Travel thread

Let's post travel ideas/tips here: Where people are going, where they've been, what they like/recommend, etc. If you like we can also talk about gambling opportunities in foreign countries to keep on theme.

Here is my plan for this summer:
Lima, Peru 6/2-6/11, planned back in January. I need to (*must*) get time off work for this. If not it certainly puts a cramp on things. I don't have anything else planned for Peru besides Lima. Anybody ever been there?

Second option, more of a pipe dream: Using my frequent flyer miles to go to South Africa for the World Cup. Less likely, maybe a 10% chance of happening. It just doesn't seem feasible to get to two continents in the space of one month. I do want to get to Africa at some point, and have just enough miles to get there. Is South Africa the best place to visit on the African Continent? (I don't want to do Egypt for various reasons -- one being that it's more culturally and geographically related to the Middle East than Africa).

I've never been to Peru, but if you're going there you'll want to visit Machu Pichu and other ruins of the Inca empire.

At the risk of coming of like a no-it-all on world travel (if you've seen the geography thread that inspired teddys to this one)...

I've been to Peru twice, one trip was incidentally won at the casino. Nine days is not a lot of time, but I strongly recommend seeing more than just Lima. It has some nice sights, but compared to a lot of other places in Peru it is not worth your time.

Even if you don't have the time or inclination to visit Machu Picchu, I would fly to Cusco from Lima. It's a beautiful colonial city with a stunning backdrop of mountains and a lot of Inca ruins nearby. If you decide to visit Machu Picchu from there, that's probably all you have time for. Otherwise you might squeeze in a visit to lake Titicaca, a huge lake at 3,800 m (12,500 ft) above sea level. Amongst other things it features man-made floating islands of reed, that a certain tribe lives on.

If you want more tips on Peru, just let me know what you're interested in (wild life / adventure sports / colonial history / pre-colonial history, maybe even gambling).

Everybody tells me to go to Macchu/Cuzco, but I've heard it's expensive to get there from Lima and transport operators fleece tourists. Do you have any practical info for getting there? Also, what are your thoughts about staying in Lima? I was thinking of renting an apartment in Miraflores for a week or so. I'm going with one other person, and it looks like a better deal than a hotel.

To be honest, I'd be fine just spending the ten days in Lima sightseeing/eating on the cheap. (I've decided I'd be a little disappointed not seeing Macchu, but not terribly). Got a favorite ceviche place?

Did you go inside the casino in Lima?

My experience in Lima is limited, so maybe there is more to it than I have seen, but I would really not recommend staying there for your whole trip. Miraflores is a nice neighborhood though.

If money is a concern, I think the cost of the flight from Lima to Cusco is easily negated by the lower cost of living in the rest of Peru (maybe a week is a bit to short to earn the whole lot back, but still). And flying really is the only realistic option to go from Lima to Cusco, as it is a grueling bus ride of over 30 hours.

You could also visit Paracas and the Islas Ballestas, which are only half a day by bus from Lima. It is a fantastic nature reserve, featuring enormous colonies of sea-lions, penguins and lots of different marine birds. If there is still time you could go on to Huacachina, near Ica for some sandboarding and dune buggy rides on the magnificent sand dunes in the desert. Do I sound like a marketing guy for Peru yet?

I considered visiting the casino in Lima. My hotel in Miraflores was within walking distance of one of the few nice ones. But I was on a tight schedule, so did not end up going there.

Bumping this thread. Was hoping more people would post stuff here.

I booked a flight from Lima to Cuzco for ~$100 r/t. Any recommendations for a good place to stay in Cuzco?

LA
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Vegas


First week of October for 3 weeks.

We are headed to the Florida Keys in both June (with my parents) and August (with the kids). Specifically, we'll be staying at a place called Captain Pips in Marathon for the June trip. Pips is a neat little place with prices that look high BUT each room rental comes with a 19'-21' boat that can be used in the ocean or bay. We also head offshore for a couple of days on charter trips. We always have fun, catch a few fish, and enjoy the laid-back atmosphere of the Keys.

The second trip we will be renting a house that has beach club and pool access. That's new for us... We will probably rent a boat for a couple of days during that trip. We'll also head down to Key Weird to see sunset and do the tourist things. That trip is still "coming together" and could still change.

We are "concerned" about the oil spill but I am not one to cancel out on a trip until I am really sure there is a major impact on the area. The oil spill is an unqualified disaster for many areas but people are canceling reservations in places that have yet to be harmed. That doubles the disaster's impact--those businesses lose the revenue and there may also be a real impact. I don't know the "right" time to change plans, but I will wait as long as possible and we hope to make both trips.

Tar balls? I grew up in Florida and we had to wash tar off of our feet and legs every time we went to the beach. I am not saying they are not bad; they have just always been a part of the beach in Florida. A few tar balls won't keep me a way!

I am hoping they get this thing under control soon and we can get to the "lessons learned" moving forward. I am hearing both sides of the drilling arguments; it is hard to take someone serious as an environmentalist when they fly in private jets and power up two or three houses that have garages larger than my home! I'd like to get the hypocrites out of both sides of the discussion and move forward with honest debate. Not much of a chance of that happening!!

The gambling side...since we are driving the second trip (six air fares to Florida from Houston this summer--not happening!), I have decided we will spend a night at Isles of Capri in Biloxi. It may not be the nicest hotel we have ever been to, but they keep on mailing me free offers with some free play...and it is a good stopping point for our first night since we will get a late start. It is about 7-8 hours from here per Google maps. I'll just have to spend a little time in the casino while there!

Maybe on the way back, too???

Quote: RonC

The gambling side...since we are driving the second trip (six air fares to Florida from Houston this summer--not happening!), I have decided we will spend a night at Isles of Capri in Biloxi. It may not be the nicest hotel we have ever been to, but they keep on mailing me free offers with some free play...and it is a good stopping point for our first night since we will get a late start. It is about 7-8 hours from here per Google maps. I'll just have to spend a little time in the casino while there!

Maybe on the way back, too???

While in Biloxi, try Aunt Jenny's Catfish Restaurant. It is only a short drive from Isle of Capri. Google it and you can see their menu. Very good regional food at a reasonable price with good service every time we've been there. Let us know how the dealers are at Capri. My game is Pai Gow Poker and I have found the most fun dealers at Hard Rock, although it can get kind of loud. Good Luck.

This years travel plans:

Vegas later today for a long weekend with the guys

A week on Cape Cod with the wife and kids.

A few random weeknds down the Cape.

a long weekend in in FT Lauderdale with just the wife. May hit the Hard Rock Casino there. But really i'm just looking for some fun adults only time with the wife. We got a fantastic rate throgh hotwire.com at the W Hotel.

Man I love hotwire when you combine it with one of those sites that helps you figure out what hotel you are actually buying. better bidding las vegas page