One of the best things about making your way through Eastern Europe is being able to do so on the extensive train network rather than relying on flying or buses, and one of the longest routes is the Budapest-Bucharest
I’ve listed some tips / things to be aware of for the trip below but, in summary, whilst its not the most comfortable of sleeps because of the number of stops, I’d say it’s overall worth it based on the scenery you see in Transylvania (in particular crossing the Transylvanian Alps), the savings on hotel costs for the night and the lessened environmental impact from flying. But more than anything else, it’s just quite good fun. Again, detailed tips below
I say this trip is supercharged because it doesn’t leave much time for chilling out. But, if you’re like most of us and only have a limited amount of vacation, then this is a fantastic weekend to weekend trip that takes in the world famous sites of Jerusalem, Petra and Wadi rum; while providing time for some fun experiences like floating in the Dead Sea, scuba diving in the Red Sea, driving through sparse deserts and a party in Tel Aviv
You’ll need energy for these 7 days, but you’ll be rewarded as, in my opinion, its one of the world’s best week long trips in the world
I was hesitating in going in winter as I’d seen low temperatures. Don’t. The winter helped with reduced crowds, not needing to book far ahead and not getting exhausted by the heat. Perfect trip for a week-long winter break
South East Asia has to be the premier world traveling region. A big call? For sure, but consider what genuinely world class offerings it can provide:
- World class beaches and coastal areas – think of THAT beach in Ko Phi Phi and HaLong Bay, one of the Natural Wonders of the World
- World class food – think Thai, Vietnamese, Malay and the genuine fusion into the mix with the large established Indian and Chinese communities
- World class ancient sites and history – think of the temples of the “8th Wonder of the World” of Angkor Wat, and the breathtaking site of the pagodas stretching across the plain in Bagan
- World class cities and party locations – think of Singapore as the city of the future and the Full Moon Parties on Ko Pha-Ngan
And all this in a place that is super safe, outrageously friendly, easy and cheap to travel in. A must for any keen traveler and the below itinerary will give you the highlights – enjoy!
Macau is a wonderful day trip from Hong Kong with the combination of China’s boom on display as you wander through the lavish mega casinos, plus the Portuguese culture shinning through in the architecture, food and even street signs in Portuguese in the various spots that justify its UNESCO World Heritage status
Top 3 tips:
#1 Experiencing the Portuguese feel – there are various places which are great for getting your fix. Taipa Village is lovely and well located next to the main casinos. The area around the Ruins of the Church of Saint Paul is the symbol of Macau and does feel a bit like being in Lisbon around there. But my main tip is to head to the south of Taipa Island to either the South West for the classic restaurant of Fernando’s that is a bit of an institution in Macau, or to the South West in the area around the Chapel of Saint Francis Xavier which is far less busy and you’re able to sit having Portuguese food in the courtyard looking across the water
#2Enjoying the Casinos – whilst Macau sees x6 the revenue of Las Vegas passing across its tables, that doesn’t necessarily equate to the entertainment. Its more a reflection of the Chinese love / obsession of gambling and this is the only spot in all of China to do it – for example, you’ll typically see a minimum bet of around Macau $200 (USD25) on the tables in Macau combined with little entertainment. That being said, the entertainment that is on offer is great. I’d particularly recommend spending time walking the canals of the Venetian and booking ahead for the world-class Cirque du Solei show “The House of Dancing Water” in the City of Dreams. It is superb . If you can time it right and keen for the lash / partying, the Hard Rock Pool Party is also a must
#3 Transport – getting to Macau from Hong Kong is super simple. There are ferries leaving every 30mins or so from 3 spots across Hong Kong and it only takes an hour. Most realistically, you’ll aim to leave from the Shun Tak Centre on Hong Kong island. Just be aware though that there are two ferry spots in Macau – Macau Outer Harbour which is for the Macau Peninsular (the northern half) and Taipa (the southern half). Getting around though is a bit harder than Hong Kong as there isn’t the subway / MTR equivalent. Easiest to just get taxis
Overall, its a very easy and great experience from Hong Kong
My girlfriend and I went on a 6month trip around Latin America (excluding Brazil). Started in the far South in the Tierra del Fuego in Argentina and, broadly, made our way up the west coast to the Yucatan Peninsular of Mexico. Best large scale trip I’ve done, and wanted to share the overall itinerary and tips here to hopefully help those who are considering something similar
A few high level points:
- Other than the flights there and the first hotel, there were only three things we booked in advance: the Inca Trail (which we knew we needed to for permits); plus for Patagonia a trip through Torres del Paine National Park and a ferry through the fjords (as we were going at peak season and only a couple of weeks after we landed). Everything else, we booked when in Latin America and, in our opinion, that is the best way to do it – gives you the freedom to relax in the places you find that you love and be super flexible to do what you want to do
- Total costs – my girlfriend and I went in our 30s, with no kids and on sabbaticals from work. We’re not poor, but certainly not mega wealthy. We didn’t stay in super expensive hotels (other than for the occasional splurge), flew economy and used a bit of common sense for timings of certain expensive items, but never held back on doing the things we wanted to do. Some examples of big ticket items: US$5k for a week diving in the remote Wolf & Darwin Islands in the Galapagos; US$1.2k for 4 days in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia; US$800 for a helicopter trip to see the El Mirador Mayan ruins in the Guatemalan jungle; US$700 for the Inca Trail. Total cost of the whole trip was US$34k each. This included all flights, transport, hotels, activities, food, drink, guides, screwing things up, credit card fees – the lot. Expensive, but so are most Experiences of a Lifetime
- It’s not about trying to “do everything” – in a place as large as Latin America, you couldn’t even if you tried – so don’t think of things as a big tick box exercise. Brazil, for example, we knew we couldn’t do justice whilst also trying to enjoy all the other amazing places we’d heard of, so left it for next time
- In the similar vain, make sure you give yourself big chunks of time to chill out. Not only to recharge the batteries, but also because most places are enjoyed when you spend time to soak up the feel for the place. There were some places . . . like Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Isla Mujeres in Mexico, Bocas del Toro in Panama . . . where I could have spent weeks there just because the general vibe of the place was so wonderful
- Safety – we weren’t robbed, but many people do either having a bag stolen or, unpleasantly, get robbed face to face. Other than a couple of cities, we generally felt super safe the places we went and tried to just apply common sense to reduce our risks
- Learn a bit of Spanish before you go – the app DuoLingo was great for getting us to a basic level that made a lot of difference. But also don’t be afraid to pull out google for simultaneous conversation translations to really be able to have a conversation with someone – some long trips became some of our highlights just from being able to properly talk with the driver / locals. I particularly remember a long taxi ride in Colombia where we went back and forward for 2 hours with the driver on everything from his home town to politics to football to his favourite movies to his family problems- never could have done that without Spanish or google. In a similar vein, and using the right level of common sense, don’t turn down an invite for drinks / dinner / house visit with locals. There are some truly unforgettable natural and cultural spots to see, but similarly an evening with a local family will be something likely to be just as unforgettable
- Whenever checking out a place or must-do-site, its easy to get templed / churched / ancient site / beached out. Always do a very basic bit of research to see if there is a more out of the ordinary way to experience it – by bike / drinking tour / kayaking / helicopter / whatever. Thats what we tried to do, and I hope it reflected in some of the cool stuff listed below
The Salt flats (Salar de Uyuni) are world famous, unique, big enough that you can avoid other tourists and so cool that you can just stand around in awe (see The Bolivian Salt Flats in Rainy Season entry for details on the Salt Flats themselves). But I’d also highly recommend taking the 4WD trip between Uyuni and San Pedro in the Atacama desert . . . in fact its kind of a must if visiting the Salt Flats because of the sheer stunning vistas in this part of the world. The trip can be a long drive and don’t expect luxury, but seeing the AltiPlano is otherworldly and a world class adventure
So you have a week and you want to see the highlights? Likely flying in from somewhere 12+ hours away and have from one weekend to the next for vacation? My suggestion would be to focus on Torres del Paine National Park and the Perito Moreno Glacier from El Calafate
You could make your way down to Punta Arenas, but I just think that the scenery around El Calafate area beats it in every respect. You don’t really have time for the Navimag ferry through the Fjords. Parque Nacional los Alerces is too far away. And don’t waste your time going to see the King Penguins at Porvenir
The only place that you should consider squeezing in is the hiking around El Chalten, but we didn’t get a chance to check it out and it would be tight
By giving yourself 4 nights in Torres del Paine / Puerto Natales, a day to see the Perito Moreno Glacier and a day and a half or so of driving (including crossing the Argentina – Chile border), you’ll leave tired but not exhausted, and with a feeling of awe for Patagonia
Chances are you won’t be flying over to South America just to visit Uruguay. Most likely, you’re already over in this part of the world to check out Argentina, Brazil or as part of some bigger bolder adventure around South America. If this is the case, then Uruguay is well worth the visit. No, it won’t blow you away with a wonder of the world or one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences everyone salivates over. But, it will be one of those 4/5 days you look back on and think “that was cool”, in large part because of the people – they are super proud of their country and make Uruguay a great little spot to visit
Only a roughly 2 hour ferry ride from Buenos Aires, the UNESCO world heritage town of Colonia del Sacramento is worth taking the day trip to explore. Its quite touristy in places, but its quite easy to get away from the crowds and wander through the narrow cobbled streets of Barrio Historico whilst also looking out over the Rio de la Plata that surrounds the peninsular. Check it out if have a free day
