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Post by Tulips on Nov 6, 2015 23:59:45 GMT
I've looked and the accommodations are way up there.
i will do table mountain or at least try to and I will be adding a couple of days at the end.
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Post by chech on Nov 7, 2015 0:08:32 GMT
If you go back into Zimbabwe, it's another $75 USD....so if you stay in Botswana for the extra days, fly back to Jburg from Kasane airport. It had just as many flights as Vic Falls did. Unless you plan to return to Vic Falls for the extra days. South African was a good airline...and a Star Alliance member.
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Post by Tulips on Nov 7, 2015 0:11:47 GMT
The tour actually includes the rerun flight from Kasane to Jo'burg, so any extra days would be in that area.
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Post by chech on Nov 7, 2015 0:16:36 GMT
Any idea what you might do for those days? When I was there, a lot of people raved about the Okavango Delta - think it's about two hours from Chobe.
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Post by chech on Nov 7, 2015 0:25:51 GMT
Hmm...more like 6....and overnight or two perhaps. LOL
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Post by Tulips on Nov 7, 2015 0:26:26 GMT
Haven't thought that far ahead.
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daphne
Junior Member
LOVE Travelling!!
Posts: 58
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Post by daphne on Nov 17, 2015 13:12:33 GMT
Hi everyone!!! Very excited to say we booked Trafalgar's Best of Greece with 7 Day Aegean Cruise and Rome & Tuscan Highlights back to back in July, can't wait!! Any tips on shopping,clothing, dress code while in Greece and cruising?
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Post by chech on Nov 17, 2015 13:30:39 GMT
Hi Daphne! Sounds like a great combo! One thing to remember is that in July, it will be very hot in both countries....so sunscreen and water will be your best friends. The only dress code you'll come across is knees and shoulders covered for religious sites (more of them in Italy than Greece) and on the cruise, no shorts at dinner. There's also the one dinner on the ship that people can dress up for if they want. It's up to you. Your luggage is limited so you have to decide how much space is given to an outfit you'll only wear once. You don't have to dress to the nines...an outfit you'd wear to a nice dinner in Rome would do fine. Other than that, the heat will dictate what you wear - shorts, capris, sun dress etc. (Capris are fine for religious sites and sundresses that go below your knees are as well. If the sun dress has straps, you can just pull a light shawl/scarf over your shoulders. In some cases, when it's really hot, some sites will forgo the dress code (which is good for the men as it's so much harder for them to meet it in the heat). If you haven't already, you can read my tale from 2009 here. And Tiffany is just finishing up her tale in the travel tale section.
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daphne
Junior Member
LOVE Travelling!!
Posts: 58
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Post by daphne on Nov 17, 2015 14:50:07 GMT
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daphne
Junior Member
LOVE Travelling!!
Posts: 58
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Post by daphne on Nov 17, 2015 14:51:36 GMT
Awhhh the was supposed to be smileys sorry
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Post by chech on Nov 17, 2015 16:04:19 GMT
Awhhh the was supposed to be smileys sorry LOL...sometimes they can hard to read.
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Post by tiffany on Nov 17, 2015 16:05:31 GMT
Hi Daphne, I’m glad you booked such great tours! You’ll have a lot of fun in both Greece and Italy.
I just got back from the Best of Greece and 4 day Cruise tour, and as for dress codes, the only thing we were told was not to wear shorts to dinner (even the included hotel dinners). For the formal night on the ship, we were also asked not to wear jeans to the dining room (if you don’t want to dress up, you can go to the buffet). Dress pants/skirt/dress were fine. I wore a maxi dress while my friend wore black dress pants with a dressy top and dressy jewelry. I will note that most people on my tour changed into something dressier when we went out for dinner, but stayed pretty casual for the included dinners (although they put pants on if they were wearing shorts that day).
In Meteora, the men had to wear long pants, and the women had to wear a knee length dress/skirt, but if you didn’t have one, they provided you with a shall to wrap around your waist over your shorts/pants. I wore a summer dress that went to the top of my knees, and I was fine. They also asked that you cover your shoulders.
It will be very hot and humid in July, so bring sun block, a hat and light clothing. They will provide you with bottled water on the coach for 50 cents.
One thing I used during this trip that I liked was Febreze travel sized clothing freshener. You just spray it on your clothes before packing them at the end of the day, and it eliminates any odours so you can wear the item again. You might want to look into something like this since you will be travelling for almost a month.
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daphne
Junior Member
LOVE Travelling!!
Posts: 58
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Post by daphne on Nov 18, 2015 14:46:51 GMT
Thank you T for all the info, going to read your tale thoroughly while having a glass of wine tonight!!!
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Pauline
Full Member
Normandy, Brittany & the Loire Valley, WW1 Battlefields and Northern Spain in Sep 2023 with Insight
Posts: 210
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Post by Pauline on Nov 24, 2015 10:39:50 GMT
Insight's CR of Belgium, Luxembourg & the Netherlands in August and then Insight's The Mystical Heart of Europe in September.
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Post by chech on Nov 27, 2015 21:30:37 GMT
Got my documents for Cuba! The interesting part is that they provided a guest list. Out of the sixteen going, only two of us are from Canada. The rest are Americans. I thought it would be the other way around.
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Post by chech on Dec 13, 2015 19:52:25 GMT
Woah...just clued in that I'm only 3 weeks out from my Cuba departure...and I don't have a thing done. And I'm still downloading pics from Australia...and painting my bedroom. And I think there's something else going on between now and then....
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Post by purvis on Dec 15, 2015 4:55:34 GMT
Chech: I think it's called Christmas. Have a Happy One. Purvis
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Post by tiffany on Dec 16, 2015 13:01:20 GMT
I’ve been to Cuba twice, and stayed at a resort both times. While the beaches are beautiful, I have to admit that Cuba was not my favourite beach destination. I have a feeling that doing a tour of the island will be a different experience though. I can’t wait to hear about your trip when you get back. I’m hoping to go somewhere hot in March, but it will depend on money. I’m hoping to pay for my Eastern Europe trip by Jan 14 in order to get the 10% discount, and then will have to start saving for my flight and hotel room in London pre trip. I may only be able to go on one trip in 2016.
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Post by chech on Dec 16, 2015 17:32:39 GMT
Yeah, it's going to be a big time learning experience. Gonna be nice to see it before USD starts to flood in. My new countdown is for Italy now. Three months, 15 days. It's another Monograms tour with two parts. The main tour goes by rail between Sorrento, Rome, Florence and Venice (I've only been to Rome with a day trip to Pompeii, so it's all new to me). And I have a 5 day extension to Sicily. Best part is the 787 Dreamliner to Munich...in premium economy. I love that plane.
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Post by 1jhwks on Dec 16, 2015 21:18:57 GMT
I missed flying that plane this year. I didn't look up to see what plane before leaving so I was in a shock when I didn't see the usb charger next to the entertainment console.
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Pauline
Full Member
Normandy, Brittany & the Loire Valley, WW1 Battlefields and Northern Spain in Sep 2023 with Insight
Posts: 210
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Post by Pauline on Dec 17, 2015 9:46:27 GMT
Yeah, it's going to be a big time learning experience. Gonna be nice to see it before USD starts to flood in. My new countdown is for Italy now. Three months, 15 days. It's another Monograms tour with two parts. The main tour goes by rail between Sorrento, Rome, Florence and Venice (I've only been to Rome with a day trip to Pompeii, so it's all new to me). And I have a 5 day extension to Sicily. Best part is the 787 Dreamliner to Munich...in premium economy. I love that plane. Your tour looks great chech. I think Italy is my most favourite country in Europe. Sicily was a surprise for me. Another country with many Greco ruins. I'm not a great history buff, so am often surprised to find fabulous Greek ruins in other countries. This is most probably a dumb question but why are you flying to Munich when you are touring Italy & Sicily? Is it an airline hub thing?
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Post by Tulips on Dec 17, 2015 10:12:26 GMT
I have to ask the same question as Pauline. Munich? But why wouldn't you go direct to Rome?
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Post by chech on Dec 17, 2015 13:18:43 GMT
Yes, Munich is a hub and a small one which is nice. I prefer it over Frankfurt. I picked it primarily because it was the 787 Dreamliner - it has premium economy so sleeping is a breeze. In fact, premium economy was cheaper than economy for the day I'm flying out. The Rome flight is a 333 with a 2 4 2 configuration. Hate those planes on overnight flights. I will be taking one back from Rome but it's a daytime flight so I don't mind that. Paid for a bulkhead seat on that one.
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Post by plane2catch on Dec 17, 2015 18:59:57 GMT
Chech, I am sure you will enjoy Florence. I have been to Venice three times and have gotten a little tired of visiting that location. You'll have to return to Italy to see Milan and Assisi as well as their beautiful lake district if you haven't yet. I enjoyed buying tickets on line to see Michelangelo's Last Super in Milan. They limit the number of tickets sold each day and they assign a time for each viewing. Also, I think you're young enough that you hopefully will make it to Turin. There you would have the opportunity to go to the Shroud of Turin museum and watch a documentary film on what is purportedly the burial cloth of Christ. I am jealous as I love Italian food and haven't been to Italy since 2012. Have another great trip Chech and let me know what that is like flying without window shades. Don't know if I would like that so much as I find myself balancing my pillow on the closed window pane when I try to sleep on planes.
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Post by chech on Dec 17, 2015 19:55:02 GMT
Already been through Milan and have no real interest in the shroud. Certainly not enough to go back. If I did, I'd go via the Principalities to see that coast. The windows in the 787 are a little larger but aren't much different than other planes. The lack of a shade wouldn't make any real difference in terms of leaning against the window that I can see. The 787 itself is a better environment overall.
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Post by solaria on Dec 17, 2015 20:22:23 GMT
Che h, if you are having pre-days in Sorrento, you could take a trip to Capri. I really enjoyed that island and great views if you go up to Anacapri.
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Post by chech on Dec 17, 2015 21:14:50 GMT
That's one that I'll definitely be looking at. I'd also like to go to Monte Cassino and maybe Amalfi if I have time.
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Post by Tulips on Dec 17, 2015 23:04:54 GMT
With the 787, you push a button and the window dims. You can have it at different settings from full light to completely dark. It's pretty neat.
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Pauline
Full Member
Normandy, Brittany & the Loire Valley, WW1 Battlefields and Northern Spain in Sep 2023 with Insight
Posts: 210
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Post by Pauline on Dec 18, 2015 9:49:05 GMT
The last time I was in italy was in 2013 and I was travelling with 2 other ladies. We had 3 nights in Sorrento. We didn't get into our hotel until about 6pm and after having dinner at Ristorante ‘O Canonico 1898 (food so so but good people watching location) we then wandered down Corso Italia and came across Pasticceria Gelaterla. Gelato heaven. The next day we went to Capri. I had been there before but neither of the other 2 had. The weather was perfect and we had a good day there. That night we dined at the Fauna Bar, which is on Piazza Tasso. Food was much better than the previous night. Then for our last full day in Sorrento, we took a local bus to Amalfi. That was an experience. The local bus doesn't the coastal road that most of the tour buses take, with the beautiful views but takes the back roads, picking up people along the way. This is what I said in my journal We caught the 0950 bus to Amalfi and arrived at 1150. And a very interesting ride it was. So much so, that when we did arrive in Amalfi, we went and bought tickets to take the ferry back to Sorrento in the afternoon. It was an experience and thankfully we had front row seats, unlike others who boarded the bus at other stops. They had to stand while travelling along the curvy road. The views, when we saw the coast, were gorgeous.
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Post by californian on Dec 18, 2015 16:51:42 GMT
Nice memories of Sorrento, Pauline. For us the year was 2001, I took my 83 years old aunt, and together with my daughter and a cousin we had the best time in Italy, Sicily and specially Sorrento. Don't remember the names of the restaurants as well as you, but I do remember having dinner outdoors, just my aunt and I and being serenaded the most beautiful Neapolitan songs by a handsome Italian. We did go to Amalfi and Capri as well, and took the boat to the Blue Grotto. My aunt, very dynamic and in perfect health at the time to the point that was very hard to keep up with her, passed away a few months later and since we lived in different countries this was the last time I saw her, Sorrento will be always one of those special places in my heart. Thank you, Pauline. Merry Christmas.
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