I used to call these micro visits to a place a "drive by." But I like the term hit and run tourism because it implies some damage is left in its wake. Here's an interesting article about coping with hit and run tourism, written by the director of the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence.

Hi All, I am well aware that this is an extremely broad question, but can you all throw some family vacation ideas at me? Live in central Jersey, have an almost year two old and an almost six year old. Looking for a family friendly vacation this summer for two or three nights within a three-ish hour drive from us. We’ve done a few of the pretty... Read More

Ok folks, I'll be traveling to Milan on Nov. 3, 2024 arriving on the 4th. My thoughts are to spend the 4th and 5th in Milan. Take a train on the 6th to Lugano, Stay for three nights and head to Zurich on the 9th, stay in Zurich until 13th, head back to Milan on the 13th for our last 2 nights with a side trip to Turin. Thoughts and opinions. Read More

We are looking for Cheap convent stays in Rome near train station. As a family (2 adults +1 child) we will be visiting Rome for one week from May 22 - May 29 . We want to see the Colosseum, catacombs and Sistine Chapel. I found this old thread from 20 years ago but many of the email addresses and websites are invalid... 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

Traveling for the first time in Europe with our 1 and 2 year olds. Have a couple of questions about airport travel. 1. We are flying into Rome and have a 1.5 hour layover until Naples. I've heard as long as the flight is under a single ticket you will not be going through customs until you reach your end destination. Is 1.5 hours enough to get t... Read More

I will be flying into Rome for a few days before heading out to Palermo. I have a few questions as it has been years since I have been in Rome. Last time I stayed near Termini. While the hotel was wonderful and I didn't have any trouble, I would like to be around a different area this time. I would like to find a safe area with lots of cafes. (Sa... Read More

We are 2 “mature” women who will be flying from the US to Barcelona mid June. We want to pick up a car at the airport and explore Girona, the Dalí Triangle.and some of the Costa Brava for a week before going to Barcelona. We would like to pick 2 towns as a base so we don’t have to pack and unpack and we are stuck as how to manage... Read More

In my quest to eventually visit all 50 states, I checked off Nebraska over the weekend with a visit to Omaha for the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting and am contributing my experience in case anyone not familiar with Omaha is contemplating doing the same thing another year. I note that I became a (tiny) investor solely for the purpo... Read More

WIll be seeing Rothenburg after Koblenz and before Innsbruck. Going to Innsbruck via Munich. Rail Europe and DB show an RB train from Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Steinach bei Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a 15 min trip, where there is only a 4 min connection to an RE train to Munich. This seems tight so wondering if would b... Read More

This TR should probably be named “A Tour of the Churches of Northern Italy”! I spent 4-1/2 weeks in September-October traveling around northern Italy. It was a wonderful trip! I visited the following cities/towns: Milan Read More

Hello Fodor's Friends. I am asking for your help with planning a 3 week itinerary to Japan beginning on April 5, 2025. We will be extending this Japan trip from previous visits to New Zealand and Australia. Our flight will be from Sydney to most likely Haneda in Tokyo. We are not usually interested in Art museums ,more driven by the sights and exp... Read More

We are considering taking a northern lights cruise by P & o next year 2025. They have one in October and another in December. Has any one taken these cruises and kindly let us know their experience? We would prefer October but would that be good from the point of view of chances of seeing northern lights? Thanks for any help! Read More

I often see people saying you need lots of days to visit Paris or any big city in Europe. I spend not even a full day and yet I got a good taste of Paris. I think if museums are concerned PAris can be done in 3-4 nights at most even. I did a one day trip from Amsterdam (flew with Transavia in the morning) and saw all these for a few hours: -... Read More

My mom has traveled all over the USA so I can’t think of anywhere she hasn’t been but I’m sure there’s things she hasn’t done in some states. My sister and I want to do a nice trip so I’m asking for any great ideas that would be fun and easy. We were thinking Las Vegas, Nashville, St. Augustine, Savannah, Key Wes... Read More

Long story short is that I booked a trip to 2 week trip to Scotland and then a lot of life got in the way leaving me completely unprepared and trying to decide if I cancel or go and make the best of it. We're now 10 days out from a trip that has a general plan, but my typical travel planning of months and months of reading travel guides and forums... Read More

Hi all planning a trip for Mar/Apr 2025 - and have a few basic questions - we will be 68 and 65 at time of travel - we did travel to china and hong kong pre-covid - using BA miles went thru heathrow with a UK layovers and sitting in coach for 2 9 hour flights was a not something i want to do again. - we want to fly direct this time from newark... Read More

I have some leftover Ringits, which I want to use when I get to Iceland, where can I get the best rate please? Read More

The Michelin Guide revealed the brand new One, Two, and Three Key distinctions for the most outstanding hotels. It includes over 5,000 hotels across the world, and not a single one is simply a room for the night. These are places that significantly add to your experience as a traveler, each vetted and judged excellent in five categories: architectu... Read More

Hi ! We want to go back in family (2 adults and 2 teens) for a seventh time in july for 25-30 days.. This time we have that plan in mind. 1) Fly to Paris (cheapest flight from Montreal) 2) Take a rental car (no stay in paris which we have seen for one week last year). 3) Drive to northern France 4)Belgium (5-7 nights) 5) Netherlands (7-8 nights) 6)... Read More

Torrey Island (Torray)…..14 km off the northern Irish coast, probably dating back to 5500 BC, and I really wanted to try it. We set off early so we could get to the ferry at Magheraroarty on time and have plenty of time on the island. It's wonderful weather, windy but beautiful. However, the ferry rocks violently... Once they arrive on the island,... Read More

I have an old friend who lives in the UK and would love to visit them for 2 weeks to 30 days. However, I have a criminal record. I have a felony conviction of controlled substance and a felony conviction of forgery. Both received a one-year jail sentence and the last conviction was in 2009. I am currently 64 (not that it matters) and live a clean a... Read More

Hello everyone, We finally booked our tickets to Andalusia. We are a family of two adults and two children (12 & 6 Year). We'll be staying there for 11 nights / 12 days, we'll be landing in Malaga in the morning and we are planning to spend the days as following: [list] [*]Landing in Malaga, getting train to Granada and spending 3 nights th... Read More

Hi all! Group of 3 - well versed travelers age 37, 33, and our mother 62 All in very good shape I am looking for any tips or recommendations on our upcoming trip to Europe. I am sure most will say this is too much but we are going to give it our best shot (as it is already booked) All travel will be on the Eurail with exception of renting a c... Read More

Hello fellow travelers, We are traveling in southern England by car starting in London and ending in Rye. We need to get to Paris and am hoping to get ideas on the best way to do so. We prefer not having to drive back to London and so are considering dropping the car in Dover, however, this requires taking a train to St. Pancras station then the E... Read More