Has Anyone Booked a Holiday Yet?

[Daggers]

2 hours ago, Chris_OGrady said:

I went in March - will send over some recommendations later

 

11 hours ago, bovril said:

There are so many characterful little neighborhoods in the Faith district to get lost in. Zeyrek as I mentioned before, also Balat and Fener. Just find a little 'lokanta' - usually the more spartan interior and old blokes the better - and you'll eat amazingly.

Absolutely going here.

 

Working on my moustache right now.

 

This has to rank as my favourite ever promotional video - something that fuses the warmth of a Soviet era public warning film with the production qualities of Borat.

 

 

[grobyfox1990]

2 hours ago, Lionator said:

Where’s a good place to go in either the Algarve or the French Riviera, which has beaches, isn’t too busy but has good weather? 

Monaco and Nice. Bottle of some kind of mass produced bubbles at Le Americain, Nikki Beach or Nobu, sit back and see the style. Two contrasting choices though, Algarve is full of old sitting around people reading paper books and 'recharging' whereas French Riviera is a bit more glitz and glam??

[Lako42]

6 hours ago, Costock_Fox said:

Got to wonder how all of them lakes got there really.

Only one Lake in the Lake District 

[CosbehFox]

Valencia was nice what I saw of it. Good if you want a mix of city break plus beach holiday 

[Daggers]

I was a bit miffed I couldn’t find direct flights from Brum for less than £350 a pop while they were £200 from London. Then I was going to have to pay £20 each for each journey just to book the seats, so almost £800. If we’d gone London then it’d have been pricey train and a room the night before or car and paying to park it. And I hate driving the M25 to Heathrow/Gatwick with a passion. 
 

Flying via Frankfurt, business class with Lufthansa, £50 each more gets me a better meal, more comfort and four trips to an all you can eat and drink business lounge. 
 

It’s like Turkey Air don’t want customers. 

[Stadt]

8 hours ago, SickoDicko said:

Bratislava for a long weekend, will do a train to Vienna as well so i can tick that off too

Check out European Bar Guide for pubs 

[Stadt]

Any recommendations for Kotor and Tivat plus one of Budva or Perast in Montenegro?

[jh95]

3 hours ago, Stadt said:

Any recommendations for Kotor and Tivat plus one of Budva or Perast in Montenegro?

Use Kotor as a base and visit the others (plus Sveti Stefan) throughout the trip. All very close really. 

[FoyleFox]

Just back from a week in Northumberland, thanks to those who shared recommendations. Great week, beautiful area and dropped very lucky with the weather, just one day of partial rain. 

[brookfox]

Finally booked Japan for next Easter. Looking at 6 nights in Tokyo, 4 in Kyoto and 3 in Osaka, taking some day trips from all three. Just need the pound to stay strong vs the Yen for 12 more months now!

[Tommy G]

4 hours ago, brookfox said:

Finally booked Japan for next Easter. Looking at 6 nights in Tokyo, 4 in Kyoto and 3 in Osaka, taking some day trips from all three. Just need the pound to stay strong vs the Yen for 12 more months now!

Hedge it yourself if you're worried 

 

Sounds like a great trip!

[Chris_OGrady]

On 06/05/2024 at 23:14, Daggers said:

Booked Istanbul for September. Never been, know nothing about Turkey beyond Midnight Express, mental violence at football, and their fascist leader is mental. On lesson three of Duolingo - it’s not like Italian.

 

On 07/05/2024 at 08:45, Chris_OGrady said:

I went in March - will send over some recommendations later

I would say you ideally want 4 full days for Istanbul (I only had 3). Here's a breakdown of some of the areas from my experience:

 

Old Town:

- Do a free walking tour of the old town. This will give you a good introduction to the history and sites, and you'll get some good recommendations along the way from a local. This is the one we did which was really good  https://www.freetour.com/istanbul/free-tour-in-istanbul 

- Hagia Sofia is definitely worth paying the £25 to go inside, but you need to go really early or just before closing time.

- You can walk into the Blue Mosque pretty easily and have a look around. Apparently Suleymaniye Mosque is just as impressive and less busy. That's in the old town too

- Don't buy anything from Grand Bazaar cus it's touristy and not cheap. Worth a look though 

- Veer off west from the grand bazaar and you've got Roman viaducts and beautiful eastern orthodox churches which are now mosques

- Fener/Balat is the old Jewish area and is now a hip area with colourful houses/restaurants etc. Didn't get to go here. 

 

Galata/Karakoy

- It's nice around Galata Tower and down in Karakoy, but it's a bit touristy and the prices are Western Europe rather than Turkey (same can be said with most of the old town too). Worth a look though for sure, but don't eat/drink round here.

 

Besiktas:

- One of my favourite areas- buzzing nightlife with lots of bars/restaurants where locals hang out. Turkish prices too. Got told this place does the best Kebab in Istanbul- Karadeniz Döner Asım Usta (didn't get to try it). Also went to a quality rooftop bar here called Vogue.

 

Üsküdar:

- Over on the Asian side and dead easy on the ferry. Really nice coastal walk which gives you great views of the European side. A bit more peaceful here too

 

Kadikoy:

- Similar to Besiktas but on the Asian side. Really easy to access via ferry and buzzing restaurant/bar scene with Turkish rather than European prices. You can walk a bit further down to Moda which is nice and peaceful 

 

Arnavutköy/Bebek:

- Didn't get to go here but apparently its' where the Turkish celebs and wealthy live. Meant to be worth a visit

 

Other points:

- Stick to Efes- it was about £3.50-£4.00 a pint in Turkish areas. I went to a craft beer place in Besiktas and I'm not joking they were charging about £15 for a Punk IPA 

- Taksim Square is wank - don't bother

- Public transport is surprisingly good. Check out the Istanbul Kart on google/youtube. The ferries are dead easy to zip over to the Asian side and back. Also the tram and underground is good. Easy to navigate around with google maps.

- Sabiha Gökçen Airport is ****ing chaos . Hopefully you're going to one of the other ones

 

It's a fascinating city, but quite chaotic! The prices vary massively from area to area. 

 

 

Edited 9 May by Chris_OGrady

[Daggers]

4 minutes ago, Chris_OGrady said:

 

I would say you ideally want 4 full days for Istanbul (I only had 3). Here's a breakdown of some of the areas from my experience:

 

Old Town:

- Do a free walking tour of the old town. This will give you a good introduction to the history and sites, and you'll get some good recommendations along the way from a local. This is the one we did which was pretty good  https://www.freetour.com/istanbul/free-tour-in-istanbul 

- Hagia Sofia is definitely worth paying the £25 to go inside, but you need to go really early or just before closing time.

- You can walk into the Blue Mosque pretty easily and have a look around. Apparently Suleymaniye Mosque is just as impressive and less busy. That's in the old town too

- Don't buy anything from Grand Bazaar cus it's touristy and not cheap. Worth a look though 

- Veer off west from the grand bazaar and you've got Roman viaducts and Beautiful eastern orthodox churches which are now mosques

- Fener/Balat is the old Jewish area and is now a hip area with colourful houses/restaurants etc. Didn't get to go here. 

 

Galata/Karakoy

- It's nice around Galata Tower and down in Karakoy, but it's a bit touristy and the prices are Western Europe rather than Turkey (same can be said with most of the old town too). Worth a look though for sure, but don't eat/drink round here.

 

Besiktas:

- One of my favourite areas- buzzing nightlife with lots of bars/restaurants where locals hang out. Turkish prices too. Got told this place does the best Kebab in Istanbul- Karadeniz Döner Asım Usta (didn't get to try it). Also went to a quality rooftop bar here called Vogue.

 

Üsküdar:

- Over on the Asian side and dead easy on the ferry. Really nice coastal walk which gives you great views of the European side. A bit more peaceful here too

 

Kadikoy:

- Similar to Besiktas but on the Asian side. Really easy to access via ferry and buzzing restaurant/bar scene with Turkish rather than European prices. You can walk a bit further down to Moda which is nice and peaceful 

 

Arnavutköy/Bebek:

- Didn't get to go here but apparently its' where the Turkish celebs and wealthy live. Meant to be worth a visit

 

Other points:

- Stick to Efes- it was about £3.50-£4.00 a pint in Turkish areas. I went to a craft beer place in Besiktas and I'm not joking they were charging about £15 for a Punk IPA 

- Taksim Square is wank - don't bother

- Public transport is surprisingly good. Check out the Istanbul Kart on google/youtube. The ferries are dead easy to zip over to the Asian side and back. Also the tram and underground is good. Easy to navigate around with google maps.

- Sabiha Gökçen Airport is ****ing chaos . Hopefully you're going to one of the other ones

 

It's a fascinating city, but quite chaotic! The prices vary massively from area to area. 

 

 

I wouldn’t drink Brewdog if I got paid £15 per drink. 😁

 

That's great, thanks. Pretty much what I’d got in my head to do. We’ll be wandering mainly to find cheap food and raki. 
 

Flying in and out of Havalimani. Was going to be Gökçen if we flew Turkish but I opted for Lufthansa instead. Lounges look a bit swish, I’m looking forward to getting drunk there. 

[Chris_OGrady]

16 hours ago, Daggers said:

I wouldn’t drink Brewdog if I got paid £15 per drink. 😁

 

That's great, thanks. Pretty much what I’d got in my head to do. We’ll be wandering mainly to find cheap food and raki. 
 

Flying in and out of Havalimani. Was going to be Gökçen if we flew Turkish but I opted for Lufthansa instead. Lounges look a bit swish, I’m looking forward to getting drunk there. 

Besiktas and Kadikoy for you then!

[foxfanazer]

Going to Vienna at the end of August. Anyone been and have any recommendations?

[Lako42]

9 minutes ago, foxfanazer said:

Going to Vienna at the end of August. Anyone been and have any recommendations?

Get the train to bratislava for cheaper food and drink

[foxfanazer]

1 hour ago, Lako42 said:

Get the train to bratislava for cheaper food and drink

Not a great place then?

[Lako42]

1 hour ago, foxfanazer said:

Not a great place then?

Vienna? 

 

 

It's great 

[grobyfox1990]

3 hours ago, foxfanazer said:

Going to Vienna at the end of August. Anyone been and have any recommendations?

Went at the end of august/start of sept two years ago. Loads of culture, museums etc. Have the Apple strudel in the famous cafe (can’t remember its name), see the orchestra. Bratislava and Budapest are near and cheap on the bus. I saw Austria Vienna play in the conference league, it was fun 

[Stadt]

The war museum in Vienna is class. I couldn’t stop laughing at a Swastika sequin cushion.

 

The royal palace (the main one, sorry can’t recall the name) is worth seeing. 
 

Cafe Schwarzenberg is amazing for breakfast, lovely ornate interior - what you expect from Vienna.

 

Cafe Delerium and Bockshorn are hardly authentic but great pubs.

[Countryfox]

Last few days in Madeira ..  never been before ..  what a lovely place ..  about 22 degrees all the time and perfect for topping up that tan with a few beers. Stunning countryside and a some great places to eat. 😎 ..  view out our room window. 
 

 

 

 

[Countryfox]

Same view at night but the iPhone camera doesn’t do it justice ..  the lights at night twinkle on the hillside .. 

 

 

[VLC86]

Last day in Sicily before flying home today, unbelievable place. Palermo is a great city and Cefalu is an incredible place to go for a few days on the beach.

 

The food here is obviously incredible and the local wine is pretty cheap and decent.

 

Feel like shit today though, 80% cold, 10% hangover and 10% being ravaged by the sun 😂 put me down.

[CosbehFox]

On 10/05/2024 at 18:44, foxfanazer said:

Going to Vienna at the end of August. Anyone been and have any recommendations?

Twice. Once to watch the Vienna derby! my fiancée been four! 
 

Depends how much you like your art. Kunsthistoricalmuseum (worth visiting for the architecture if it’s your thing). Belvedere Palace includes the Kiss by Klimt. 
 

Naschmarkt is a street market good for a stroll around 

Schonnberg Palace be a must at that time of year with the zoo in it. 
Arsenal/military museum is low key underrated 

Pick a classical cafe and do it. Great experience. Cafe Sperl is a favourite here. 

For drinking and eating, I highly recommend the Mariahilf/Neubau/Spittelberg streets. Somewhere like Amerling Biesl, or Glacis Biesl is superb in the summer sun. Some really flash cocktails bars in the city if that’s your thing too

[CosbehFox]

Looks like Pula, Croatia has won the rights to the honeymoon. Balkan landscapes with Italian cuisine sign me up.!