Overseas travel plans

Off to Tenerife in January

Great time to go on holiday, January being such a dour, depressing time of year, and I think the weather in Tenerife is pretty good then.

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Yeah my missus normally goes with her parents. Unfortunately her dad is too ill to do so this year so weā€™re just going as a couple

Iā€™ve got the skeleton of a plan for this:

  • Eurostar to Brussels
  • Five nights in Brussels with a couple of day trips TBC but possibly Gent, Bruges, maybe Antwerp, maybe even across the border to Kƶln
  • two nights in Utrecht but splitting the daytime between Utrecht and Amsterdam
  • Eurostar back from Amsterdam

We discovered that we can claim a free carers pass as cheekster 1 has a disabled personā€™s Railcard - this is great and saves us about ā‚¬250 but means I canā€™t reserve Eurostar seats and book accommodation until Interrail has seen my email and issued a carers pass (Iā€™ve ordered the other three passes today).

The interrail pass is valid for a year so we can go for an entirely different plan if this doesnā€™t work out, but fingers crossed!

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Is there a reason youā€™d stay the whole 5 nights in Brussels rather than e.g. one in Bruges, and one in Antwerp on the way to Utrecht / Amsterdam?

Iā€™d do the latter probs otherwise to save travel time. Public transport in Belgium isnā€™t terrible but itā€™s not that good either. Much better in the Netherlands

Itā€™s partly because the published travel times arenā€™t too bad (1h to Bruges from Bruxelles-Midi, about 50m to Antwerp) but itā€™s also to make the experience a bit more relaxing. The family really enjoyed it when we went Interrailing a few years ago but they found it quite tiring having to pack up and leave a hostel/apartment, travel somewhere else, find the hostel/apartment etc. So Mrs CCB suggested finding somewhere central as a base to explore other places for a day.

We havenā€™t firmed up our plans so maybe Antwerp on the way through would work :slight_smile:

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Train to koln from Brussels is pretty painless and quick. You end up at the main station right next to the cathedral too

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Yes we stopped there for a few hours between Brussels and Berlin last time. Lovely city :slight_smile:

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Accommodation and Eurostar all booked :slight_smile: we can work out the rest of the plans nearer the time as weā€™re not so dependent on sear reservations for the rest.

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Iā€™m off to Brussels next month too, very much looking forward to it

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Off to Barcelona for work beginning of feb, gonna stay out a few days over the weekend as the girlfriend is gonna fly out and meet me. Not been to Barcelona is years, canny wait.

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I did the same in October and in my spare time basically just went to places recommended on the other DiS thread which worked out great.

Weā€™re thinking of doing a week-ish long road trip round the Netherlands this summer, flights to Amsterdam and hire cars are cheap, and weā€™ll do one or 2 nights in different towns . Any recommendations on the must-sees outside of Amsterdam, are we best heading north or south? Weā€™ll probably miss out Amsterdam itself, been a few times already.

We did Denmark last year and it was fantastic, hired a car at Copenhagen airport and went on a big clockwise loop up to Aarhus then back to CH from the north, saw loads, and we did the same in south Germany and the Alps a few years before. Not the most restful holidays but really interesting and good value!

(The Belgium chat above is making me think of doing there insteadā€¦)

Depends on what you are interested in.

The north has the province of Friesland, with its own language (Fries, a Celtic language) and many lakes where people go sailing in summer. If you come from Amsterdam you also get to cross the Afsluitdijk, a 20 mile long dam that separates the South Sea from the North Sea. There are various small cities and fishing villages to visit, including the provincial capital Leeuwarden which has its own leaning tower (like Pisa).

In addition the north has the city of Groningen, with one of the biggest student populations in the country and the required infrastructure like many excellent beer cafes, record shops and the internationally renowned music venue Vera.

In the east youā€™ll find De Hoge Veluwe, the largest national park, which is perfect for hiking and cycling, and has a number of sites to visit including Jachthuis St Hubert and the renowned Krƶller-MĆ¼ller Museum, housing the worldā€™s second largest collection of Van Gogh paintings.

The south can be dived in three sections: the province Zeeland, which is formed by a number of islands and sea arms, most of which have been closed by miles long dams. Main cities to visit include Zierikzee, Middelburg and Vlissingen. If you like seafood this is the region to head for, in particular during the mussels season.

The central section of the south is formed by the province Noord-Brabant. The south is known for its hospitality and good food (influenced by Belgium). ā€™s-Hertogenbosch is one of the countryā€™s oldest medieval cities and well worth a visit. Noord-Brabant is also the home of De Efteling, a huge fantasy-themed amusement park.

And finally, in the deep south we have the province of Limburg and the only part of the country that has ā€œmountainsā€ (theyā€™re hills actually). Maastricht is the main city and provincial capital and definitely worth a visit, but the scenery around that part of the country is pretty stunning. Quite a few independent breweries are based in the region too. And you can visit the Drielandenpunt in Vaals, the highest peak in the Netherlands and the place where three countries (Belgium and Germany are the other two) come together.

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Amazing, thanks for taking the time to respond in this much detail! Forgot to mention weā€™ll be taking an 11 and 13 year old so itā€™ll be less beer and music venues and more scenery, museums and galleries (Iā€™ll check out De Efteling, I went there in 1980 but I donā€™t remember it, I was 3!). Weā€™re planning on going early April, ex-florist wife is quite keen to go to Keukenhof but weā€™ve read it gets crazy busy then?

The Keukenhof is only open for about 7 weeks, from late March until the middle of May and it will be inevitably very busy. It is extremely popular with both foreign tourists and locals. Monday to Wednesday though are the slightly less busy days, and early in the morning/late in the afternoon is quieter as well, as the crowds from Amsterdamā€™s coach tours wonā€™t be there.

In addition to De Efteling, there is also a safari & water park called Beekse Bergen in Noord Brabant, which is a fun place to visit with kids. The two are about 15 miles from each other, although you can easily spend a day in each location. The nearest main city for both is Tilburg.

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Weā€™ve decided because January is the fucking pits to plan a big holiday for this time next year. Thinking maybe Mexico but not decided

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Did Mexico in Dec / Jan once and I can highly back this idea.

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Anywhere in particular to recommend. Weā€™re thinking 14-17 days, moving around but ending with 4 nights at an all inclusive somewhere we can just do nothing and relax

I did Mexico City, Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta (the latter being a destination for gay version of ā€œspring breakā€, bizarre experience) and all were great.

I did the tequila train, I was a lot younger then and would probably find the experience challenging now but at the time it was swell. On Board the Jose Cuervo Express Tequila Train - basically an excuse for a all day piss up dressed up as a tourist attraction.

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