Travel Thread

How many days in each place?
How long have you allocated for Tokyo? No room for Kyoto?
Vancouver itself is coverable in 3-4 days (unless you’re venturing to nearby skifields etc.)
You’ll need a heap of time for London and NYC.
Never been to Orlando or Dubai.

Melbourne is where my soul lives but Tokyo is where my heart lives so I always try to return there!

Done Kyoto last trip too so we can rest that one till post Olympics.

Never done London or New York so wanted to see these other big cities.

Lisbon is to see family and for my partner to see a bit of my heritage.

Orlando is purely for Kennedy space centre. This is a bucket list item.

Vancouver is for the Rockies and the Rocky Mountaneer train mainly.

Dubai is a good stop on the way home.

Wondering which direction I should go in (as in clockwise or anticlockwise)?

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Yeah, Scoot is fine. Wifey and I used to get from Bali to Singapore last year. Was comfy enough even though I’m a big fella.

As Ace said, load up on entertainment, snacks etc (or be prepared to pay extra) and all good.

Yes, started to write a report, but just would have reiterated what Aceman said.

“Cheap and cheerful” but I would only fly with them in what passes for their J class. (and even then you have to buy drinks etc or at least that was my last experience).

OK, calling on BB’s band of esoteric travellers: anyone with tips for best ways of getting to the Shetlands and what to do/where to stay there? We will probably go after spending a couple of weeks in Tuscany, then returning to AUS via LHR.

Having done both the main ways there I preferred the overnight ferry from Aberdeen. It is a 12-14 hour trip but if you get a cabin it’s quite comfortable and you get some pretty good scenery. You can also take you car over if you wish to drive around over there. Things may have changed but the only flights to the Shetland Islands was from Edinburgh or Arberdeen and were about $140 one way at the time. Plenty of accommodation options we found a lodging by visiting the Shetland tourism website but Airbnb is pretty popular over there and plenty of homestays, lodges or pubs with rooms.
The weather can change at any minute so be prepared (we went in the middle of summer and it snowed for 2 days straight) The wind can be horrendous aswell.
I thought it was a nice place with some stunning scenery but preferred the Orkney Islands due to the fantastic historical sites

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Glorious morning here in Cusco.
Just a pity I woke up at 4.30am to follow the JLT game!

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Aqaba beach scene. Reckon the lads have the better deal.

PS There were a handful of women in conventional one piece costumes nearby but they were Europeans.

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I have learnt not to do that anymore on holidays.

I should have learned that lesson long ago

So, I want to plan a mid year warm/hot Aussie family holiday.

What does everyone go for?

Any tips on
NT / Uluru?
HAMILTON Island?

NT is great. Of course it is Australia so if you are not flying between places there is a LOT of driving. Even ASP to Uluru is a drive.

But it is also a great experience. Especially if you can get your kids to buy into it. To get them to appreciate the scale of the country. Seeing such exceptional and very contrasting geographical features as Uluru, the Olgas (Kata Juta) and Mt Conner in such a relatively small area. And also appreciating the culture of the outback. Stop in those small towns along the way to get treats for them and appreciate the stop.

Further north of course is Kakadu, which is a half day drive out of Darwin, which you can then loop down to Katherine then back up via Pine Creek and Litchfield NP. I prefer to do the north of the NT in the Wet as it really is such a different country at that time. (Though global warming is killing the Wet too).

The NT was really different from the rest of Australia but getting more and more homogenised, so get there before it gets even more like the rest of us!

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Hamilton Island is not far enough north To satisfy your hot requirement in winter.

NT (north not central) and the Kimberley’s/Broome are the best bets at that time of year for hot. NT being the easiest to get to.

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We go to Palm Cove or Port Douglas or Broome.

Great weather, lots to do for all ages at all places

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Uluru isn’t hot mid year.

(Which is a good thing, I say. I’ll be there between the Adelaide and Gold Coast games.)

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Machu Picchu? Do I go next with the photos?

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Great pic, Gwilty. How was it?

Hike or train?

Train. Jesus anyone who hikes to MP must be half insane imo. At altitude it’s even damn hard even ascending the rough steps to the ruins from the entrance!
On my way up yesterday, stretcher bearers were carrying down a young Chinese guy who was on oxygen.