My husband and i have been to several countries through planning our own lodging and air travel . This year, however, we tried a Christmas market river cruise and a small-group trip to Australia and New Zealand. We are coming to the conclusion that we are not tour people. And furthermore, that we dont want to hit so many places in a short time. We're ready to try 2-4 weeks in one place, taking occasional day trips from that spot. I'm hoping you all can help me with that goal.
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Hello from Indiana
- Thread starter jymhawk
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Ian Sutton
1000+ Posts
Yes, some love being able to switch off and have someone else handle all the logistics. For me that's hell, and being stuck on a prison ship (erm, I mean cruise ship) would make it even worse.
2-4 weeks in one place gives you a great chance to really get to know a place, but it requires a mindset of revelling in the mundane being good e.g. every day / every other day visiting the market for fresh produce; exploring local food shops; finding a bar/cafe that becomes 'regular'; exploring not just the centre, but also finding out what's appealing in the suburbs; Attending local events, from little festivals and even local clubs. In short the embedding in the culture that's the polar opposite of those cruises and 'see it all in a week' tours.
For day trips, having a list of 'options' prepped helped us a lot. Knowing how we'd get there, if there's a good day e.g. market day, or avoiding a half day closing day, a few restaurant options, a few key shops, any local attractions worth a look. That's then all available to us to either influence plans the evening before, or even to do something 'on the spur of the moment'. It was enough to avoid us feeling lost and confused, but was never in any way a 'schedule'.
We'd also treat some day trips as a 'sampler', not attempting to 'see everything', but instead simply enjoying what we did, and aiming to get a feel for whether we'd like to return another time, perhaps even for an extended stay.
If the place you choose has a good train network (e.g. Italy, Germany, France, Holland etc.) then longer day trips can be enjoyable. A direct train of 1-2 hours can be comfortable and fast, with the potential for a picnic breakfast or supper on the train to bookend the day. They can be a good antidote to feeling the days get a bit samey.
2-4 weeks in one place gives you a great chance to really get to know a place, but it requires a mindset of revelling in the mundane being good e.g. every day / every other day visiting the market for fresh produce; exploring local food shops; finding a bar/cafe that becomes 'regular'; exploring not just the centre, but also finding out what's appealing in the suburbs; Attending local events, from little festivals and even local clubs. In short the embedding in the culture that's the polar opposite of those cruises and 'see it all in a week' tours.
For day trips, having a list of 'options' prepped helped us a lot. Knowing how we'd get there, if there's a good day e.g. market day, or avoiding a half day closing day, a few restaurant options, a few key shops, any local attractions worth a look. That's then all available to us to either influence plans the evening before, or even to do something 'on the spur of the moment'. It was enough to avoid us feeling lost and confused, but was never in any way a 'schedule'.
We'd also treat some day trips as a 'sampler', not attempting to 'see everything', but instead simply enjoying what we did, and aiming to get a feel for whether we'd like to return another time, perhaps even for an extended stay.
If the place you choose has a good train network (e.g. Italy, Germany, France, Holland etc.) then longer day trips can be enjoyable. A direct train of 1-2 hours can be comfortable and fast, with the potential for a picnic breakfast or supper on the train to bookend the day. They can be a good antidote to feeling the days get a bit samey.
Eleanor
1000+ Posts
I visited Romania pre covid and loved the country. It was still unspoilt with people working by hand in the fields . The scenery was superb and the painted monaasteries and wooden churches magnificent. A friend visited this year and was equally entrqanced by the country.
The family did Croatia and Slovenia by public transport this year and again had a wonderful time. Their only criticism was they didn;t have long enough there!
The family did Croatia and Slovenia by public transport this year and again had a wonderful time. Their only criticism was they didn;t have long enough there!
TomandKathy
10+ Posts
We feel just the same way. We watch cruise ships go by from our coastal home in Queensland and it really does not appeal at all, especially since covid, when they became floating hospital prisons. That said, I have a friend who loves that kind of trip, nothing to plan, everything taken care of...
We are now a little old for many short stops on our Europe travels and have gotten into the habit of a trip to France and Greece once or twice a year, and we choose certain areas in each, stay at least a week in each place and always have a car for part or all of the week (we find that the freedom of our own car, is fabulous where small villages abound and public transport limited). Airbnb and Stayz and even B.com etc, make it easy to find longer rentals and now even offer free cancellation in most cases, so planning is usually stress-free. This year we are going to two parts of France we haven't visited before - one week in Vaison-la-Romaine and another in Colmar, before staying with friends near Auxerre and taking a flight from Paris (Orly) to the Peloponnese in Greece (specifically Kalamata). Then we do a similar thing there - one week in the east and one week in the west.
People think we are repeating ourselves heading to the same countries but there are always so many different places/areas to stay and I think I'll never see all the beautiful market villages in France. Goodness we haven't gone north of Paris further than Giverny yet.
I know both countries are thought of as a bit crowded and touristy, but we go out of season (ie April to June and September to end October), choose real villages without the tourist hype to stay in and have been very, very happy with our choices.
We do have the advantage of having visited both countries many times, so we have a good idea of where we'd like to stay, but with good online research and questions in forums like this and tripadvisor, you can get a good idea.
Next we hope to spend two plus weeks in each place. We tried that in the south of Turkey and loved it. Good luck with your planning - for me it's part of the enjoyment.
We are now a little old for many short stops on our Europe travels and have gotten into the habit of a trip to France and Greece once or twice a year, and we choose certain areas in each, stay at least a week in each place and always have a car for part or all of the week (we find that the freedom of our own car, is fabulous where small villages abound and public transport limited). Airbnb and Stayz and even B.com etc, make it easy to find longer rentals and now even offer free cancellation in most cases, so planning is usually stress-free. This year we are going to two parts of France we haven't visited before - one week in Vaison-la-Romaine and another in Colmar, before staying with friends near Auxerre and taking a flight from Paris (Orly) to the Peloponnese in Greece (specifically Kalamata). Then we do a similar thing there - one week in the east and one week in the west.
People think we are repeating ourselves heading to the same countries but there are always so many different places/areas to stay and I think I'll never see all the beautiful market villages in France. Goodness we haven't gone north of Paris further than Giverny yet.
I know both countries are thought of as a bit crowded and touristy, but we go out of season (ie April to June and September to end October), choose real villages without the tourist hype to stay in and have been very, very happy with our choices.
We do have the advantage of having visited both countries many times, so we have a good idea of where we'd like to stay, but with good online research and questions in forums like this and tripadvisor, you can get a good idea.
Next we hope to spend two plus weeks in each place. We tried that in the south of Turkey and loved it. Good luck with your planning - for me it's part of the enjoyment.
That sounds like our type of vacation! Do you speak either French or Greek? I always feel a bit uncomfortable visited a place where I cant speak the language at all. And it sort of embarrasses me depending on everyone to speak English.
Ian Sutton
1000+ Posts
For Italy, yes I've done some learning at home, then a number of years of adult education learning. Still far from competent, but it's been very useful indeed.
For Sweden we never returned (though we loved it), so I've not tried to learn more. Same for Portugal, though Italian language skills helped, as there's some commonality. France had me revisiting what I learnt (badly) at school, but I never did get on with French language - it never seemed to click like Italian does.
Every bit you learn is a help, even if it starts off with yes, no, hello, goodbye, thank you, 1, 2, 3,..,10, 100. If you return to that country, commit to learning a bit more, and if you do so for every visit, it develops a lovely cycle of learning + in-country practice, and you see the benefit over time. If you'll not return, the investment of time learning doesn't give as much payback.
TomandKathy
10+ Posts
Interesting isn't it... We must have been in Greece at least 10 times now, but I still speak only about 10 words, and now that we try to go to much more out-of-the-way places, there is little English. But we get by with our few words and lots of smiles ... and Google Translate, which is becoming very good. People do respond so well when you try. My French, on the other hand, is becoming much better - the old school French was hidden in there somewhere and starts to come out when it has to. I remember when a chap tried to rob me in a metro station and I grabbed his hand and shouted in such fluent French... didn't know I could until emotion took over.
Keep trying, most people are very helpful when you actually try and with some online help you will improve anyway - and that's such fun.
Some languages do seem easier than others, and I suspect that's different for individuals. Portuguese had me totally confused, and we've been there 3 times now. Greek? - well it's all Greek to me. And I'm ashamed to say we've visited Japan 10 times too, and in spite of trying, I have only picked up some very basic phrases and always forget them almost immediately when we come home. Thank goodness for Google Translate.
Eleanor
1000+ Posts
It’s surprising how much you can achieve with a smile and hand gestures. I remember many years ago in Bolivia husband going into a shop and explaining in his very poor Spanish that he couldn’t speak much Spanish.... There was a look of terror on the face of the girl serving, which was replaced by a huge grin when he succeeded in indicating what he wanted and managed to pay.
That makes sense. Slow travel fits people who want depth, not checklists. Pick one walkable town with good transport and stay put, then add short day trips. You will see more by moving less.