite relaxing to just sit back on the dock, drinking a beer, and listening to the LSU/Tulane game with my old man.

been a loong time since me and my dad sat around listening to a baseball game together.

 

[gbearbuck]

Hi all,

Just a heads up... Delta has some ridiculous fares from a variety of cities to L.A. or Phoenix or Las Vegas right now. Sale started yesterday, I'm guessing it ends tonight or tomorrow. I found round trip airfare from Columbus to all three cities for $200 to $220 depending on the city. Philly to Phoenix is $189 round trip and there are a bunch of other cities with crazy prices as well. Word on the travel blogs is the fares are in retaliation towards US Air for something they did... grab them while you can (normal fares for those cities these days are $350 to $450 depending on the day and city involved). If found fares in May, June, July, August, and early September so availability is fairly wide (flights on Friday/Sat/Sun are included so you don't have to fly on Tues/Wed to get these crazy rates (like you do most of the crazy good deals).

Enjoy... hope somebody finds this useful and grabs a cheap flight...

 

[southcampus]

Anyone ever been to Antigua? What about Aruba? I'm about a year out for my honeymoon and I'm still doing research on where I want to go.

 

[Taosman]

Anyone ever been to Antigua? What about Aruba? I'm about a year out for my honeymoon and I'm still doing research on where I want to go.

Went to Antigua many years ago. It's an old British possession so there's a strong British influence and it's mostly bad. The island is a desert, dry island and can get very hot!
Went to Curacao and Bonaire on a diving trip many years ago, also. These are somewhat better tourist destinations along with Aruba. It's a long flight as the ABC islands are close to South America. There is a stigma hanging over Aruba because of the Natalie Holloway thing. But still a fun place. Windy! Great beer!(Amstel made from desalinated sea water is fantastic!) Great diving.
Like a lot of islands, you should be careful at night where you go. You are wealthy compared to the population and that makes you a target.
Check out the Turks and Cayman Islands. Easy flights. Nice resorts, now.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...s_and_Caicos-Grand_Cayman_Cayman_Islands.html

 

[Hubbard]

Hilton Head/Savannah in May. Any suggestions?

 

[sepia5]

Hilton Head/Savannah in May. Any suggestions?

I'm not a big fan of Hilton Head, although the beaches there are pretty nice.

Savannah, on the other hand, is one of my favorite cities. Check out this post.

 

[scarletmike]

Not exactly location advice, but somewhat fitting for the thread.

I'm doing a 10 day trip out to SoCal with my gf and her family. I'm trying to decide if I should go with a 29", 25", or rolling duffel for my main piece of luggage. My camera and laptop will be in one carry on, debating a second carry on. Flying Southwest so I get two checked bags. Thoughts?

 

[gbearbuck]

Not exactly location advice, but somewhat fitting for the thread.

I'm doing a 10 day trip out to SoCal with my gf and her family. I'm trying to decide if I should go with a 29", 25", or rolling duffel for my main piece of luggage. My camera and laptop will be in one carry on, debating a second carry on. Flying Southwest so I get two checked bags. Thoughts?

Weight/space/amount of movement will make your decision for you. If the weight is close to being over you will need two bags instead of one larger bag, also if one bag is under weight but jam packed with no room you should bring a larger carry-on or a separate luggage because you always come back with more than you left home with (shopping/gifts/etc). If you are moving a lot (hotel hopping) I would suggest one bag since it is a pain to lug around several bags. You ought to be able to use one bag for yourself... my wife packs everything under the sun when we travel and even she was able to limit herself to one bag for a month long trip to Europe (I told her I wasn't touching any of her stuff and she had to lug it around herself... interesting how that "threat" lightened her bag, from two bags down to one bag). Yes, in the end I did lug her stuff around, I just told her I wasn't going to do it prior to the trip to force her to not bring things she absolutely had to have...

 

[southcampus]

Anyone been to St. Lucia? I'm kind of worried about rain/hurricanes for this honeymoon (June 2014) and I'm starting to look at some locations outside of the hurricane belt.