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European Travel Forum

Goldi

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Hello, I'm looking for a good travel forum that covers travel in Portugal, Spain, and Italy. We plan to use RCI timeshare exchanges and AirBnb in our travels. We've never been to Europe and need to ask questions as we plan our trip. We really enjoy TUG forums for our timeshare advice and would love to find a European travel forum that is just as helpful.
At one time someone on TUG posted details about and their extensive trip to Spain. They posted about their daily experiences. I think they might have stayed in AirBnb and hotels. It was very informative, but I cant seem to find it. Anyone know where I can find this?
 

Passepartout

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Since timeshares of interest to most Americans are so thinly represented in Europe, this subject probably doesn't rate it's own forum. The existing https://tugbbs.com/forums/forums/vacation-travel-information.15/ Travel Information forum should suffice for your purposes. Go ahead and post your inquiries there and see what responses you get.

Jim
 

Limace

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Seconding Rick Steves. The forums were so helpful for our Italy trip last March. We also used a TripAdvisor to narrow down our activities. We really had fabulous lucky with very reasonable Aribnbs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

beejaybeeohio

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Thirding Rick Steves! I have learned a lot following the Switzerland and France forums for our trip later this year. Due join so you can pose questions. Sometimes responses can be snarky, e.g. when I posted that our group of 10 will be renting an airbnb in Wengen and somebody replied how he wouldn't want to be near us all crowded in a tiny space! Haha- I didn't answer back that we are in a 5 bed/5 bath chalet accessed by checking in at one of the finest hotels in Wengen, the Falken!
 

elaine

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I've literally built a trip around RS travelers' forum advice-including detour to Wengen to eat at the Baren. and decided to stay in their chalet style hotel. Nice little adventure on the cog wheel train for our kids! Would have never considered except for RS. Also got great advice to eat at cafeteria on top of El Corte Ingles department store in Barcelona--cheap, good, fantastic view!
 
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ScoopKona

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Rick Steves is a double-edged sword. All of his information is solid. But any place he recommends is going to be slam-packed with Rick Steves drones.

He has basically ruined the Cinque Terre, for instance. When I first started going there, it was me and a few other nerds. Now there are thousands of screaming tourists, most of them with selfie sticks, being led by uniformed tour guides with megaphones.

I recommend reading the book "Europe Through the Back Door" and then striking your own path. You don't need travel site information so much as you need a guide to the operational philosophy about how to visit Europe without having a miserable time.
 

stmartinfan

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I continue to be a fan of regular tour books, like Fodors, Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, etc., as a good place to start when planning a trip. i usually get several from our local library. I often use the Steves books to get an idea of the “top” things to do in an area and then scan through one or two of the other more comprehensive ones to find the lesser attractions that might have a special appeal to us.

I never use the Steves recommendations for restaurants and hotels because his popularity means they get overrun as soon as they are in his book.

We use lots of VRBO type rentals in Europe, preferring rental agencies when they are available because they have already done some pre screening of places. I use the tour books on a large city to determine the area I want to stay and then search for accommodations there. I rarely stay somewhere that doesn't have multiple reviews on the rental site and have generally been lucky with my choices. We recently stayed at a cute little apartment in Paris, tucked off a quiet street, so I know how lovely it can be to find the right place.

I do read some of the online forums, but recognize that, like the restaurant review sites, the commenters aren’t always the most objective reporters. I still remember the mediocre restaurant we made a detour to visit in Hawaii….rave reviews on TripAdviser, but not even a good neighborhood dive—at least in our opinion.

The online chats can be a good place to confirm some of your info from other sources or find some hidden gem that's just becoming popular.
 

ScoopKona

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I do read some of the online forums, but recognize that, like the restaurant review sites, the commenters aren’t always the most objective reporters. I still remember the mediocre restaurant we made a detour to visit in Hawaii….rave reviews on TripAdviser, but not even a good neighborhood dive—at least in our opinion.

I underlined the part that needs to be shouted from the rooftops. Restaurants have figured out that if they load their menu with salt, fat and sugar, charge low-enough prices, have a good view, and get people blind drunk, they will get positive reviews.

Most restaurant reviews aren't about the quality of the food. It's about the overall experience. If the food is an improvement on a microwaved burrito from 7-Eleven, that's good enough.

Meanwhile, I personally know chefs who are putting out high-quality, but unusual food -- the sort of thing that foodies gravitate to -- but are dying from all the one-star reviews because the idea of eating huitlacoche turns the average person's stomach. (Huitlacoche, incidentally, is amazing. A fresh huitlacoche quesadilla is enough to bring tears of joy to a Mexican chef.)

It's the same in the craft beer world. "I don't like IPAs. So I give this beer one star." Or the craft bourbon world. "I don't like wheated bourbon. So I give this one star."
 

elaine

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Rick Steves is a double-edged sword. All of his information is solid. But any place he recommends is going to be slam-packed with Rick Steves drones.
I find the travelers forum to be excellent--I don't even read the official RS information/recommendations. For ex, someone who lives in Montreux posted the walking trails of wine regions nearby with photos and directions of which exit to take off the train.
 

letsgobobby

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rick steves is a good place to start

a lot of europeans use booking.com and we've had good luck finding affordable apartments

resataurants we really like guide michelin and the bib gourmand good value restaurants. not cheap per se but less than a one star, unpretentious, and excellent value. we do this every other night and then do something very casual even take out or a kebab or a crepe on the other nights. ethnic food in europe can be cheaper.
 
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Check out the series TravelMan. It's available on Prime. Richard Ayouade does mini breaks all over the continent and beyond. His tips are easily expanded on even if you're not in a rush. I have personally had great experiences using timeshares in Europe, particularly at beachy places like Italy and Greece. There are also plenty in the Alps as well. I own a week in Austria. The classic cities a bit less so.
 

beejaybeeohio

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I agree that Rick Steves is now so relied upon that his recommendations have changed charming villages into tourist towns.
But, I as stated in a previous post, the forums have been incredibly useful. Just recently I came upon a poster's suggestion of staying in the French town of Montargis. Looked further and I think we will stay there enroute to Sarlat!
Re: booking dot com. If possible, try to find the direct website for hotels discovered on that site and book there.
 

Carolinian

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For European cities, the old DAE Europe got me into Venice, and SFX into London, while I got Vienna with RCI. The timeshare system with lots of resorts in European cities is Hapimag, but one has to own in Hapimag to trade into its resorts. It did give some of its inventory in selected resorts to DAE Europe in the past.
 

CalGalTraveler

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Third Rick Steves. Also ask ChatGPT for an itinerary with top sights and activities for each day of your vacation. I've heard it is pretty good!

I am going to try it for an upcoming trip to Sedona.
 

Carolinian

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Third Rick Steves. Also ask ChatGPT for an itinerary with top sights and activities for each day of your vacation. I've heard it is pretty good!

I am going to try it for an upcoming trip to Sedona.

While I agree with a lot of Rick Steves' travel philosophy, I have found his books to be sort of hit and miss. For travel books, I have found the Rough Guide series and the Lonely Planet series much better, and also for European cities the InYourPocket guides.
 

dreamin

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My husband & I are in our mid-60s and spent 3 months in Spain and Portugal this past winter. It was an amazing adventure! We didn't stay near Tavira but in general we found public transportation in Portugal was not convenient so we had to take a tour or hire a private driver. Spain's public transportation system (train, bus and Metro) was efficient and inexpensive. In 5 weeks we travelled from Barcelona to Madrid, Segovia, Sevilla, Ronda, Granada and Malaga. Sevilla was our favourite city and we would return there for an extended stay if given the opportunity. The other cities were also exciting to visit and were so beautiful, full of history. In Portugal we mostly stayed at timeshares as it was slower paced. In Spain we used hotels and apartments because we wanted to move from location to location, spending as much time as we could in each place. I like seeing a community during the day as well as the evening to get a good feel for the city and its people. I find you can't get that experience with day trips. I would recommend at least 3 days in Sevilla. We preferred Porto over Lisbon but both are a must-see and deserving of at least 4 or 5 days. The website rome2rio.com is a great resource for all transportation options.

Here is a link to a travel blog I created. It's long so you might want to scroll down to the cities you are interested in. I would highly recommend all the hotels and apartments that we stayed at as they were reasonably priced and conveniently located. I would be happy to answer any questions. I'm so excited for you!

https://findpenguins.com/wheredowegofromhere/trip/snowbirds-tackle-europe

We travelled for 3 months in mostly Portugal and Spain and I made the above post when we returned. My travel blog gives a lot of details that might help you with your trip planning. This was my dream trip and I hope our health stays strong enough to explore other parts of Europe.
 

vikingsholm

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We travelled for 3 months in mostly Portugal and Spain and I made the above post when we returned. My travel blog gives a lot of details that might help you with your trip planning. This was my dream trip and I hope our health stays strong enough to explore other parts of Europe.
Thanks for that link. Will be checking it out.

Just got back from a couple of excellent weeks in Portugal. Didn't use timeshares this time, but was able to see Lisbon and surroundings, Porto, and the Algarve.

Lisbon is an exceptional city.
 

Goldi

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We travelled for 3 months in mostly Portugal and Spain and I made the above post when we returned. My travel blog gives a lot of details that might help you with your trip planning. This was my dream trip and I hope our health stays strong enough to explore other parts of Europe.
This blog is fantastic! Just exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for sharing.
 
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