Spinoff To Travel Plans

If you have already taken your trip please share reviews and pics...
I love hearing about vacations. Thanks!

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We were on an Alaskan Cruise two weeks ago:

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Gorgeous pictures! I would love to go on an Alaskan Cruise!

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Those pics are gorgeous!!!! DH and I would love to go on an Alaskan cruise someday!

South Africa

What an amazing trip!!!! My husband and I have been many fabulous places and stayed at truly top notch hotels before. But South Africa was by far the best vacation ever! Here is my review!!! This review includes Cape Town's The Commodore Hotel, the Winelands' Spier Hotel, and Royal Malewane. We also spent two nights in Amsterdam, but I will not be reviewing it since its the Africa board.

Travel Agent: Tricia Townsend of Protravel in NYC
This is the second trip Tricia has planned for us. I found her in Conde Nast Traveler when she was listed as the top agent for honeymoons. The magazine does not lie. She is excellent. Everything she plans is flawless and she gives excellent advice. She is very accurate in her description of places and hotels. She always tells the negative and the positive. I find her to be right on the money each time. She is extremely well traveled even for a TA. She knows all of the places well and the hotels treat you extra specially because you are her client. She charges a small fee, but it is well worth it. Our local tour operator was Good Taste. We used Emilene as our private tour guide for the days we were in Cape Town and the Winelands. She is beyond superb. She is so knowledgeable about the history and culture of South AFrica. She shares what is was like to live through the transition. I would highly highly recommend her. She made all of our reservations and each restaurant was top notch (Pigalle, Bukara, Black Marlin, and Baia, etc. We never thought about a thing.

Cape Town: Commodore Hotel
I love amazing hotels, but I decided to save money in Cape Town. I figured that we would be gone sightseeing most of the time, so it would be a waste to splurge on this part of the trip. The Commodore has a great location (across the street from the V&A Waterfront). This was perfect for us. I felt safe walking to the waterfront by myself when my husband was sleeping. The service was really good...all of the employees were very friendly. Our rate included breakfast which was also very good. So for location, service, and breakfast, I was pretty impressed. However, I did not like the nautical decor of the hotel. The hotel was clean and updated, and we had a suite with a balcony. But I really wasn't crazy about the decor. In the end, it was worth staying there for the location and the price. So no regrets.

Winelands: Spier
Tricia recommended that I stay someplace else in the winelands. But I picked Spier because I had seen pictures of the Cheetah Reserve and wanted to visit from another LIWers post. Tricia explained that it was unnecessary to stay at the hotel, but I ended up doing it anyway. My feelings on Spier were mixed. We had an ENORMOUS and beautiful suite. It was HUGE. However, other than that, I was unimpressed with the hotel. Spier is very expansive and a large hotel. It has a touristy feel to it. I prefer smaller hotels. The service was also terrible. Maybe terrible is the wrong word....it was more absent. No one showed us to the room, it took two phone calls to receive our luggage in the room, complimentary wine was brought to our room at 11pm at night and without a corkscrew. We ate at Moyo at night. It was definitely an experience, but not really our thing. Too many people for us. I don't regret it, but I wouldn't do it again. The cheetah reserve is basically a fenced in area with a bunch of cheetahs. There really is no educational component as far as I could see. But we did pay to pet the cheetah cubs which was very neat. It was a little scary because you know that this place would never exist in America because of the liability. But I was happy to get my picture petting the cheetahs. But Tricia was right...no need to spend the night at Spier.


We then were off to Royal Malewane. We flew Nelair to the lodge on a 4 seat (two passengers, two pilots) Cessna. I sat in the co-pilot seat and was actually allowed to fly the plane (another thing that would never occur in America). I felt a little bit like a celeb given that it was just my husband and me! Once we arrived at the Royal Malewane, it was the Royal treatment all of the way! Excellent food, service, and accomodations!!! The staff is really excellent. They are friendly and not obsequious. They go above and beyond. Each night there seemed to be a surprise...(a bubble bath with a hundred candles and champagne and chocolates when we walked in after a game drive, a special boma performance, a surprise dinner in the bush, etc.). The room was gorgeous. We had room number 3 which was the room featured in their brochures and the only one that overlooks the watering hole. We were told that we must know someone who knows somebody to get that suite (thanks tricia!). The suite had its own private deck, outdoor shower, and plunge pool. The bed was also extra comfy. The hotel was worth every penny and the private pool for each suite was an added treat.

In terms of game viewing, it is harder for me to review. This is our first safari so I am not sure how it compares. I was told by a couple we were with that had traveled the world many times over, that the game drive was slower moving than others they had been on. We stayed on the dirt path the entire time. The ranger explained that it was because it had rained, and driving off the path on wet ground destroys the bush. I definitely like their eco-friendly philosophy, but a more rough drive might have been fun as well! We saw a ton of animals....leopard, lions, elephants, porcupine, zebras, impala, nyala, two poisonous snakes, rhino, hippo, buffalo, stork, wildebeast, warthogs, giraffe, etc. The best thing for me was how many baby animals we saw. It was great!! We definitely got very close to the animals.

I am not sure what else to share. I would definitely recommend going to the District 6 Museum in Cape Town. It was very moving. Bring an extra piece of luggage for things to buy. We had to stop purchasing things, because we had no room left. I bought a ton of stuff at Kraal Gallery which I loved. I would also recommend going to the beach one afternoon. We spent an afternoon there and it was wonderful.

Message edited 6/20/2006 7:59:06 PM.

Re: Spinoff To Travel Plans

Here are some pics from my recent trip to the Amalfi Coast in Italy.
The pics are of Praiano, Amalfi & Positano.

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what hotels did you stay in on the amalfi coast? i am looking into positano

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There is an article on the AMalfi Coast in this month's Budget Travel - and they give alternate hotel suggestions, smaller and more intimate than the better-know places...

http://www.budgettravelonline.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2006/06/08/AR2006060800991.html

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bump for ssbride

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these are beautiful pics=thanks!!!!

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Just back from a cruise to Bermuda...I will post a review as soon as I get pictures back. My camera broke and I am waiting for our friends to send me their digital pics.

Overall, cruise was okay, Bermuda was incredible!

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This is a repost from LIW. It's my review of my HM to Aruba. It's long!!

was finally able to upload my pictures so here is my detailed HM review! There are also pictures in my community album

DH and I knew that we wanted to spend our HM relaxing. We ultimately decided on Aruba. We booked a deluxe room at the Wyndham Hotel with an ocean view. This was a great decision. Each morning we woke up, the first thing we did was go out onto the balcony and soak in the sun. When we arrived at the Wyndham, check in was easy. Our room wasn’t ready yet so we went downstairs and had some lunch at the Terrace Restaurant . The food was good and filled us up. Finally our room was ready. We were greeted by various hotel staff and everyone knew we were on our HM. Once inside the room, DH and I couldn’t have been happier. It was a really big room with a nice seating area. We had a great view of the ocean, pool, and the whole island.





View from our room









After we dropped off our things, we went downstairs to the concierge to book dinner. I highly recommend using the concierge service in your hotel. They were wonderful booking activities for us and making sure that everyone knew we were on our HM. They also gave us our One Cool Honeymoon card to present to get discounts and free stuff. Before dinner, we went to one of the hotel bars for happy our. The bartender was nice enough to tell us what was free (wine) and provided us with free wine even after happy hour was over.



We decided to book dinner at Pago Pago , located in the Wyndham. Dinner here was delicious! I had tuna steak and it was incredible. They also gave us complimentary champagne for being honeymooners.



After dinner, we went into the casino for a bit. Most of our days were spent by the pool and swimming in the ocean. We never did get a palapa, as we refused to get up early to wait in line. We sat by the pool and walked a few feet to the ocean when we wanted to go in for a swim. This was the best decision, as we were able to sleep late and still take in the sun! During the day, the staff at the Wyndham will walk around and clean off your sunglasses, provide you with fresh cold fruit and spritz you with water. It was great to be waited on like that! They will also bring you drinks or food.









Our second night we ate at Blossoms , again in the Wyndham. It is a Chinese restaurant with a Japanese Hibachi. We ate in the Chinese restaurant and really liked the food. Our waiter knew we were on our HM and brought us free dessert. We didn’t eat 3 meals day because usually we woke up closer to lunch. When we did make breakfast we ate at both the Terrace and Greenhouse restaurants. The first time we ate breakfast, we didn’t realize that the Greenhouse is a buffet and more expensive. If you’re looking for a buffet, then the Greenhouse is the right place. Otherwise, go outside and eat at the Terrace. It’s a la carte.



We finally decided to venture out of the Wyndham and went to dinner at Flying Fishbone . This place is breath taking!! It's far from all the hotels but well worth the cab ride. The food is really good and the sunset is like nothing I've seen. We sat right at the edge of the ocean and had the best view in the house. This restaurant is definitely a must do!





View from our table











Gasparito , which serves Aruban cuisine, is such a great restaurant. It is also an art gallery that displays local artists’ work. The food here is spectacular! The maitre’d saw me taking a picture of DH so he came out and took a picture of the both of us. The staff brought a free bottle of wine to celebrate our HM. This is one of my favorite
restaurants.







DH's dinner- keshi yena- shredded chicken smothered with melted cheese- DELISH!



After the Kukoo Kunuku bus tour, we were hungry at decided to eat at Café Baci . DH and I were disappointed with the food. While it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t incredible.

Texas De Brazil , a churrascaria, was yummy. There was so much food and not enough room in our bellies to eat it all! At one point, we told the waiter that we were finished and he wouldn’t let us leave! He told us to just relax and wait awhile, as we’ll be hungry again.









Me trying to jump off the balcony because they wouldn't let us leave!



Towards the end of our HM, we ate at El Goucho . I highly recommend this restaurant. The food was delicious and the portions large. The restaurant was packed on a Monday night and when we left, there were many people still waiting to be seated.

On our last day there, DH and I ate at Papiamento . This is my other favorite restaurant. The restaurant is in an old 19th century manor that is full of charm. You eat outside poolside under huge trees. It is so beautiful. DH ordered lamb on the stone and he absolutely loved it. I had one of the specials and thought my food tasted amazing.











Our 3rd day there DH and I booked the Sea Trek Adventure through De Palm Tours. De Palm has its own island, where all of the water activities take place. Sea Trek is awesome! You’re walking underwater on a walkway with all these incredible fish swimming by. It’s amazing. There was a photographer underwater taking pictures and video of everything going on. Once it’s over, you can purchase a CD with all of the pictures and video. We bought one but I can’t find it right now… oops!











After Sea Trek, we went snorkeling around the island. This was so incredible. There are so many fish and coral to see. We loved it. De Palm also gives you free breakfast, lunch and an open bar while on the island.



We also did a full day Jeep tour. We used ABC Tours . ABC has the best price and sees the most sites out of all of the full day Jeep tours. We also used to book the tour that we got in Aruba Nights tour book, located at the hotels. ABC picked us up from our hotel in the morning and dropped us off in the afternoon. We stopped at California Lighthouse, Wish Garden, Chapel of Alto Vista, Shark's Mouth, Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins, Ostrich Farm, Natural Bridge, Arikok National Park, Indian Caves, San Nicolas and Swimming and snorkeling at the famous Natural Pool and Baby Beach. I am so glad we did the tour and got to see pretty much the whole island. The only down side is that DH and I didn’t get to go swimming in the natural pool. It was too rough that day and we couldn’t even go down the stairs to be close to it.











Fallen Natural Bridge











Us at Baby Beach



I knew that I wanted to do to the Kukoo Kunuku bus tour even before I got to Aruba. I read so many things about it and it seemed like so much fun. DH was a little skeptical but reluctantly agreed to it. I loved this tour! It was so much fun. There was a wide age range and everyone had a good time. The bus driver, Victor, and tour guide, Carlos, really know how to entertain! We went to 4 bars and had dinner at the house of the former Ambassador of Protocol. We purchased the thermos, which allowed us to get more drink for less money… always a good thing!













Former Ambassador's house



Carlos, our tour guide















I loved Aruba and would go back anyday.