Has Anyone Booked a Holiday Yet?

[Detroit Blues]

On 09/03/2025 at 17:54, Jattdogg said:

Fukin'el Deb i am jealous!  The plus of living in Europe is foreign countries are like 1 or 2 hours away.   Over here, an hour takes me to basically America (never going there with the current political climate) or northern fukin ontario/ottawa/Montreal.  Sigh.

 

Enjoy your trip Raj! Think I need to head over there too!

 

 

I've always wanted to visit Montreal, particularly to see the Wings play the Canadiens. How is it up there?

[jgtuk]

35 minutes ago, ajthefox said:

I'm going to a stag in Marrakech (I'm not sure why either) in May. Not sure my experience will be as interesting as yours have been @jgtuk @FoxesDeb

Just remember, alcohol is forbidden unless in licensed places (or private accommodation) 

Balloon trips, paragliding or desert safari are available if that’s what you’re after but there’s heaps of cultural sights to see. The Medina (the old town which is a Unesco World Heritage Site) is vast, labyrinthine alleyways open up to squares with stalls everywhere, very touristy in places, very peaceful in others, some beautiful architecture and the odd oasis of green gardens, bustling with colour and smells of smoke and food, (eat where the locals are eating) definitely worth a visit. Jamaa el Fna is the main square and very busy at times but you can easily eat here as there are many open food stalls, although some of it is quite exotic (sheep head, snail soup etc.). Walk about 20 minutes south to the Kasbah district which is a residential area within the historic walls, again lots worth seeing. 
I’m rambling and last visited about 11 years ago so memory not so good, @FoxesDeb and Google will give you lots more info. 

[FoxesDeb]

1 hour ago, ajthefox said:

I'm going to a stag in Marrakech (I'm not sure why either) in May. Not sure my experience will be as interesting as yours have been @jgtuk @FoxesDeb

Hopefully not a typical alcohol fuelled stag, it's very expensive. We paid around €15 per bottle of wine in the supermarket, and around €10 per glass or €30 per bottle in the restaurants, cocktails were €10-12 each, bottles of Corona were also €10 and Heineken was €8. At least that is expensive compared to what we pay in Spain, I don't know how it compares these days to the UK.

[Dr The Singh]

4 hours ago, ajthefox said:

I'm going to a stag in Marrakech (I'm not sure why either) in May. Not sure my experience will be as interesting as yours have been @jgtuk @FoxesDeb

wtf

[Jattdogg]

3 hours ago, Detroit Blues said:

I've always wanted to visit Montreal, particularly to see the Wings play the Canadiens. How is it up there?

Montreal is a great city. First city we lived in after leaving Leicester.  Best time to go is summer though as you get to experience the real vibe of downtown old Montreal and can then hit Quebec city etc.

 

Detroit vs habs will be a great game but nothing beats the leafs vs habs. I am a habs fan even though I live in the greater Toronto area and have been since the late 80s!

 

[FoxesDeb]

8 hours ago, jgtuk said:

That’s fantastic, don’t forget to take a look at the Jardin Majorelle, not sure what it’s like this time of year but in high summer it’s an amazing place, really calming and peaceful,10 degrees cooler than everywhere outside. Home to many endemic birds (if that interests you). There’s also the Berber museum attached to the same building which is really interesting. 
Have fun 👍

Funnily enough I was just booking tickets for Majorelle when I saw this earlier, it's on the return list of things we didn't manage last week. The first week was more about keeping the teenage daughter entertained  

 

Next time we will be doing the 'not so cool' things, at least when you're 18, so Majorelle, Bahia Palace, a traditional hammam and the coffee museum, although the latter does seem to have become some kind of Insta paradise, aka my worst nightmare!

 

Further to the alcohol thing, our Riad has said that even though they are understandably not serving during Ramadan we can take our own in. Such lovely, accommodating people, it's currently top of my places to move to if we ever feel the need to move from Spain

[jgtuk]

25 minutes ago, FoxesDeb said:

Funnily enough I was just booking tickets for Majorelle when I saw this earlier, it's on the return list of things we didn't manage last week. The first week was more about keeping the teenage daughter entertained  

 

Next time we will be doing the 'not so cool' things, at least when you're 18, so Majorelle, Bahia Palace, a traditional hammam and the coffee museum, although the latter does seem to have become some kind of Insta paradise, aka my worst nightmare!

 

Further to the alcohol thing, our Riad has said that even though they are understandably not serving during Ramadan we can take our own in. Such lovely, accommodating people, it's currently top of my places to move to if we ever feel the need to move from Spain

Exactly my feelings, I’ve taken my children and grandchildren there and revisited a few times, just myself and my wife. Absolutely loved it 👍

[DerbyshireFox]

Really interesting week in Bosnia Herzegovina so far! So much history and places to see. Sarajevo has been a great base. Friendly people, cheap accommodation. Weather has been cloudy, got soaked in Travnik on the way to Jajce! Visited Mostar and the towns on the way/way back. Doing an Olympic Mountain tour tomorrow morning before flying back on Friday. 

[FoyleFox]

How is Birmingham airport these days, any recent experiences?

TUI have just emailed regarding the building/renovations and advised we arrive 3 to 4 hours prior to our flight due to congestion at security. I had us scheduled to arrive at 6am for an 8.30am flight, the usual 2 hours. I recall the previous news pictures of people chaos and queuing outside, which I'd rather not.

[Torquay Gunner]

Salzburg was decent and I would recommend it for a short city break.  First time we have stayed anywhere, that we did not have to use any public transport to get about.  The Salzburg pass is a must, to make those savings on visiting the tourist sites.  We got very lucky with the weather and I got to mangle some conversational German, so all good. 🤣

[steve555]

3 hours ago, FoyleFox said:

How is Birmingham airport these days, any recent experiences?

TUI have just emailed regarding the building/renovations and advised we arrive 3 to 4 hours prior to our flight due to congestion at security. I had us scheduled to arrive at 6am for an 8.30am flight, the usual 2 hours. I recall the previous news pictures of people chaos and queuing outside, which I'd rather not.

Flew from Birmingham on 24th February, 9am flight to Lanzarote. Security wasn't too bad, it took us about 20-25 mins to get through. On the way back it took about the same time to get through passport control.There were no queuing outside or anything like that.

[grobyfox1990]

3 hours ago, FoyleFox said:

How is Birmingham airport these days, any recent experiences?

TUI have just emailed regarding the building/renovations and advised we arrive 3 to 4 hours prior to our flight due to congestion at security. I had us scheduled to arrive at 6am for an 8.30am flight, the usual 2 hours. I recall the previous news pictures of people chaos and queuing outside, which I'd rather not.

I’m there every 2-3 weeks. Average 30 mins from the train station to the lounge. Unless you’re getting hammered there’s no need to get there 2.5 hours before takeoff. 

[FoyleFox]

10 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

I’m there every 2-3 weeks. Average 30 mins from the train station to the lounge. Unless you’re getting hammered there’s no need to get there 2.5 hours before takeoff. 

Cheers. A flat white is my limit at 6am, I don't mind being a bit early and having 2 though

[Paninistickers]

4 hours ago, FoyleFox said:

How is Birmingham airport these days, any recent experiences?

TUI have just emailed regarding the building/renovations and advised we arrive 3 to 4 hours prior to our flight due to congestion at security. I had us scheduled to arrive at 6am for an 8.30am flight, the usual 2 hours. I recall the previous news pictures of people chaos and queuing outside, which I'd rather not.

6am for 8.30 is easily enough. 

 

Monday mornings at that time is the busiest session of the week, but even if you flying then,  there's no queuing outdoors anymore. Besides, they call through passengers for flights within an hour for fast tracking. 

 

You'll be fine. 

[Sol thewall Bamba]

Just got back from Taghazout bay in Morocco, nice place and very friendly locals. Felt a bit like what I imagined Egypt would have been like when the resorts started popping up there. Direct route from Bournemouth too meant we were home 30 mins after landing which was lovely.

[FoxesDeb]

We're travelling to the Dominican Republic for a cruise in November, and looking at flights. We have an option to go via Montreal with Air Canada with a 17 hour layover, am I mad to consider it? I really like the idea of having a few hours to see a little bit of Montreal, but is it worth it? 

 

I'm a long haul novice so need some thoughts please. 

[Lako42]

Sri Lanka for three weeks next Sunday. 

 

 

How is Heathrow Sunday afternoon outside school holidays? 

 

 

[vandamman]

2 hours ago, Lako42 said:

Sri Lanka for three weeks next Sunday. 

 

 

How is Heathrow Sunday afternoon outside school holidays? 

 

 

I did Heathrow T2 two weeks ago for a Saturday evening flight and it was fine, security was around 10minutes, and moved quickly.
 

Enjoy Sri Lanka, lovely place. 

[Dr The Singh]

2 hours ago, Lako42 said:

Sri Lanka for three weeks next Sunday. 

 

 

How is Heathrow Sunday afternoon outside school holidays? 

 

 

Smooth and efficient 

[Paninistickers]

2 hours ago, Lako42 said:

Sri Lanka for three weeks next Sunday. 

 

 

How is Heathrow Sunday afternoon outside school holidays? 

 

 

A breeze.

[Lako42]

1 minute ago, Paninistickers said:

A breeze.

I wont bother with fastrack then cheers. 

 

Just want it to be smooth as travelling with a youngun.

 

 

Ate the payable lounges shit?

[Paninistickers]

5 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

I wont bother with fastrack then cheers. 

 

Just want it to be smooth as travelling with a youngun.

 

 

Ate the payable lounges shit?

Depends on terminal but the standard ones like aspire or plaza premium are OK....but with a young un, I always liked mine having the run of a larger area of some far flung empty gate seats and burn off some energy. 

[Lako42]

2 minutes ago, Paninistickers said:

Depends on terminal but the standard ones like aspire or plaza premium are OK....but with a young un, I always liked mine having the run of a larger area of some far flung empty gate seats and burn off some energy. 

She's only 8 months so more about having somewhere comfortable we can decamp and I can have a beer

[Paninistickers]

1 minute ago, Lako42 said:

She's only 8 months so more about having somewhere comfortable we can decamp and I can have a beer

The for saying 40 quid per adult, I'd say it's worth it for quiet, something to eat and a few drinks 

[FoyleFox]

4 hours ago, FoxesDeb said:

We're travelling to the Dominican Republic for a cruise in November, and looking at flights. We have an option to go via Montreal with Air Canada with a 17 hour layover, am I mad to consider it? I really like the idea of having a few hours to see a little bit of Montreal, but is it worth it? 

 

I'm a long haul novice so need some thoughts please. 

It depends if you can leave the airport and are close enough to actually see anything, and bear in mind you'll then need a Visa. Well, we do from the UK to enter Canada. A transit passenger not leaving the airport is a different fish to a passenger leaving the airport and officially entering the country.