My wife (we are both 50) and our 14 year old son are planning a trip to Europe in July. We have all been to Europe multiple times. We are thinking of flying into Paris in early July, using a EuroRail pass to hit the following stops: Paris - 3 days Interlaken and surrounding area, SUI - 3 days - rent a car to explore the area? Prague and area -... Read More

Over the years, we have had similar discussions on the Forum. But, I think there have been same changes , perhaps because of covid losses for the industry. Normally. I would check hotels’ and booking.com rates first. If identical, I made a booking with booking.com for easy cancelation. Last year , I found a couple of hotels offered a wider se... Read More

Going to Italy in June with our family of 4 (two teens). We are planning Rome (4 nights), Florence (2-3), Ligurian Coast (4-Cinque Terre with hiking and day trips to Portofino and maybe other nearby towns). We either want to continue up the coast to 4 nights in Nice (easy day trips by train to nearby towns and my kids l... Read More

Living in Switzerland, I've never met a local who has made Lake Como their honeymoon destination. In fact, it's really just viewed as a nice place but it doesn't top any lists. Bellagio is not easily accessible and doesn't offer more of a wow factor than Lugano or Ascona. I wonder if this is an American thing? Read More

We are planning a trip to Paris and are looking for recommendations and suggestions. We will be flying out on April 25th and returning to Central New York on May 10th. It has been about 7+ years since the last time we traveled abroad. We usually leave the first (1st is travel day) 2nd day as relaxation days as well as the day before we leave (more... Read More

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I have been able to travel due to life circumstances. That said, my daughter and I are taking a trip this July to several countries with limited time. We are going to Amsterdam, Prague, Munich and Annecy France. Have been to France before but always wanted to see the beautiful lake Annecy near the Alps. Thin... Read More

My husband and I are doing a land and sea Alaskan cruise in July to celebrate our 50th. I have several questions. I have been looking into travel insurance and it is very expensive. I’ve look at a number of sites and some are over $1000. Do you have any recommendations? Have you used the cruise line insurance? also, what excursions do you thin... Read More

We will be travelling to London at the very beginning of July, 2023 from Athens, Greece. I've been tracking one-way, non-stop flights and noticed that some options fly into Heathrow and others into Gatwick. We are staying in Victoria (not too far from Victoria Station). I've only ever flown into Heathrow, so curious if there are any concerns or pro... Read More

[center]Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” – John Muir[/center] Switzerland has long been a winter destination for us, often visiting in late November and December. We don’t go to... Read More

This may be a silly question, but given the fluctuation of the Euro -> dollar rates, I thought I should ask. I have reserved rooms in Rome, Florence and Venice directly with the hotel property for our trip in June. In each case, the email I received stated that the credit card given only holds the reservation, and that the money owed (as well as th... Read More

Our daughter who lives in Provence had a business trip in early December. So we flew to Provence the day after Thanksgiving to stay for a couple weeks and help our son-in-law with our grandchildren, such as bring them to school, pick them up after school, bring them to their activities, make meals, etc. It was fun and gave us the opportunity to rea... Read More

Hi Trip report on extended trip to Portugal. A mixture of practical, logistical “stuff”, everyday living in Portugal and some tourist “stuff”. We have previously traveled extensively in Portugal and have seen most tourist attractions, this time we are focused on being “snowbirds”. Airport arrival – Lisb... Read More

What is a good tour company to use for a daytrip to Auschwitz-Birkenau.? We want to go in a small group, say less than 10 people and have a guide for both Auschwitz and Birkenau. Also, I've seen tours that add on the Wieliczka Salt Mine after visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau. I realize these are vastly different fro... Read More

My son is attending school at Tor Vergata but living off campus. He is having issues finding a Laundromat that can make change or a place to get the right coins for the laundromat. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Read More

Greetings all! I’ve read so many of your great posts that my brain is spinning in circles. We, are so happy to be able to travel again!!! Having said that, I’m soliciting your expert opinions on a trip to Provence, September 2023. We will rent a car but my husband is not keen on dr... Read More

Hello, my family and I want to travel to France and Spain in 2024 but want to avoid being in Paris for the Olympics, which run from July 26-Aug. 11. Does anyone know how far in advance of the Olympic Games do travel costs increase and hotel availability decrease? For example, would we be affected by higher flight costs, etc. if we were to travel to... Read More

It’s now Saturday, May 7, and we arrived in Portugal just 2 days ago - though it feels like we’ve been here forever! After 2 flights from NYC, we arrived in Lisbon around noon, and proceeded to get the Via Viagem card in the airport , took the metro 3 stops to the Oriente station and changed to the Sintra train, which was sitting in the station wai... Read More

Hi All, We are family of 4 adults (age between 30-35years) and 2 kids (3 and 6years old) planning to visit Italy during first 2 weeks of June 2023. We are planning to stay in 1) Sorrento - 4 Nights 2) Rome - 3 Nights 3) La Spezia - 3 Nights 4) Venice - 3 Nights Before we make any reservations, I wanted to get your feedback on my initial draft... Read More

I have a couple of logistical questions regarding an upcoming trip to Italy, and I'm hoping for some clarity and insight into our flights home. First question-The first leg of my journey home departs FCO at 8:25 AM (connecting in Munich). Does anyone have a reliable shuttle service they recommend who could accommodate a family of 5, plus luggage... Read More

Need recommendations for first time travel to Europe. We are looking at France or Germany, would like to do both but will only have 8 days there (10 with air travel) so guessing that we should pick one. We love great food, history, the arts, hiking and the outdoors. We are laid back prefer jeans over dresses/suits, and would like a mix of planned... Read More

We are combining some wonderful ideas from this forum. We are flying in and out of Lisbon, going to the Algarve region of Portugal, over to Seville, and back up to Lisbon through Evora. We have 2 weeks, starting Feb. 28th. Any suggestions for itinerary, accommodations, restaurants will be gratefully appreciated. Read More

Hello everyone! This is the first time I'm posting here. I found this forum to be very helpful when planning a trip to Italy and was wondering whether you could offer some advice/suggestions. My husband and I will be travelling to the US from Cyprus (probably via London or Germany) for the first time in mid September 2023. We're not sure when we'll... Read More

Rather than book thru the cruise company for a few days in Amsterdam before departing on the cruise, I am thinking of independently booking a hotel. So any recommendations on a centrally located hotel? I'd also like to find out how far from the hotel area it would be take a taxi to the river the day of departure and the approximate cost. I a... Read More

Hi there, Our daughter is doing a travel abroad program and will be living in Nice, France and Seville, Spain. She will end her program with a week in Lisbon. My husband and I would like to fly over a week before her program ends, do a little traveling on our own, then meet up with her and have her show us her stomping grounds in Spain and Fra... Read More

We are going to Paris in February. We had planned to go to Pere Lachaise one morning and from there to the Canal St. Martin area, with lunch there and then a canal boat back toward St. Germain. However, as I look at a map, I'm not sure this is a realistic day, especially since we do not want a frenetic schedule, but rather want to include much ti... Read More