Holiday Thread

[pcRock]

I think Belgium is a good idea too. (ok, I'm biased. I love beer!) Though Brugges is rather small, marjoreemarjora is right. You could go to Ghent, Brussels or even Antwerp as well. It's easy to travel around by train and these cities are close to each other. You can b*y a 10 trip train card and travel within Belgium cheaply (not sure whether this still exists. haven't been to Belgium in 3 years now). And the best bit is: you get to try lots of different beers!

[Beate]

The only dampener is that I don't drink, LOL! Never been to Poland before. Does no one think Scandinavia might be a good idea?

[Diane65]

Belguim is lovely; I went last month and spent 2 days in Brussels and a day in Bruges. Both were really interesting loads of culture, churches, museums, a palace and lots of beautiful buildings. You could see all of Bruges in 2 days at a leisurely pace. Bruges seems to shut at midnight which was fine by me. If you do travel with Ryanair to Charleroi which I did you can get a train ticket to any City in Belguim for 11 Euro to and from the airport but you must b*y it in the airport.

Norway is breathtaking, I've stayed in Bergen which has loads of interesting places to visit along with the beautiful fjords and mountains it is well worth a visit. The drinks there are extremely expensive so most people ask for tap water with their meals which seemed to be the norm, I don't drink either but my diet coke cost £6 and that was over 10 years ago!

[woodyrocks]

Off on holiday on Wednesday for 3wks and I feel so unprepared. I have not packed or even started. Haven't even got a suitcase sorted. Not sure if to take suitcase or backpack. Not sure what to take as we are travelling to different places with different weather. Do I sound freaked out?! Yes, I most definitely am!

First time travelling to Asia and would you believe I am doing it alone with my 8.5yr old in tow! Worried that I don't have enough holiday money to last the whole time even though deep down I will, as ever, come back with spare money!

Just tell me it is all going to be all right in the end. Even too scared to make sure passports are in the usual place because knowing how I feel right now, they won't be!! Actually, that thought has me so scared that I shan't get to sleep now until I have checked.

Words of wisdom anyone?

[Ms Thrifty]

I expect Destresserai would be better placed to respond and I don't know about words of wisdom, but you could try thnking of all the things you have successfully coped with in the past, and telling yourself that if you could get through those, you can deal with anything. Also try reframing your nerves as excitement. I once read that it was better to do this than to try to calm yourself down, because physiologically, the symptoms of nerves and excitement are similar. And anyway, you are excited too, aren't you? I am sure it will be fine, and educational, too. I often think children must learn more from a few weeks' travelling than from the equivalent time or more at school, so think what a great experience you are giving your son/daughter, too.

[pcRock]

Beate, why don't you go to Portugal? To Lisbon? Or Porto? I can give you some tips (at least for Porto since it's my home town). It has recently become really touristic, I guess due to the cheap Ryanair flights.

[Spanner]

I've just bagged myself some £1 flights to Dublin (thank you Ryaniar) and cheap accomodation in the city centre (thank you lastminute) however I've never been there before, can anyone give me any hints/tips and advice on what to do/not do, where to go, eat, drink, see etc?

[Diane65]

Hi Spanner
Get your bus tickets in the airport not on the bus, it's 10 Euro for a day ticket thats for 2 adults and up to 4 children for all over Dublin, you don't have to take a child it can be used for just 2 adults.
What do you like doing? I've no idea re night life (not just because I'm boring just because I've only been for day trips)
If you give me an idea what you like I'll try and help
Diane

[MissPrecious]

Has anyone been to Madrid? I've never been but we're planning a trip towards the end of August for 4 days and will most probably be staying at the Best Western Carlos V Hotel. Just wanted to know if anyone had any tips on what to do etc. We will be visiting the major attractions but is there anything else anyone would suggest?

[Cortone]

Off on holiday on Wednesday for 3wks and I feel so unprepared. I have not packed or even started. Haven't even got a suitcase sorted. Not sure if to take suitcase or backpack. Not sure what to take as we are travelling to different places with different weather. Do I sound freaked out?! Yes, I most definitely am!

First time travelling to Asia and would you believe I am doing it alone with my 8.5yr old in tow! Worried that I don't have enough holiday money to last the whole time even though deep down I will, as ever, come back with spare money!

Just tell me it is all going to be all right in the end. Even too scared to make sure passports are in the usual place because knowing how I feel right now, they won't be!! Actually, that thought has me so scared that I shan't get to sleep now until I have checked.

Words of wisdom anyone?

Just take the bare minimum of clothes, and if you are travelling around, then a backpack is probably easier (even though I always take a case, usually overfull with clothes! But I don't have an 8.5 year old!). Depending where you are, it will probably be cheap (Malaysia, Thailand, India, etc. are cheap, but places like HK and Singapore are not universally cheap.) b*y fresh fruit etc. from markets, and for the rest, I have always been told to eat where you see mums with babies or young kids... as this is most likely to be safe.

Scan or photocopy your passport and leave it with someone else at home, just in case....

And then stop worrying - pack your basic clothes, and toiletries and your PMT (passport, money, tickets, of course! ). Then enjoy all the experiences.

I'm so jealous! Have a wonderful time!