Pauline
Forums Admin
This is a bitchy post but I have to talk about this! We recently were visited by friends from Canada who were doing their first European trip since they were in their 20s. They are both retired. With all my Europe travel experience, you would think they would talk to be about how to plan their trip. No.
Flew from Canada to London Gatwick.
Rented a car and drove immediately after the flight (first time driving in UK) to Yorkshire. Spent 4 nights visiting a friend. Could not remember the name of towns they visited.
Returned car at Gatwick, bus to Heathrow, flight to Barcelona.
Spent 2 1/2 weeks in Barcelona, staying weekends with friends in Barcelona and staying somewhere else in Northern Spain on the weeknights. So back and forth to Barcelona for 3 weekends. Loved one place they stayed in a hiking area but didn't even tell me about the other places they stayed.
Flew to Seville. Spent a few nights there.
Flew Seville - Madrid - Heathrow.
Rented a car and drove to Salisbury for 1 night (my suggestion, so they could visit Stonehenge - they didn't).
Drove to Dorset for 4 nights. Stayed a 45 minute drive from us even though I sent them a list of places nearby. Did not talk to me before booking and booked with a non-refundable price so it could not be changed. Sent me wrong dates of their stay which I did not realize until day before they arrived.
Drove back to Heathrow (stopping in Avebury on the way - my suggestion!!), dropped off car, bus to Gatwick, night in hotel, flight home the next day.
Mistakes in planning:
Do one stopover in the UK, not two. Combine the Yorkshire and Dorset visits.
Try to book flight in and out of same airport in UK. If can't do that, then pickup car at one airport, return at the other.
Train from Barcelona to Seville?
Do one weekend visit with Barcelona friends, then move somewhere nearby for a week and have them visit you the next weekend.
They ended up doing too much running around, I think.
They picked vacation destinations where they have friends so they don't have to do any planning and friends will show them the sites.
At least they didn't go on a cruise. My other friends just take a cruise so they don't have to plan anything.
Do your non-travel friends travel like this?
I know my friends won't read this because they would never go on a travel forum.
Flew from Canada to London Gatwick.
Rented a car and drove immediately after the flight (first time driving in UK) to Yorkshire. Spent 4 nights visiting a friend. Could not remember the name of towns they visited.
Returned car at Gatwick, bus to Heathrow, flight to Barcelona.
Spent 2 1/2 weeks in Barcelona, staying weekends with friends in Barcelona and staying somewhere else in Northern Spain on the weeknights. So back and forth to Barcelona for 3 weekends. Loved one place they stayed in a hiking area but didn't even tell me about the other places they stayed.
Flew to Seville. Spent a few nights there.
Flew Seville - Madrid - Heathrow.
Rented a car and drove to Salisbury for 1 night (my suggestion, so they could visit Stonehenge - they didn't).
Drove to Dorset for 4 nights. Stayed a 45 minute drive from us even though I sent them a list of places nearby. Did not talk to me before booking and booked with a non-refundable price so it could not be changed. Sent me wrong dates of their stay which I did not realize until day before they arrived.
Drove back to Heathrow (stopping in Avebury on the way - my suggestion!!), dropped off car, bus to Gatwick, night in hotel, flight home the next day.
Mistakes in planning:
Do one stopover in the UK, not two. Combine the Yorkshire and Dorset visits.
Try to book flight in and out of same airport in UK. If can't do that, then pickup car at one airport, return at the other.
Train from Barcelona to Seville?
Do one weekend visit with Barcelona friends, then move somewhere nearby for a week and have them visit you the next weekend.
They ended up doing too much running around, I think.
They picked vacation destinations where they have friends so they don't have to do any planning and friends will show them the sites.
At least they didn't go on a cruise. My other friends just take a cruise so they don't have to plan anything.
Do your non-travel friends travel like this?
I know my friends won't read this because they would never go on a travel forum.