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    Cost effective European Areas/Cities

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Water Closet
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    • scottalanmillerS
      scottalanmiller @A Former User
      last edited by

      @thecreativeone91 said:

      Slight off topic but, Is Hawaii a good vacation place? seems to be popular but, I know a guy stationed there and he says it's a overcrowded and dirty place with really not that much to do.

      I have several friends who have done it and love it. It's anything but cheap and lots of it is fake. But if you are there for the sun, weather and Pacific ocean then it has a lot to offer. If you want to "do something" then it has very little.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • coliverC
        coliver @A Former User
        last edited by coliver

        @thecreativeone91 said:

        Slight off topic but, Is Hawaii a good vacation place? seems to be popular but, I know a guy stationed there and he says it's a overcrowded and dirty place with really not that much to do.

        I've know a few people who went on vacation in Hawaii. They basically said if you stay off the beaches and the touristy areas it became much cleaner and easier to get around. Although the price was insane.

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        • scottalanmillerS
          scottalanmiller
          last edited by

          @dominica and I are going to Hawaii in 2017. I'm interested but not super excited. But have never been on a Pacific Island so that will be a certain amount of interesting.

          @smartkid808 lives in Hawaii.

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          • C
            Carnival Boy @Dashrender
            last edited by

            @Dashrender said:

            WOW - and Venice was on my list for next summer... now to reconsider.

            Do it! Venice is one of my favourite cities. I think it's my wife's favourite. Don't listen to Scott, there is nothing fake about it. It's just the most beautiful city I can imagine. There's plenty of cheap restaurants where the food is plain but perfectly edible. We didn't spend much there. We mainly just spent the week walking around going "Wow!".

            DominicaD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • DashrenderD
              Dashrender
              last edited by

              I lived in Guam for 2 years growing up... I'm kinda over Hawaii, but my wife wants to go some day.

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              • C
                Carnival Boy
                last edited by Carnival Boy

                We honeymooned in Barcelona. It's probably my favourite city. I'm into architecture so it was worth it just for the Gaudi stuff, but I appreciate that's not everyone's cup of tea. We went in January and the weather was great and it wasn't too crowded. I'm not sure I'd fancy it in August.

                Seville was a disappointment, I just didn't get what all the fuss was about.

                What do you mean by scenery? I generally prefer cities, but for scenery you can't beat southern France and Italy. I love Provence, but it is pretty expensive. A lot depends on what time of year you are planning on going? Provence in the winter isn't so great.

                For cost effectiveness, eastern Europe is the place to go. I've only been to Prague which was so-so, but Croatia is supposed to be pretty amazing.

                scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • IRJI
                  IRJ
                  last edited by

                  Any German recommendations? I am just trying to get a general consensus of good areas.

                  DominicaD scottalanmillerS 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • C
                    Carnival Boy
                    last edited by

                    Good scenery. Fairly expensive.

                    I love Florence. The only problem with it is too many American students 😉

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                    • DominicaD
                      Dominica @IRJ
                      last edited by

                      Boppard, Germany on the Rhine is amazing, and I really liked Munich, but Germany is more expensive than southern Europe. What time of year are you considering? Time of year absolutely makes a difference in recommendations.

                      scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • IRJI
                        IRJ
                        last edited by

                        April - May

                        scottalanmillerS DominicaD 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • scottalanmillerS
                          scottalanmiller @Dominica
                          last edited by

                          @Dominica said:

                          Boppard, Germany on the Rhine is amazing, and I really liked Munich, but Germany is more expensive than southern Europe. What time of year are you considering? Time of year absolutely makes a difference in recommendations.

                          Boppard and the middle Rhine really is awesome. And while not cheap, it's not expensive. Small town Rhine Germany is "moderate" priced.

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                          • scottalanmillerS
                            scottalanmiller @IRJ
                            last edited by

                            @IRJ said:

                            April - May

                            Great time for much of Europe.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • scottalanmillerS
                              scottalanmiller @IRJ
                              last edited by

                              @IRJ said:

                              Any German recommendations? I am just trying to get a general consensus of good areas.

                              I've done the Rhine and loved it and I've spent time in Lower Saxony and loved it. Munich was good, but I've preferred "Germany" over "Bavaria" for the most part.

                              Germany is loaded with great options.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • scottalanmillerS
                                scottalanmiller @Carnival Boy
                                last edited by

                                @Carnival-Boy said:

                                We honeymooned in Barcelona. It's probably my favourite city.

                                @dominica and my favourite city too. At least to visit. But pretty far from "anything else" if you only go to one place.

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                                • DominicaD
                                  Dominica @Carnival Boy
                                  last edited by

                                  @Carnival-Boy I cannot imagine spending a week in Venice. It was wall to wall tourists to the point where you couldn't even walk down the street without stopping every few minutes. It was decaying and dirty, with tons of abandoned and crumbling buildings, and it didn't smell very pleasant. There were hustlers and panhandlers everywhere, because they go where the tourists are, and Venice was one of the only places we went (along with Brussels) where I was super glad I was wearing a money belt. Also "cheap restaurants where the food is plain but perfectly edible" doesn't sound like a very good recommendation. There is so much amazing food in Europe, why settle for "edible"?
                                  Lots of people love Venice. I have no idea why, but different strokes for different folks. I would classify it as the most overrated place we've visited in Europe.

                                  scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • scottalanmillerS
                                    scottalanmiller @Dominica
                                    last edited by

                                    @Dominica said:

                                    @Carnival-Boy I cannot imagine spending a week in Venice. It was wall to wall tourists to the point where you couldn't even walk down the street without stopping every few minutes. It was decaying and dirty, with tons of abandoned and crumbling buildings, and it didn't smell very pleasant. There were hustlers and panhandlers everywhere, because they go where the tourists are, and Venice was one of the only places we went (along with Brussels) where I was super glad I was wearing a money belt. Also "cheap restaurants where the food is plain but perfectly edible" doesn't sound like a very good recommendation. There is so much amazing food in Europe, why settle for "edible"?
                                    Lots of people love Venice. I have no idea why, but different strokes for different folks. I would classify it as the most overrated place we've visited in Europe.

                                    Important to note, we were there really close to the first of June, if that matters. I'm sure in April it is better as the tourist season isn't in full swing.

                                    It's important to note that we loved Italy so much that we continue to seriously consider moving there permanently and plan to live in Italy much of next year. That Venice is the worst city we've visited is in contrast to the unbelievable amount that we love Italy in general (and I fully support Venice's desire to separate and no longer be Italy.)

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                                    • DominicaD
                                      Dominica @IRJ
                                      last edited by

                                      @IRJ April - May is a great time to visit Europe. It's the shoulder season, so it's neither as crowded or as hot as the summer season. In fact, any place in northern Europe will be downright cold then, while southern Europe will be pleasantly warm to possibly hot.

                                      scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • scottalanmillerS
                                        scottalanmiller
                                        last edited by

                                        I like to describe Venice as "a dirty Disney World where an Oriental Trading Company catelogue exploded on the streets." The streets are lined with people selling Chinese trinkets that have no connection to Venice, in many cases they don't even bother writing Venice on them. It's like the whole city is an Chinese off-brand hot topic.

                                        ? 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • scottalanmillerS
                                          scottalanmiller @Dominica
                                          last edited by

                                          @Dominica said:

                                          @IRJ April - May is a great time to visit Europe. It's the shoulder season, so it's neither as crowded or as hot as the summer season. In fact, any place in northern Europe will be downright cold then, while southern Europe will be pleasantly warm to possibly hot.

                                          It's May now and our friends who were in The Netherlands the last few days wrote to us and were like "save us, it is so cold". They are happily in Spain now enjoying the sun.

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • ?
                                            A Former User @scottalanmiller
                                            last edited by

                                            @scottalanmiller said:

                                            I like to describe Venice as "a dirty Disney World where an Oriental Trading Company catelogue exploded on the streets."

                                            I've never been to Disney World but, Disney land was pretty dirty.. as was much the rest of SoCAL.

                                            scottalanmillerS coliverC 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
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