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Future trip ideas
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I love researching places to travel or hearing tall tails from other travelers and figuring out the logistics of making a trip happen. It's a fun exercise for me to imagine the possibilities. Going forward, I'm using this page as a "short list" of trips I'd like to take. If anybody has suggestions for a kid friendly destinations, please send them along. Here are some thoughts: Cairo (Egypt) to Amman (Jordan) Revelstoke, BC (snowboard trip)
Fly in and out of Guayaquil (GYE) Ecuador and head to
the "poor man's Galapagos". The area has nice beaches, with easy boat access to
islands that are a part of the Manchilla National Park for wildlife viewing. Logistics: We would arrive in GYE at midnight, have to spend the night near the GYE airport, then pick up our rental car(s) the next morning and drive a couple of hours (3 - 4) to the coast. (2 days travel each way) The flight home leaves GYE at 12:30 am. 9 day rental car (1050 km limit) from the Guayaquil airport: $250 from Hertz Costs: $ - inexpensive, one of the joys of traveling in the "developing world" Health concerns: CDC info on Ecuador Fly into Lima (LIM) Peru, then on to Cusco to see the Incan archeological sights in the area. The obvious highlight would be Machu Picchu. Maps of the area Links
Logistics: We would arrive in LIM at midnight, have to spend the night near the LIM airport, take a flight to Cusco (on another carrier) early the next morning, spend a couple of days in Cusco acclimating (the town sits at 10,000 ft), then take a train up to Machu Picchu. (3 days travel each way - to and from Machu Picchu) The flight home leaves LIM at 1:30 am. No need to rent a car as public transportation (train) can get us where we want to go. Costs: $$$ - more expensive because of the LIM-CUS round trip flight on another carrier, as well as the mega international tourist destination (which means we would pay more for hotels, restaurants, guides, etc.). Health concerns: CDC info on Peru Fly in and out of Villahermosa (VSA) Mexico to see the Mayan ruin of Palenque as well as the sights of Chiapas. Map of the area: Chiapas - driving tour marked in red (5.5 mb .pdf file) Links Logistics: Three flight legs each way (ATL-MEX-VSA), which makes for a long day (land at 5:15 pm, leave at 7:45am). Rent a car, drive off into the Mexican sunset. 9 day rental car from the Villashermosa airport: $175 Costs: 1 and a half $'s - Things would cost a bit more (compared to Ecuador) because of the "high tourist season" and proximity to the U.S. Health concerns: Bring Kaopectate. Thought # 4 - Heart of the Maya Fly into Villahermosa and out of Guatemala City. Links
Getting from Palenque to Flores Getting to El Mirador from Flores Health concerns: CDC info on Guatemala See the iconic archeological sites in Cairo and Luxor along with some beach time along the red sea. (Two weeks) Logistics: Two flights each way (PDX-JFK-CAI), arriving in Cairo at 9 am and leaving at 11:30 am. Take local transportation to get around in country (train, bus, ferry, Egyptair). Maps Links
The thought would be to fly into Cairo, acclimate to the time zone for a couple of days (3), make our way to Luxor seeing the sights (3 days), then head out to the Red Sea for some beach time. We could take an over night train from Cairo to Luxor ($60 a head) or fly ID90 on Egyptair (less expensive). The same holds true for getting to the Dahab (on the Sinai Peninsula), which would involve an 5 hour bus ride to Hurghada, an over night stay, then a ferry ride to Sharm el-Sheikh followed by an hour and a half bus ride to Dahab (the Egyptair option would be to fly from Luxor to Sharn el-Sheikh). Depending on the kids interest level, there is a ton of ruins/museums to see in the Luxor area (meaning that we could spend more time there) as well as Nile river tours (anything from day to multi day trips). Health concerns: CDC info on Egypt See the iconic archeological sites in Petra along with Wadi Mujib Nature Reserve and Wadi Rum. (one hurried week) Logistics: Two flights each way (PDX-JFK-AMM), arriving in Amman at 10 am and leaving at 12 pm. Use local transportation to get around in country (bus). Maps Links
Health concerns: CDC info on Jordan Combine the Egypt and Jordan trips above, traveling between the Sinai and Jordan (Nuweiba Egypt - Aqaba Jordan). Three weeks. Some serious beach time in an idyllic location. One month minimum (to justify the travel time/9 hour time zone change). Logistics: Three flights each way from Cincinnati to Denpasar Bali, Indonesia (PDX-NRT-DPS). Two days travel time each way. Maps Links
Health concerns: CDC info on Indonesia There is one flight a week into and out of Roatan (RTB) on Saturdays. This might pose an issue getting home, as if we miss our standby flight, we are stuck (until the following Saturday). If we get bumped off of the flight in Roatan, we will need to get to the next closest airport, which is San Pedro Sula Honduras (SAP). One thought is to standby for the Roatan to Atlanta flight, and if we don't make it, then head to San Pedro Sula . The buddy pass contingent would be looking at a minimal fee ($5) to change their tickets. We would need to take a ferry from Roatan to La Ceiba ($25 - 1 1/2 hours), then take a bus to San Pedro Sula ($20 - 4 hours). We would probably get into San Pedro Sula late, find a hotel room, then leave relatively early the next morning to make the noon flight. High adventure! Maps
Links:
* The bugs are brutal (bring DEET), and anti malaria pills are
recommended (five different strains of malaria have been identified on
Roatan alone). Health concerns: CDC info on Honduras Thought # 10 - Revelstoke, BC (snowboard trip) The Revelstoke Mountain Resort has the most vertical drop in North America (5,620 ft). We could fly into Calgary, rent a car, then drive to the resort (4.5 hours from Calgary). Road trip next winter (2010)? Map: Links:
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