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Holiday destinations

Hardwrkr13 said:
When I was in Columbia I met a local girl who was getting married to a guy from the US the following week. They were the same age and met when they were working at a hostel in the area. She seemed pretty legit and gave us the honest truth about the area and suggested we not fall in love with the local girls.
I always chat with locals when I go to "scary" places and I've always been richer for it both in experience and food. That's not for everyone if you don't have the street smarts.
One thing I noticed in Columbia was that every lady dressed up and was in heels or something that would grab your attention no matter how poor the area was. Beeee caaarrrreeeffffuuulllll.
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This is the same everywhere. My buddy from Turkey was from a smaller town, he went to Istanbul with some friends. Saw some pretty girls, and went to a bar for a drink. 1 drink each (so 3 total) and the bill comes to 1,500EUR at the restaurant.

Some goons show up and basically say 'pay up or you don't walk out with your legs intact'. They made some calls and were able to get it down to 500EUR through some shady dudes calling in and vouching for them.

I had guys try to pull me into bars in downtown Istanbul also 'oh you're from Canada, do you know so and so!? Such a great country! Come have a drink with me and my friends.'
'No thanks'
'No no no, you must! I want to hear all about Toronto'
'No' and I walk away.

They followed me for 30min through the center of town, into malls, into stores, etc. I just turned around and went back to the hotel. Wasn't worth the risk.

Same story from another buddy in Moscow. Exact same MO.

The thing that got me in Turkey is when someone spoke to me in English, I pretended not to speak in English and shot to Polish. And then the guy fluently jumps to Polish also, after trying German, Italian and Russian. Clever guy.

Beware. Girls are trouble.
 
Problem with Colombia nowadays is it’s the new Thailand, lots of gringos looking for prostitutes, that sort of activity attracts danger.
 
It’s legal in Columbia , like many Latin American countries , and of course due to poverty , pretty much available anywhere . Places like Nicaragua and Gautamala have legalized the act , but procurement is illegal , but apparently not likely to be enforced .
Buddy is on TO vice squad , it was Asian imports after the Eastern European supply closed up. Now it’s Latin specials in Toronto, Mexico has several towns dedicated to “seasonal labour” .
Gringos on holiday used to go to Cuba a lot , then Cuba introduced very harsh sentences for hookers , poof , industry closed .
Very dark and sad side to tourism .


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mimico_polak said:
This is the same everywhere. My buddy from Turkey was from a smaller town, he went to Istanbul with some friends. Saw some pretty girls, and went to a bar for a drink. 1 drink each (so 3 total) and the bill comes to 1,500EUR at the restaurant.

Some goons show up and basically say 'pay up or you don't walk out with your legs intact'. They made some calls and were able to get it down to 500EUR through some shady dudes calling in and vouching for them.

I had guys try to pull me into bars in downtown Istanbul also 'oh you're from Canada, do you know so and so!? Such a great country! Come have a drink with me and my friends.'
'No thanks'
'No no no, you must! I want to hear all about Toronto'
'No' and I walk away.

They followed me for 30min through the center of town, into malls, into stores, etc. I just turned around and went back to the hotel. Wasn't worth the risk.

Same story from another buddy in Moscow. Exact same MO.

The thing that got me in Turkey is when someone spoke to me in English, I pretended not to speak in English and shot to Polish. And then the guy fluently jumps to Polish also, after trying German, Italian and Russian. Clever guy.

Beware. Girls are trouble.
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In Istanbul had 3 different guys ask me a question in english about where is so and so...I say I don't know. With their accent they tell me they are from an eastern European country, their first day there...want to go grab a beer? Nope. Also saw some vids of guys getting persuaded to go for a drink at a club...1 red bull? that'll be $300 (found out afterwords and were brought into a small room with big bouncers)
 
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Wild how hard I had to look for something actually healthy, great success
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Back to travel destinations. Could fly down to Cuba for an all inclusive week for about $750 each. Have heard that Cuba is really struggling. I believe there is even some travel advisory because of the situation. Friends at a resort there, right now, say that some mornings there is no coffee or eggs. They're pics show them with the resort almost to them selves. (that would feel creepy)

Not sure at this point whether a trip to Cuba is exploiting them at a bad time or helping to add a bit to the economy.

Thoughts?
 
timtune said:
Back to travel destinations. Could fly down to Cuba for an all inclusive week for about $750 each. Have heard that Cuba is really struggling. I believe there is even some travel advisory because of the situation. Friends at a resort there, right now, say that some mornings there is no coffee or eggs. They're pics show them with the resort almost to them selves. (that would feel creepy)

Not sure at this point whether a trip to Cuba is exploiting them at a bad time or helping to add a bit to the economy.

Thoughts?
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Cuba has always been a bit weird for supplies. I went to a beaches resort many years ago (supposedly just under Sandals quality) and things would run out or be replaced and the food quality wasn’t amazing to say the least.

They did have amazing beaches but the rest wasn’t fantastic. The Bay of Pigs and Havana are worth visiting though.
 
Cuba is the cheapest place in the Caribbean for a reason. If you want a beach , sunshine , rum and read a book you’re good . Food in Havana is very good now ( capitalism works) , resort food is always bland and very basic . A 5star in Cuba is a 3.5 anywhere else .


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jc100 said:
Cuba has always been a bit weird for supplies. I went to a beaches resort many years ago (supposedly just under Sandals quality) and things would run out or be replaced and the food quality wasn’t amazing to say the least.

They did have amazing beaches but the rest wasn’t fantastic. The Bay of Pigs and Havana are worth visiting though.
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Did Cuba a few years back and went to Havana. Not a foodie so at the time the food was fine.
 
timtune said:
Back to travel destinations. Could fly down to Cuba for an all inclusive week for about $750 each. Have heard that Cuba is really struggling. I believe there is even some travel advisory because of the situation. Friends at a resort there, right now, say that some mornings there is no coffee or eggs. They're pics show them with the resort almost to them selves. (that would feel creepy)

Not sure at this point whether a trip to Cuba is exploiting them at a bad time or helping to add a bit to the economy.

Thoughts?
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We’ve gone to Cuba yearly over the last 5 years, and the food the quality has gone done each year.

This year we’re going to Mexico because we’ve heard from friends and online that resorts have literally run out of food. They would get vouchers to go eat in restaurants outside of the resort. Which is great if you have restaurants nearby…sometimes it’s 1-2hrs to the closest resort.

We decided Mexico is a safer bet this year. Especially when Cuba was close to 4500$ for us, and we’re paying $5200 for Mexico.

Cuba pricing has gone through the roof, but their quality is going down unfortunately. But we love Cuba so hopefully will make it back.
 
mimico_polak said:
Cuba pricing has gone through the roof,
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I thought the floor. $750 each for a week of all inclusive with flights. (reflects the food shortage I would guess) A week at the Barcello in Mexico was going to be 6K for both of us.
 
mimico_polak said:
We’ve gone to Cuba yearly over the last 5 years, and the food the quality has gone done each year.

This year we’re going to Mexico because we’ve heard from friends and online that resorts have literally run out of food. They would get vouchers to go eat in restaurants outside of the resort. Which is great if you have restaurants nearby…sometimes it’s 1-2hrs to the closest resort.

We decided Mexico is a safer bet this year. Especially when Cuba was close to 4500$ for us, and we’re paying $5200 for Mexico.

Cuba pricing has gone through the roof, but their quality is going down unfortunately. But we love Cuba so hopefully will make it back.
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Food will be in a different universe. Pro tip though, avoid veggies and fruits, hot food is a safe bet, as all the bacteria has been likely killed.

And bottled water as well
 
timtune said:
Back to travel destinations. Could fly down to Cuba for an all inclusive week for about $750 each. Have heard that Cuba is really struggling. I believe there is even some travel advisory because of the situation. Friends at a resort there, right now, say that some mornings there is no coffee or eggs. They're pics show them with the resort almost to them selves. (that would feel creepy)

Not sure at this point whether a trip to Cuba is exploiting them at a bad time or helping to add a bit to the economy.

Thoughts?
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I’ve been (reluctantly) several times for dive and cheap business reward trips, I’d never go for a vacation. Last time was 2018.

Beaches, snorkelling, and non powered water activities are excellent.

It’s safe, you’re not likely to be mugged or hustled.

People are nice, but not as service oriented as other sun destinations.

My experience with food is lousy at best. I’ve heard there are some off resort SuCasas that are interesting and better, never been to one. Cubans are the only Caribbean’s that don’t have hot or spicy foods, in fact most of the meals I’ve had there use no spices, not even salt. Meat is pork and chicken, no beef, hamburgers are usually pork. Veggies are often canned goods

Booze is all house brand, the do have decent rums, vodka and beer

So, in a nutshell go for the sun and sand. Be prepared for friendly but not excellent service, and lousy food.
 
mimico_polak said:
Especially when Cuba was close to 4500$ for us
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Ouch. We've been on north of 20 cruises now and even when our kids were cruising with us long ago we never paid that much for a cruise.

The last few we've been on were under $2500 for the wife and I. The last one on Oasis of the Seas this past December was $1200 with about $400 in airfare and incidentals, still under $2000 all in.

Everytime I look at all inclusives and resorts etc etc, I'm reminded how good of a deal cruising is. And you're treated well, delectable food out the yingyang at every turn, and tons of stuff to do on the ship. That's before any of the ports themselves.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Ouch. We've been on north of 20 cruises now and even when our kids were cruising with us long ago we never paid that much for a cruise.

The last few we've been on were under $2500 for the wife and I. The last one on Oasis of the Seas this past December was $1200 with about $400 in airfare and incidentals, still under $2000 all in.

Everytime I look at all inclusives and resorts etc etc, I'm reminded how good of a deal cruising is. And you're treated well, delectable food out the yingyang at every turn, and tons of stuff to do on the ship. That's before any of the ports themselves.
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Last year we paid $2800 for the 5 of us. For that price I can forgive a lot!

But $4500 for Cuba V $5200 for Mexico is an easy decision.

Never been on a cruise or felt the urge of a cruise.
 
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