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Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gurtholfin
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Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

mookie1995 said:
Mookie is heading there tomorrow night.

Mookie stays in Kensington
Quiet, and easy tube rides to Heathrow and into town.

This will be 4th time since May and can still go see new stuff. Pretty cool city.
Hitting up spitalfields this time for sure. Mookie is flying girl in to see him this weekend. Asked if she wanted to go to Fulham and see a match. Should have just dragged her as a surprise.
Did put in for the hamilton lottery.
Will no doubt have to also try again tomorrow :(

Dishoom was recommended so we will eat there. Story goes if one wants to eat Indian food, one must go to London ;)
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British Indian food...which, yes, is good. But it will be tough to beat the stuff I had in Mumbai and Pune.

The hotel I was looking at is in Kensington. Seemed like good compromise between Heathrow and the city, and hotels there were more reasonably priced than many other areas I looked at.
 
bigblue_dl said:
British Indian food...which, yes, is good. But it will be tough to beat the stuff I had in Mumbai and Pune.

The hotel I was looking at is in Kensington. Seemed like good compromise between Heathrow and the city, and hotels there were more reasonably priced than many other areas I looked at.
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Mookie stays on Cromwell road near earl's court all the time. Earl's court area is nice walking. Lots of pubs and eats.
 
Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

bigblue_dl said:
So, the London trip. I think I will have 2 days there, the 2nd night I will want to stay near Heathrow, for an early flight the next morning. I should have 1 or 2 other nights in London. What areas are good to stay, close to the sites, convenient to the tube, etc? I will be alone on the corp card, so hotels only, no vacation rentals, airbnb, or anything like that.

Second, with 2 days, what are the must sees in London, what do I need to sign up for ahead of time (tours and such) and are there any pubs or restaurants that I need to visit?

Thanks ahead of time.
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Check out a hotel called The Nadler, Kensington. I have recommended that others stay there. Its convenient (less than 1/2 mile to the tube) in a good area Kensington & Chelsea is a fantastic area and very safe. I lived in Chelsea on Kings Road and my grandparents asked me if I felt safe living there. I told them I was the poorest person for miles so nobody would have any interest in robbing me. The streets are lined with Aston Martins and Bentleys with flats selling for on average 15 million pounds. The Nadler is also reasonable, or at least it was 3 years ago. The location is West London so its closer to LHR than central London.

Its close to Earls Court ---I couldn't remember the station.
 
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Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

YoungEagle said:
Check out a hotel called The Nadler, Kensington. I have recommended that others stay there. Its convenient (less than 1/2 mile to the tube) in a good area Kensington & Chelsea is a fantastic area and very safe. I lived in Chelsea on Kings Road and my grandparents asked me if I felt safe living there. I told them I was the poorest person for miles so nobody would have any interest in robbing me. The streets are lined with Aston Martins and Bentleys with flats selling for on average 15 million pounds. The Nadler is also reasonable, or at least it was 3 years ago. The location is West London so its closer to LHR than central London.

Its close to Earls Court ---I couldn't remember the station.
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I'm not staying at a hotel I'm not getting rewards points for. Which means it needs to be Marriott, IHG, or Hilton.
 
Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

Looking at Germany for later this year - mid-October to mid-November. Aiming for the shoulder season between Oktoberfest and Christkindlmarkts, as I strongly dislike drunks and crowds, and hotel award redemptions are much cheaper. Probably 10-11 days, 3 days each in Munich and Berlin, with one side jaunt into Austria, Česko (Prague), or Slovenia. Also considering a 24 hr. stopover in Amsterdam on the way home, as there isn't a direct to DTW from MUC on the days I'm looking at leaving, and there's no effing way I'm doing customs in ATL.
 
FadeToBlack&Gold said:
Looking at Germany for later this year - mid-October to mid-November. Aiming for the shoulder season between Oktoberfest and Christkindlmarkts, as I strongly dislike drunks and crowds, and hotel award redemptions are much cheaper. Probably 10-11 days, 3 days each in Munich and Berlin, with one side jaunt into Austria, Česko (Prague), or Slovenia. Also considering a 24 hr. stopover in Amsterdam on the way home, as there isn't a direct to DTW from MUC on the days I'm looking at leaving, and there's no effing way I'm doing customs in ATL.
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So jealous. I need to get back this year. I’ll have a lot of Berlin ideas for you.
 
Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

Deutsche Gopher Fan said:
So jealous. I need to get back this year. I’ll have a lot of Berlin ideas for you.
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Holding at the moment to see if there will be any substantial airfare sales over the next 2-3 months. One alternate plan I've formulated is to start by flying into Frankfurt (which has two daily non-stops from DTW, 1 DL and 1 LH), and take the train to Munich with an afternoon/overnight in Stuttgart.
 
Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
Looking at Germany for later this year - mid-October to mid-November. Aiming for the shoulder season between Oktoberfest and Christkindlmarkts, as I strongly dislike drunks and crowds, and hotel award redemptions are much cheaper. Probably 10-11 days, 3 days each in Munich and Berlin, with one side jaunt into Austria, Česko (Prague), or Slovenia. Also considering a 24 hr. stopover in Amsterdam on the way home, as there isn't a direct to DTW from MUC on the days I'm looking at leaving, and there's no effing way I'm doing customs in ATL.
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Every time I've done customs in ATL has been better than the 1 time I did customs in DTW.
 
Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
Looking at Germany for later this year - mid-October to mid-November. Aiming for the shoulder season between Oktoberfest and Christkindlmarkts, as I strongly dislike drunks and crowds, and hotel award redemptions are much cheaper. Probably 10-11 days, 3 days each in Munich and Berlin, with one side jaunt into Austria, Česko (Prague), or Slovenia. Also considering a 24 hr. stopover in Amsterdam on the way home, as there isn't a direct to DTW from MUC on the days I'm looking at leaving, and there's no effing way I'm doing customs in ATL.
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Five Fingers near Hallstadt is a wonderful place to go if you hate drunks. Crowds can be hit or miss though. The city is kind of a disaster during tourist season.

Prague is an incredible city. One of my favorites.
 
Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
Holding at the moment to see if there will be any substantial airfare sales over the next 2-3 months.
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Do you have a source you follow or just use Google Flights to track costs? I have a boatload of points that are burning holes in all of my accounts. Just kind of curious as I look for points vacations in the future.
 
Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

dxmnkd316 said:
Do you have a source you follow or just use Google Flights to track costs? I have a boatload of points that are burning holes in all of my accounts. Just kind of curious as I look for points vacations in the future.
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Google flights doesn't work to find points deals, as far as I can tell...they only provide flights in $$$, and just because a flight is cheap in terms of $$ doesn't mean it is low miles too. When I a searching for cheap points trips, I go straight to Delta, and see what fare deals they have going, sometimes they have specific points deals.

Also, I follow thrifty traveler on facebook. It used to be awesome, but now they have "premium" site, you have to pay for to see the really good stuff, and the regular site isn't nearly as good. They still post some pretty good stuff though. If you're really looking for a good deal, the premium site might be worth the price for a short amount of time.
 
Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

bigblue_dl said:
Google flights doesn't work to find points deals, as far as I can tell...they only provide flights in $$$, and just because a flight is cheap in terms of $$ doesn't mean it is low miles too. When I a searching for cheap points trips, I go straight to Delta, and see what fare deals they have going, sometimes they have specific points deals.
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I probably should have known that. :-/

Do you just keep mental notes on points prices then?
 
Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

dxmnkd316 said:
Do you have a source you follow or just use Google Flights to track costs? I have a boatload of points that are burning holes in all of my accounts. Just kind of curious as I look for points vacations in the future.
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I use ITA Matrix, and just check 1-2x a week. I know the 'advanced' code to filter out Basic Economy fares (because I'm not stupid). I also watch for Delta Flash Sales, which are sometimes a decent deal, if you're keen on going to the places where they are having a sale. 2/cpm (cents per mile) is the consensus baseline for a "really good" transoceanic economy redemption. It's always harder for hub captives, which you and I both are.

I've used Kayak alerts in the past, but you have to know exactly what your out/return dates will be, or else the alerts are useless. Also, they're obviously useless if you're trying to use miles rather than pay cash.

It would be easier if I wasn't a biz traveler tied to the hub airline, but at the moment I insist on either using my miles, or earning elite credit. ;)

Hotels, I check the corporate rates that are available to me for leisure travel (they are often a bit lower than even the HHonors or MR member rates), then follow a 1.5/cpp rule. For a longer trip, like I'm planning, or during a busy tourist season, I'd probably be looser with that rule.
 
Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

dxmnkd316 said:
I probably should have known that. :-/

Do you just keep mental notes on points prices then?
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Yeah, I have an idea in my head how many miles it takes for a flight, and judge the deal on where it is in comparison to that number.

From my experience, it is tougher to find a good points deal for international flights (obviously not impossible), but you can find good $$ pretty easily, especially to Europe lately. So, I use my miles on cheap domestic flights, and pay for the trips internationally. You can find really good domestic point deals, if you're looking.
 
Re: Travel Part 2 - Where ya headed?

leswp1 said:
What time of yr? We went to New Brunswick this past summer. I wasn't sold on going, sulked the whole way there. It was absolutely beautiful. I was converted. WOuld go back in a flash. Lots of places to hike that weren't too hard, go to beaches with no people on them. Lottsa country music type stuff (yuck).
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Mid July.
 
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