Other Options...

[pjacobi]

It is a cultural difference that thrifty Europeans tend to carry more cash and avoid credit and credit cards. However, this is slowly changing as Europeans discover the advantage of paying with a credit card.

You need to adjust your payment method to match the local custom. Maybe one day Europeans will become more comfortable with credit cards and maybe Americans will all get Chip and PIN - SOMEDAY! Until then, you need to be aware of cultural difference.


-Paul

 

[Woodview]

Paul We do use Credit Cards But they have Chip & Pin in Them.

By the Way U.S.A. people CAN use their Wells Fargo Chip & pin Debit & Credit Cards

in European ATM Machines ( No need to worry about language as it translates into English)

Money comes out in Euros less exchange rate & you get a print out receipt

My Wells Fargo card does anyway & I do not live in Florida.

 

[sayhello]

Paul We do use Credit Cards But they have Chip & Pin in Them.

By the Way U.S.A. people CAN use their Wells Fargo Chip & pin Debit & Credit Cards

in European ATM Machines ( No need to worry about language as it translates into English)

Money comes out in Euros less exchange rate & you get a print out receipt

My Wells Fargo card does anyway & I do not live in Florida.

Wells Fargo is not a popular bank here. I don't know anyone who has Wells Fargo credit cards anymore. Mostly Chase and Capital One and Discover to my knowledge.

Sayhello

 

[AquaDame]

We have accounts with several banks, large and small.. virtually all of them have sent us chip and pin cards within the last couple of years for credit and debit accounts. I don't think this is the problem it once was...?

 

[sayhello]

So I got an email from Ambercrombie & Kent about an American West trip that sounded kind of interesting. Small group, the founder & CEO of A&K would be there, multiple National Parks, etc. They're having a presentation on Wed to go over it, so I scanned down the email to check out more of it, then came to this bit:

Limited to 22 guests | 12 days from $135,000 | June 1–12, 2022
Single supplement from $20,000

Um, I don't think so!!!

Now, granted, the title of the trip is: The American West by Private Air 2022

But still! I guess I kind of missed that whole "Private Air" part!

I really need to win the lottery!

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I really need to win the lottery!

Sayhello

You and me both!

 

[Mathmagicland]

I kind of missed that whole "Private Air" part!

For the same money, you can go only private jet 24 days around the world with NatGeo -


https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...][type]=all&filters[2][values][0]=Private Jet

 

[aggiedog]

Have I got a bargain for you! This Road Scholar private jet trip is only $60,000!

https://www.roadscholar.org/find-an-adventure/23231/discover-the-world-by-private-plane

 

[laceltris3]

Received an interesting from Tauck today with some information about their 2021 travel as well as current plans (excerpted below):

Just over one year ago we operated our first program after a nine month pause, Winter in Yellowstone. Our guest satisfaction along with our own team’s confidence that “we can do this” encouraged us to rapidly open up new destinations as borders and policies permitted. By the year’s end, we had traveled with tens of thousands of guests on nearly 900 departures to 38 countries across five continents. More than 200 Tauck Directors were back on the road for Tauck last year. Our river fleet sailed across Europe, including on the Danube, Rhine, Seine, Rhône and Douro rivers. We operated small ships in Iceland, Greece, the Mediterranean, the Dalmatian Coast and the Galápagos. We read often in the press about the challenge companies face with employee retention, and we are thankful our office team, our TDs, as well as our captains, chefs and key personnel across our fleets have remained committed to our mission and eager to continue making a positive difference in our world.

The overall feedback from guests and travel advisors was excellent and guest satisfaction scores were on par, or higher, than 2019 levels. We are grateful our 2021 restart was an unqualified success!

2022 demand is extremely strong and we will be operating our full contingent of land tours, family adventures, river and small ship cruises. Our guests are clearly eager to travel. In our recent guest survey, 95% of over 5,000 participants have received their booster shot and an additional 3% told us that they would do so should it be required by some countries for border entry. In coordination with our global partners, we will continue to keep all our travel policies and destination requirements updated here and will notify you directly should anything change with your upcoming travel plans.

Like you, we understand the impact inflation is having. Costs will most likely increase even more in the travel sector as demand further recovers in 2022 and 2023. We have taken many steps with our travel partners to mitigate these added costs, wherever possible. The resulting price certainty will provide you peace of mind through 2023.

The most desired 2022 trips and dates are selling quickly so, where possible, we are adding departure dates to key regions such as Switzerland, Italy, Canada and the US National Parks. To learn more, visit our Featured Tours and Cruises. Also, I encourage you to check out our Travel Forums. They are a great way to connect with the Tauck community of travelers to share insights and experiences.

 

[AquaDame]

We've returned just today from a lovely trip to Ecuador including a 7-night Galapagos cruise aboard the Letty with Ecoventura. We went with 'itinerary B' which hits the north and western islands and had a fabulous time. SUCH a good time in fact, we're trying to see if we can manage to turn around and do the other itinerary later this year. Tourism is still under 50% for them, so the islands are even more deserted than usual and the animals have been changing their behaviors a little now that humans are even less of a prescence... hopefully we pull it off before things are swinging full speed again!

We also spent 4 nights out at Sacha Lodge along the Napo river to experience the Amazon Rainforest. We had a lovely time there as well, though it was too buggy for my comfort despite their best efforts (they do an AMAZING job when you think of what they have to deal with, I just was not raised to be a camper and don't think of tarantulas on the guard rails, ants in my boots, and moths/grasshoppers hitting my face nightly as a vacation!). Still very much worth it though and I'm very glad we went!

 

[MerissaAndMomLoveDis]

My March ABD got cancelled, so I am in where do I want to go in 2022 mode? I am thinking of booking a Viking Rhine Christmas Markets cruise. I have never even considered this before, so I am completely starting from scratch. Just me and my college aged daughter. This is a bucket list item request from her. Would likely do a mid price category/Veranda or French balcony room.

The only departure date we could do would leave Dec 18. Both the Southbound from Amsterdam and Northbound from Basel are options departing that date. We would likely have no or only one pre-days, but would have more days to stay after the cruise, so I am leaning toward starting in Basel, ending in Amsterdam, but would love to hear advice on that.

Does anyone have any tips or advice regarding this trip, or about Viking, to share? Is there a better side, is there a better floor, should you try to be closer to the lounge end, is it better to start in Amsterdam or Basel? Thanks, in advance!

 

[aggiedog]

Go to Cruisecritic and look at their river cruising forum. There are several good topics stickied at the top regarding river cruising in general, and comparing lines. Viking gets 98% of the press/advertising, but it is not necessarily the best line for everyone.

As for the Rhine, you will be going upstream from Amsterdam to Basel, so transit takes longer which means possibly shorter times in port. It really doesn't matter what side you're on, as there is scenery on both sides, exact docking locations are fluid regarding which side of the river or boat it will be, and it's not uncommon to be rafted up against another boat anyways. You most likely won't use any sort of balcony in December. Our October Rhine cruise was chilly, and the entire top of the boat is open with chairs to lounge on, with a better 360 degree view. I liked Amsterdam over Basel for extra touring days.

 

[aggiedog]

We've returned just today from a lovely trip to Ecuador including a 7-night Galapagos cruise aboard the Letty with Ecoventura. We went with 'itinerary B' which hits the north and western islands and had a fabulous time. SUCH a good time in fact, we're trying to see if we can manage to turn around and do the other itinerary later this year. Tourism is still under 50% for them, so the islands are even more deserted than usual and the animals have been changing their behaviors a little now that humans are even less of a prescence... hopefully we pull it off before things are swinging full speed again!

We also spent 4 nights out at Sacha Lodge along the Napo river to experience the Amazon Rainforest. We had a lovely time there as well, though it was too buggy for my comfort despite their best efforts (they do an AMAZING job when you think of what they have to deal with, I just was not raised to be a camper and don't think of tarantulas on the guard rails, ants in my boots, and moths/grasshoppers hitting my face nightly as a vacation!). Still very much worth it though and I'm very glad we went!

My dh is pushing to schedule a Galapagos cruise and I'd already put Ecoventura on our short list. Why did you pick the B itinerary? Did you arrange the amazon portion yourself or use an agent/company? I'd love to hear specifics.

 

[AquaDame]

My dh is pushing to schedule a Galapagos cruise and I'd already put Ecoventura on our short list. Why did you pick the B itinerary? Did you arrange the amazon portion yourself or use an agent/company? I'd love to hear specifics.

We chose B based on what we wanted to see - it seemed to have more snorkeling opportunities, a greater variety of wildlife called out, and more opportunities to see penguins (which I was particularly excited about). It also goes further, and we like sailing! We put together a spreadsheet and marked which stops each day sounded best to both of us - I copied it below.

We arranged the Amazon portion ourselves... kind of? Honestly the way it worked out was I picked the lodge (easy choice since I need A/C - I've given myself heat exhaustion before coming from the pacnw in winter to hot humid weather which isn't fun) and the lodge did the rest. They can arrange your flights, transfers, and for us also arranged for our covid testing for us in Coca before heading home. They brought a medical team to their office and did it right there as we transferred from the canoe to the bus to head to the airport. My coworker stayed at a different place a couple of years ago and loved it as well. We went with Sacha Lodge and she stayed at La Selva. FWIW they told us that National Geographic had their entire lodge rented out a couple weeks after our stay which made me feel better about my choice... I'd worried my insistence on A/C might've held us back from something better.

Edited to add - I'm not sure when your schedule would allow you to go, but we had SUCH a great time with lower crowds (yes, even in the Galapagos! Far fewer boats in each port and stop) and skipped the city portions of our itinerary due to covid which meant... more time with the animals! We went to N Seymour for example even though that's on the A itinerary. We still went to the tortoise sanctuary but there was no time to shop or have dinner on Santa Cruz to keep us in our bubble better. We didn't have a trail walk on the last day, but that may have been something for their other ships. The website doesn't always call out which is which very well - we were on the Letty. The only other changes were made by vote aboard - we skipped one of the kayaking/paddle board afternoons to spend more time whale watching as they were going nuts that day. We saw a lot of minke and orcas instead with that time, as well as one humpback, and saw lots of rays doing backflips which I never even knew they did. It was amazing!

Itinerary B	Itinerary A
Centro de Crianza Jacinto Gordillo - Breeding program for tortoises	El Junco Lake - hike to lake.
Prince Philip’s Steps/hike on Genovesa (?). Kayak/paddleboard or zodiac/deep water snorkel by the cliffs. Later afternoon Dawin Bay; beach, can swim w/ sea lions.	Cerro Brujo - zodiac ride to spot wildlife. Then beach time - you can snorkel from the beach if you like or paddleboard, etc. Punta Pitt - hike
Las Bachas - take a walk and/or snorkel. Afternoon Cerro Dragon - walk on the trail.	Punta Suarez on Espanola - Hike. Ceviche demo. Snorkel Tortuga Rock. Later, Gardner Bay - beach time. Snorkel from the beach, paddleboard, etc.
Punta Vicente Roca - zodiac. Snorkel (w/ penguins). After lunch scenic sail. Later, Urbina Bay on ISABELA - "explore" so I assume walk/hike.	Punta Cormorant @ Floreana - walk around to a lagoon. Devil’s Crown or Champion Islet - snorkeling. In the afternoon - Post Office Bay. Baroness Point - zodiac excursion.
Punta Espinozaon FERNANDINA - walk around. Opportunity to snorkel. Whale watching. Afternoon, SANTIAGO (James) Island - walk and snorkel. Tagus Cove - fast hike to a lookout or snorkel	Puerto Ayora, SANTA CRUZ - breeding center & Darwin research center. Shop. Drive to lava tunnels, then visit a tortoise hacienda. Stay ashore for dinner if you like.
RABIDA - trail to flamingos or snorkel. Walk to grotto, snorkel from beach if you wish. Sail/watch for dolphins.	Bartolome: 2 options - stenuous hike OR zodiac ride to look for penguins. Wade on the beach, or snorkel (possibly with the penguins). Later, zodiac Black Turtle Cove.
Puerto Ayora, SANTA CRUZ - breeding center & Darwin research center. Shop. Drive to lava tunnels, then visit a tortoise hacienda. Stay ashore for dinner if you like.	Walk around South Plaza. During lunch, sail to North Seymour Island. Snorkel in deep water if you wish.
Cerro Tijeretas - trail walk. Visit Isla Lobos early in the morning.	InterpretationCenter on San Cristobal. Can walk a paved trail.

 

[aggiedog]

Thanks for your info, and that spread sheet! I'll show it to DH. It sounds like an amazing trip. DH is the type that will say "since we're down there, let's see XYZ also" so he also wants to tack on Machu Picchu. I'd rather do more in one area than skip around barely touching a bunch. Lots to think about.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

My March ABD got cancelled, so I am in where do I want to go in 2022 mode? I am thinking of booking a Viking Rhine Christmas Markets cruise. I have never even considered this before, so I am completely starting from scratch. Just me and my college aged daughter. This is a bucket list item request from her. Would likely do a mid price category/Veranda or French balcony room.

The only departure date we could do would leave Dec 18. Both the Southbound from Amsterdam and Northbound from Basel are options departing that date. We would likely have no or only one pre-days, but would have more days to stay after the cruise, so I am leaning toward starting in Basel, ending in Amsterdam, but would love to hear advice on that.

Does anyone have any tips or advice regarding this trip, or about Viking, to share? Is there a better side, is there a better floor, should you try to be closer to the lounge end, is it better to start in Amsterdam or Basel? Thanks, in advance!

I did the Rhine River cruise with ABD and my kiddos. Since there isn't much to do in Basel, we spent a day and night in Zurich, then took the train to Basel on the morning the ship left port. I had plenty of time to walk around Basel, have a light lunch and go into a few shops. We stayed in Amsterdam 3 nights after the cruise -- there is so much to see and do in Amsterdam. I'd definitely recommend northbound from Basel for that reason. If you want to see the Ann Frank house (a must see IMHO), then book your tickets far in advance and try to get entry as early as possible as long lines form (even for those with tickets). Also highly recommend the Van Gogh museum and shipping some of the world's finest cheeses home to yourself (most cheese shops offer this service)!

 

[tink1970]

My March ABD got cancelled, so I am in where do I want to go in 2022 mode? I am thinking of booking a Viking Rhine Christmas Markets cruise. I have never even considered this before, so I am completely starting from scratch. Just me and my college aged daughter. This is a bucket list item request from her. Would likely do a mid price category/Veranda or French balcony room.

The only departure date we could do would leave Dec 18. Both the Southbound from Amsterdam and Northbound from Basel are options departing that date. We would likely have no or only one pre-days, but would have more days to stay after the cruise, so I am leaning toward starting in Basel, ending in Amsterdam, but would love to hear advice on that.

Does anyone have any tips or advice regarding this trip, or about Viking, to share? Is there a better side, is there a better floor, should you try to be closer to the lounge end, is it better to start in Amsterdam or Basel? Thanks, in advance!

VIking caters definitely to an older crowd so that could be a consideration with a college aged travel companion. We did the Rhine ABD Christmas Markets the one year it was offered and flew into AMS early and spent a couple of days exploring. I echo @WDWGroupie and strongly recommend getting tickets to the Anne Frank Huis (they are limited and sell out quickly-the House is tiny and can only handle a certain number of people) and Van Gough Museum as well as the Rijksmuseum. Sailing down the Rhine in December is magical!

 

[AquaDame]

Thanks for your info, and that spread sheet! I'll show it to DH. It sounds like an amazing trip. DH is the type that will say "since we're down there, let's see XYZ also" so he also wants to tack on Machu Picchu. I'd rather do more in one area than skip around barely touching a bunch. Lots to think about.

That was our original plan too but January is one of the worst times to head to Machu Pichu..! When we head down again in Dec the plan is to spend 4 full days in Belize as well but I feel the same, like it may not be enough time. Of course... is there ever?

 

[nemofans]

We chose B based on what we wanted to see - it seemed to have more snorkeling opportunities, a greater variety of wildlife called out, and more opportunities to see penguins (which I was particularly excited about). It also goes further, and we like sailing! We put together a spreadsheet and marked which stops each day sounded best to both of us - I copied it below.

We arranged the Amazon portion ourselves... kind of? Honestly the way it worked out was I picked the lodge (easy choice since I need A/C - I've given myself heat exhaustion before coming from the pacnw in winter to hot humid weather which isn't fun) and the lodge did the rest. They can arrange your flights, transfers, and for us also arranged for our covid testing for us in Coca before heading home. They brought a medical team to their office and did it right there as we transferred from the canoe to the bus to head to the airport. My coworker stayed at a different place a couple of years ago and loved it as well. We went with Sacha Lodge and she stayed at La Selva. FWIW they told us that National Geographic had their entire lodge rented out a couple weeks after our stay which made me feel better about my choice... I'd worried my insistence on A/C might've held us back from something better.

Edited to add - I'm not sure when your schedule would allow you to go, but we had SUCH a great time with lower crowds (yes, even in the Galapagos! Far fewer boats in each port and stop) and skipped the city portions of our itinerary due to covid which meant... more time with the animals! We went to N Seymour for example even though that's on the A itinerary. We still went to the tortoise sanctuary but there was no time to shop or have dinner on Santa Cruz to keep us in our bubble better. We didn't have a trail walk on the last day, but that may have been something for their other ships. The website doesn't always call out which is which very well - we were on the Letty. The only other changes were made by vote aboard - we skipped one of the kayaking/paddle board afternoons to spend more time whale watching as they were going nuts that day. We saw a lot of minke and orcas instead with that time, as well as one humpback, and saw lots of rays doing backflips which I never even knew they did. It was amazing!

Itinerary B	Itinerary A
Centro de Crianza Jacinto Gordillo - Breeding program for tortoises	El Junco Lake - hike to lake.
Prince Philip’s Steps/hike on Genovesa (?). Kayak/paddleboard or zodiac/deep water snorkel by the cliffs. Later afternoon Dawin Bay; beach, can swim w/ sea lions.	Cerro Brujo - zodiac ride to spot wildlife. Then beach time - you can snorkel from the beach if you like or paddleboard, etc. Punta Pitt - hike
Las Bachas - take a walk and/or snorkel. Afternoon Cerro Dragon - walk on the trail.	Punta Suarez on Espanola - Hike. Ceviche demo. Snorkel Tortuga Rock. Later, Gardner Bay - beach time. Snorkel from the beach, paddleboard, etc.
Punta Vicente Roca - zodiac. Snorkel (w/ penguins). After lunch scenic sail. Later, Urbina Bay on ISABELA - "explore" so I assume walk/hike.	Punta Cormorant @ Floreana - walk around to a lagoon. Devil’s Crown or Champion Islet - snorkeling. In the afternoon - Post Office Bay. Baroness Point - zodiac excursion.
Punta Espinozaon FERNANDINA - walk around. Opportunity to snorkel. Whale watching. Afternoon, SANTIAGO (James) Island - walk and snorkel. Tagus Cove - fast hike to a lookout or snorkel	Puerto Ayora, SANTA CRUZ - breeding center & Darwin research center. Shop. Drive to lava tunnels, then visit a tortoise hacienda. Stay ashore for dinner if you like.
RABIDA - trail to flamingos or snorkel. Walk to grotto, snorkel from beach if you wish. Sail/watch for dolphins.	Bartolome: 2 options - stenuous hike OR zodiac ride to look for penguins. Wade on the beach, or snorkel (possibly with the penguins). Later, zodiac Black Turtle Cove.
Puerto Ayora, SANTA CRUZ - breeding center & Darwin research center. Shop. Drive to lava tunnels, then visit a tortoise hacienda. Stay ashore for dinner if you like.	Walk around South Plaza. During lunch, sail to North Seymour Island. Snorkel in deep water if you wish.
Cerro Tijeretas - trail walk. Visit Isla Lobos early in the morning.	InterpretationCenter on San Cristobal. Can walk a paved trail.

I am looking at possibly booking with Ecoventura. How much are they involved with transportation/transfers with airports? Is there anything I should know b4 starting the booking process? Thanks!

 

[AquaDame]

I am looking at possibly booking with Ecoventura. How much are they involved with transportation/transfers with airports? Is there anything I should know b4 starting the booking process? Thanks!

They seemed to approach it as wanting to be in control; they wanted to book our flights for us to San Cristobal and if we hadn't it seemed like we would be on our own for the transfers. We originally wanted to depart from San Cristobal a couple of days later which was no problem (they wouldn't have taken us to the airport morning of though) but in the end we decided to do something else so they switched us back to their block of seats the disembark day. Our flights from Quito were $500pp - the plane makes a stop in Guayaquil and then continues on. They recommend arriving in Quito or Guayaquil two days prior though only one is necessary, and asked which hotel we were at. The day before there was a paper slipped under our door that told us when to be at the airport - a rep was just inside departures and told us everything we needed to do, got our boarding passes etc for us. They could probably arrange a car service for you to the airport if you asked, but they may also just give recommendations. On the way home they took us to the airport and got us all in line, but did not assist with the actual check in that time.

They'll also offer to pay the park fees and such ahead of time - $100 per person for the park fees, and $20 pp for a transit card. Otherwise you'd need to have cash at the airport to pay the fees. The initial deposit is 1K with the balance due 60 days prior. Up to 90 days prior you can cancel and lose half the deposit, between that and 60 days you forfeit the whole deposit and under 60 days the whole fare is nonrefundable. You can pay by bank or wire transfer, or they can send you a paypal link.

Happy to answer any more questions if I can!