Travel

Note: Previous version here. Some cities aren’t stroller friendly. For example, Rome (because of its cobbled streets) or Venice (because of narrow streets and staircased bridges). Still, it’s impractical to travel here without a stroller. Maybe get a light one. Some cities may not have enough train connections between them. (For e.g., Naples to Sorrento.) So, book trains early for those. If you expect warm weather, take shorts even if some random blogs cite culture reasons for not doing so.

Last time, in September 2023, we visited Kailua-Kona and Hilo, and its nearby places. We couldn’t go up north or south, so can do that. For stay, I might want to splurge and book some beach resort. I could also stay at some offbeat resort close to the ocean and away from touristy spots, such as something in Kalapana area.

Florence: Rent an ATV and revisit the sand dunes. Sea lion caves. State park? Tillamook: tour at the cheese factory?

Note: Next version here. If we visit a single country at a time, it becomes easier to optimize for and understand the public transportation situation. A 10 day trip plus ~2 days of travel sounds like a good idea. Train tickets: The official website to book train tickets is SNCF Connect in France and SBB in Switzerland. Another one, likely a travel agency, is Rail Europe. In at least one case, we found cheaper tickets here compared to SNCF. EU Rail passes can also be a good option. Tickets can be pretty expensive closer to travel time. Book at least 1-2 days earlier. Book hotels and apply for visas, both as early as possible. Helps getting good prices. It’s often cheaper to book directly with a hotel compared to going through websites like booking.com. This time, I didn’t plan much before arriving here and that wasn’t a great idea. I should’ve briefly checked online what activities are available in every city we visit, so that we could book the more popular once earlier. Search for 1, 3 etc. day (travel) passes. Can be cheaper sometimes. Also, check for country specific train or travel passes. Can be cheaper. Pack light: it helps a lot. Don’t cheap out on cellular data as it gets used up quickly. Google Maps eats a lot, so download offline maps through wifi. (For e.g., 6 GB is barely sufficient for a 20 day trip, assuming there is wifi in hotels.)

https://www.gobytram.com/ Powell’s Books and http://www.everydaymusic.com/ are close by.

Hikes Mailbox - difficult, so attempt when there isn’t snow. https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/transportation/metro/schedules-maps/trailhead-mailbox-peak.aspx North Cascades Hidden Lake Lookout - 8 mi. Alltrails. Perry Creek - 10.5 mi. Olympic Lena Lake - looks gorgeous for a summer hike - 7 mi. Google maps. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/colchuck-lake-trail - 8 miles. Lime Kiln Trail - 7 miles. Only one hour from Seattle. Cape Lookout - 5 miles - 4.5 hours drive from Seattle. Longer through US-101 but might be prettier. Good camping locations Moran State Park on San Juan Islands. (Has five freshwater lakes for swimming and non-motorized boating.) Spencer Spit State Park. Backpacking Enchantments. (It’s difficult.) Hoh River Trail. Jade Lake: ~26 miles over 3 days with elevation gain, which means a lot of hiking in addition to learning how to backpack. (Probably not that great for me.) Resources: ...

Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve: looks beautiful. Bluff trail (3.5 miles). Whidbey Island Bagel Factory: it was pretty good. There is one beach on each side of the ferry terminal - can visit those next time. Not do: Fort Casey’s: I’ve already been there twice, so try to find something else next time!

Hawaii. Calgary and the nearby national parks. Long trip to Europe. Other options London. A really long drive in US but probably do that right before leaving the country. Mexico.

Looks beautiful. Short drive away from Bangor airport. On east US, so far and probably expensive flights to Bangor. Weather should be good year round? Stay in Bar Harbor? Has a good downtown. Cadillac Mountain for sunrise- must do. Drive on Park Loop Road. Ferry to the most remote part of the park, Isle au Haut.

Nusa Dua for 5 star. Seminyak for cottages.