Tagged With "Train ticket booking"
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Re: Trains in Cuba
Great question...and possibly not an easy clear answer. Cuba's trains have generally been in poor shape in recent years as older equipment has run down and spares not available. However, according to Mark Smith (The Man in Seat 61), that's changing with the arrival of a fleet of new Chinese-built locomotives. On his site ( Seat61.com ) he has an extensive update of recent changes in schedules, routes and locations (that's important because Havana's main station is closed for a 3-year...
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Re: Trains in Cuba
Thanks for the info. I too love Mark's site. I will try my damnedest to do a train journey if I can so I can send you details. Wilbur.
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Re: Boston in the fall - suggestions please!
Agree with PHeymont. Plan your trips around the leaf watching. Lots of pretty small towns around New England, although many will be pretty booked. I'd leave at least 3-4 days for Boston. Lots to see and do there, including many items relating to the rebellious Yankees throwing off the ties with old King George. And great museums and restaurants and such. We can get into more details if you'd like, but you'll definitely want a good guide book. Many people find a day in Salem (famous for its...
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Re: Boston in the fall - suggestions please!
Wow! HistoryDigger that is fantastic information, thank you, I will now 'dig' more (pardon the pun) on the web and put some plans into place around those excellent suggestions!! Please - a crucial question for us - would we be "safe" to just book hotels for the arrival and departure days of our tour and simply rely on finding local accommodation as we progress round - or is it really SO busy in this season that I must book every stop along the way? We prefer the 'flexible' approach as it can...
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Re: Boston in the fall - suggestions please!
Regarding hotels, Mac, I think I'd spend a few days in Boston to begin with, presuming that's where you are flying into. This will let you get over your jet lag and also give you a chance to see the state of the colors and plot out where you want to go. I would NOT go without having at least a night's reservation booked ahead because you'll waste too much time looking for a place to stay and will end up paying rack rate. Things will be busy and pretty filled up in the small towns of New...
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Re: Should Wi-Fi be free in all hotels?
Good discussion! WiFi has for me become an indispensable part of traveling. It allows me to stay in touch with family easily and cheaply (remember how hard it was even 25 years ago -- a phone call could run you $5 a minute? And there was no email). It lets me spend evening hours clearing out a hefty email que, and doing research on what I am going to see tomorrow and the next day. And with "Gumbo on the Go", it lets me share my travels as they happen with fellow Gumboites! I echo PHeymont's...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
I frequently fly from NY JFK to Manchester UK. With Delta ! I know you are in Chicago but will Delta do you a thru Ticket ? We'll sort your Visit to Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and The Cavern Club nearer the time!
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Wow, this is turning into a real education!! I checked with my uncle and yes, I can fly Chicago to Manchester and return from either London or Paris to Chicago. The ticket is free to him and he said he would cover any fees as a "graduation gift to me" (he's a pretty cool dude!), but I don't want to burden him with a heavy departure fee, so maybe Paris would be the way to go. I'd like to leave about Friday, May 9th and return 4 weeks later, June 6th. A few days later and returning a few days...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
That's helpful too, Rob. So with your guys advice, I'm thinking of the following plan, which still has holes I need to fill. I actually like the idea of Paris more than Scotland for this trip, plus I worry about the cost of travel to Scotland back so unless I can get a really cheap plane ticket or train ticket to Edinburgh, I think I'll drop that and focus on eastern UK and then on to Paris. So this is where I'm at now: 1) Arrive in Manchester. Maybe ??2 days 2) Travel Liverpool. 3 days 3)...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
or more. This is one case where he might be better off with a Ryanair or the like to Amsterdam and then an AMS-JFK ticket separately. Price it out both ways...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Everyone's been very helpful! I can't tell you what a great welcoming and helpful group of people you are. My uncle is an employee of Delta, so he has some kind of free ticket that requires me to fly on Delta only (no partners). I will have him check into the dates. I like the idea of flying up to Manchester, slowly working my way to London then returning from Paris. I think going to Amsterdam is more than I can bite off now, plus I want to spend the time seeing stuff, not traveling all the...
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Re: Traveling for Local Food
I took a look and it looks like just what I need. I can even use the info to plan our route. I had my mom look at it, too, and she said it reminds her of when she was a kid and my granddad had a book called Duncan Hines that had local places all over. I wonder if that's the same Duncan Hines as the cake mix?
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Hi everyone! I'm back. Just arrived at my parents home for Thanksgiving. Not had a lot of time to work on this trip since I last visited TravelGumbo, but some progress to report. I have a firm ticket reservation for Manchester, returning from Paris, though a few days off the dates we talked about. But 29 days in Europe! Whooppeee!! I have a guidebook from the Library which I'm going to go through this long weekend (one by Fodors). I think this will help. Anyone know of a good pocket size...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
England is only as big as Florida ! I haven't seen a Guide book that sub-divides us! Wales is full of Castles, Mountains and Lakes. Tourists often divide England between the North and South. The North is often cooler and wetter than further South. But your Dollar will go twice as far up here in the North! And we're much friendlier. Have a look at places you'd like to visit. York (the old one) will keep you busy for 2 days. Train or Bus from Liverpool. Or a day or two in Europe from Liverpool...
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Re: Renting an apartment in Europe
Originally Posted by Bling: We have considered renting an apartment. We are never quite sure how to handle the deposit. Some owners seem very firm about having a non-refundable deposit upfront. We can understand their need to guarantee bookings but we also know that plans change, flights get cancelled, and, perhaps the place will not be to our liking. Should we only book with owners and agencies that allow the deposit to be paid on arrival ? What is the standard procedure for this ? What is...
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
This is sounding very promising, Rob. I can think of no reason to pay more money to pay with miles than for a ticket on Norwegian. I have enough miles to go around the world and only the first leg (or last, depending) is more expensive using miles. It makes no sense. So you were able to carry on your main bag plus a smaller one? I'm speaking of the limits for discounted coach tickets (aka "steerage").
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Re: London- multiple questions
Thank you for all of the information. I am finally ready to finalize some things since we leave at the end of this month! We have decided not to do Liverpool...seems like we should come back and do that someday. I am thinking the Megabus option may be the way to go to Salisbury and catch the shuttle to Stonehenge from there. That way we can see the cathedral while we are there. Do you know if it is a short walk to the cathedral or will we need to take a taxi from the Megabus stop? Do you...
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Re: London- multiple questions
Hi Chickpea. The train from London to Liverpool will take 2 and a half hours each way. You can check out the times and which trains are direct - no changing - at www.thetrainline.com It's always cheaper to book well in advance ! It's over 400 miles round trip. And it's expensive at peak times. Around £200 return. So if you get the 09:40 from Euston Station (London) to Lime St. Station Liverpool its only £39 with a change at Crewe. 20 minute change time. And return at 19:48 Liv - Lon - Direct...
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Re: How to Irk the Brits
It's been more than 50 years since the book "The Ugly American" was published. Does he still exist ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzsBh2WsFCQ
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Re: Beating Jet Lag
When you arrive at your departure airport set your watch to your destination time. Sleep as much as you want to on the flight. Wear headphones to avoid being woken - listen to some smooth tunes on your MP3. Take snacks and bottled water. Don't eat big meals before and during your flight. Take a puzzle book to keep your mind active while you are awake. Take a pee long before they put the seat belt sign on for landing. (Waiting too long in line for Immigration when you're busting makes you bad...
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Re: How do occupy your time while flying?
Great ideas and i especially like the audiobook idea! For me it depends whether I'm going on the trip or returning home. Going, I tend to organize my notes and read about some of the sights I'm planning on visiting. That used to be in guidebooks but now it's a combination of guidebooks and material I've printed off. Coming home, I try to relax and unwind. Maybe watch a movie or read a fiction book. My next trip I want to use that time to learn some French.
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Re: Outdated Information, Print & Online
This is problematic, especially when it comes to accommodations and restaurants in my experience, because ownership and management changes and closures are far from rare in the travel industry. A lot of guide book publishers have on line sites which provides updates to the guidebook. But that takes lots of effort and this is a real downside of printed media -- its short half life. Glad to hear you're looking at Sri Lanka! It's a wonderful destination.
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Re: Books That Sent You Packing (your bag, that is)
People always laugh when I tell them this but the book that most inspired me to travel was Arthur C Clarke's "2001 a Space Odyssey". It made me want to see the universe -- or at least Clavius Base on the moon. It wasn't until later that I learned I'd have to settle for staying on the planet. Little did I know those journeys would one day lead me to the home and friendship of the man who wrote the book that so inspired me.
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Re: World's most attractive libraries
And I thought you weren't a fan of "best of" lists, DrF. There are as many of these lists as there are opinions, I think. Here's another: http://www.miragebookmark.ch/m...esting-libraries.htm I think the Bodleian in Oxford may be my favorite, not because of the Radcliffe Camera, shown, but the interior of the old library proper, which can be seen on tours. It isn't as ostentatious as some on the list, but it's ancient and intimate, which appeals to me infinitely more than huge open spaces...
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Re: World's most attractive libraries
Technically speaking, it's not a "best of..." but a "world's most stunning" list. I understand I may be splitting hairs with that argument. In any event, one needs to make an exception for really valuable lists, like libraries or books. There's something special about a great book and a great bookshop. The smells, the textures, the visual stimulation -- always work wonders for me. Thanks for these additions.
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Re: World's most attractive libraries
A followup to attractive libraries are great bookstores. Fodors just released 16 of their favorites in the USA, which you can find here . I've visited a number of these and enjoyed them. I would like to add two other stores that I know of. 1) Univ. of Washington bookstore. While mostly a student store aimed at textbooks and supplies and such, it has an excellent collection of fiction and non-fiction as well as frequent author readings and book signings. 2) Auntie's books in Spokane,...
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Re: World's most attractive libraries
There's always more to know about libraries, so 2 interesting items noted in this morning's Bookmarks from The Guardian: 1. A book, The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders, by Stuart Kells . . . 2. and his item in The Guardian, From Bag End to Babel : top 10 libraries in fiction. I hope to get a copy of the book when the price of used copies comes down (if ever)! If you look at The Library , scroll down the page for more things library and also click on "Source notes" for a long list of fun stuff.
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Re: How do you buy your travel?
I never trusted travel agents before the freedom of the internet gave us access to cost information, and I would need a great excuse to trust them now. Online travel purchasing gives us the freedom to have price information come directly to us, rather than to a middle man who may or may not have our best interests in mind. So flights I'll buy either through Expedia or from the airline directly (esp if they are having a "sale"). Rooms I almost get through booking.com, my favorite site because...
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Re: How do you buy your travel?
I'd definitely agree about booking.com They generally seem to have a much deeper inventory than Expedia, including the small local hotels I like. I also appreciate the fact that most of the bookings don't expect me to pay in advance and allow free cancellation. Often, too, the price I pay through booking.com with those privileges is the same that Expedia offers as a "special" that must be pre-paid! I would also be less than honest if I didn't mention that TravelGumbo receives a small but...
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Re: How do you buy your travel?
Interesting topic and rather timely as I am in the midst of finalizing my plans for my upcoming trip. Hotels: This upcoming trip the first I've used Booking.com. I have used a variety of sources in the past (i.e. Travelocity, Expedia, etc.) and have also found that booking directly through the hotel is sometimes cheaper...sometimes. But, I love the option to be able to change or cancel my reservation, if needed. Flights: I prefer to book directly through the airline. Have never used a...
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Re: How do you buy your travel?
A reminder I used to post on other sites...when you book through an agency, with OTA or brick-and-mortar, the next step is to ask them for the airline locator number (that 6-digit string that goes on your reservation). With that code, go to the airline's site and search for your reservation...doesn't matter if you didn't book it with them directly, you'll be able to find it with the code and your name. If not, call the airline! The reason for all this is to make sure that the agency did its...
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Re: How do you buy your travel?
I use booking.com the most for hotels and apartments because I can cancel. Sometimes I can't decide what part of town I want to be in, so I book more than one and keep researching until I have found the right spot. (I don't hold extra reservations long...just sayin'.) I love that booking.com now shows apartments and houses via villa.com because I always refer having a kitchen when I travel. I, too, use OTAs to see prices and schedules, and then I go to the airline's web page for booking.
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Re: How do you buy your travel?
Few more thoughts, following HistoryDigger and DrFumblefinger... 1. Definitely check all your affiliations on car rental; after years of getting better price through AAA than any other way I knew, I recently found that going to the same vendors through USAA (my car insurance) gets me even better. 2. Not only does Priceline have good pricing on cars, I've often found I can get 30-40% lower through their blind-bidding (Name Your Own Price) service. 3. RailEurope is something of a red flag for...
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Re: Tough Trains
You might find yourself the only pale-skinned person in one of the trains to remote towns in Sri Lanka or India. Trains between Colombo and Kandy will be well-touristed. But trains running into the hills much less so so far as Sri Lanka goes. While you would blend in with the locals, I would imagine the same is true of the UK. Train travel between smaller towns, especially in the north, would have few tourists.
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Re: Tough Trains
In contrast to "Tough Trains", Fodors just put out a slide-show of some of the greatest train rides in the world. How many have you been on? Here's that link .
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Re: Tough Trains
I've only been on one of those they list, but as we so often do, I disagree with some of their choices. For instance in India, some of the best rides are the mountain trains to Hill Stations, like the famous toy trains to Shimla and to Darjeeling, both of which I've ridden, the Shimla route twice. I'd also include Delhi to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, rather than to Mumbai. Ah well, in any case, so many trains, so little time.
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Re: Books That Send You Packing...
I enjoy a good fiction book as well as non-fiction, especially if the writer is skilled. I really liked "Travels" by the late great Michael Crichton, my favorite of the nonfiction travel books I've read.. "Robinson Crusoe" made me want to visit tropical islands as a boy. "Fantastic Voyage" by Isaac Asimov intrigued me with traveling at a cellular level, within a human body no less (maybe lead to my current day job?) And my all-time favorite, "2001: A Space Odyssey". Made me want to travel to...
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Re: Provence Help
There's a food writer, Pater Mayle, who had a book on food and his life there called A Year in Provence. It was also made into a mini-series on BBC and I just looked it up and you can get it on Netflix!
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
It required 40,000 miles for a round-trip economy ticket. All were in-seat miles and all were from a few years ago.
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Originally Posted by WorkerBee: It required 40,000 miles for a round-trip economy ticket. All were in-seat miles and all were from a few years ago. That's one of the things I like about AA...aside from the one-way awards. When everyone else was 50K to Europe, they were 40K offpeak and 60 peak. Now everyone else is 60K peak, and AA still has the winter bargains. Hope it lasts!
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Garry RF and PHeymont - Thank you very much for the information. In this case, APD is not incurred - Flying NYC-LON-Continental Europe: No problem; as long as your time in UK is less than 24 hours, you are a transit passenger and don't pay APD. In this case, there is an APD, even if the transit is less than 24 hours ? - Flying Continential Europe-LON-NYC: Not so good; you pay the APD on the trans-Atlantic leg, and that's high. Concerning the third item, this explains why Worker Bee had a...
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Re: Nova: Building the Great Cathedrals.
Thanks for the heads up on that. There are few things I enjoy doing more in Europe than to spend a half day exploring a great cathedral! If people haven't read it yet, I'd highly recommend Ken Follett's great book, "The Pillars of the Earth" , a work of fiction set in Medieval times and focused on the building of these great churches.
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Re: Nova: Building the Great Cathedrals.
The Follet book is a good one and made into a decent miniseries with an excellent cast: http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/T...srl&trkid=222336
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Re: Spain or Portugal?
Usually these days I put together a "trip book" with articles and information from a lot of sources, but I also usually take along one full-scale guidebook as well. I'd be hard-put to make a recommendation for Portugal, because for that one I decided to overcome my feelings and give Rick Steves a try...and it was nearly useless. No special information, a smug tone, and maps that were too sketchy to be useful. In general, I've liked the Frommer guides (and I'm excited that the new ones will...
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Re: Spain or Portugal?
Portugal's rail system feels a bit worn in places, and some trains look terrible from outside...but the interiors are clean and the system seems to work. Not a terribly large country, so that time between the two largest cities (Lisbon and Porto) is about 3.5 hours. If you add in getting to the airport early and getting in from the airport at the other end, it's probably faster than flying. Other significant points in Portugal also have reasonable rail service, including Coimbra, the...
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Re: Alternative London Tube Maps.
And yet another London "map", replacing real place names with book titles. Curiouser and curiouser. Have a look .
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Re: ZHANGJIAJIE Visit
Hi Tahir, If you are not a local, join a guided tour is the easier way of visiting. There are many choices of packages from abroad or from the Zangjiajie, depending on how many sites you would like to visit, as well as hotel, meal and transportation selection. At least three days are needed to visit the area. "C-trip" is a very popular and reliable web site to book the China trip, I have done few times. Enjoy and have fun. Dr. Y
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Re: May 31, An Epic Reenactment in France.
I suspect not. There was a question, a few years back when Eurostar came into London's Waterloo Station from Paris, whether it was to make the point to every French person who bought a ticket.
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Re: Agritourism Bed and Breakfast in Normandy
I can't recommend an agrotourismo, but I'd suggest you consider staying in Bayeux. Very small town, charming medieval core, great cathedral and of course its famous tapestry. We stayed at a nice B&B which was near the heart of the historic town core, very convenient to everything. Owned by a wonderful couple who were great hosts and were fascinating to talk to. And they helped us outline highlights of what to see in the area. An elegant home -- maybe larger than you need and not quite...
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Re: Tips on Getting FF Seats.
That's good advice in her column! I've often had success calling back when I didn't get the "right" answer the first time helps...and the night shift often has the most experienced agents. Other useful tips, aside from being the most pleasant if sadly disappointed customer they've had all day: Plan early, book early. If you really want to fly to Paris in late July on the cheapest FF tickets, your best bet is late August: the airlines generally open seats 330 days ahead, and if you can be...