Drop your hotel recommendation in Rome for 3 nights pls!!!

For those who have been visited Barbados, what place would you recommend renting? I see many places on AirBnB, but not sure which one to rent. Ideally, I would want a clean place that isn't far from the beach and stores and that can accommodate 2 adults and 2 kids.

A friend and I have been looking into going to the Yasuni National Park and found this company, Huaorani Expeditions. The company doesn't have any reviews online however there is this Facebook page. Also after reaching out to the owner, Numa Sanmiguel, he referred us to two previous travelers who used his company. We found their Instagrams (and they are quite popular American photographers actually), reached out to them, and they said they had a great experience on the trip.

Also the owner sent the below accreditation from Ecuador's tourism agency.

1. Doc 1

2. Doc 2

We also were sent these pictures which shows the accommodations and food.

Also with regards to booking, we were sent a WeTravel link where we will put down the deposit, which is 20% of the $2000 total for a 6 day trip, and then bring the rest in cash when meeting the tour guide. We will meet the tour guide in the city of Coca, Ecuador, and then will be brought to the Yasuni National forest.

My main concerns with this is that the tour guide does not have many reviews online, so I am worried that either we are getting scammed out of the deposit or the experience will not be great. My friend is interested in this tour specifically because it seems more immersive than the more popular EcoLodges/tours in the Yasuni National Forest. Does this seem like a good and safe option to have an authentic experience in the Amazon?

I love to travel, but I rarely have the time off/budget to plan for a big trip. Now that my husband and I are planning our honeymoon for 2025, I feel overwhelmed with options! I've compiled a wishlist for everything we would have in a perfect trip and would love suggestions for where we should go.

Wishlist:

1. No rental car not needed - walkable is a must and mass transit is a bonus

2. Good food scene - doesn't need to have fancy options, but I want good food/trying new foods to be a highlight of the trip

3. Good weather in the months we're targeting: July, August, September, or October (which for me means avoiding somewhere that has high humidity or is at risk for hurricane season)

4. Not unbearably crowded with tourists during those months (for example, I would be interested in Italy, but I think those months would be too busy for me personally)

5. Travel day under 18 hours to reach our destination (we're based in Washington state).

Some relevant info:

- This will likely be an 11-12 day trip (including travel days)

- Priority goes to places where our travel budget can stretch a little further

- Our best trips have been ones where we eat amazing food and walk our feet off. We love a trip where we can split our time between somewhere urban and somewhere more rural/small town).

- We're based in the US and are leaning towards going out of the country. We've already traveled to France, Germany, and The Netherlands together (and loved them), but might prefer to try somewhere new.

- We're not interested in all-inclusive options.

- Some ideas we've had so far that might fit the bill: Mexico City (at least as our home base, with the option to travel elsewhere), Montreal (possibly with a side trip to Quebec City), Spain (didn't get far enough in the brainstorm process to decide where we might go)

Currently on a short trip to Uruguay which was almost an afterthought to visit another country while I'm in South America. Didn't think much of it before I visited but boy was I wrong. Montevideo is a curious little capital city with an edge. Full of good cafes, museums, fantastic architecture. Good shopping.

Punta del Diablo and Cabo Polonio must be the most beautiful beach towns I've ever visited. I'm here just before the summer season starts and the towns are still sleepy and quiet but the weather is perfect. Beautiful clear water.

At least for a traveller, the country is well organised, everything is easy to sort out, transport is very efficient. Clean and much less busy than a lot of surrounding countries. Super easy to get to from Buenos Aires and the bus network is great to get you to any coastal town.

The fish is top quality.

But most of all it's the vibe across the whole country. Safe, slow, chilled all across. People are incredibly friendly. I love travelling and have been around but not often do I get the feeling that I could just move somewhere. I started researching how to move to Uruguay on my second day haha. No wonder Anthony Bourdain loved it so much.

That's it! If you have a few days to spare, definitely spend a few days in Uruguay. Most people only visit for a day or two but the country deserves much more recognition than it gets. It's anything but boring. In the current climate it's not even that expensive compared to Argentina (I've seen it described as expensive multiple times).

Trying to decide where go in February. This will be a solo trip. I like cities for a day or 2 but really require some type of nature and/or wild life viewing. Willing to travel anywhere tbh. Coming from the Midwest US

Been looking at:

South America, maybe Peru, Ecuador, or Brazil. Bolivia looks really hard to get to from where I’m at. Belize was an option as well in Central America.

Asia I’ve looked into Hong Kong, India, and Taiwan.

I’m seeing good flights to Delhi. Having a hard time to grasp if I can do city and nature here.

I’d like to keep it at most to 10 days with travel days. So more like 8 days to explore.

My wife and I are planning our 10 year anniversary in late Jan. We are planning on 7-10 days.

We found very cheap plane tickets from our US city to the following destinations:

• Budapest

• Prague

• Rome

Initially, I was stoked that we could get round trip tickets to Italy. The idea popped in my head to do a few days in Rome, and then a few days in Sorrento/Positano/Amalfi. Ideally, we could rent a car and self-drive to the south.

We live in a cold weather city, so we aren’t afraid of the cold. We are just curious if we are going to find ourselves in a place where all the hotels / restaurants / attractions will be closed or unable to enjoy.

What are your thoughts? Any tips?

Lately, I’ve been seeing two eSIM providers, Saily and Ubigi, pop up a lot. So, I decided to give both a try and compare them side by side, using this comparison table as a guide. Here’s what I found and how they worked for me. For the record, I traveled to Rome recently and tried both of them there.

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Why I think eSIMs are a must-have for traveling

If you haven’t tried eSIMs yet, here are a few reasons why you should consider it:

1. No more SIM cards: No need to waste time hunting for a local SIM card or worry about losing tiny pieces of plastic while you travel.
2. Instant setup: You can download and activate your eSIM in minutes—even before you arrive at your destination.
3. Flexible plans: You can pick a plan that matches your trip, whether it’s a weekend getaway or a month-long adventure.

--------------------

My experience with Saily

When I tried Saily for the first time I was impressed by how easy it was to set up. I just downloaded the app, chose a plan, and was connected in minutes. The prices are also great, especially for longer trips. The internet in Rome worked well for navigation and messaging, even when I visited a bit more remote areas. For casual travelers or anyone looking for an affordable, hassle-free option, I think Saily is a great choice.

My experience with Ubigi

I also tested Ubigi in Rome and it was my first time trying it. It provided good connectivity, especially in the city. It worked fine for video calls and light streaming, though there were occasional slowdowns. The setup was straightforward but seemed a bit more technical than Saily. However, customer support was responsive and helped me to solve the minor problems that I had pretty fast.

--------------------

My side-by-side comparison

I looked through the features in this comparison table, added a bit of personal experience, and came up with this short summary.

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My final thoughts

Both Saily and Ubigi were helpful during my trip, but they stood out in different ways. For a casual traveler like me, Saily hit the sweet spot—it was affordable and easy to manage.

Let me know if you have any other questions about these two providers! I will try to answer them.

I'm considering visiting at that time, but I want to know if the temperatures are likely to be unbearably cold.I want to know the typical weather conditions to help me decide whether to continue with my plans or delay the trip to a more favorable season.

And also how crowded is instanbul with tourists this time of year compared to other times.

1. Language Barrier: My Chinese is close to non-existent. I used Duolingo Chinese and practised until I got to the chapter about travelling. SURPRISINGLY, those basic Duolingo phrases and vocabulary from baby level all the way until the chapter on travelling were more than sufficient to survive in China!
2. Alipay: I used Alipay EVERYWHERE. Just add your credit card to it before entering China.
3. Ordering Food in Restaurants: For ordering food in restaurants, I learned how to say this phrase in Chinese well: "I'm a foreigner. Can I order through you?" and they will say yes! You can use your translator app and show them the Chinese words too! Some of them spoke into a translator app on their phone or on mine. Either way, everyone was super friendly and patient to help you and translate for you.
4. Flight Booking: I bought some domestic flights through the China Eastern Airlines website. OUTSIDE OF CHINA, I couldn’t pick my seat. It kept saying, "International flights can't select seat." But once I got into China and connected to hotel Wi-Fi, I had absolutely no issues getting to the page to select my seat. So just buy the flight tickets first and once you're in China, visit the website and select your seats.
5. Passport Verification Issues: I had issues verifying passports on other, both in-app and on the website when I was outside of China. Once I got into China, I could verify easily and immediately! :) tripdotcom app and website work with foreign credit cards directly.
6. High-Speed Rail: Taking high-speed rail is insanely easy. Just go to the counter with a human and show them your passport. No communication needed. They know what to do.
7. Attraction Ticketing: All ticketing for attractions is done with your passport. Just bring your passport and go to the human counter. The human will either scan it or find your passport number in their device. They’re very used to foreigners showing up with passports. No communication needed.
8. Group Tours: I joined a few local group tours recommended by my hotel concierge that catered to local Chinese tourists and were all in the Chinese language. These were much cheaper than English tours (which were only private tours). No issues! The tour guides used translator apps to communicate with us, and some even added me on WeChat and sent me all the instructions there. WeChat has a built-in translator, so even if you reply in English, they know how to use it to translate it into Chinese before replying to you. The hilarious part is some other tour members really wanted to communicate with me and know where I'm from, so they added me on WeChat to text chat me during the tour with the in-built translator.
9. Solo Travel: I travelled mostly on my own and only booked day group tours recommended by the hotels after my arrival. I went to Chongqing, Suzhou, Shanghai, Wulong, and Beijing. Everyone was very friendly and helpful.
10. Food on Group Tours: The food the day group tours take you to eat is HORRENDOUS. BUT! The food I found on my own by randomly walking into local shopping malls was superb! So yeah... I guess the group tours need to profit and take you to only places they already had prior arrangements with, which in most cases aren’t great.
11. Street Food: I did not eat any street food, as a number of my friends got food poisoning on a previous trip. Not saying all street food is bad, but I had limited time and didn’t want to spend it being sick. I exclusively ate at restaurants inside shopping malls.
12. Cashless Payments: I used absolutely 0 cash. Alipay worked all the time! Yay!
13. 5G Everywhere: There is 5G like EVERYWHERE. And I mean really EVERYWHERE, even in the deepest mountain tourist attractions! I guess mobile network with strong data is everywhere even in the most remote areas, so people can pay with Alipay haha!
14. Didi for Cabs: Never flagged any cabs from the street. Exclusively used Didi. Absolutely no issues with finding pickup spots, nor communication. Once you're in China, you'll be able to download the Didi Greater China app. It's in English and works flawlessly with English names of places and recommended pickup points so you know where to walk to for waiting for your driver. The Didi Greater China app also works with my foreign credit card directly.
15. SIM Cards and Internet: I didn’t get any local SIM card. I got the Tripdotcom billion connect eSIM that had a VPN built-in. Had strong signal everywhere (see point 13) and was superfast. I even did a number of Zoom video calls in the midst of my trip and had absolutely 0 lag even when I was screen sharing.

Hope this is helpful! Ask me anything!

I just wanted to start off by saying that I've never been to China before but have solo travelled extensively throughout.

I'm planning to go china around April 2025 and planning on 2 week itinerary so wanted to get some advice on this.

• flying into beijing (staying 4 nights)
• train to Xi'an (staying for 3 days)
• flight/train to zhangjiajie (3 days)
• train to Yangshuo - 3 days
• flight/train to Shanghai - 3 days

I'm only going to Shanghai because I'm planning to have my return flight from there but not really interested in staying there for 3 days. Are there any cities/places worth visiting near Shanghai that I can stay for 2 days or so?

Please let me know what you think of this. Thanks!

I am planning on spending a week in Sao Paulo and wanted to know if there were any day trips that are worth doing.

I know there is a lot of great nature around Brazil so I wanted know if there were any hikes you all could recommend, but I am also open to try anything that might be fun.

My sister and I want to take our mother on a trip for her 70th birthday but are out of ideas since I’m pregnant (trip will be in March). It has to be in the US since I don’t want to travel far.

I wanted to go to Hawaii but my sister is against it because she says it’s expensive and prefers to visit with her husband and this would be my 3rd time visiting the islands but I think this would be perfect.

My sister said San Francisco but my mother visited a few decades ago and I’ve been a couple and feel there is too much walking for my pregnant self and my mom.

What do you think?

Looking for ways to seek travel that immerses you in the culture of others.

I don't like the idea of going to a country and gawking at locals from a resort.

How do you consistently get to delve into the places you travel to and socialize with others? Especially if you don't speak the language!

Hello fellow travelers.

I have a family wedding in Italy next September and will be staying in Lake Garda for a week. My birthday comes immediately after, and I want to plan something special to do while I'm over there.

I'd love to find an art school or program that does either single day or week-long intensive workshops in drawing, painting or some other media. Has anyone come across something like this in their travels?

I'm open to going anywhere in Italy, though I did spend 2 weeks in Florence and Tuscany earlier this year (not opposed to revisiting that area, though).

Thanks!

Hi all, I'm planning a trip to Azerbaijan and would love your thoughts on my itinerary, especially regarding how much time to spend in Sheki and Gabala. I’ve created an itinerary, but I’m unsure whether I’m spending enough time or too much time in some places, or if I should adjust my plans.

Itinerary Overview:

March 29th (Day 1) - Baku: Arrival at 14:35. I’ll head straight to the funicular up to Highland Park to see the Flame Towers at night, and then enjoy a traditional Azeri dinner. Afterward, I'll rest up for the night.

March 30th (Day 2) -hire a private driver to take me to Shamaki, Lahich, and Gabala: I’ll visit the Diri Baba Mausoleum, Jame Mosque, and Yeddi Gumbez in Shamaki. Then, drive to Lahich (either staying in Lahich or Ismaili depending on where I sleep). If I stay in Ismaili, it’s about 4 hours in the car, but if I stay in Lahich, it’s about 3 hours.

March 31st (Day 3) - Drive to Tufandag Resort in Gabala, take the cable car, see Nohur Lake, then head to my hotel in Sheki (about 3 hours in the car). Spend the evening chilling in the old town of Sheki. Ask driver to leave me here and drive back to Baku himself.

April 1st (Day 4) - In the morning, I plan to visit Kis Village (30 mins each way). Afterward, I’ll return to Sheki to visit the Sheki Khan Palace, Karavansaray, the Street of Sweets and Potteries, and possibly the Botanical Garden. I’ll spend my second night in Sheki.

April 2nd (Day 5) - Either head directly to Baku (4.5 hours) or stop in Quba (6 hours drive). If I go to Quba, I’m thinking of exploring the Red Village and would love recommendations for other things to do around there. I’ll either spend the night in Quba or Baku (depending on timing).

April 3rd (Day 6) - I’m considering visiting Shahdag Winter Resort (45 mins from Quba), where I’ll try the cable car, alpine coaster, and other activities. However, I’m also interested in Xinaliq Village (it’s 2 hours from Shahdag and 1 hour 20 mins from Quba), though I know it’s not the best of time of year to visit. Between Shahdag and Xinaliq what do you recommend?

April 4th (Day 7) - In Baku, I’ll visit the Carpet Museum, Little Venice, Boulevard, the Old City, and Nizami Street. I’d also like to catch an Islamic opera at the opera house, if possible.

April 5th (Day 8) - On my last day, I’ll use the morning to catch anything I missed in Baku before my flight at 16:30.

Questions for the Community:

1)Sheki & Gabala: Do you think I'm spending enough time in Sheki and Gabala, or should I add more time in these locations? 2) Quba & Shahdag: Once I am back in baku on day 5 via bus. Should I spend Day 5 driving to Quba via private driver and then head to Shahdag Resort, or would it be better to spend those days in Baku instead? Is visiting both Shahdag Resort and Xinaliq in one day feasible, or should I stick to just one of them?

General Feedback: Anything else I should consider, especially in terms of travel time between cities or activity suggestions? I am not interested in the trips to the petroglyphs, mud volcanos or burning mountain. Thanks in advance for your help!

My family would like to visit Germany and Poland for our first trip to Europe. I am German and my wife is polish, and neither of us have been to those countries so we thought it was fitting.

Would you guys be willing to help me decide the optimal way to fit both countries in one trip?

Hard requirements:

• A week in both countries.

• Krakow in Poland

We're mostly stuck between going north to Berlin or sticking to southern Germany. Our only issue with southern Germany is it seems like the rail connections through austria are much slower and we're worried about a long train ride taking up a good portion of our trip.

Has anyone tried both countries? Whats the best cities to visit between them to minimize travel time?

Typo: Gulf states*

Hey! So I'll be visitng countries I longed to visit in the MENA reigon, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi.

I love history and nature. Oman becasue of how it came about. the Dhofar war and its amazing landscapes. Jordan because of Petra and it's history. Egypt because of the history! Saudi becasue of its history and it has Medina and Meccah, although I cannot visit Meccah (Im secular).

I'm wondering if it's worth visting the other gulf states like Bahrain, Quatar, Kuwait, UAE on the go. I was told it's like Las Vegas (which I've been to) by a friend but in the desert so I should skip it and go to other interesting places lol. But wondering what you guys think! I fear that it will be 'boring', my least favorite countries are Singapore and Australia because it just felt like another city with Western Infrastructure and not much to do.

I have 2-3 weeks in Jan to go somewhere with a budget of £5k for two. Early 20’s, M/F couple, fairly adventurous - we have been to Thailand, India, two month trip car camping in US, although never to a place that could be considered “hard” to travel (sub Saharan Africa for example). What are places that should be on my list to visit now before they’re at risk of permanently changing/losing something about them that’s special? I’m either thinking of places that are at risk of ecological destruction or human/societal harm (war etc). An example might be thinking that I wish I could have visited Syria pre-2012. What are the places I may be kicking myself for not visiting before they changed permanently for the negative in five years? Egypt at risk of water wars? Etc?

I came across the website atlasobscura a while ago and while not all of the points of interest are great, it's let me to so many interesting under-visited spots over the years that I never would've found otherwise. I mostly travel overland by bicycle and come across lots of places in remote areas that only domestic tourists seem to frequent despite them being arguable more impressive than the main sights.

I was recently planning a trip through China and stumbled across a website that listed so many amazing natural or architectural sights that I never would've come across on your typical 'top 20 sights' tourist list. Some of my favourite travel memories are when you stumble across a place with virtually no other tourists and it feels almost 'hidden' compared the main tourist spots in a country.

Are there any similar websites to AtlasObscura that have documented interesting natural or architectural sights that aren't particularly famous so don't see much tourst traffic?

Thanks

Hi,

To prevent pickpockets, suggestions seem to say store it in a runner belt or money belt if you are very concerned instead of your daybag (which you can also put infront of you, but in the case you get mugged, you lose likely will lose stuff in your day bag but they wont know about your money belt and runners belt)

But how do we prevent phone from being grabbed when say taking photos? Is it suggested to use lanyard on your phone as well? I see people do that sometimes. But I guess able to store your phone in your money belt/runners belt, it's annoying to put on the landyard everytime you want to take it out. I'm going to some sketchy areas, so I want to mitigate my risks :)!

I work in a company providing bar crawls for "party hostels", and we are starting to provide free walking tours and soon paid tapas & wine tours in barcelona. We wanna do it right, so I would love to hear what you guys think makes a good walking tour? What has been a good walking tour you guys have recently taken?

Hi everyone I’ll be in Germany for next month and I need help planning the logistics of it. I need to make sure I’m not killing myself trying to see it all or losing time traveling in between cities. My round trip flight from my home base is out of Copenhagen. Nothing is finalized yet except Copenhagen to Berlin. The rest is very open, I just have to make it back to Copenhagen on NYE so I catch my flight back home on January 1.

December 22-23: Copenhagen

December 23-26 : Berlin (day trip to Dresden?)

December 26-28: Cologne/Dusseldorf

December 28-31: Munich (day trip somewhere?)

December 31: back to Copenhagen

Every time I look up a Germany itinerary, there’s always a city people recommend like Nuremburg, Dresden, Bamburg, Stuttgart, Potsdam, etc but I don’t know how it’ll all fit in my itinerary. The non negotiable for me is the Cologne Cathedral so i need to see that no matter what. Obviously the cities are far apart so I need to be a bit more strategic allowing myself time and energy to navigate all three.

Would you do anything differently? Will I be very exhausted moving from city to city like that? Would you spend more/less time or maybe add day trips here and there? A lot of Germans told me to skip Neuschwanstein Castle because it’s too touristy and to go to Salzburg instead. Thoughts? I know I’ll be there during the holidays so I’d imagine many things will close. I plan on using the DB train but my last day I’m finding it tricky to find a train back to Copenhagen. It looks like I have to end up in Hamburg somehow to make it back. Otherwise I will have to fly back to Copenhagen

any input is appreciated 🫶🏻

Hi

Will be going to Istanbul for 5 nights, Selcuk 2 nights, Cappadocia 2 nights!

Wondering how much cash to withdraw when arriving there. Will be using public transportation in Istanbul and I've heard a good amount of machines dont accept credit to top up the transportation card. And some tourist sights seem to only accept cash

Having a quick trip 2-night 3-day trip to the city in the coming weeks and then up to upstate for the remainder of my trip. I have been to the city before but never by myself. I'm 20M and I'm looking for some cliche Christmas recs. Also just some other recs as well, I enjoy museums and things of that nature. Also possibly a jazz club? I'm staying just south of Central Park. Looking to keep my travels/exploring in the midtown and central park area. TIA

It is cheaper with the airline than with the OTA. But I dont even know if you can do it directly with the airline after. Anyone had experience with this? The airline is condor

We spent two weeks in Scotland at the beginning of June—mom, dad, and two teens. As history buffs who love museums, churches, and Bronze Age sites, we found plenty to explore.

The weather was mostly on our side; we only had a few days of heavy rain. We kept rain jackets and umbrellas with us at all times, just in case. One tip if you’re planning to visit historical sites: we got the 7-day pass from Historic Scotland, which covered our entries to Edinburgh and Stirling Castles, along with Fort George. This pass saved us quite a bit of time, letting us skip booking time slots in advance and bypassing general admission lines.

For accommodations, reservations were a must. Restaurants were often booked up and they tended to enforce two-hour seating limits, so making plans in advance was essential. The flexibility to have an extra day or two was nice, but in retrospect, our itinerary was perhaps three days too long—though no one could decide what to cut, as every day offered something we all enjoyed.

When it came to driving, we rented a car through Sixt and picked it up right at Waverley Station, just a short walk from where we were staying. Though we relied on Google Maps for most of our driving directions, having a road atlas turned out to be a lifesaver, especially when there were detours or road closures.

Lastly, if you’re looking to save on flights, Trip.com’s discounts came in handy for us. For example, using the TFEU code saved us €7 per ticket, which added up nicely for a family of four. It’s a small tip, but for a big trip, every bit helps.

I know we have some country counters on here,and no doubt some people that love small Caribbean islands too.

I've only been to a few...Cuba,Jamaica,Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti).

For those who have visited a lot more of the smaller islands,did you...Do it gradually over a number of years? Or do it all on one trip? Fly between them? Or maybe you visited a lot of them on a cruise?

Please let me know,especially if you have been to a lot/all of the independent country Caribbean islands (apart from those I mentioned above).

Thanks,Luc