Favorite travel sites...

[Xabia Jim]

We love to travel and get perspectives that seeing different cultures brings.

We have had a lot of success with a few travel sites:

for some great travel deals we watch the travelzoo newsletter Travel Deals: Airfare, Vacations, Cruises, and More | Travelzoo

for last minute travel (weekends) we use the Last Minute Deals – Site59 Last Minute Travel Deals on Airfare, Vacation, Hotel, and Car Rental in New York, Dallas, and Other Destinations and can get pretty creative with different options

and we get the regular Frommer's Travel Guides: The Best Trips Start Here! newsletter which has given us some great ideas for traveling...like a barge trip on the erie canal!

If you know of interesting travel sites...please add your favorites.

[CanuckJim]

XJ,

It was almost accidental. A few years ago, I was driving north from Hilton Head Island to NYC. Decided to take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and hug the east coast of the bay (the slow route). There are some fascinating, very early, very well preserved towns down there: slate sidewalks, brick streets, buildings, many of them 18th century. Worth a leisurely drive sometime.

Jim

[CanuckJim]

XJ,

And another, closer to where you are. County Antrim, on the far northern tip of Ireland, is absolutely stunning. Small towns like Ballymoney along the coast host amateur Irish music nights all along the coast. There's even a printed schedule. Don't take amateur as a slight, the music is really fine (beer's not bad either). Go to Bushmills, the site of the oldest operating distillery in Europe. Go to the Giants' Causeway, where mythical battles transpired. Go to Rathlin Island (volcanic) to see millions of sea birds roosting, then look north to see the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland, some fifteen miles across the sea. Late spring/early summer would be best, both for weather and Irish lamb and salmon.

There are some purpose-built B&Bs there that are really quite fine. I could supply addresses.

Politically, the county is a bit odd (it's Ian Paisley's riding), but physically it's tremenjous.

Then, of course, there's the Alhambra, but you already know about that.

Jim

[gjbingham]

Prague, Prague, Prague, (then the Greek Islands)
If you never go anywhere else............

[Xabia Jim]

George, we've been thinking about the Greek Islands sometime....what do you suggest?

And I guess I need to put Prague on the bucket list eh?

[gjbingham]

That Prague, Budapest, Vienna trip I did for 10 days was absolutely incredible. I rode the train in a big circle from Vienna to the other two. Well worth seeing the countrysides inbetween the cities.

Greece - Athens is a must do if you like Greek ruins. It's been many years since I went there. It was the among the least expesnive of the European contries I visited. Santorini - I did with the ex-wife, as a top recommendation by a Greek dentist I worked with in Sicily. Minoan (sp?) ruins, great seafood and local cuisine. This is the island where they filmed Summer Lovers. Incredible white buildings/churches against a deep blue (in summer) sea. Fantastic!

Crete - More awesome seafood, very country lifestyle. Many old men still riding goats around herding sheep. German tourists everywhere. I never even came close to the famous ruins in Crete. Sad. It was a working trip.

If you haven't been to Budapest, that's another great trip. Inishta may have better recommendations for Turkey.