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  1. R

    Other Options...

    We did 2 trips with Thompson before the pandemic. One to Japan and one to Vietnam and Cambodia. For the Vietnam and Cambodia trip there was supposed to be another family on this trip, but they had to cancel. Thompson ran the trip with just my family (3 of us). So, it turned out to be a...
  2. R

    New Trip Announcement

    We have gone to Stowe, VT for 20 straight years now. Anywhere from a couple of days to a week, and always stay at the Trapp Family Lodge. Take some time to walk around the lodge and check out the photos of the Von Trapp family as they settled in Stowe and built up the mountain. Also, if you...
  3. R

    Bathrooms??

    The common refrain you'll hear from the guides regarding bathrooms is "go when you can, not when you have to". :-)
  4. R

    Adventure with kids

    Our first ABD was in 2010 and it was Alpine Magic (the old itinerary). Our son was just turning 8 at that time. It remains our favorite as it had a great mix of tour time and on your own time, and had a lot of outdoor and active things to do (versus being museum heavy). I did a trip report...
  5. R

    Best private tour companies out of Rome

    I'll second the thumbs up for Walks of Italy. Outstanding guides who told a story versus just giving you a bunch of facts.
  6. R

    Arrival prior to ABD and hotel

    We always went anywhere from 2 to 4 days early, typically booking the hotel on our own as it was much less expensive. Our experience has been that the comprehensiveness and time spent in the first city is not enough to get a full sense of the destination. I don't want to say they short-change...
  7. R

    Italy: Viva Italia Meets Thread

    Very much recommend climbing the dome at St. Peter's. It is very cool to see the old architecture and you can get some great photos on the roof behind the large statues of the saints overlooking the square. Not sure if they will continue, but we did an audience with the pope. It was on a Weds...
  8. R

    Italy: Viva Italia Meets Thread

    We have taken tours with Walks of Italy...they tend to be small group tours but our experience has been top notch. They were the first to be allowed to bring people to all levels of the colisseum. We have taken several day tours with them throughout Italy and never been disappointed.
  9. R

    Post Covid No Refund Blues and Future Travel

    I think one of the interesting things will be what happens to those inexpensive, but non-refundable rates for hotels, excursions, transportation, etc. In many cases we have booked these rates and really haven't saved a lot relative to the cost of a trip. Going forward, for the sake of an extra...
  10. R

    Brand new to ABD

    Another vote to arrive early to get over jet lag and plan some activities in the city of arrival. Our impression has been that the activity level and comprehensiveness of the ABD tends to be light in the arrival city, so we have generally take a couple of days to ourselves and plan a number of...
  11. R

    Changes to 2021 trip itineraries?

    A while back I read about one of the smaller tour companies that had, for want a better term, inverse dynamic pricing. They advertised the high end of the price and if you were the only one that signed up for that tour, that is the price you would pay. But as more people signed up, the price...
  12. R

    Changes to 2021 trip itineraries?

    When we went in 2018 (the old Tsukiji location), it was 2 groups of I'd say about 40 or 50 people. One group went for about 40 minutes, followed by the second group. We left our hotel about 2:30 am and were in line by 3 am. We paid a guide to take us to the location, and she waited in line...
  13. R

    ABD Italy and Switzerland vs. Disney Mediterranean Cruise ( Barcelona to Rome, with Ajaccio) withABD add on

    We had a week of hiking planned in the Dolomites at the end of June, that ended up getting cancelled. Hoping to try and do it next year. Nice to know it is one of your favorite places.
  14. R

    Travel Changes?

    The Governor of Massachusetts is supposed to lay out the proposal for beginning to re-open on May 18. So, we should find out what the phased approach is going to look like. Honestly, I can't imagine a summer school given where we are with the number of new cases each day. My son goes to a...
  15. R

    Travel Changes?

    We live in the suburbs of Boston, about 26 miles Southwest of Boston (about where the marathon starts). The stay at home advisory for Massachusetts is extended until May 18 and if you are in an area where social distancing is unlikely then facemasks are mandatory. The Mayor of Boston has...
  16. R

    Airline policy changes (United made another big one)

    We just ended up cancelling our trip to the Dolomites scheduled for late June. Cancellations haven't gone too bad. Right Path Adventures refunded our full deposit (we didn't have to PIF until 30 days before the trip). Cancelled our flights to Venice on United. We got the e-certificate that...
  17. R

    Travel Changes?

    You might be right. For each of our trips we booked way in advance (not as far as Calfan :-) --3 years is impressive) but about 10-12 months in advance and we did get early booking discounts, a GO Pro, a repeat customer discount, and some other perks. One of which I think is the free trip...
  18. R

    Travel Changes?

    We have travelled with Thomson on 2 occasions, and travel insurance was included both times.
  19. R

    ABD China changes?

    It will be interesting to see how Japan handles the Olympics this summer. I think they start in late July in Japan.
  20. R

    What can you bring/leave on the bus?

    Not sure about Costa Rica specifically, but in general you can leave your bags on the bus during activities. So, if you wanted to bring an extra bag, that shouldn't be a problem.




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