discussion Travel Junkies

[Gaia]

I recently got into traveling last year and it has since become a bit of an addiction. In the past year I've been to:

 

Multiple cities in all of the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Netherlands, Switzerland, and I have upcoming trips to see more of Canada, Australia, and Argentina this year. 

 

Singapore, South Korea, and Japan are on my list but are so expensive I haven't quite booked them yet. I work hybrid/remote so that allows me to travel a lot.

 

Anyone else a travel junkie? Any recommendations? I need to know the hot spots 

 

[Gorjesspazze9]

I use to travel a lot! If I had more spending money I would go to more countries 😭

 

 

[Joyride]

would love to go to Germany someday

[KFC]

Australia requires a long time. I've just returned from a 6 week tour of the East Coast and I've had the time of my life. Doing the guided tour with the company was such a great decision because all my travel and accomodation was booked for me and with all the activities included it worked out way cheaper than if I had done everything myself. Also my group were amazing, it was so good to have 30 friends straightaway

[LCTV]

I love traveling. I def recommend driving across the US. I did it when I moved from VA to Cali last year and two times previous. All different stops and experiences.

[Euterpe]

Whenever my cousin goes to Japan, he goes during cherry blossom season because of how beautiful it is.

[Taylucifer]

We're the opposite. It's pretty cheap for me to go travel anywhere in Asia but extremely expensive if I wanted to travel to Europe. 

 

I've been to the US and Canada though. America is less expensive than Europe for me.

[princedonte]

Good for you. I only left Texas twice in my lifetime. 

[Alldeezy]

early 2010s right after my dad past I did travel A LOT, 2011 - 2014 it was non stop but yeah sadly can't these days since everything is expensive 

[Euan]

Yes, I've visited 86 countries so far.

 

Best countries are Japan, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, USA, Italy, Egypt, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

[Istan4R]

I’m going to Central Europe next month. Vienna, Austria as the base and traveling within to Prague and Budapest. Anyone have recommendations on what to eat, see, do? Also Slovakia is only an hour train ride but 4 countries in a week might be doing too much lol. Wish I had more time

[Robert]

On 7/18/2023 at 10:45 AM, Gaia said:

I recently got into traveling last year and it has since become a bit of an addiction. In the past year I've been to:

 

Multiple cities in all of the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Netherlands, Switzerland, and I have upcoming trips to see more of Canada, Australia, and Argentina this year. 

 

Singapore, South Korea, and Japan are on my list but are so expensive I haven't quite booked them yet. I work hybrid/remote so that allows me to travel a lot.

 

Anyone else a travel junkie? Any recommendations? I need to know the hot spots 

 

I would recommend considering Taiwan. Culturally it's quite similar to Japan and also has a lot of traditional Chinese culture due to it's history. The infrastructure is very good and it's very safe but much cheaper than the countries mentioned. 

 

I also found Singapore a little underwhelming and wouldn't recommend more than 2-3 days. Malaysia was way more interesting and had better food. 

 

-

 

I've covered a lot of Asia and Europe as well as Oceania but would like to cover South/North America in the future. 

[KFC]

Currently planning to do another trip through Central America next year. I'll do another guided tour since I had so much fun on the last one

[Pendulum]

8 hours ago, Istan4R said:

I’m going to Central Europe next month. Vienna, Austria as the base and traveling within to Prague and Budapest. Anyone have recommendations on what to eat, see, do? Also Slovakia is only an hour train ride but 4 countries in a week might be doing too much lol. Wish I had more time

You can do Bratislava in a day, it's an hour train ride from Vienna. The train ticket is cheap as well, I remember it being below 20 euro two-way. Though Bratislava is nothing to write home about  it's a less developed Prague but I guess it would be cute to cross another country off of your checklist cause when else would you go to Slovakia?! But a week for Vienna, Prague and Budapest is really tight. You'd need at least a week and a half or two weeks. 

 

Prague is overridden with tourists all year around so it'd be better to visit the popular touristy spots like the Charles' Bridge or the Prague Castle early in the morning. Those are the two musts. Definitely take the furnicular to Petřín (if you have the 24 hour public transport ticket), it's a hillside park close to the center and it has nice city views. The Prague Metronom is a cool spot as well with even better panoramic city views. As for food, the prices in the city centre are outrageously expensive in most restaurants so definitely check where the locals eat if you want a taste of Czech food. The cuisine is mostly bread dumplings, meat and soups so nothing spectacular but if you could get your hands on a good garlic soup (česnečka)... yum. 

 

This channel has great tourist videos about Prague, highly recommend 

 

https://www.youtube.com/@HONESTGUIDE

 

 

Edited October 15, 2023 by Pendulum

[abelfenty]

12 hours ago, Istan4R said:

I’m going to Central Europe next month. Vienna, Austria as the base and traveling within to Prague and Budapest. Anyone have recommendations on what to eat, see, do? Also Slovakia is only an hour train ride but 4 countries in a week might be doing too much lol. Wish I had more time

I lived in Prague last year for 6 weeks and have visited Vienna and Budapest too. 

 

Ngl I didn’t like Vienna. Personally I found it very underwhelming. There really wasn’t much to do other than look at pretty buildings. Maybe I was looking in the wrong places but the nightlife was dead. It’s also very expensive, especially in comparison to the other cities you’ve mentioned. That being said the city is very clean, transport is good and the people were friendly. I just don’t think it was a city for me. 

 

Prague is amazing. There is so much to do and see during the day and the nightlife is excellent. The public is very accessible and SO cheap. There’s trams, metro and buses. Your ticket will be valid for all three types so you don’t have to worry about buying separate ones. Just make you validate it on the little machines otherwise you’ll get fined. If you’re looking for somewhere to eat I recommend St. Martin. They serve traditional Czech food which is absolutely delicious and it’s reasonably priced too. Easily my favourite restaurant in Prague. There’s also a cafe called Club Míšeňská about a 10 minute walk from there which I also loved. Their cakes are freshly made and they have a great selection of hot and cold drinks. As for things to do obviously all the common touristy things. Prague castle is beautiful. You could easily spend at least half a day, if not a full one in that area alone. You can pay to go inside, but tbh I don’t think you really need to as you can already see so much from outside. Charles Bridge is always packed unless you go dead early in the morning or very late at night. I definitely recommend going up Petrin Tower. It’s inexpensive and has some of the best views of the city. Letna Park is a great spot to watch sunrise/sunset. At night there’s sometimes a DJ or people playing music and dancing so it’s a good spot to have a few drinks with friends. If you’re looking for a chill spot during the day then go to Stromovka Park. There’s so much open space and nice ponds to sit around and read a book or have a picnic or something. It’s also never busy which is a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the busy city. If you want bar/club recommendations lmk. 

 

Budapest is also another great city. I’d say it’s actually pretty similar to Prague. If you like one you’ll like the other. Definitely go on one of the nighttime river cruises if you get the chance. The one I went on gave us unlimited Prosecco. I felt so drunk by the end lol. The Castle District is huge and definitely worth it. You can spend a full day there. The thermal baths are a MUST. Check out the ruin bars. Szimpla Kert is the main one, and the busiest, but so worth it. There are loads of other ones too. Gozado Court has a bunch of bars and restaurants and it’s always bouncing at night. Mazel Tov was probably my favourite restaurant I went to there, but it’s always super busy so I strongly recommend booking a table if you go.

 

But yeah I definitely agree with the above poster. One week is not enough if you want to have time as you’ll just be rushing everywhere. For Prague and Budapest I’d suggest at least 3-4 nights each. 

[Istan4R]

13 hours ago, Pendulum said:

You can do Bratislava in a day, it's an hour train ride from Vienna. The train ticket is cheap as well, I remember it being below 20 euro two-way. Though Bratislava is nothing to write home about  it's a less developed Prague but I guess it would be cute to cross another country off of your checklist cause when else would you go to Slovakia?! But a week for Vienna, Prague and Budapest is really tight. You'd need at least a week and a half or two weeks. 

 

Prague is overridden with tourists all year around so it'd be better to visit the popular touristy spots like the Charles' Bridge or the Prague Castle early in the morning. Those are the two musts. Definitely take the furnicular to Petřín (if you have the 24 hour public transport ticket), it's a hillside park close to the center and it has nice city views. The Prague Metronom is a cool spot as well with even better panoramic city views. As for food, the prices in the city centre are outrageously expensive in most restaurants so definitely check where the locals eat if you want a taste of Czech food. The cuisine is mostly bread dumplings, meat and soups so nothing spectacular but if you could get your hands on a good garlic soup (česnečka)... yum. 

 

This channel has great tourist videos about Prague, highly recommend 

 

https://www.youtube.com/@HONESTGUIDE

 

 

 

8 hours ago, abelfenty said:

I lived in Prague last year for 6 weeks and have visited Vienna and Budapest too. 

 

Ngl I didn’t like Vienna. Personally I found it very underwhelming. There really wasn’t much to do other than look at pretty buildings. Maybe I was looking in the wrong places but the nightlife was dead. It’s also very expensive, especially in comparison to the other cities you’ve mentioned. That being said the city is very clean, transport is good and the people were friendly. I just don’t think it was a city for me. 

 

Prague is amazing. There is so much to do and see during the day and the nightlife is excellent. The public is very accessible and SO cheap. There’s trams, metro and buses. Your ticket will be valid for all three types so you don’t have to worry about buying separate ones. Just make you validate it on the little machines otherwise you’ll get fined. If you’re looking for somewhere to eat I recommend St. Martin. They serve traditional Czech food which is absolutely delicious and it’s reasonably priced too. Easily my favourite restaurant in Prague. There’s also a cafe called Club Míšeňská about a 10 minute walk from there which I also loved. Their cakes are freshly made and they have a great selection of hot and cold drinks. As for things to do obviously all the common touristy things. Prague castle is beautiful. You could easily spend at least half a day, if not a full one in that area alone. You can pay to go inside, but tbh I don’t think you really need to as you can already see so much from outside. Charles Bridge is always packed unless you go dead early in the morning or very late at night. I definitely recommend going up Petrin Tower. It’s inexpensive and has some of the best views of the city. Letna Park is a great spot to watch sunrise/sunset. At night there’s sometimes a DJ or people playing music and dancing so it’s a good spot to have a few drinks with friends. If you’re looking for a chill spot during the day then go to Stromovka Park. There’s so much open space and nice ponds to sit around and read a book or have a picnic or something. It’s also never busy which is a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the busy city. If you want bar/club recommendations lmk. 

 

Budapest is also another great city. I’d say it’s actually pretty similar to Prague. If you like one you’ll like the other. Definitely go on one of the nighttime river cruises if you get the chance. The one I went on gave us unlimited Prosecco. I felt so drunk by the end lol. The Castle District is huge and definitely worth it. You can spend a full day there. The thermal baths are a MUST. Check out the ruin bars. Szimpla Kert is the main one, and the busiest, but so worth it. There are loads of other ones too. Gozado Court has a bunch of bars and restaurants and it’s always bouncing at night. Mazel Tov was probably my favourite restaurant I went to there, but it’s always super busy so I strongly recommend booking a table if you go.

 

But yeah I definitely agree with the above poster. One week is not enough if you want to have time as you’ll just be rushing everywhere. For Prague and Budapest I’d suggest at least 3-4 nights each. 

Thank you both so much! This is very helpful and adding to the itinerary. I know that a week is not enough but Im used to cramming my trips, but I know an extra week would still be better to really take in everything. Thanks again!

[Pendulum]

18 hours ago, abelfenty said:

Prague is amazing. There is so much to do and see during the day and the nightlife is excellent. The public is very accessible and SO cheap. There’s trams, metro and buses. Your ticket will be valid for all three types so you don’t have to worry about buying separate ones. Just make you validate it on the little machines otherwise you’ll get fined. If you’re looking for somewhere to eat I recommend St. Martin. They serve traditional Czech food which is absolutely delicious and it’s reasonably priced too. Easily my favourite restaurant in Prague. There’s also a cafe called Club Míšeňská about a 10 minute walk from there which I also loved. Their cakes are freshly made and they have a great selection of hot and cold drinks. As for things to do obviously all the common touristy things. Prague castle is beautiful. You could easily spend at least half a day, if not a full one in that area alone. You can pay to go inside, but tbh I don’t think you really need to as you can already see so much from outside. Charles Bridge is always packed unless you go dead early in the morning or very late at night. I definitely recommend going up Petrin Tower. It’s inexpensive and has some of the best views of the city. Letna Park is a great spot to watch sunrise/sunset. At night there’s sometimes a DJ or people playing music and dancing so it’s a good spot to have a few drinks with friends. If you’re looking for a chill spot during the day then go to Stromovka Park. There’s so much open space and nice ponds to sit around and read a book or have a picnic or something. It’s also never busy which is a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the busy city. If you want bar/club recommendations lmk. 

not you kinda stealing my Prague guide to the T  

 

I say if the OP wants real Czech food and what the Czechs truly eat, then jídelna Světozor is a must but that requires some knowledge of the language