October 19, 20214 yr 4 hours ago, eagle45 said: I'm taking my wife and 7 month old to Maui in a couple weeks. Maui wouldn't be my first choice, but with a little guy, we wanted to keep it in the states. I've really been itching to check out Iceland and Norway. COVID nixed an Iceland trip last May. Split the Golden Circle into two days and stay along the route overnight (if you go in the summer). You'll have tourist places to yourselves at the beginning and end of days, and the countryside is great to take in at a slower pace.
October 19, 20214 yr We’re going to start planning trip to Ireland for around May. (paco, we are going to Ireland in May). We have hotel points we can use in Dublin but will maybe look at travel packages so we can drive along the west coast and hit the hot spots like cliffs of moher. Do we just fly into Shannon and skip Dublin this time? Keep in mind we will have a 1 year old child with us.
October 19, 20214 yr 1 minute ago, binkybink77 said: We’re going to start planning trip to Ireland for around May. (paco, we are going to Ireland in May). We have hotel points we can use in Dublin but will maybe look at travel packages so we can drive along the west coast and hit the hot spots like cliffs of moher. Do we just fly into Shannon and skip Dublin this time? Keep in mind we will have a 1 year old child with us. jealous. ireland was the best trip i've been on in my life & it's not close...absolutely loved it there. we flew into shannon...drove to galway & spent a couple days there including day trips to cliffs of moher & inishmore. then drove down to cork for a night...did blarney castle...then a night in kilkenny...then to dublin for our final 2 nights & flew home from there. i know that sounds like a lot of driving but we never had to drive more than a couple hours in any single day. of course the dynamics will be different with a 1 y/o. dublin was fine but we f'n loved the west coast & smaller cities. enjoy!
October 19, 20214 yr 15 minutes ago, mr_hunt said: jealous. ireland was the best trip i've been on in my life & it's not close...absolutely loved it there. we flew into shannon...drove to galway & spent a couple days there including day trips to cliffs of moher & inishmore. then drove down to cork for a night...did blarney castle...then a night in kilkenny...then to dublin for our final 2 nights & flew home from there. i know that sounds like a lot of driving but we never had to drive more than a couple hours in any single day. of course the dynamics will be different with a 1 y/o. dublin was fine but we f'n loved the west coast & smaller cities. enjoy! My parents have been several times to all over the country, and the west coast is also their favorite. One of my sisters is turning 40 and none of us have been so we are trying to do a family thing (but also I want enough autonomy so me, paco and Ellie can do our own thing when need be). Dublin is definitely something I want to experience at some point, but I'm just wondering if it's better to stay west coast for this trip, and maybe another time visit England or Scotland and do the last day or two in Dublin and fly out of there. Thanks for the insight!
October 19, 20214 yr We're debating going to Ireland next December for my 40th - we've had plans to go there a few times now and they always fell through. December scares me a little, but I think it would be great to be there around Christmas time - and I would imagine it would be less crowded.
October 19, 20214 yr if you do the west coast, spend a day at one of the aran islands...we did inishmore & had a really fun day. you can take a horse & buggy ride around the island. it's like a step back in time...really cool.
October 19, 20214 yr 2 hours ago, binkybink77 said: We’re going to start planning trip to Ireland for around May. (paco, we are going to Ireland in May). We have hotel points we can use in Dublin but will maybe look at travel packages so we can drive along the west coast and hit the hot spots like cliffs of moher. Do we just fly into Shannon and skip Dublin this time? Keep in mind we will have a 1 year old child with us. I laughed out loud at this!! Daughter did a 3 week summer class there in college. Absolutely loved it. Galway. The pictures of all the ships (one of those world races ended there) were just awesome. Beyond school, they also had time to tour. You will love it, I'm sure!
October 20, 20214 yr We are looking at possibly booking this property for the family in Connemara Luxury Connemara Mansion | 5-Star Self-Catering Carraroe - Fivestar.ie We may stick to the west coast and maybe do a day or so in Northern Ireland around where some of GoT was shot.
October 21, 20214 yr Author Ireland is beautiful. The west coast is my favorite as well, but I don't think you can miss Dublin, even if you don't stay long. The Dingle peninsula off the West Coast is a bit off the beaten path, but really worth the drive. Ashford and Ballyfin castles are 2 of the best hotels in the world and are a neat experience.
October 25, 20214 yr On 10/20/2021 at 3:20 PM, Toty said: @paco, @binkybink77 If you don't go to the Guinness Storehouse brewery so I can live that vicariously I'm unfriending both of you... AND the baby! (just an aside, what are the chances of me getting set up with said sister?) We definitely want to visit Guinness but it's probably going to be another trip - I really want to visit Dublin but I don't think we will do that this time. And 0% On 10/20/2021 at 8:00 PM, eagle45 said: Ireland is beautiful. The west coast is my favorite as well, but I don't think you can miss Dublin, even if you don't stay long. The Dingle peninsula off the West Coast is a bit off the beaten path, but really worth the drive. Ashford and Ballyfin castles are 2 of the best hotels in the world and are a neat experience. Thanks for the tips! We are likely flying into Shannon so I don't think we'll be over to Dublin at all this time.
October 25, 20214 yr 11 minutes ago, binkybink77 said: We definitely want to visit Guinness but it's probably going to be another trip - I really want to visit Dublin but I don't think we will do that this time. And 0% Thanks for the tips! We are likely flying into Shannon so I don't think we'll be over to Dublin at all this time.
October 25, 20214 yr I was trying to think of a Lloyd Christmas joke when I commented but I couldn't come up with anything witty - infant induced sleep deprivation causes brain damage that I'm hoping is one day reversible.
October 26, 20214 yr Philadelphia ranks seventh 'rattiest city' in the country for second year in a row https://www.thedp.com/article/2021/10/philly-ranked-seventh-worst-rat-problem-in-america-2021 Just a reminder, there are 6 cities with worse rat problems than the City of Brotherly Love.
October 26, 20214 yr 20 hours ago, Toty said: My first year of work I stayed with my brother and his wife to save money. They had their first kid while I was there and my room was right next to the baby room. It's not the same as getting up every 10 minutes, I'm sure, but suffice it to say my sleep time was cut in half. The guys at work started making fun of me that I had the same look in my eyes as new dads do those first few months. "Dad eyes" Yes - I literally cannot believe I ever complained about being tired previously. I didn't know what tired was.
October 27, 20214 yr On 10/19/2021 at 10:44 AM, mr_hunt said: jealous. ireland was the best trip i've been on in my life & it's not close...absolutely loved it there. we flew into shannon...drove to galway & spent a couple days there including day trips to cliffs of moher & inishmore. then drove down to cork for a night...did blarney castle...then a night in kilkenny...then to dublin for our final 2 nights & flew home from there. i know that sounds like a lot of driving but we never had to drive more than a couple hours in any single day. of course the dynamics will be different with a 1 y/o. dublin was fine but we f'n loved the west coast & smaller cities. enjoy! How long of a trip was this? My wife and I are actually planning a trip in February, and Ireland is a possibility. We will be bringing our then 7 month old with us, and our reasoning is that she is currently an angel and sleeps through the entire night. I don't know how long we'll be able to cling onto that 😂
October 27, 20214 yr 14 minutes ago, hputenis said: How long of a trip was this? My wife and I are actually planning a trip in February, and Ireland is a possibility. We will be bringing our then 7 month old with us, and our reasoning is that she is currently an angel and sleeps through the entire night. I don't know how long we'll be able to cling onto that 😂 We did 10 days, I believe. Wish we would've had more time to do ring of Kerry and/or the game of thrones stuff in northern Ireland. Maybe next time.
November 1, 20214 yr 15 hours ago, eagle45 said: Mt Haleakala sunrise is a neat event. very cool. isn't that where they filmed the "moon landing"?
November 5, 20214 yr Author Maui is really an amazing island. Sort of a perfect COVID destination…some exotic feel, comforts of home. There are some unfortunate political and cultural divides between the native Hawaiians and the US, which go beyond the more familiar political issues in the lower 48. It won’t exactly impact your trip, but you take notice when people are flying around upside down Hawaiian flags.
November 8, 20214 yr anyone been to greece before? that's the latest destination my wife is pushing for us to visit.
November 8, 20214 yr Author 1 hour ago, mr_hunt said: anyone been to greece before? that's the latest destination my wife is pushing for us to visit. Greece is awesome...one of the most beautiful countries in the world and on the short list for most stunning scenery anywhere. Mykonos for parties, Santorini for beauty/atmosphere/romance, and Kefalonia/Zakynthos/Crete for more off the beaten path rugged beauty. In order, that's Santorini, Zakynthos, and Kefalonia. If you want Santorini, fly into Athens, check that out for no more than a day or two, then hop on a short flight to Santorini. You can either stay there or combine with Mykonos. If you want the off the beaten path option, you can combine Zakynthos with Kefalonia. For that, fly into Venice, spend a couple days there, and then take the short flight from Venice to Zakynthos. If you want to hit all of that, then you need 2 weeks instead of 1.
November 8, 20214 yr 2 minutes ago, eagle45 said: Greece is awesome...one of the most beautiful countries in the world and on the short list for most stunning scenery anywhere. Mykonos for parties, Santorini for beauty/atmosphere/romance, and Kefalonia/Zakynthos/Crete for more off the beaten path rugged beauty. In order, that's Santorini, Zakynthos, and Kefalonia. If you want Santorini, fly into Athens, check that out for no more than a day or two, then hop on a short flight to Santorini. You can either stay there or combine with Mykonos. If you want the off the beaten path option, you can combine Zakynthos with Kefalonia. For that, fly into Venice, spend a couple days there, and then take the short flight from Venice to Zakynthos. If you want to hit all of that, then you need 2 weeks instead of 1. thanks! that's some great info.
November 11, 20214 yr On 8/30/2021 at 5:43 PM, binkybink77 said: We want to go to Ireland next year too. When I say we I mean me and my sisters are trying to convince the hubbies that we should do a big family trip there. Wife and I called ours off. Just don't want to travel right now or even in the near future. Still going on the bear hunt next fall, but that will be to Maine.
November 11, 20214 yr On 11/5/2021 at 4:05 PM, eagle45 said: Maui is really an amazing island. Sort of a perfect COVID destination…some exotic feel, comforts of home. There are some unfortunate political and cultural divides between the native Hawaiians and the US, which go beyond the more familiar political issues in the lower 48. It won’t exactly impact your trip, but you take notice when people are flying around upside down Hawaiian flags. Did you do the road to Hana?
November 12, 20214 yr Author 5 hours ago, greend said: Did you do the road to Hana? We did...and took a 7 month old too. We had beautiful weather and went last week, which is not high season. So it was a great, worthwhile experience. The black sand beach is beautiful (reserve parking spaces in advance) and the real attraction is the scenery along the way, not the destination. We stopped at Mamas Fish hours on the way back to hotel in Wailea at the end of the day (need reservations 5-6 months in advance there). That part of Maui is usually a bit cloudier and rainier...and the hours of narrow, blind hairpin turns might make for an unpleasant vacation day in bad weather when the roads are loaded with tourists in high season. So if you do it right with a little luck, it's awesome. If it doesn't go quite right, it could probably be a regrettable day.
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