The Travel Thread

[soccer10k]

My wife and I are going to England and Scotland in September. I've never been and she went to England for a couple days as part of a group trip after college, but all the travel was planned out for them. First off, any airline recommendations or good/bad things you've heard about certain airlines. Secondly, what about travel getting around London? Is the public transportation pretty good and any suggestions for that as well? I'm assuming we'll need a car in Scotland but I'm hoping to avoid one in London if possible.

Has anyone made the trip from England to Scotland? It's only about an hour flight from London to Glasgow but there's a train that takes about 4 1/2 hours for the trip? Has anyone done that?

[glavine93]

you absolutely don't need a car around london. the tube goes everywhere, it's easy to navigate, and on most routes a train comes every 1-3 minutes. i probably made around 40 trips in two weeks and i don't think i ever had to wait on the platform for more than 4 minutes. it's incredible. you can buy a visitor oyster card online before your trip; it's a much better value than one-day passes and it has daily capping. i never needed to use the bus, but they are everywhere too.

the regional trains are also impressive. i did day trips to bath, york, hampton court, windsor, and bletchley and it was always on time. my train to york was continuing to edinburgh. it might be more convenient than flying if you factor in the time it takes to get to and from the airport.

honestly, the only thing america does better is free diet coke refills.

[jersey cubs fan]

Take the heathrow express into London and the tube to where you're staying.

Barbacoa is a meat centric Jamie Oliver restaurant near St. Paul's area, very good plus tasty old fashioned cocktails. Madison's is a rooftop bar overlooking St. Paul's as well.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I used to spend my summers in Leeds with my dad. He's from there.

[cl smooth]

london's public transportation system is the best i've ever used. the tube is great and the buses/bus lines are fantastic. my girl and i stayed there for a week in late december 2013 and loved every minute of it.

i can provide plenty of food recommendations. what neighborhood in london are you staying in?

[jersey cubs fan]

Just had a great lunch at the wolsely, very good

[soccer10k]

london's public transportation system is the best i've ever used. the tube is great and the buses/bus lines are fantastic. my girl and i stayed there for a week in late december 2013 and loved every minute of it.

i can provide plenty of food recommendations. what neighborhood in london are you staying in?

We haven't decided on anything yet so recommendations on areas and/or hotels would be great also. We'll hopefully be going to one Tottenham game in North London and then we'll be doing sightseeing but haven't made any set plans. Where did you guys stay when you were there?

[cl smooth]

london's public transportation system is the best i've ever used. the tube is great and the buses/bus lines are fantastic. my girl and i stayed there for a week in late december 2013 and loved every minute of it.

i can provide plenty of food recommendations. what neighborhood in london are you staying in?

We haven't decided on anything yet so recommendations on areas and/or hotels would be great also. We'll hopefully be going to one Tottenham game in North London and then we'll be doing sightseeing but haven't made any set plans. Where did you guys stay when you were there?

we stayed in a flat we found on airbnb in shoreditch off of kingsland road and drysdale street:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/227502

we were in walking distance of the hoxton and shoreditch high street tube stations and there was a bus stop right in front of our flat. lots of great restaurants in the area like dishoom, hawksmoor spitalfields and mien tay. directly north of shoreditch is the dalston/hackney neighborhood which has an awesome turkish spot called stone cave. one of my favorite meals in london was at stone cave...highly recommend it!

i know england loves them some soccer, but bar kick is a FANTASTIC soccer bar.

shoreditch is within walking distance of brick lane, as well, if you're into curry style cuisine.

[wvcbxl]

Has anyone made the trip from England to Scotland? It's only about an hour flight from London to Glasgow but there's a train that takes about 4 1/2 hours for the trip? Has anyone done that?

I've taken the train from London to Edinburgh (and enjoyed the experience)

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Man, Seattle and Portland are amazing.

I wish I lived in the Northwest.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Man, Seattle and Portland are amazing.

I wish I lived in the Northwest.

You picked a great week to be out here, weather wise.

[squally1313]

Man, Seattle and Portland are amazing.

I wish I lived in the Northwest.

You picked a great week to be out here, weather wise.

Probably an impossible question, but I'll be in Seattle from Monday-Wednesday, and I most likely will have Tuesday night free. Out there by myself, and for a work trip, so can't do anything crazy, but open to recommendations for a good dinner/area to walk around for a night. Staying in Bellevue, but I'll have a car. Weather looks like it might be a little dicey (though better than Chicago).

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Man, Seattle and Portland are amazing.

I wish I lived in the Northwest.

You picked a great week to be out here, weather wise.

Probably an impossible question, but I'll be in Seattle from Monday-Wednesday, and I most likely will have Tuesday night free. Out there by myself, and for a work trip, so can't do anything crazy, but open to recommendations for a good dinner/area to walk around for a night. Staying in Bellevue, but I'll have a car. Weather looks like it might be a little dicey (though better than Chicago).

I'm not terribly familiar with the city itself, so Mariner's Revenge or Minny might have more detailed suggestions. The Mariners are in town if you haven't been to Safeco, and there's some nice walkable area with restaurants in the vicinity. That's about as far as my recommendations go.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I'm kicking around the idea of a mid-July week out with my kids (16 and 14), and I want to do an enjoy the experience rather than just the destination road trip kind of thing. I'd like to keep it to within about 1000 miles one way. I want to go somewhere none of us have been so I'm considering places like New Orleans or Denver/Rocky Mountains. Any ideas? Or recommendations on what to do if I did end up on the road to NOLA for example?

[NOLA]

I'm kicking around the idea of a mid-July week out with my kids (16 and 14), and I want to do an enjoy the experience rather than just the destination road trip kind of thing. I'd like to keep it to within about 1000 miles one way. I want to go somewhere none of us have been so I'm considering places like New Orleans or Denver/Rocky Mountains. Any ideas? Or recommendations on what to do if I did end up on the road to NOLA for example?

If you come this way in July, be sure to pack clothes for comfort. Good news is that there are good rates on hotels and several attractions and restaurants in the summer. Chartering a boat and going offshore fishing in the Gulf is one of the greatest things ever.

I had to google Durnsville. Indiana? Having driven to Chicago from here, there really is nothing but poverty and fields to see on that direct route. Memphis is meh/ok but they have a great minor league ballpark downtown for the Redbirds, who host Iowa at the end of July.

If you care to drive a little out of the way, the Ozarks in northern Arkansas have several caves, cabins, rafting and canoeing rivers and biking or hiking trails. Beautiful country.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I'm kicking around the idea of a mid-July week out with my kids (16 and 14), and I want to do an enjoy the experience rather than just the destination road trip kind of thing. I'd like to keep it to within about 1000 miles one way. I want to go somewhere none of us have been so I'm considering places like New Orleans or Denver/Rocky Mountains. Any ideas? Or recommendations on what to do if I did end up on the road to NOLA for example?

If you come this way in July, be sure to pack clothes for comfort. Good news is that there are good rates on hotels and several attractions and restaurants in the summer. Chartering a boat and going offshore fishing in the Gulf is one of the greatest things ever.

I had to google Durnsville. Indiana? Having driven to Chicago from here, there really is nothing but poverty and fields to see on that direct route. Memphis is meh/ok but they have a great minor league ballpark downtown for the Redbirds, who host Iowa at the end of July.

If you care to drive a little out of the way, the Ozarks in northern Arkansas have several caves, cabins, rafting and canoeing rivers and biking or hiking trails. Beautiful country.

This is great info, thanks. I'm from the Iowa City area (Durnsville is from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), and I've seen the I-Cubs too many times to count so that's not of much interest for an excursion like this, but I am very intrigued by Ozarks/Branson as a possible day 1 destination. I don't want to be in a hurry, and I don't mind if we only spend a handful of hours at our "destination".

[Sammy's Boombox]

Man, Seattle and Portland are amazing.

I wish I lived in the Northwest.

Last month I flew into Portland late at night and had to start driving back to Missouri early the next morning. The Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls was awesome, but I really wish I had time to see Portland and the coast.

I really want to fly into the Bay Area and drive up to Seattle some day.

[mul21]

I'm kicking around the idea of a mid-July week out with my kids (16 and 14), and I want to do an enjoy the experience rather than just the destination road trip kind of thing. I'd like to keep it to within about 1000 miles one way. I want to go somewhere none of us have been so I'm considering places like New Orleans or Denver/Rocky Mountains. Any ideas? Or recommendations on what to do if I did end up on the road to NOLA for example?

If you come this way in July, be sure to pack clothes for comfort. Good news is that there are good rates on hotels and several attractions and restaurants in the summer. Chartering a boat and going offshore fishing in the Gulf is one of the greatest things ever.

I had to google Durnsville. Indiana? Having driven to Chicago from here, there really is nothing but poverty and fields to see on that direct route. Memphis is meh/ok but they have a great minor league ballpark downtown for the Redbirds, who host Iowa at the end of July.

If you care to drive a little out of the way, the Ozarks in northern Arkansas have several caves, cabins, rafting and canoeing rivers and biking or hiking trails. Beautiful country.

Having made the drive from STL to Memphis on many occasions, it sucks and the drive from Memphis to NOLA is worse. Arkansas has lots of outdoor stuff to do and you can certainly find plenty to do in Branson/Lake of the Ozarks.

[bd811]

Man, Seattle and Portland are amazing.

I wish I lived in the Northwest.

Last month I flew into Portland late at night and had to start driving back to Missouri early the next morning. The Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls was awesome, but I really wish I had time to see Portland and the coast.

I really want to fly into the Bay Area and drive up to Seattle some day.

YES. Went on a trip to SF, Portland & Seattle in January and Multnomah Falls was one of the highlights.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Man, Seattle and Portland are amazing.

I wish I lived in the Northwest.

Last month I flew into Portland late at night and had to start driving back to Missouri early the next morning. The Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls was awesome, but I really wish I had time to see Portland and the coast.

I really want to fly into the Bay Area and drive up to Seattle some day.

We really wanted to go west to the coast from Portland but ran out of time. Definitely going to come back and try to do the coast from the Canadian border/Seattle area to San Francisco. Also want to hit Crater Lake.

[Tracer Bullet]

Haven't checked this thread in a while. But global warming or w/e has made Seattle pretty awesome these last couple years. The spring/summer has been incredible. Def an Ms game when they're in town and walk around Pioneer Square, which is very close to Safeco. Cool area with lots of bars, shops, restaurants and easy to get to wherever you're staying.

[TruffleShuffle]

my girlfriend has a conference in seattle in july and i'm going for a few days (first time to visit the city). what do i need to do while i'm there? her conference is at the convention center and i'm not sure where she's booked to stay, but probably the sheraton (which is the conference hotel).

[biittner77]

my girlfriend has a conference in seattle in july and i'm going for a few days (first time to visit the city). what do i need to do while i'm there? her conference is at the convention center and i'm not sure where she's booked to stay, but probably the sheraton (which is the conference hotel).

MONORAIL!

But seriously, once you're done singing the monorail song, it takes you to Space Needle and the EMP Museum (very cool way to spend a couple hours) plus a couple other places that are close together. We were out there 5 years ago and the ticket to Space Needle allows you to go back at night which is pretty cool and less crowded.

[NOLA]

I'm kicking around the idea of a mid-July week out with my kids (16 and 14), and I want to do an enjoy the experience rather than just the destination road trip kind of thing. I'd like to keep it to within about 1000 miles one way. I want to go somewhere none of us have been so I'm considering places like New Orleans or Denver/Rocky Mountains. Any ideas? Or recommendations on what to do if I did end up on the road to NOLA for example?

If you come this way in July, be sure to pack clothes for comfort. Good news is that there are good rates on hotels and several attractions and restaurants in the summer. Chartering a boat and going offshore fishing in the Gulf is one of the greatest things ever.

I had to google Durnsville. Indiana? Having driven to Chicago from here, there really is nothing but poverty and fields to see on that direct route. Memphis is meh/ok but they have a great minor league ballpark downtown for the Redbirds, who host Iowa at the end of July.

If you care to drive a little out of the way, the Ozarks in northern Arkansas have several caves, cabins, rafting and canoeing rivers and biking or hiking trails. Beautiful country.

This is great info, thanks. I'm from the Iowa City area (Durnsville is from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), and I've seen the I-Cubs too many times to count so that's not of much interest for an excursion like this, but I am very intrigued by Ozarks/Branson as a possible day 1 destination. I don't want to be in a hurry, and I don't mind if we only spend a handful of hours at our "destination".

I personally don't get the appeal of Branson. You might want to really do some research because the last time I was through there it was Redneck Vegas for blue hairs. Outlet malls and over the hill music shows. Blanchard Springs, Eureka Springs, and floating the Buffalo River are good things to do and see that way.

If you do get to NOLA, I'd love to give advice. There are lots of dumb touristy things to avoid (taking a kid down Bourbon Street at night?!? Really?) and good stuff to do.

[jersey cubs fan]

I'm kicking around the idea of a mid-July week out with my kids (16 and 14), and I want to do an enjoy the experience rather than just the destination road trip kind of thing. I'd like to keep it to within about 1000 miles one way. I want to go somewhere none of us have been so I'm considering places like New Orleans or Denver/Rocky Mountains. Any ideas? Or recommendations on what to do if I did end up on the road to NOLA for example?

You're in iowa already, you gotta go up into the rockies via denver. All those ski resorts have some awesome summer options. Driving through Nebraska is a horrible thing to do to yourself, but the rockies are worth it. If you want to avoid that part and enjoy the journey you can make it more interesting by taking the long route through south dakota and wyoming. But summertime in the rockies is pretty amazing.