Trip anywhere in the world--where to go?

[EYguy]

I would fight back with South Africa... Excluding Joburg, the rest of the country is safe (especially Cape Town), still pretty cheap and the nature is beautiful... I still have some pics of me taken while cuddling wild animals like cheetas and leopards... And they were not drugged (those frigging leopard cubs bit my left arm "for fun"!). Even Namibia is nice, and way cheaper than South Africa.

Edo

[castelino009]

I would fight back with South Africa... Excluding Joburg, the rest of the country is safe (especially Cape Town), still pretty cheap and the nature is beautiful... I still have some pics of me taken while cuddling wild animals like cheetas and leopards... And they were not drugged (those frigging leopard cubs bit my left arm "for fun"!). Even Namibia is nice, and way cheaper than South Africa.

Edo

+1 

At least we agree on something EY

VJC

[EYguy]

At least? Uhm, after three pages, I would "at last"! Are you from Cuba?

Edo

[EYguy]

I got the wife excited about a Transatlantic cruise and seems to the be the top choice right now.  Australia/New Zealand is high on the list, but the cost is very high (thanks to the US Federal Reserve printing off money like its nothing and wreaking havoc on the exchange rates) and will require 30 hours on a plane each way just to get there.  Instead of 7 days in Australia/New Zealand, we're looking at a 16 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Rome with stops in the Canary Islands, Spain, and France.  After we get to Rome, there is another 7 day cruise on the same boat that goes to Italy, Greece, and Turkey, but not sure the wife will go for more cruising after 16 days at sea.  The other option is to take a train around Italy/Germany/France to see the sights for a week before flying back to the states.

The next question is what is the cheapest way to get home?  We're really stretching the budget by turning a 7 day vacation into a 23 day vacation, so I'm not sure how much my boss will shell out for this and we're obviously going to have out of pocket expenses either way.  I've found flights from FCO to JFK for $1100 for two people and then we can get a cheap flight for $89/person on JetBlue from JFK to CLT to make it home.  Anyone who has been there/done that have any advice on what to do if we're spending 7 days in Europe (starting in Rome) and cheap routes to the States?

Lemonbutt, I would suggest you to have a look on Alitalia.com. A few days ago I saw a MXP (Milan)-JFK flight 449 € r/t... If they ask you more than 500€ for a single leg trip, it's a robber... I mean, you should hit them hard, you're an AWS user after all! Try to have a look even with Lufthansa... I know they had a flight from FRA to CLT, so you could be lucky if they are still operating that flight...

Good luck!

Edo

[Dorito_25]

and since this is Airwaysim DO NOT USE A US AIRLINE to transpacific , from the words of Walletpop "When it comes to flying Down Under, I strongly advise you pick an Australian-flagged carrier. They're used to shuttling people across vast oceans, and their in-cabin services are more comfortable than most American carriers'. They simply know how to do it better." and from what everyone says it so true, dont DELTA, UNITED Hawaiian this trip Book Qantas for the A380 from LA to SYD and grab the A330 to Perth and you will have a world class trip even in Economy (Screenback IFE on all seats inc Economy) and Qantas codeshares with Delta so ATL to Lax would be included in the fare, Though i expect a lecture from all Australians how Qantas Standards are slipping fast (still better than most US carriers , just feeling competitions of a lot of Mid East and NEw entrants to International routes) though since its all expense paid Try the A380 biz class, and you'll see why everyone around the world cringes air Travel in the US

I'm probably the biggest Qantas fanatic in the world, and you are my favourite person right now! 

[EYguy]

Actually, in IMHO the best airline on the Kangroo Route is Singapore Airlines. But even Emirates and Etihad are good... Qantas is friggin expensive for a good service which, unfortunately, is not up to the standard of SQ, EK or EY that are, on the other hand, cheaper and with a better service.

Edo

[slither360]

For cheap airfare
Http:www.airfarewAtchdog.com

From iPhone

[MRFREAK]

Switzerland!

A great country, neat nature with the beutyful alps and very nice people aswell. Go there in the summer and it's fantastic

[LemonButt]

Switzerland!

A great country, neat nature with the beutyful alps and very nice people aswell. Go there in the summer and it's fantastic

I always wanted to goto Switzerland until a coworker went there and reported back that you can no longer take Toblerone factory tours

[castelino009]

At least? Uhm, after three pages, I would "at last"! Are you from Cuba?

Edo

lol, no matey- I was in Cuba few months ago , its been my long time dream to go there when The legend "castro" was still alive & I loved it. It was the most amazing place I have ever been & already making plans to go back sometime very soon.

I am based in LPL,

VJC

[MRFREAK]

I always wanted to goto Switzerland until a coworker went there and reported back that you can no longer take Toblerone factory tours

Lolz!

[swiftus27]

lol, no matey- I was in Cuba few months ago , its been my long time dream to go there when The legend "castro" was still alive & I loved it. It was the most amazing place I have ever been & already making plans to go back sometime very soon.

I am based in LPL,

VJC

I wish I could go.

[knobbygb]

It has to be New Zealand. It's somewhere that seems to be on everybody's wish-list yet many never get around to it and so meets your criteria of somewhere you may otherwise never go.  I've never been myself and I guess I'm waiting to win a trip like you. It'll be summer when you're able to visit so it ticks that box too.

Nearest I've been is Australia and I loved it - such a huge, diverse country. It certainly isn't just sitting on beaches and hugging Koalas! I liked northern Queensland - I love the tropical heat, but it's not for everyone. There really is something interesting around every corner (OK, so the corners are VERY well spaced out, but still).

As a British ex-pat relocated to a small Greek island I must also suggest Greece, particularly the islands. I know you don't want to do Europe, but this really doesn't feel much like Europe in many ways - a little more detached and it's far enough from your German relatives too. You could also take in Istanbul while you're close as the other poster suggested. All the tales of the bad economy etc. in GReece really have almost zero effect on tourists so don't be put off by that. The best times would be May, June or early September. Choose a tiny island where you can kick back on a deserted beach with just a couple of little fish tavernas nearby and NO crowds, noise etc. and just do nothing for once.

Lastly, I'm surprised nobody has looked at your trip from an 'airliner-nut' point of view. If it were me, also having visited most of the places I want to see I'd be thinking "Hmmmm.  how can I get on a TU-154, A380, 787, IL96  all on the same trip?". Get one of these round-the-world tickets where you can basically fly as many times as you like with a certain alliance. Might not be very relaxing for your wife but could be worth it.

Whatever you do - post a trip report here.

[greenoperative]

I'm probably the biggest Qantas fanatic in the world, and you are my favourite person right now! 

no problem there though people are cringing over the new Seat allocation fee

[Ilyushin]

Lastly, I'm surprised nobody has looked at your trip from an 'airliner-nut' point of view. If it were me, also having visited most of the places I want to see I'd be thinking "Hmmmm.  how can I get on a TU-154, A380, 787, IL96  all on the same trip?". Get one of these round-the-world tickets where you can basically fly as many times as you like with a certain alliance. Might not be very relaxing for your wife but could be worth it.

Whatever you do - post a trip report here.

If the TS cares, Aeroflot flies their IL-96 from Moscow to Salzburg, Tokyo, Tel Aviv, and Dubai. But you can also expect 320s or 330s on such routes. Cubana flies their IL-96 from Havana to London, Paris and Madrid.

For (safe) Tu-154 flights you must take a domestic flight in Russia.

Ilyushin

[alexgv1]

For (safe) Tu-154 flights you must take a domestic flight in Russia.

Found a crazy Tu-154 video: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/05/01/356137/video-tu-154-struggles-against-in-flight-oscillation.html

The aircraft is in its first flight out of storage, think it's a Russian Air Force jet. It suffers crazy oscillatory motion due to some dynamic instability. No matter what you say about their planes, there are some great Russian pilots such as the ones who put this bird down safely.

Not trying to but anybody off flying the Tu-154 or anything by the way, the plane obviously wasn't designed to do this.

[Ilyushin]

I have seen that yesterday. That is some amazing airmanship!

I just wonder why you would take a Tu-154B-2 that has been stored for 10 years, out of storage.

[LemonButt]

Whatever you do - post a trip report here.

Looks like we've made the decision to take a 15 night transatlantic cruise out of Fort Lauderdale that stops in Canary Islands/Spain/France/Italy: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/cruiseDetails/itinerary.do?packageCode=NV15T025&selectedCurrencyCode=USD The boat ports in Pisa and Rome--once we get off the boat we're going to spend 2 days each in Naples/Venice/Florence/Rome in that order with the trip home being from Rome to Charlotte.

You can't buy airline tickets for next April/May yet, but the plan is to fly $69/each one way from GSP (Greenville/Spartanburg, SC) to FLL on Allegiant the night before the cruise embarks.  The cruise itself is $600/person for 15 days--you can't buy a plane ticket to Rome for that not to mention 15 days of food being covered and visiting all the ports.  We're going to take the train around Italy and only Italy as we want to focus our time in one place instead of only doing a few hours of sightseeing in many cities/countries.  My aunt lived in Italy for 15 years with my uncle who was in the US Navy, so she has a lot of good insight.

We're going to Naples once we get off the boat to see Vesuvious/Pompeii etc, followed by Venice because it's Venice.  After that we'll hit Florence and Tuscany as the original plan with the ultra-luxury timeshare was a week in Tuscany on a 16th century olive farm.  After Florence, we'll head south to Rome and spend a few days at the end of our journey visiting Rome before getting on the plane to fly FCO-JFK on whoever is cheapest (right now its Aer Lingus out of Ireland).  Once we hit JFK it's another cheap $79 ticket from JFK to CLT to get home.  The total trip is going to be ~25 days...we're going to be paying an arm and a leg for a dog sitter, but it will be worth it   We've calculated the maximum total cost of the trip will be $8200.

[Ilyushin]

Sounds like a great vacation. I hope you have a lot of fun!

[alexgv1]

We're going to Naples once we get off the boat to see Vesuvious/Pompeii etc,

Say hello to Caecilius for me