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Post by californian on Jul 18, 2016 15:14:24 GMT
Headed to CALGARY CANADA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, I finally get to see Jasper, Baniff and Glacier National Park Would love to that next perhaps...Going to Europe (Portugal) in a couple of months, the last time on the old continent I am sorry to say, a few places of my list that I will never see, but that's fine, Canada is so beautiful and so close, a wonderful destination! Have a great trip and tell us about it, plane2catch.
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Post by marielouise on Jul 18, 2016 17:12:04 GMT
Headed to CALGARY CANADA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, I finally get to see Jasper, Baniff and Glacier National Park Finally the weather is becoming sunny and warm. Last week we had an awful lot of rain here in Calgary and it was cold. I hope you have a great time. I really like Waterton park which is the Canadian side of the US Glacier Park. I don't think you meant the Canadian Glacier Park in between Golden and Revelstoke.
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Post by chech on Jul 18, 2016 17:43:18 GMT
I'm not good with diary either but am also going to India in November will try to do one then. We hiring a car and driver but arranged through tour company. Probably doing much the same as you Bet. I'm a bit worried about getting sick. Have just had hep injections and will have typhoid bit nearer time and get malaria tablets. Mosquitos love me. If you're worried about getting traveller's tummy, ask your doctor, pharmacist or travel nurse about Dukoral. It's a e-coli/cholera oral vaccine you take at home before you leave and it protects you from 70% of the reasons behind traveller's tummy and diarrhea. I've only not taken it once - when I went to Australia. I had no problems in Australia...but the 2 days in Fiji did me in. I've taken for all my other trips and had no issue in places like Mexico, Vietnam, Cuba, Cambodia, China, Peru, Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Brazil etc etc. The vaccine is not available in the US (because it's only effective for 3 months and they don't consider it long enough to make it worthwhile....but for travellers, that's perfect). I can get it in Canada and I'm pretty sure Australians and New Zealanders can. I know I will when I visit the sub-continent. And don't know if I mentioned this earlier...but for malaria, you don't want larium (if it's even available anymore). It's the once a week malaria pill but has been linked to severe side-effects. Malarone is the popular one now but in about 1/3 of those that take it, the side-effects of vomiting/diarrhea are too severe to continue with it....but it's worth trying. I highly recommend picking a couple days when you're free and doing a trial run with it. You'll know within a day or so if it would not be for you. If it's no good for you, then doxycyline is the answer. It's an anti-biotic but you have to take it while you're there and for four weeks after you leave the malaria area. A bit of a pain in the butt, but better than dealing with malaria. Take all malaria meds with food.
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Post by kiwigrandma on Jul 19, 2016 5:26:48 GMT
Thank you so much for the advice chech. Will certainly check out your recommendations.
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Post by bet on Jul 20, 2016 5:05:40 GMT
I'm not good with diary either but am also going to India in November will try to do one then. We hiring a car and driver but arranged through tour company. Probably doing much the same as you Bet. I'm a bit worried about getting sick. Have just had hep injections and will have typhoid bit nearer time and get malaria tablets. Mosquitos love me. We might cross paths Kiwigrandma. I'm heading to India end of November with Intrepid. Starting in Delhi and visiting the Rajasthan region and of course the Taj Mahal. I'm personally not worried about getting sick, I'm only taking repellent and avoiding the obivious things like drinking tap water, eating street food & salads etc. But then I'm not one to take any medication unless its really essential, but each to their own. Hope you enjoy India, im really looking forward to experiencing what India has to offer.
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Post by plane2catch on Jul 21, 2016 1:38:37 GMT
I too didn't take any malaria medication before, during or after my trip to India. I have been fortunate in my travels. I have been to 60 countries and the only time I got sick was my trip to Africa and that was due to catching a sore throat from a fellow passenger from NYC on the bus. She kept coughing and blowing her nose. Most of us on the bus caught whatever she had and started taking antibiotics. Thankfully, the meds worked.
I know you will enjoy India. I found the people to be very friendly there.
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Post by tiffany on Jul 22, 2016 11:46:49 GMT
Less than two months to go before I leave for Eastern Europe! I’m starting to get excited, especially since I wasn’t sure if I would be able to go on this tour this year. I’m already planning on what to do during my extra days. I do have one questions for those of you who have been on this tour. What did you do in terms of money? Did the countries that don’t use Euros still take Euros, or did you bring a little bit of each currency? I’m spending two days in Croatia, four in Poland and two in the Czech Republic, and if I bring their currency with me, I’m wondering how much I should bring for the short time I’m staying there. I don’t know when I’ll be going back to these three countries, so I don’t want to bring too much of their currency with me, as I don’t know what I’ll do with it if I don’t use it all. I guess I can always return the money to the bank if I don’t spend all of it, even thought I won’t get the same exchange rate as I did when buying it.
Also, I noticed that Trafalgar is starting to post its 2017 preview tours, and I’m already thinking of where to go in 2017! It looks like I’ll be going to Northern Spain in the Fall of 2017 with a few friends. It’s a shorter tour, but we will be adding a day or two in Madrid. I went to Southern Spain in 2008 and loved it, and I’m looking forward to seeing Northern Spain. My friend and I are also looking at a Southern Caribbean Cruise for the winter, but that has not been decided for sure yet. I need to make up for the lack of travelling I did this year!
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Post by chech on Jul 22, 2016 12:42:11 GMT
When I did the Bohemian Highlights (same tour minus Croatia/Slovenia), the guide always made a stop on entry and just before exit to deal with currency. On exit, we'd stop somewhere where you could spend you last bit of coin. The bills you can easily convert back when you get home....or convert to the currency of the country you're entering. When I went, I bought a small amount for each country....only about $30 - $50 worth. It saved me time and the rate of exchange is best at your bank (and saves you the ATM fee if you use it). I found about $50 was enough for the countries with the shorter stays and I didn't need to get extra. You're gonna pay for exchange regardless....whether you get Euro or Zloty and the same with turning it back in. Some places in non-Euro countries will take Euro but you'd take a hit in the on-the-spot exchange. And of course, your credit card gives you the best exchange and is perfectly safe to use in all those countries (same normal precautions you'd take anywhere). The only hiccough might be Croatia which hasn't adopted the Euro yet. When I went, I could not get Croatian Kuna at the bank here and my debit card would not work in Croatia (same with the one other Canadian couple). My Visa card worked fine so I took a cash advance (only cost me $1 in interest). When you go to the bank, if they can't give give you Croatian Kuna, you can assume that your debit card might not work there. In that case, try the Travelex booth at Pearson to pick up a bit....or just exchange some Euro. The guide will also suggest when to get any Czech currency as the rates at the exchange booths in Prague were exorbitant. There you'd want to have some on hand and/or use your debit/credit cards. Overall, you'll save more converting to local currency than using Euro since storeowners often give you rounded amounts and if a price is listed in Euro in a non-Euro country, it's often higher to cover the conversion. And they know most tourists don't give it a second look. Oh...and do you remember the cheat sheets? You can do up one for each country for quick glance conversion. I usually laminate mine and keep it in my back pocket for quick retrieval. Great on a tour with multiple countries. Here's one link. You'll see the tab for Traveller's cheatsheet tab in the middle there. It'll give you the conversion in both directions. www.oanda.com/currency/converter/
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Post by californian on Jul 22, 2016 15:27:55 GMT
What did you do in terms of money? Did the countries that don’t use Euros still take Euros, or did you bring a little bit of each currency? I’m spending two days in Croatia, four in Poland and two in the Czech Republic, and if I bring their currency with me, I’m wondering how much I should bring for the short time I’m staying there. I don’t know when I’ll be going back to these three countries, so I don’t want to bring too much of their currency with me, as I don’t know what I’ll do with it if I don’t use it all. I guess I can always return the money to the bank if I don’t spend all of it, even thought I won’t get the same exchange rate as I did when buying it. Great plans Tiffany! I went in 2007 (wow it has been that long?), didn't take any money besides euros, my bank doesn't have the best rates i had no problems buying currency at the destinations and the TD always took us to the best places to exchange it and told us approximately how much we would need. I also used euros en Croatia quite a bit. Enjoy it!
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Post by marielouise on Jul 22, 2016 15:38:51 GMT
Tiffany, last year when we went to Austria, Hungary and the Czech republic, we estimated what we needed for daily expenses, lunch, water etc and bought it at a foreign exchange place. They are often downtown and sometimes in some shopping centres. The one we use, Calforex in Calgary, has a much better rate than the airport and has a branch in a shopping centre not too far from us. Last year I think we bought too many Hungarian florints, since we thought we might need a taxi from the airport, which we didn't in the end, plus we bought all the optional dinners and it was raining most of the time, so we used that as part of the TDs or driver's tip.
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Post by tiffany on Jul 22, 2016 17:49:11 GMT
Thanks everyone. I usually use my credit card for larger purchases and optionals, etc, but I like to have cash on me for lunches, water, snacks, etc. I think I’ll bring about $50.00 in each currency with me, so that I don’t have to worry about exchange rates, etc., while I’m there.
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Post by Boop on Jul 27, 2016 17:00:50 GMT
Thanks everyone. I usually use my credit card for larger purchases and optionals, etc, but I like to have cash on me for lunches, water, snacks, etc. I think I’ll bring about $50.00 in each currency with me, so that I don’t have to worry about exchange rates, etc., while I’m there. Just a suggestion tiffany but I think you may find $50 in each currency won't last you very long, but if you are used to using your credit card for almost everything I suppose that could work for you. Myself, I don't like dealing with a credit card for each small purchase so I took 121,000 koruna, 65,000 florints and 445 euro which came to $1728 canadian. I just like to pay cash for all the little souvenirs, food, etc. as I find it much easier than ending up with a huge credit card bill 'cause as we all know........I love to shop. I used my credit card for optional tours and large purchases. I found cash much easier to deal with at the Christmas markets simply because that was the only form of payment but that was Christmas, don't know if you'll be hitting any markets. Chech's "cheat" sheets were invaluable even though I had an app on my phone, I didn't use it...just whipped out that little laminated card every time!!
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Post by tiffany on Jul 27, 2016 17:22:32 GMT
Thanks Boop. When I mentioned that I would bring $50.00 in each currency with me, I didn’t mean Euros. I just meant the money I would need for Croatia, Poland and the Czech Republic. I’ll probably bring about 400-500 Euros with me, and about $50.00 worth of the other currencies. I don’t have a problem using my credit card for dinners, etc, if I need to, and will only need cash for lunches, water and snacks.
I’m going at the end of September, so I won’t be seeing any of the markets. I’d love to go on a Christmas Market’s tour someday though.
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Post by bet on Jul 28, 2016 4:10:36 GMT
I can only speak of Poland and Czech Republic but I have to agree with Boop, I would struggle with $50 in each currency, especially in Prague, they have some interesting and unique things to buy. I prefer cash as well, so I know exactly what I'm spending.
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Post by chech on Jul 28, 2016 11:10:36 GMT
The $50 is only just to have some on hand when you get to a country. It won't always be enough to last the entire visit but sometimes it is. I find that if I have it when I enter the country and then after a day or two, I need more...I have a better idea of what I would need to the end of my time in that one country. In the end, it saves one at least one ATM fee and what the bank charges at home is cheaper than an ATM or changing currency. And if one is changing Euro into Zloty or Forint etc instead of exchanging from their home currency, they're paying for the conversion twice....first to the Euro then to the Zloty or Forint etc. Of course, in the end, the fees are nickel and dime compared to the price of the tour and impossible to avoid. I use the bank at home to minimize my initial exchange but don't go out of my way once on the ground. I still like to tell the story about the couple that spent their entire free time we had in central Warsaw going from bank to bank looking for the best rate to change their money. When they go back aboard the bus, one victoriously announced they had gotten such-n-such a rate and then the spouse leaned over to me and said "yeah, we saved all of $2."
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Post by tiffany on Jul 28, 2016 11:51:43 GMT
I think I’ll be okay with only $50 worth of money in Croatia and the Czech Republic , put I think I’ll bring $100 worth of money for Poland. I’ll only be spending two days in Croatia and the Czech, and I’ll be doing all of the optional dinners offered, so I’ll only need cash for lunches, water and snacks. I will have four days in Poland though, so I’ll bring a little more Polish money with me. I’m not a knick-knack person, so I don’t need cash for that, and I usually buy jewelry while travelling, and I would use my credit card for that. I do like to buy Christmas ornaments from each country that I visit, but I don’t expect that to cost much, so I think I’ll be okay with limited cash. Besides, if I need more, I can take more out from an ATM.
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Post by bet on Jul 28, 2016 12:34:26 GMT
Very true Chech, you can't avoid fees and why bother wasting time just to save $2. I cut my credit card up 5 years ago, as it was just too tempting. I now rely on my own savings with a visa debit card, which incurs $5 atm fee plus a conversion fee. I also have my cash passport MasterCard where I can loads funds in 10 currencies, it offers a rather poor exchange rate but no atm or conversion fees, so they get you either way. Relying on my own savings I like to keep track on what I'm spending so I will always get enough money for each place I'm going unless of course I'm staying in one place or currency for a while.
Tiffany, I'm glad to hear that your still going. I'll be looking forward to hearing about it especially Crotia upon your return.
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Post by tiffany on Jul 29, 2016 11:37:10 GMT
I use my credit card for pretty much everything, as I like to collect points. I’m very disciplined though, and I pay it in full every month. I have never paid interest on my credit card. I currently have BMO’s world elite MasterCard, and I build up points very quickly with this card. I usually use my points for flights to visit my family, and what I like about this card is that when I redeem my points for a flight, I don’t have to pay the tax like with Aeroplan. My points pay for everything.
Bet, I’m glad to be going on my trip as well. It’s been somewhat of a rough year for me, and it’s nice to have something to look forward to. I would have been very upset if I would have had to cancel my trip. I’ll be making my final payment on August 6, and then I just need to save for my spending money!
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Post by Boop on Jul 29, 2016 22:54:52 GMT
I use my credit card for pretty much everything, as I like to collect points. I’m very disciplined though, and I pay it in full every month. I have never paid interest on my credit card. I currently have BMO’s world elite MasterCard, and I build up points very quickly with this card. I usually use my points for flights to visit my family, and what I like about this card is that when I redeem my points for a flight, I don’t have to pay the tax like with Aeroplan. My points pay for everything. Bet, I’m glad to be going on my trip as well. It’s been somewhat of a rough year for me, and it’s nice to have something to look forward to. I would have been very upset if I would have had to cancel my trip. I’ll be making my final payment on August 6, and then I just need to save for my spending money! tiffany, do you mind if I ask if there is a yearly fee on your BMO world elite? I, too, am a BMO fan, but I have a gold mastercard which gives me 1 air mile for every $15 I spend. The yearly fee is $99. The only reason I applied for the gold was at that time the interest charged was significantly lower than the regular mastercard fee. That changed over a year ago though and now the interest charged has reverted to the same interest fee on the regular mastercard. The only difference that I can see is that on the regular mastercard you receive 1 air mile for every $20 you spend. I like the fact that you don't pay tax on your flights with the world elite!
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Post by tiffany on Jul 29, 2016 23:35:57 GMT
I pay $150 a year but this catd comes with the gold level travel insurance which I used to pay $90 a year for, so I am only paying $60 a year for the card. It comes with a lot of perks, like access to priority lounges at airports, and there are no bkack out dates or limited seating on the flights you book with your points. There are other perks as well. Just goggle Bmo World Elite to find out more. In the last year I'v booked three flights using points which saved me about $800. This makes the fee worth while.
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Post by Boop on Jul 30, 2016 2:12:48 GMT
I pay $150 a year but this catd comes with the gold level travel insurance which I used to pay $90 a year for, so I am only paying $60 a year for the card. It comes with a lot of perks, like access to priority lounges at airports, and there are no bkack out dates or limited seating on the flights you book with your points. There are other perks as well. Just goggle Bmo World Elite to find out more. In the last year I'v booked three flights using points which saved me about $800. This makes the fee worth while. Thanks tiffany! I'm definitely going to look into this one!
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Post by Boop on Jul 30, 2016 2:16:15 GMT
I pay $150 a year but this catd comes with the gold level travel insurance which I used to pay $90 a year for, so I am only paying $60 a year for the card. It comes with a lot of perks, like access to priority lounges at airports, and there are no bkack out dates or limited seating on the flights you book with your points. There are other perks as well. Just goggle Bmo World Elite to find out more. In the last year I'v booked three flights using points which saved me about $800. This makes the fee worth while. Thanks tiffany! I'm definitely going to look into this one! Well that was quick! I googled world elite and there is a minimum $70,000/year income required...lol!
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Post by lainie on Aug 1, 2016 5:24:55 GMT
The time has finally arrived. We are off to Ireland this week for Trafalgar's Amazing Ireland. We have a very long flight from Australia to London then on to Dublin. From the time we leave home with the flights and waiting time at airports, it will be 39 hours until we get to our Dublin hotel. We have a couple of days to get over jet lag before the tour starts.
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Post by californian on Aug 1, 2016 16:01:04 GMT
Wow, long haul! I hope you are rested by the start of the tour, it does look amazing. Enjoy it.
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Post by plane2catch on Aug 2, 2016 1:23:29 GMT
Lanie, Ouch, 39 hours seems painful. I remember a trip I took to Skiathos Greece years back. It was about that length as when we arrived in the morning in Athens the connecting flight to the island wasn't until 10:30 pm that evening. My father's cousin's wife picked us up at the Athen's airport and took us to their house for dinner. I remember being exhausted when I finally was able to climb in bed that evening.
Ireland is a lot of fun. Hope you are able to post some pictures or at least write a little bit about your adventure.
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Post by tiffany on Aug 2, 2016 2:02:12 GMT
Thanks tiffany! I'm definitely going to look into this one! Well that was quick! I googled world elite and there is a minimum $70,000/year income required...lol! I didn't know that. I don't think that was the case when I got my card two years ago. It must be new.
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Post by tiffany on Aug 5, 2016 11:44:02 GMT
I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but I requested the travel director for my upcoming Eastern Europe tour. He was my travel director while on the Highlights of Germany tour, and we have kept in touch over facebook. Like a lot of travel directors now-a-days, he has a facebook page where he posts pictures of tours, and promotes travel, etc. Before booking my tour, I sent him a message asking him some questions regarding the tour, and he asked me what departure date I was thinking of booking, and then told me that I could request him as a tour director, as he also does the Eastern Europe tour. So, my friends I requested him upon booking, and he requested that tour as well, and he recently advised that Trafalgar assigned him to our tour. I’m happy to have such a good travel director assigned to our tour, especially after the horrible tour director I had on my Austria and Switzerland tour. I know that she used to occasionally do the Eastern Europe tour, and I didn’t want to end up with her again. In regard to currency, I sent him a facebook message the other day, asking him if he would stop at a currency exchange when entering countries that don’t use the Euro. He hasn’t responded yet, but if he does, I may just bring Euros with me, and exchange money while on tour. If not, I’ll take a little bit of each currency with me.
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Post by californian on Aug 5, 2016 14:59:38 GMT
That's nice Tiffany, I have also requested a particular TD but I was given a bunch of blahs-blahs and it didn't happen, good for you. I hearty recommend Malcolm Macrae for that part of the world (and Russia) as well.
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Post by chech on Aug 5, 2016 17:39:54 GMT
One thing to remember if you go with just Euros is that you'll pay for exchange twice - once to the Euro and second to the other currency when you get there. The rate is also likely higher in Europe. As well, you end up lining up with everyone from your tour and if the ATM is broken or exchange booth closed, you end up having to deal with it later. It's just one thing you can deal with before you go and ensures less hassle while you're there....you could be having a relaxing coffee while forty people are lined up at an exchange booth.
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Post by tiffany on Aug 6, 2016 2:06:00 GMT
That's true. Maybe I will stick to my original plan and get money ahead of time.
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