Share Your Worldwide Travel Tips

Since we have a nice international group here thought a thread related to visiting various places around the globe would be useful. We can share tips on where to stay, food, attractions, audio related sights, etc.

If you have an upcoming trip ask away.

I'm considering a couple options for late Sept / Oct.

1) Southern US road trip - Nashville, Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans

2) Europe Trip - Ireland , UK countryside, Barcelona, Amsterdam

Any tips on those places appreciated.

As for the UK, there are many good spots. Here just a few

*Cornwall (notice: stealing beach pebbles will be fined)
*Wales, nature is very fine too (beware of rain though).
*Scottish Highlands (west highlands in particular, could esily spend two weeks and more)
Edinburgh & Glasgow are interesting -- kind of complementary.
If London, make it bicycle trips. Skip the 'tube' (subway/metro).
If you want to see mostly flat land with not that much going on, could make it the midlands. E.g., road trip from London up the A1 (not M1 !) to Cambridge for elite universities and *York & Yorkshire Dales to check out where Bilbo Baggins must have resided And could go further up to Newcastle.

For *  I recommend making it local road trips.


Barcelona definitely worth going
But South East of Spain is very good too (Murcia, Sevilla)
Sierra Nevada is great too, but you'd need a car and can't really compete with US mountain ranges.

Amsterdam

john12ax7 said:

2) Europe Trip - Ireland , UK countryside, Barcelona, Amsterdam

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About Barcelona, I love the city,  I use to work there at least 3 or 4 weeks every year (WMC mainly) and also visit the city at least once in a year, I fell in love when I visited it for the first time in 2004.

But now, due to different reasons it becomes harder to me identifying that city I saw the first time i was there.

Too much tourism with no regulation other than trying to get as much foreign money as possible.

Political BS around EVERYTHING. That's what really annoys me, I'm from Madrid, that's something I can't hide due to my speaking manners. But that doesn't mean I'm a fascist oppressor.  I've lived sad situations in shops or restaurants where I ended talking with the waiters in english or even walking out. Really strange situations.

On the other hand, if you manage to avoid weird situations or fascist-esque behaviors, the city is quite beautiful, night life is funny and people is really friendly.

I want to think the bad things I describe are not really characteristic of the city, but I live more weird situations every time I go there, hope it's just due to political circumstance.

All this said, flying half an hour more you could come to Madrid. The city is prettier for my taste, and a bit less 'tourist theme park', there are lots of cultural activities and left party on the city council makes Madrid a much more comfortable place than it was 5 years ago.

There's something Madrid could never compare to Barcelona about; beach, even not being the prettiest coast in Spain, Barcelona has a beach you can reach walking from the town, and driving about one hour you can visit smaller towns with nicer places.

If you go to Barcelona these are my must:

-Sagrada Familia, of course.
-Parc Güell.
-Gothic Quarter (Barrio Gótico)
-Also the bullfight arena "Monumental" it's as a shopping mall now, keeping all the external look from late 19th Century. It's interesting how they did the whole rehabilitation works in the building, emptying the inside while holding and lifting the external structure, crazy. In the upper part there are some restaurants with nice views of the city.

About Amsterdam. I'm thinking in go there probably in October-November. Any advice?

dirtyhanfri said:

About Amsterdam. I'm thinking in go there probably in October-November. Any advice?

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Not much to add to the recommandations of the Amsterdam city website. I would say you need to take the boat trip in the canals.
Beware of mosquitoes!

john12ax7 said:

I'm considering a couple options for late Sept / Oct.

1) Southern US road trip - Nashville, Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans

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Nashville--Country Music Hall of Fame (of course), Lane Motor Museum (mini-cars!), the Parthenon.  I didn't do the Ryman or tour whichever old studio is tourable, but either would be worthwhile. 

Charleston--go out to Folly Beach if you're a beach person.  Inland, there's one or more old plantations that you can tour.  It's worth checking one out if you're into gardens, or history, or both. 

abbey road d enfer said:

Not much to add to the recommandations of the Amsterdam city website. I would say you need to take the boat trip in the canals.
Beware of mosquitoes!

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Not sure if we still have that many mosquitoes in Oct-Nov, but be aware that the weather here is very variable, we sometimes have temperatures of 15deg C in the middle of December, but we also had one year where we had 15cm of snow end of Oct. So bring clothes to suit different weather conditions.

dirtyhanfri said:

About Amsterdam. I'm thinking in go there probably in October-November. Any advice?

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Perhaps consider other places in The Netherlands as well. In addition, or even instead of Amsterdam.
Significant part of Amsterdam an overcrowded caricature. Don't say you've seen The Netherlands while only having walked in busy A'dam streets between the other visitors 
Perhaps try Utrecht, while still possible. In a few years from now, parts of Utrecht will be like Amsterdam as well.
Time permitting, sample the countryside (but not necessarily Kinderdijk, unless you want to practice your Japanese language skills  ;D )

If you happen to be interested in 'design', your schedule looks to coincide with the yearly Dutch Design Week (www.ddw.nl) in the south of The Netherlands (20-28 Oct).

Have a good trip!

About Amsterdam, I would recommend not choosing a hotel in the city, rather go to Abcoude, a lovely village 10 miles of the city. Very nice hotels and restaurants. There's a train that goes to the heart of the city in about 15 minutes. Parking (and driving) in the city is difficult, parking is easy in Abcoude.

As for Nashville, even if you're not a guitar player, you should go to George Gruhn's guitars. And you should go to Robert's, one of the oldest juke joints in Main St, where you may admire the vintage boots collection..

When possible try to connect with locals to get good advice about the region.

This forum has members all around the world, use this resource.

I was lucky enough to do a lot of foreign travel with sales reps who were either born in the country or had been working there for years.

JR

you asked for tips -- here's some practicals from a guy with almost 2M airmiles by now

1) always take 2 days of basics in your carry on. Expect your checked luggage to be lost.
2) Always carry a charging cable for your phone - there's USB everywhere, and even the bricks are $10 in a jam.
3) Keep an "empty" credit card with you. It's your "get me to the airport, and GTFO of town" safety net. Having that safety net makes me feel very safe at night.
4) Make sure you have memberships with the airline and hotels. It adds up. even if it takes 2 or 3 years, it adds up.
5) Street food ALWAYS looks tempting. Be sure you are staying int he same place for 2 to 3 days if you risk it!
6) Always keep your passport in the same pocket in your bag or jacket. Always the same place. It comes out, it goes back in the same pocket. One less thing to remember where you put.
7) Always take the aisle seat if you can - no asking someone when you need to pee. The window seat is for amateurs.
8) Don't bring food on the flight. No one wants to smell your Reuben sandwich.
9) Never put things in the seat back pocket. I once found a used Diaper in one. *cringe*. I once left my keys and passport in there and deplaned. Now THAT was stupid. (see rule 6)
10) Bonus points - grab a bag of individually wrapped candies for the stewardesses. Give it to them as you board - I guarantee they'll ask your seat number.
11) Always get $200 worth of local currency BEFORE you leave your home country. Every time I don't, my debit card gets stopped when I try hit the ATM in the foreign country!
More as I think of them.

If you are planning to come to Scotland give me a shout. I am based in Glasgow.

As Script said the Highlands is the place. West Coast is just beautiful (no offence to East Coast guys).

Edinburgh is a very pretty city. Glasgow is, well, my city. You can't beat it. Home of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Except the people who are supposed to be the safe keepers of his treasure have finally managed to burn the f*** out of his jewel in the crown, Glasgow School of Art.

I'll remind you a joke.

Best thing comes out of Edinburgh is the M8 to Glasgow.

Of course, you'll hear it reversed from a member from Edinburgh. Equally valid.

By the way, I did your first option years ago with my wife. Loved it.

Nashville to New Orleans is a great drive in a "trip" hire car but, if you're a Brit or European, you'll find the speed limits require your attention. A British accent does help when trying to get away with it

The Natchez Trace Scenic Highway may be very beautiful but it winds back & forth endlessly and you will get bored with it. Do a shortish stretch and avoid the 60-mile stretch of S-bends with a ludicrous speed limit

Pancake Pantry in Nashville used to be great - I hope it still is

In Barcelona visit the Boqueria market on Las Ramblas. It's a huge, covered food market full of locals, restuarateurs & visitors. There are lots of cafe stalls near the back and I can recommend them - you'll see stallholders arrive with a package of fish, etc, sit down to a quick meal & leave again - payment is by barter

Cap Pep in Barcelona has amazing tapas but arrive at least 45 minutes before they open or you won't get in

Nick Froome

I was born and living in Barcelona downtown. Pm me if you plan coming.

Barcelona is not different than any European big city: miriads of tourists everywhere and prices raising accordingly.

"your holidays our everydays". I've seen ads like this here and other European cities. It's true massive tourism is pushing us to leave our homes because we are unable to pay rents. In Barcelona renting has doubled and tripled in less than 5 years in favor of illegal tourist apartments.

Aside from that Barcelona is a very nice and warm city. Of course you will visit tourist attractions but I'd recommend getting lost a little. Don't follow guides.

SECURITY ADVICE: never carry cameras from the neck. Always in your backpack. And your backpack hanging on your chest. Never on your back.

I daily see sad tourists with cops ranting about being stolen because they left stuff unattended while taking pics.

Ramblas are very nice but also a magnet for thieves.

Political stuff: I have an opinion about what is happening here (I'm not gonna share with anyone). The fact is: yes, there's a strong pro independence for Catalonia feeling here but I never felt pushed for talking in Catalan or Spanish. I just ignore people who rants about one or the other. I recently traveled to Ireland (both republic and UK) and wow was shocked about how people react talking sh*t against the others (and Ireland's independence and "Trouble years" were not yesterday)

Tourism is not about politics but discovering new places without thinking about residents political ideas.

abbey road d enfer said:

Not much to add to the recommandations of the Amsterdam city website. I would say you need to take the boat trip in the canals.
Beware of mosquitoes!

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Well, after a summer in Spain with new foreign mosquito species I think I’ll overcome what I found there, thanks for the tip, but my blood seems to be great for those little b*stards.

abbey road d enfer said:

About Amsterdam, I would recommend not choosing a hotel in the city, rather go to Abcoude, a lovely village 10 miles of the city. Very nice hotels and restaurants. There's a train that goes to the heart of the city in about 15 minutes. Parking (and driving) in the city is difficult, parking is easy in Abcoude.

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Thanks, this makes things easier. The main idea is to be a pair or three days a bit off, so I already thought about getting out of the city, but didn’t know any place around.

I’d like to see Amsterdam, but I know it’s not representative of the Netherlands, I think it’s similary here with tourist oriented cities.

Rochey said:

you asked for tips -- here's some practicals from a guy with almost 2M airmiles by now

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I’ve  traveled quite a bit working, surely not as much as 2M airmiles but I totally support those advices. Specially the ones related with money.

I’ll add something about being connected with a local as John Roberts says. It’s easier when you travel for work, as somebody will probably receive you and feel some kind of responsibility about your personal integrity in its country.

I do it frequently here for colleagues and customers and I really like it, plus it leads me to good relationships with some restaurants and bars, really handy for a single man like me  ;D

pvision said:

In Barcelona visit the Boqueria market on Las Ramblas. It's a huge, covered food market full of locals, restuarateurs & visitors. There are lots of cafe stalls near the back and I can recommend them - you'll see stallholders arrive with a package of fish, etc, sit down to a quick meal & leave again - payment is by barter

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Totally in for the Boqueria market, not so much about Cap Pep, but it’s just I don’t like overcrowded bars.

hazel said:

Tourism is not about politics but discovering new places without thinking about residents political ideas.

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Totally agree, and sorry if you caught me wrong, not trying to bring politics here (I have a strong opinion about politics on brewery)

Just noted it because being in a foreign country and find yourself in the middle of a strike or something similar with lots of people, police around etc is not something so comfortable and may be scary.

Dirtyhanfri : what kind of things are you into? Museums? Music? Electronic or bands? Cafes? Beer? Weed? Just soaking up a different atmosphere?

I can certainly give some tips (UK expat based in Amsterdam for 6 years) but it helps to know what you like cos there's pretty much something for everyone here.

I definitely echo the suggestions of the other Nederlanders that it's good to get out of the city too. Amsterdam is a little bubble, and it's great but it's not a true representation of the country as a whole...

Some good info thus far.

Who has rented a car in Europe as a foreigner?  I find cars unnecessary in the big cities,  but a great way to see everything else.

How long does it take to adjust to driving on the other side of the road when visiting UK?

john12ax7 said:

How long does it take to adjust to driving on the other side of the road when visiting UK?

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Depends if you're renting an automatic or not. Shifting gears with the left hand takes some time to get used to it.
Actually, it does not take long to get used to driving on the wrong side of the road , however it is very easy to forget about it at the exit of a roundabout, and find yourself, out of habit, on the right side that is wrong . I would say you don't really get used to it in even a couplke of weeks. Old habits are very hard to beat.

How long does it take to adjust to driving on the other side of the road when visiting UK?

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Easy if you are used to driving.
Easier with an automatic.
Roundabouts: yeah, be particularly careful there.
Getting a feel for the width of the car -- very easy if you are used to driving, just feel for the wheels making contact to the road.
Problems only occur when few other cars are around (in backstreets, at night).