Holidays

vincent said:
Can anyone recommend somewhere in Turkey that is suitable for families (with two girls - 15 years old) Don’t want somewhere too full on but does have family type of nightlife/atmosphere. I have never been to Turkey but heard so many good things about the country I may give it a try. Thanks.
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Another vote for oludeniz
 
Blue Til Death said:
Anyone been to Castelldefels, just outside Barcelona? I’m off there next week but had nowt to do with booking it, can’t say I’m inspired after looking online at the bars etc, like one does ..
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If you're not hiring a car you can still get the train either into Barcelona or down the coast. If you're gay then Sitges is perfect. If you're pretending not to be then Sitges is perfect. If you aren't, then it's still fine - there are certain beaches and bars that are full blown Canal Street and others that are just your usual beach/family areas. Happened upon it last year by accident (yeah right) and there's lots going on and some lovely men buildings. I'd train into Barca for an evening though.
 
supercity88 said:
If you're not hiring a car you can still get the train either into Barcelona or down the coast. If you're gay then Sitges is perfect. If you're pretending not to be then Sitges is perfect. If you aren't, then it's still fine - there are certain beaches and bars that are full blown Canal Street and others that are just your usual beach/family areas. Happened upon it last year by accident (yeah right) and there's lots going on and some lovely men buildings. I'd train into Barca for an evening though.
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Ha ha such a detailed, nuanced reply ;-)
I’ve done Barcelona about 15 times so won’t be going there .. I will however introduce Mrs Death to Stiges at some point, if it’s anything like Canal Street it will be a great laugh ..
 
Bluesince1979 said:
Ill check that rick stein episode out.
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Just checked back and it's the Venice to Istanbul series (all of which is great) but episode 4 he is in Northern Greece and episode 5 he travels down the Peloponnese. It's definitely on our hit list. might even dig out the DVD this weekend as we've got a few days not booked up in October.
 
Anyone have a good idea what the weather would be like on the Algarve early November ?
 
DTKOAG said:
Anyone have a good idea what the weather would be like on the Algarve early November ?
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We have been last week October twice and it’s been 22/23 ish and mostly Sunny with the odd cloudy day. Someone I know went in December and it was around 18/19 so I would imagine it will be somewhere between those parameters.

You can check historic weather days on


Need a jacket for the evenings but we were still eating outside on most nights.

These were pics from the last one we went on 3 years ago so around 27/28 Oct.



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Just a word of warning for those travelling to EU countries in the coming weeks and months. (Sorry if it has already been posted).

If heading to an EU country from 12th October 2025, the new EES system is being rolled out. Some countries (such as the Czech Republic) will be implementing it straight away from the 12th October, others might take a bit longer over its implementation but in all cases it has to be in place by 10th April 2026 at the latest.

As it will affect all non-EU passport holders, you might want to check the expected date of implementation for any EU countries that you are travelling to. It's likely to cause chaos and longer queues, at least initially.

Another wonderful Brexit benefit.

EES / ETIAS - European Union

travel-europe.europa.eu travel-europe.europa.eu
 
supercity88 said:
If you're not hiring a car you can still get the train either into Barcelona or down the coast. If you're gay then Sitges is perfect. If you're pretending not to be then Sitges is perfect. If you aren't, then it's still fine - there are certain beaches and bars that are full blown Canal Street and others that are just your usual beach/family areas. Happened upon it last year by accident (yeah right) and there's lots going on and some lovely men buildings. I'd train into Barca for an evening though.
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Totally though full blown was going somewhere else there.
 
Trying to do a 10 day tour of China in a couple of weeks.
3 days Beijing ,Great Wall, Tianaman square , Forbidden Palace
2 days Xi'an Terracotta army
2 Days Cheng du Panda sanctuary , this one for the Mrs
3 days Shanghai , then fly out Taipei for 3 nights.
Any pointers and advice much appreciated
Already got a VPN and Alipay
any recommendations on an E.sim.
 
PragueBlue said:
Just a word of warning for those travelling to EU countries in the coming weeks and months. (Sorry if it has already been posted).

If heading to an EU country from 12th October 2025, the new EES system is being rolled out. Some countries (such as the Czech Republic) will be implementing it straight away from the 12th October, others might take a bit longer over its implementation but in all cases it has to be in place by 10th April 2026 at the latest.

As it will affect all non-EU passport holders, you might want to check the expected date of implementation for any EU countries that you are travelling to. It's likely to cause chaos and longer queues, at least initially.

Another wonderful Brexit benefit.

EES / ETIAS - European Union

travel-europe.europa.eu travel-europe.europa.eu
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Got four holidays to the EU/Switzerland before the end of the year, starting with flying in to Charles de Gaulle on Thursday.

Looks easy enough from what they showed on BBC Breakfast this morning but no doubt it will cause a few queues.
 
Off to New York soon, do I need to take dollars, or can I just use my bank debit card to withdraw cash from atm’s whilst I’m there?
 
RobMCFC said:
Got four holidays to the EU before the end of the year, starting with flying in to Charles de Gaulle on Thursday.

Looks easy enough from what they showed on BBC Breakfast this morning but no doubt it will cause a few queues.
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My son and his family are flying in on Sunday to visit us. Unfortunately, this is the first day of operation of the new system so it could be a bit chaotic.

His situation is made a little more complex as he and his kids are UK passport holders, while his partner is a Portuguese national and has an EU passport. I'm not sure how they'll handle that.

It will be interesting to see how it goes. Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.
 
hampshireblue said:
Just make sure your bank doesn't charge for usage abroad or for using an ATM. I have a Halifax Clarity card which has no charges for using abroad.
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reality is however you do it, dodge this, dodge that, dodge the other, financial institutions make money on currency exchanges - accept this and just take the easiest route for you. Generally I have a a few hundred dollars or euros to hand almost all the time but equally I'll pay for stuff on cards when I need to. You can't win, and the effort in squeezing out a few quid in savings is not worth MY time.
 
cpa said:
Trying to do a 10 day tour of China in a couple of weeks.
3 days Beijing ,Great Wall, Tianaman square , Forbidden Palace
2 days Xi'an Terracotta army
2 Days Cheng du Panda sanctuary , this one for the Mrs
3 days Shanghai , then fly out Taipei for 3 nights.
Any pointers and advice much appreciated
Already got a VPN and Alipay
any recommendations on an E.sim.
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Had 24 hours in Chengdu on the way back from my honeymoon (Japan/Korea) earlier in the year.

Had sorted Ali pay so I could pay for things in shops and restaurants etc with my QR code. Esim wouldn't work so couldn't connect other than hotel WiFi. Main issue was I couldn't pay for taxi with Alipay as I wasn't connected to internet so meant we had to go get cash instead. Obviously none of the apps we normally use would work. Navigation a bit tricky too.

Panda sanctuary is absolutely huge - more of a public park with some areas of it with panda enclosures. Definitely worth paying for the golf buggy wristband that allows you to hop on and off.

I would recommend the beef brisket noodles available in most places, which I had for every meal including breakfast. It's a very modern and affordable place though. Can be quite spicy but even the not spicy version tends to have Sichuan peppercorns which gives you a numbing sensation.

People were very friendly, and I would like to go to some of the other places your visiting some time. Have a great time.
 
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RobMCFC said:
Got four holidays to the EU/Switzerland before the end of the year, starting with flying in to Charles de Gaulle on Thursday.

Looks easy enough from what they showed on BBC Breakfast this morning but no doubt it will cause a few queues.
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Unfortunately simple things tend to confuse some people.

Travelling involves lots of these simple things yet somehow they cause chaos.
 
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