So, where you gonna go when this is all over ?

[Orang Utan]

Yes, as a method from getting from A to B they don't make much sense whichever way you look at it. I suppose if you consider being incarcerated on a tanker for 40 days to be a holiday, then 2 grand for full board and lodging isn't too bad. It's hardly cheap though.

cheapness isn't the reason to do it

 

[Orang Utan]

The ocean is boring, it’s just water & fish that you can’t even see. I’m fantasising more about long distance sleeper trains, the kind with pillows & breakfast. Then there’s actual stuff to see out the window.

Aye, woud deffo prefer overland but that could be quite risky compared to sea travel

 

[The39thStep]

Yes, as a method from getting from A to B they don't make much sense whichever way you look at it. I suppose if you consider being incarcerated on a tanker for 40 days to be a holiday, then 2 grand for full board and lodging isn't too bad. It's hardly cheap though.

Better value than two weeks in a quarantine hotel

 

[bimble]

Trans Siberian you can see forests, day after day of endless forest. Still, vodka and that.

Too cold. More interested in routes like this, but without the activities just the train.

Dune Express - Shongololo Express

A spectacular odyssey starting in Pretoria and winding its way to the coast of Namibia, a country of compelling beauty, abundant sunshine and seemingly endless horizons.

shongololo.com

 

[Spymaster]

cheapness isn't the reason to do it

Clearly. But you could replicate the experience by stowing away on a cross channel ferry for a month and nipping down to the hold to have a look at the cargo every couple of days. Save yourself a few quid.

 

[The39thStep]

I once went by train from London to Bari in Italy , in order to get a ferry out to Greece, and couldnt get rid of this crackpot irritating American . Everytime we moved seat or carriage he'd just appear.

 

[Orang Utan]

Clearly. But you could replicate the experience by stowing away on a cross channel ferry for a month and nipping down to the hold to have a look at the cargo every couple of days. Save yourself a few quid.

But then I'd still be in the UK

 

[krtek a houby]

Planning a trip to Burger King next week. Nice new (but limited edition) plant burgers await.

 

[marty21]

You can get Eurostar in summer direct to Avignon. We did it September 2019. Well worth it.
(It's not quite direct - you get off at "Avignon Parkway", then get the local train to the town)

I've done that trip a couple of times tempted to do it again.

 

[marty21]

I remember going through it on the way to Marseille. Never been to the town itself, is it a nice spot?

Avignon lively , as is nearby Arles.

 

[mwgdrwg]

mwgdrwg killer b neonwilderness The39thStep and some others have mentioned Manchester. There's sometimes an urban75 Manchester Christmas drinks at The Castle pub in the Northern Quarter.

I went to the last one for a bit, it was nice to finally meet Shirl (r.i.p.) and a couple of other posters.

 

[Badgers]

I see that Matt Handcock has already booked his summer cottage in Cornwall

Barnard Castle all booked up already

 

[planetgeli]

Travelling across Indonesia is super time consuming but in a good way.

Gili islands > Bali > Yogykarta > Bandung > Jakarta

Ferry/Plane > Train > Train

Roughly 2 days, about 10 hours of train.

Loved it. The trains are good (I think we got something called an 'executive' train).

We went some of the other way by mini bus. That was mental. Saw two accidents. And a lot of crazy driving.

 

[rubbershoes]

It’s a very pleasant part of the world. Strangely, we haven’t made it to Arles yet but stay in Uzes, St Remy de Provence, Aix and Nice. The Camargue beaches are some of my favourite. Like a moonscape where you can cycle out a couple of miles then not see anyone else all day except for the odd bollock-swinging nudist. Avignon’s ok but like you say, more of a day trip or weekend place. We’re planning to go the other way next ... Montpellier, Sete, Beziers, Narbonne.

Really liked Uzes. Was there with a local and we went to some great restaurants. Will definitely be going back

 

[LDC]

The ocean is boring, it’s just water & fish that you can’t even see. I’m fantasising more about long distance sleeper trains, the kind with pillows & breakfast. Then there’s actual stuff to see out the window.

I love the idea of sleeper trains, the fantasy is a meal and champagne in the dining car, an illict affair, and then a good nights sleep; reality is usually shit sandwiches, a bad nights sleep in a noisy and overheated cabin, and a German's crotch in your face early in the morning.

 

[Pickman's model]

I see that Matt Handcock has already booked his summer cottage in Cornwall

Barnard Castle all booked up already

Opticians in BC have no appointments for love or money till june

 

[Pickman's model]

I once went by train from London to Bari in Italy , in order to get a ferry out to Greece, and couldnt get rid of this crackpot irritating American . Everytime we moved seat or carriage he'd just appear.

I pack a Castro t-shirt to prevent just such a calamity

 

[Pickman's model]

Yes, as a method from getting from A to B they don't make much sense whichever way you look at it. I suppose if you consider being incarcerated on a tanker for 40 days to be a holiday, then 2 grand for full board and lodging isn't too bad. It's hardly cheap though.

The captain would be in either the captain haddock or allan modes

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

I love the idea of sleeper trains, the fantasy is a meal and champagne in the dining car, an illict affair, and then a good nights sleep; reality is usually shit sandwiches, a bad nights sleep in a noisy and overheated cabin, and a German's crotch in your face early in the morning.

I was looking into trying to get the sleeper from London to Penzance last summer as I'd been invited to stay with a friend, but I think they were all cancelled, or at least I couldn't find out how to book them on the GWR website.

I wouldn't mind doing that trip at some point, although it'd be a bit of a pain having to get to Cornwall from Manchester via London. Any which way is a long and expensive trip by train though.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I was looking into trying to get the sleeper from London to Penzance last summer as I'd been invited to stay with a friend, but I think they were all cancelled, or at least I couldn't find out how to book them on the GWR website.

I wouldn't mind doing that trip at some point, although it'd be a bit of a pain having to get to Cornwall from Manchester via London. Any which way is a long and expensive trip by train though.

The Night Riviera is still operating to Penzance. The Pullman Dining has been scrapped cos plague though.

 

[toblerone3]

I would like to go to Kent.

 

[baldrick]

See my dad and his partner. They live by the sea so that will be nice.

I want to be able to reinstate my birthday trip somewhere remote in the UK next year, I am hopeful.

Agree that it's more disappointing having to cancel and reschedule things than just not have them in the diary.

Also I've never been so close to losing it as when trying to navigate requesting a cash refund for cancelled flights and pre-booked seats, after having booked them from refund vouchers for last year's holiday we couldn't go on.

I think assuming there are any travel agents left after covid, they will be doing a roaring trade from people like me driven to actual frightening rage by an airline website.

 

[Looby]

I’ve got a local festival booked in September and a trip to Butlins Minehead for a weekender in November.
I don’t fly so I’m not missing out there.

 

[MrSki]

Me and Mrs Spy saw a proper volcanic eruption on Montserrat

I can remember seeing it smoking from a hammock in Antigua. I was smoking strong weed at the time & listening to the boaties VHF radio where they were mentioning an earthquake but being in a hammock I didn't feel anything.

 

[Spymaster]

I can remember seeing it smoking from a hammock in Antigua. I was smoking strong weed at the time & listening to the boaties VHF radio where they were mentioning an earthquake but being in a hammock I didn't feel anything.

We were in Antigua too and could see it going up very clearly. Some bloke was doing helicopter trips over Montserrat for $100 apiece so we (rather stupidly because H&S was non existent) took him on. We couldn't hear it because we were wearing headphones but we could smell it and it was chucking out some enormous rocks.

 

[MrSki]

We were in Antigua too and could see it going up very clearly. Some bloke was doing helicopter trips over Montserrat for $100 apiece so we (rather stupidly because H&S was non existent) took him on. We couldn't hear it because we were wearing headphones but we could smell it and it was chucking out some enormous rocks.

My experience was a good few weeks after it first blew. It was smoking more than I was but only knew about the earthquake from the VHF radio. Good view from the hammock though.

I was near English Harbour & Nelson's whatever but up in the hills a bit. Was visiting a mate & glad I was only there for a week and happy to get back to Barbados where both the HPS & rum were superior.
Lovely place though & wish I was there at the moment.

Saying that after a month in Barbados it can get a bit boring. Coming from London the nightlife was very limited & back in the 90s only about 10 clubs to go to. I randomly bumped into a mate from my local in Camden on my second night that certainly impressed the locals who I was on a night out with.
Took me a while to realise they were waving at me. Was out with a load of who were impressed that I knew someone in the bar.

 

[Teaboy]

This thread is quite interesting for seeing how people are perceiving what will be possible and when all this ends. From virtually writing off this year to quietly confident something will be possible by late Spring. Interesting.

I don't have a crystal ball but I feel that tourism as an industry is so vitally important its hard to imagine it won't be back to an extent come summer.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

Here's a challenge for someone, from the wreckage of 2020 I've got:
£195 Wizzair vouchers (they don't fly to Munich!)
£17 Eurostar voucher
3 nights voucher for a hotel in Munich

How do I tie it together for a weeks trip urban?
(thinking autumn '21, fingaz crossed & would like to start with a Eurostar train from Ldn if they haven't gone bust by then)

 

[Hollis]

Gili islands > Bali > Yogykarta > Bandung > Jakarta

Ferry/Plane > Train > Train

Roughly 2 days, about 10 hours of train.

Loved it. The trains are good (I think we got something called an 'executive' train).

We went some of the other way by mini bus. That was mental. Saw two accidents. And a lot of crazy driving.

I had a hire driver from Jakarta to Bandung. Bloody scariest 4 hours or so of my life.. like being part of an arcade game..

 

[gentlegreen]

I took a ferry to the highway
Then I drove to a pontoon plane
I took a plane to a taxi
And a taxi to a train
I've been traveling so long
How'm I ever going to know my home
When I see it again
I'm like a black crow flying
In a blue blue sky