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Holiday destinations
- Thread starter jc100
- Start date
We've been to Disney a few times both with the kids and without, Last time it was just enjoying the time in the sun and the time away
Disney has really ramped up pricing in the last few years, we took the kids when little and went to a wedding there 20yrs ago . It wasn’t too bad , just wife and I went a couple years ago , stayed on site , was 1g a day . I’m not loving the mouse enough to hurry back .
In comparison, we went to Newfoundland last summer , toured all over and saw a ton of cool stuff , I would take kids there ahead of Disney , learn some history , get a boat ride , eat terrible traditional food . 10 days and everyday we had fun and saw new stuff .
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In comparison, we went to Newfoundland last summer , toured all over and saw a ton of cool stuff , I would take kids there ahead of Disney , learn some history , get a boat ride , eat terrible traditional food . 10 days and everyday we had fun and saw new stuff .
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We did cape Breton last summer Cabot trail would have been better on a bike than motorhome
Sent from the future
The more I hear about the cost of some of these trips people are taking, the more I come full circle to realizing how much value there is in cruising lol.
Did you check Pearson first however? It USED to be way cheaper flying out of Buffalo or Rochester, but I've found that there's no longer any deals if you look closer at Pearson now. I flew to Vegas and back 6-8 weeks back with my sister for $160 return on Flair, it was actually MORE expensive to fly out of NY when I looked.
Anyhow, if someone is looking for something *completely* off the beaten path, my wife and I just got back from a week in Eleuthera, a little off the radar island of the Bahamas. We've sailed past it on a bunch of cruises in the past, but honestly, it had never for a second been on my radar as a destination until a family member planned a destination wedding there. And in a matter of 12 weeks, it was planned, and we were on our way!
If you are an introverted beach bum, this place is literally heaven on earth. There was times where we had literally kilometers of beach entirely to ourselves. The absolute busiest beach we saw had maybe 5 other people on it, and that was multiple kilometers long, so you might as well have been alone in the end. A lot of beaches we WERE alone on.
There's 130 (yes, 130!) beaches in Eleuthera, on an island that's basiclaly only 100km long, and at it's widest 1.6km wide, and at it's narrowest, literally 1 lane of road. On one side it's dark blue Atlantic ocean, and on the other it's bright teal caribbean style ocean, and at more than a few places you can stand on the island and literally see both different colours by just looking left and right. It's a beach bums wet dream.
It's a very isolated island with basically almost everything having to come in by boat or plane. There is effectively no production there whatsoever and the economy is almost entirely reliant on tourism. EVERYTHING is expensive - a case of beer is $60 B$, which is $60USD, so basically $100 CAD. Our first grocery shop yielded us enough food for about 2 dinners and 2 brekfasts for our group of 4 was $260 after exchange. All meats are frozen, and selection is limited - medicre steaks were $30+ each, so we passed on that and went with hamburgers, ground chuck (tacos, etc), and were pretty creative - a lot of things you just can't get so some fancier meals were just not possible. Snack foods? $18 for a bag of chips, $8-$10 for a pack of cookies, etc. 2 people eating out anywhere was $80-$100, easily up to $200 if you ordered a few apps and drinks at some of the fancier resorts. Gas, $2.40/L or so after exchange. The rental vehicles range from actually pretty nice right hand drive micro SUV's (which we had, we lucked out big time with our choice of places to rent from) to absolute crates that would be pulled off the road here, and were barely functional.
Anyhow, it was an adventure and we had a great week, but you need to bring deep wallets and have realistic expectations on many things, it is still very much the bahamas, and if you've ever been there, you know. The electricity was out more than a few times (we did have an unfortunate storm for basically 2 days, so that played havok on their already often problematic power grid), the water system was out once, the Queens Highway (the islands equivalent of the 401, or more like highway 2) is a bit hairy in places and the locals drive fast, but if you're assertive and not afraid to clip along, it's fine I was laughing with some of our family from out west and south that I drive the 401 every day, so nothing scares me lol.
We were at a mult-unit AirB&B with 3 villas and it was excellent. Can't blame them for the power and water issues honestly, not the AirB&B's fault, but again, you need to understand this can happen in Eleuthera. With appropriate understanding and willingness to go with the flow, it's all good.
Takes some getting used to driving RHD vehicles on the left side of the road. But the locals were all super friendly, crime is very minimal, and what exists is petty stuff on that island, and there's no shortage of cool things to see and experience. And the beaches...oh my, the beaches.
Lots of unique restaurants on the island, as well as on Spanish Wells, the (higher-end) island just off the north shore, but again, bring your wallet.
We had absolutely the best (hands down) wings I have ever ate in my entire life at the French Leave resort in Governors Harbour, near where we were staying. Guava based BBQ sauce and, I, I don't know, crack, or something lol. Incredible. We are going to try to recreate the sauce as it was just insanely good. The meals were freakin delectable as well, I had a shrimp and sausage pasta in some sort of chipotle based sauce that was incredible as well.
Anyhow, with appropriate expecations for it being the Bahamas, and all the realities that come along with that, it's certainly a unique place to visit. I'd love to go again, but again, when compared against cruising, it's kind of hard to swallow the costs involved, and neither my wife or I are serious beach-bums, but I can certainly see the appeal for those who are.
Here's a panorama near the narrowest part of the island where it's 1 lane of traffic wide - standing on the rocks you can literally see the 2 different colours of the ecean from one side to the other. The picture doesn't even remotely do the colours justice - it's incredible in person.
Did you check Pearson first however? It USED to be way cheaper flying out of Buffalo or Rochester, but I've found that there's no longer any deals if you look closer at Pearson now. I flew to Vegas and back 6-8 weeks back with my sister for $160 return on Flair, it was actually MORE expensive to fly out of NY when I looked.
Anyhow, if someone is looking for something *completely* off the beaten path, my wife and I just got back from a week in Eleuthera, a little off the radar island of the Bahamas. We've sailed past it on a bunch of cruises in the past, but honestly, it had never for a second been on my radar as a destination until a family member planned a destination wedding there. And in a matter of 12 weeks, it was planned, and we were on our way!
If you are an introverted beach bum, this place is literally heaven on earth. There was times where we had literally kilometers of beach entirely to ourselves. The absolute busiest beach we saw had maybe 5 other people on it, and that was multiple kilometers long, so you might as well have been alone in the end. A lot of beaches we WERE alone on.
There's 130 (yes, 130!) beaches in Eleuthera, on an island that's basiclaly only 100km long, and at it's widest 1.6km wide, and at it's narrowest, literally 1 lane of road. On one side it's dark blue Atlantic ocean, and on the other it's bright teal caribbean style ocean, and at more than a few places you can stand on the island and literally see both different colours by just looking left and right. It's a beach bums wet dream.
It's a very isolated island with basically almost everything having to come in by boat or plane. There is effectively no production there whatsoever and the economy is almost entirely reliant on tourism. EVERYTHING is expensive - a case of beer is $60 B$, which is $60USD, so basically $100 CAD. Our first grocery shop yielded us enough food for about 2 dinners and 2 brekfasts for our group of 4 was $260 after exchange. All meats are frozen, and selection is limited - medicre steaks were $30+ each, so we passed on that and went with hamburgers, ground chuck (tacos, etc), and were pretty creative - a lot of things you just can't get so some fancier meals were just not possible. Snack foods? $18 for a bag of chips, $8-$10 for a pack of cookies, etc. 2 people eating out anywhere was $80-$100, easily up to $200 if you ordered a few apps and drinks at some of the fancier resorts. Gas, $2.40/L or so after exchange. The rental vehicles range from actually pretty nice right hand drive micro SUV's (which we had, we lucked out big time with our choice of places to rent from) to absolute crates that would be pulled off the road here, and were barely functional.
Anyhow, it was an adventure and we had a great week, but you need to bring deep wallets and have realistic expectations on many things, it is still very much the bahamas, and if you've ever been there, you know. The electricity was out more than a few times (we did have an unfortunate storm for basically 2 days, so that played havok on their already often problematic power grid), the water system was out once, the Queens Highway (the islands equivalent of the 401, or more like highway 2) is a bit hairy in places and the locals drive fast, but if you're assertive and not afraid to clip along, it's fine I was laughing with some of our family from out west and south that I drive the 401 every day, so nothing scares me lol.
We were at a mult-unit AirB&B with 3 villas and it was excellent. Can't blame them for the power and water issues honestly, not the AirB&B's fault, but again, you need to understand this can happen in Eleuthera. With appropriate understanding and willingness to go with the flow, it's all good.
Takes some getting used to driving RHD vehicles on the left side of the road. But the locals were all super friendly, crime is very minimal, and what exists is petty stuff on that island, and there's no shortage of cool things to see and experience. And the beaches...oh my, the beaches.
Lots of unique restaurants on the island, as well as on Spanish Wells, the (higher-end) island just off the north shore, but again, bring your wallet.
We had absolutely the best (hands down) wings I have ever ate in my entire life at the French Leave resort in Governors Harbour, near where we were staying. Guava based BBQ sauce and, I, I don't know, crack, or something lol. Incredible. We are going to try to recreate the sauce as it was just insanely good. The meals were freakin delectable as well, I had a shrimp and sausage pasta in some sort of chipotle based sauce that was incredible as well.
Anyhow, with appropriate expecations for it being the Bahamas, and all the realities that come along with that, it's certainly a unique place to visit. I'd love to go again, but again, when compared against cruising, it's kind of hard to swallow the costs involved, and neither my wife or I are serious beach-bums, but I can certainly see the appeal for those who are.
Here's a panorama near the narrowest part of the island where it's 1 lane of traffic wide - standing on the rocks you can literally see the 2 different colours of the ecean from one side to the other. The picture doesn't even remotely do the colours justice - it's incredible in person.
Honestly, I found the Cabot Trail one of the most overrated roads I've ever experienced on the bike. Sure, there was some nice scenery in spots, but there was also a lot of other sections where I felt like I was just riding on Highway 2 through Southern Ontario honestly.
Glad I can say I checked it off the list, but wouldn't go back. I'd do Gaspe again before the Cabot.
Where we go in Panama is like that but prices are way more reasonable. I just priced things up:
Flights (with a few extra luxuries added ) : max 900 each (you can pay as little as $670 return.
Accommodations right on the beach, 4-5 bedrooms, several buildings including palapa with hammocks, outdoor and indoor kitchen, AC and 24/7 concierge/housekeeping etc$195 CDN per night total (me and my wife just stay there = tons of room).
High clearance SUV for exploring $900 total for a week (pricey but we like a little luxury and this is at the higher end). All inclusive - zero issues insurance.
Beach is practically private. Next door neighbours appear to be drug barons by the look of their houses and the 24h security.
Fresh fish meals = $15 CDN upwards. Beer is a few bucks. Sit in the restaurant on the roof and watch the fishing boats bring in your meals.
You should try the shore shore in NS and some inland roads. Pretty sure you would be amazed at the scenery. Also make the outer loop of the mainland
It's on our list, although I have done a little bit of NS. I just don't want to go out to NS and NF and not have the time to tour it all properly, so it's been on the list for more than a few years. I think it's one of those trips where I'd like to have 3-4 weeks start to finish, and the last time I took that amount of vacation all at once (in 2008 when we took our 5th wheel to the west coast and back) the rest of that summer sucked when I didn't have much other vacation to speak of after the fact.
If I had 2-3 months of vacation instead of just 5 weeks to work with (6 in another few years when I hit my next and final seniority bump date), that would open up more possibilities lol.
I know you're an iron butt rider, two days will put you in NS, A good two wks would run you through must of the maritimes if you're riding and not stopping much. Me i like to stop and meander around and chat with people. Chances are i know someone who knows someone that person knows
Two days? One day should get him there. It's less than 16 hours from this side of the confederation bridge to his house on a bike.I know you're an iron butt rider, two days will put you in NS, A good two wks would run you through must of the maritimes if you're riding and not stopping much. Me i like to stop and meander around and chat with people. Chances are i know someone who knows someone that person knows
I know you're an iron butt rider, two days will put you in NS, A good two wks would run you through must of the maritimes if you're riding and not stopping much. Me i like to stop and meander around and chat with people. Chances are i know someone who knows someone that person knows
Oh, yeah, I could totally be in NF in 2 days. 19 hours to the Ingonish ferry is totally single shot doable, catch ferry, done. But I'd be alone as my wife has 0.0% interest in that kind of "stupidity", as she calls it lol. None of my riding friends would be into that either. The one and only riding buddy who would have jumped on that sort of thing was my friend who passed away in Australia a few months back.
Anyhow, it would probably be an RV trip vs a motorcycle trip as my wife wants to see NF as well, so then it turns into basically 3 days for the to and from segments, plus a slower pace on the island itself.
I was talking Newfoundland myself, not NS.
2 years ago when I last went out east on the bike I rode nonstop to a friends place in NB basically 20 minutes from NS - the next morning we got up and were on the Cabot inside a few hours.
But like I said in my last reply, I'd be solo as the wife isn't interested in that nonsense lol.
NF has what are arguably the most expensive rental car rates in North America , it’s not a choice of 10 brands , it’s 2 . But the ferry isnt free and taking three days to get there eats vacation. The roads are ok , and scenic if you like ponds lakes and rocks . St. John’s is a small city but a cool food vibe and every bar has a band or three . But it’s an 8hr drive to Cornerbrook, which you should see once , then ignore . GrosMorn park is everything they promise . Hotels are reasonable. Altho Canadian travel is expensive, I think everyone should see Canada if they can .
Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
I think it was around 2021 we last considered going to Newfoundland with the camper and I seem to remember the cost of the ferry to and from, assuming the short ferry over and the long fairy back with a cabin for the night, was somewhere around $1200.
It's certainly an expense, however on a 2-3 week trip the cost of bringing the camper to and from is easily recouped in savings from no hotels, no 3 meals a day eating out, etc. We also tend to boondock a lot so we don't even pay for campgrounds a lot of the time.
It's certainly an expense, however on a 2-3 week trip the cost of bringing the camper to and from is easily recouped in savings from no hotels, no 3 meals a day eating out, etc. We also tend to boondock a lot so we don't even pay for campgrounds a lot of the time.
Agree. I drove with a buddy to NF via ferry and 3 days disappeared just like that. The delays, time, and potential fires on the ferry were a pain.
Will not do again.
We did NL in 2022. Booked the ferry for 2020 & 2021but cancelled due to covid. Each time it got cheaper and the actual cost (ClassB rv short ferry, long ferry w/ berth) was just under $900. Spent 3 weeks on the rock and hit pretty much every corner.
Very easy to boondock. If you see a picnic table it's pretty much an invitation to spend the night.
Before you go check out this site - we hit a bunch of them
HiddenNewfoundland.ca
Hidden Newfoundland takes an informative look at a variety of lesser known attractions, curiosities and locations in Newfoundland
www.hiddennewfoundland.ca
cheekeebandito
Well-known member
I lived and rode a motorcycle in Colombia for 3.5 years ..... can confirm that , other than the weather , we have it very good here ..... Cheers , Les
Good to see you still poke your head in here once in a while.
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