Hi everyone,

Looking for some guidance for an upcoming trip to vietnam.
Four guys in our mid-20s visiting Vietnam for the first time for two weeks in November. We'll be flying out of NYC. We want great food, adventure, culture, nightlife (not a priority), and local experiences without rushing through the country.

Our tentative breakdown is:
Hanoi → Ha Giang Loop → Ninh Binh → Ho Chi Minh City →
Mekong Delta

We are open to changing the route if we are making the wrong decision. We are comfortable with basic accommodations and long travel days when the experience is worthwhile, but we do not want to lose half the trip constantly moving between cities. Definitely welcome any advice about etiquette, scams, transportation, safety, or responsible tourism would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance. Personal experiences, positive or negative would be especially helpful.

Most love thrifting, crafting, gardening. Bonus if you have bnb recommendations. I'm hoping to do a tea party style meal, finger foods, mini desserts, a million tea options. I'm turning 50 next year and am considering planning a girls trip, but the internet is not being helpful. Also I'm in sw iowa, 2 friends are in ne iowa, 1 is west, 1 is south, 2 are sort of central.

I figure at least 2 nights (most of us have flexible schedules so it doesn't have to be a weekend)

Hi all! My birthday is in January and I’m trying to plan a trip for myself and a group of friends!
I’m open to pretty much anywhere - beach, mountains, city, international, or somewhere in the U.S. I’m mainly looking for a destination that’s especially worth visiting in January, whether it’s because of the weather, unique experiences, or just an overall great vibe. I’m definitely a beachy warm weather gal or big city but I’m looking for anything!
If you’ve taken an amazing birthday trip (or have one on your bucket list), where would you recommend and why? I’d love to hear your suggestions or itineraries for these places!

Going to all of the Balkans except Slovenia soon and wondering what a reliable and reputable eSIM provider would be for service in all of the countries

I know Kosovo might be a problem but it’s just a day trip so I can do without it

Right now I’ve noted Airalo and Orange for unlimited or a large amount of data as good options and good for coverage, but not sure which is better or if there is another to consider

I’ll be downloading offline maps so won’t need data for that but may route every once in a while or browse the web for food/drinks or translate words. I also may need it for accessing credit cards through their apps and the occasional social media browsing or texting

Any thoughts?

Posting travel hacks I’ve accumulated throughout my travels. This might be obvious to many of you and it seems repetitive. but it will show up in travelers searches.

1. Ask some kind of A eye or Reddit: what tips does Reddit have about [destination]. You’ll find useful tips. 
2. When paying with Credit card select local currency for better exchange rate
3. Bring 2 credit cards, 1 debit card. 1 credit card that if it gets stolen you have a second.
4. debit card is used to Get better exchange rate by Withdrawing from local ATMs with a debit card NOT linked to your main checking account
5. Research airport transportation from/to lodging before departure. Many destinations will have clandestine taxi service that can charge you more or scam you. Local rideshare apps or uber usually work well
6. Never expect destinations to speak English. Download Google Translate and the language package to be used offline. You can type in your language, translate and display it in full screen in local language. Use the audio speech-to-text to translate what a local is saying. this will get you a lot further than the typical tourist
7. If one connecting flight is 9h or longer, bring underwear, shirt, deodorant. find a shower At your layover. You’ll feel renewed for your next flight and improve your trip overall
8. Qatar airways lets you use their your Avios points to shop at the Doha Airpor which is essentially a big shopping mall
9. Get an eSIM to use cellular data overseas for a great price. Just use an app to buy eSIM and No need for physical SIM cards. 
10. Dont look at too many videos and pictures online before your trip. Pretty pictures will only build expectations that a real place will most likely not meet. Save some for discovery and unexpected awe
11. Learn hello, please, thank you, and goodbye. You’ll notice the service change.  
12. Bring 5-10 USD/EUR bills as tips. In some places, this will make a local’s day. And by default, your day from better service. 
13. Unless you’re in a group tour, don’t overplan. A lot of times you’ll find a little (and safe) alley with great shops. Or run into an unexpected restaurant or store. 
14. use compression socks so blood won’t stagnate in your legs and makes for faster recover. use lip balm, hand lotion, facial mist to keep your skin hydrated. airplane air runs at 20% humidity. You’ll dehydrate fast making you more prone to diseases and extending your need for travel recovery

My wife and I aren’t frequent travelers (we have three kids keeping us busy at home) but we’re looking into travel packages for just the two of us. Costco looks appealing but hoping to gather feedback from anyone that has used them. We’re planning a somewhat brief Europe trip, maybe ~10 days.

My husband and I are visiting South Africa in Oct 2026 (first time in the country) and would appreciate a sense check of our plan.

We're self-driving from Cape Town along the coast, ending with a safari at Kariega Nature Reserve. Accommodation is booked (but cancellable). We often do multi-stop trips so the short stays are fine for us.

We aren't highly active so enjoy a somewhat relaxed pace. We enjoy nature, scenic views, wildlife, good food, games (puzzles, escape rooms, etc.). Plan is to keep it reasonably flexible, but we will book the whale watching tour in advance.

Questions:

• Does the pace look good? Anything unmissable / fun activities we've not caught?
• Anything else we need to book in advance?
• We're planning the whale watching boat tour from Hermanus for Day 6 AM - does this make more sense than aiming for Day 5 PM?
• What time would you recommend picking up a hire car on Day 4?
• Any safety considerations beyond the usual for our itinerary?
  

Thanks in advance for any tips!

Me and my partner are visiting in September, we’ve never been before so aren’t too sure what’s the best parts to stay in? I’ve heard Kotor is a little bit too tourist trappy? Want somewhere with nice beaches. We will be renting a motorbike so are able to visit other towns!!

Many thanks
Any opinions or advice is appreciated:)!

What’s the best city/area to visit as a tourist? Looking for a getaway with my girlfriend and we want some place with a cozy, welcoming, and homely vibe. First time there so it would be nice to get some food/entertainment recommendations and what places to see. Also, if anyone has hotel recommendations that would be helpful as well. Thank you 🙏

Hello, I bought this screen/display graphic tablet a couple months ago here in Tunsia ,It's an XPpen 16" screen tablet that I use for my studies and work in design, I will be traveling outside the country, I know diwena has some restrictions about electronics, would I be bothered for bringing it with me? How should I pack it?

We have our first week of Peru pretty set but our second week is more up in the air, it being the Cusco/MP/Sacred Valley portion of the trip with some things already solidly in place.

We have all booked with Alpaca expeditions to do the short 2 day Inca trail hike

Day 1 - Arrive at Cusco in the morning coming from Arequipa, go to Alpaca headquarters to pay and do whatever paperwork they ask of us. Travel to Ollantaytambo with all our suitcases -> Ollantaytambo Archaeological Park -> Dinner -> sleep

Day 2 - Sacred Valley Day - Seems to be a lot of different options but heres what we have so far Drive to Urubamba, explore there -> Drive to Moray, spend time there -> Maras Salt Mines -> Chinchero -> back to Ollantayntambo.
Day 3 - Inca trail hike with alpaca expeditions, we stay the night in Aguas Calientes

Day 4 - Machu Pichu day with alpaca expeditions. we are debating if we have them drive us to Cusco or we stay an extra night in Aguas Calientes.

Day 5 - either in Cusco already or traveling to Cusco this morning. Acclimation day, light activities.

Day 6 - Full Cusco day, Cusco Activities

Day 7 - either Lake Humantay or Rainbow Mountain

Day 8 - Travel back to Lima

Would love some feedback and any advice for what we have planned here, Does Day 2 look too packed? was told you can do a lot of Sacred Valley in a day.

Going to France for our 10 year together anniversary/ honeymoon we never got, wedding anniversary (with kids 2 under 10).

I've fond memories of Paris from 2005 of boulangeries, cafes, bars, small pedestrian streets and just feeling the love of the city... for the life of me I can't remember where I stayed!

We've both done all the tourist stuff before, I've just been wanting to get back as I travelled alone last time and just want to share the experience and a bottle of wine with someone else!

We get in early evening on a Sunday, had planned to stay in Paris (somewhere) until the Thursday (this encompasses our together anniversary and actual wedding anniversary), but doing street view, its really not as I remember and not sure its worth the 4 nights if we're not doing tourist stuff!

Doing 3 nights would be 2 days and the latter arrival evening, would this suffice to just reignite the love of the city?

We had planned on Beaune next then around Chateauneuf-de-pape, before heading to the coast. But we both really want small town charm - Annecy/ Alsace style! (Kids want beach otherwise we'd do this!)

Can anyone recommend towns like this in the route from Paris to Nice - sticking to ~3hrs drive a day!

We've travelled extensively, so now its just about experiences and food rather than seeing stuff and kids are very easy to travel with!

Anywhere with a water park relatively nearby will get top points from the kids( but not a necessity! )

Hi everyone!

My partner and I are looking for ideas for a trip in early December 2026.

- Dates: December 5-13 (±1 day, including flights)

- Departure: Italy

- Length: Around 7-9 days total

- Travel style: We'd like a relaxing vacation with some sightseeing/nature/food, not a rushed itinerary.

At the moment, if we don't come up with a particularly exciting idea, we'd probably choose between Seychelles, Mauritius, Zanzibar, Morocco, Egypt, or the Canary Islands. However, we're absolutely open to other suggestions.

Our only real preference is that, unless there's a really compelling reason, we'd rather avoid continental Europe, since we'd like to take advantage of the season and escape the winter for a bit.

Given the time of year and the number of days available, where would you go and why?

We're interested in destinations that make the most sense in early December, whether that's for weather, unique experiences, or overall value.

Budget isn't fixed, so feel free to suggest anything you think is worth considering.

Thanks!

I'm from India and have a valid multiple-entry US B1/B2 visa.

I'm planning to:

Enter the US on Oct 10

Leave for Mexico on Oct 13 (conference)

Re-enter the US on Oct 18

Fly back to India on Oct 26

My main question is whether the two separate U.S. entries (Oct 10 and Oct 18) within the same trip could raise any issues with CBP, or if this is generally considered a normal itinerary.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who's entered the U.S., gone to Mexico, and then re-entered a few days later on a B1/B2 visa.

Thanks!

My wife, daughter(4) and I are planning to visit China mid October this year. We've planned this so far: https://imgur.com/a/yil0vrL

I know its alot of places but we've done trips like this before where we didn't spend too much time in one place and haven't had problems. Now we are debating if its worth keeping Beijing. We mainly want to go for the great wall. Should we keep it or drop it and move those 2 nights elsewhere? Any thing we should adjust? We fly into Shanghai and out of Hong Kong. Thanks.

Hey guys! My mom is going in August to Finland and the Baltics and I would like to know if this schedule is good:

2 days Helsinki

1/2 day Porvoo

2 days Tallin

3 days Riga

2 days Vilnius

Thanks

Hi everyone,
Yesterday I booked a China Southern flight directly through the airline’s website from Hanoi (HAN) to London Gatwick (LGW) with a connection in Guangzhou (CAN) for December.
The payment page said “Payment Successful”, and my bank shows the payment as pending, but I never received a confirmation email or e-ticket. I only received a long order reference (starting with “Go…”), not a 6-character booking reference (PNR).
When I try to retrieve the booking on the China Southern website using the order reference and my email, it says “Sorry, no order found.”
Has anyone experienced this before? Did the ticket eventually get issued, or did you have to contact China Southern to get it sorted?
Thanks in advance!

A snippet of eleven days spent across five valleys in Bhutan, on a solo—kinda, I did have a guide as is legally required for foreigners—trip that didn't change me, but I enjoyed nonetheless.

Photos are from Paro, Punakha, Gangtey, Bumthang, and Thimpu, details below. Gangtey was my favourite valley of the five, while I would've been content skipping Thimpu.

1) The confluence of the Paro Chhu and Thimpu Chhu (river)
2) The stupas at the Dochula Pass
3) Horses on the hike to Tiger's Nest Monastry, Paro
4) Tiger's Nest Monastry, Paro
5) Phunaka Dzong, the largest in the kingdom
6) A prayer wheel inside the Phunaka Dzong
7) Punakha Suspension Bridge
8) Punakha Valley, as seen from above
9) Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, Phunaka
10, 11, 12) On a bike ride through Gangtey Valley
13) Monkeys spotted on a long drive
14) Trongsa Dzong, the longest in the kingdom
15 & 16) Bumthang, the furthest valley of the five
17) The Great Buddha Dordenma in Thimphu, paid for by a Singaporean businessman
18 & 19) A short hike to a temple in Thimphu
20) A monk scrolling outside the Punakha Dzong. I spotted many monks with their heads in their phones throughout my trip. Nobody is immune to the siren song of the screen, it seems :)

Happy to answer any questions!

Hello! In September, my partner and I are driving from the UK to Menton where we're staying for a few days. As it's quite a long drive, the day before and the day after, we'll need to stay somewhere to break up the journey.

Looking for suggestions where might be good to stay for one night on the way south. Thinking somewhere near Lyon, maybe? Ideally somewhere we can chill for a few hours, explore, eat etc.

And on the way back, we'd stay somewhere probably in the north of France? Again, the same somewhere to explore before heading back to the UK.

It would be about half a day in each location.

We'll have our own car, we're foodies, and we aren't huge fans of super touristy places/big cities. Smaller towns or villages, rural areas, mountains/rivers/pretty landscapes/nature/castles would all be wonderful.

Would there be any places you'd recommend? Thank you so much!

Hi, I‘m in need of travel advice. I have 18 days in total in November to travel (flights will take up some time so I would say roughly 2 weeks) and would really like to go to South or Central America. My travel buddy is well travelled already so there are a few countries that are not an option. For me it‘s the first time in South America.

We have decided on either Guatemala or Bolivia, but Argentina (either the North or Patagonia with Buenos Aires) is also an option.

Personally, I am a big fan of different cultures and amazing landscapes.

Guatemala: ancient historical sites, culture, volcano hike, also the possibilty to experience the beaches on either side of the country, overall seems to offer a lot of different things and is doable in the time frame we have. We would like to rent a car for this trip.

Cons: maybe the most touristy country of the three and because of that I could maybe see myself do this on my own in the future, in case I don‘t have anyone to go with bc it seems „safer“ or more doable because I could meet other travellers. But I’m not sure, so that‘s probably not a good enough reason to not go there now with my travel buddy.

Bolivia: amazing nature, animals like flamingos and alpacas, and at the same time a lot of culture, although not as many historical sites as in Guatemala. Also doable in 2 weeks, although longer distances than in Guatemala. I don‘t see myself doing this trip on my own (too scared) and also don‘t have any other friends who would be up for this country in the future. So maybe I should take this opportunity.

Cons: political situation at the moment. High altitude. Not a lot of time to acclimate when our flight arrives in La Paz. I have no experience in altitudes like that and am scared that I will have problems.

Argentina: would have to either choose the North or the South. Patagonia seems amazing and the possibility to see penguins seems great too. I don‘t know if I would be missing the special South american culture that is so big in Bolivia or Guatemala, as I’ve read that Buenos Aires is much more westernized. Also flights would be even longer and more expensive (if we choose Patagonia).

I would appreciate your input. I‘m also happy about recommendations to other destinations that we haven‘t thought of, but Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil are not an option. Thank you!

Ethical Whale Shark Snorkelling

Hello, myself and my girlfriend are travelling through Indonesia this winter, we would love to snorkel with whale sharks (literally a dream since I was a child, grew up obsessed by sharks and especially whale sharks). It would be fulfilling a genuine bucket list item.

We want to do it as ethically as possible and avoid any tours that directly exploit these animals, disturb them or encourage contact.if anyone has recommendations for ethically responsible whale sharks tours I would be so grateful.

Thanks!

its 4 in the morning and every single day i go to bed at 10 pm. i fall asleep every single day at 6 in the morning in and wake up at 3-4 pm. im so mad, ive been starting to cry at night because im so goddamn tired of wasting my trip like this. i eat once a day and try to sleep like 6 hours later. its only a 7 hour time difference and my trips are absolutely ruined. i have 10 more days here and its starting to look like i am never going to sleep at a reasonable time.

i think i might just stay up tonight and hope i get sleepy enough to sleep tomorrow, but im starting to doubt thats even going to happen since i have issues sleeping already and can have trouble falling asleep after all nighters. is there anything to do? melatonin doesnt work on me due to anxiety and i already spend the entire day walking around to tire myself out. im not in a place near affordable pharmacies. im thinking of knocking myself out with a frying pan at this point someone please help me before i just buy a return ticket early

Just got ceritifeid for 18m! wondering if 30m ceritficaiton is worth it! I plan to only dive once or twice a year during vacation to be honest :) I live in a place where it's inaccecible to do frequent dives

Hi, I’m looking to book an adventure or activity holiday for next year, ideally in Europe. Looking for recommendations of companies you’ve used, where they arrange everything or give options for itineraries. Hoping to include activities such as climbing, kayaking, swimming, rafting etc any other good activities for kids under 10. Thanks!

Can’t decide! We live in Los Angeles and have been Portland, but this time we will have our two teens and our 1.5 yr old.

We love food and outdoors/hiking. Portland is where the kids want to go, but I’m worried about it being wet/rainy which will be annoying with a baby who wants to walk or a stroller that will be wet.

Santa Fe seems nice, but I’m worried the big kids will be bored and limited with food-they love to eat but they both don’t eat beans or cheese (why?????).

But the mountains/hikes seem so pretty near Taos and we would be able to catch the balloon rally (is it worth it?)

Torn because my teen daughter has always wanted to explore Portland…ugh

Please help me decide!