Redpoppy car service to / from airport is my fave! We do it often and it nets out not to bad relative for parking for long trips...so MM? Maybe? . Great add.
Post by RoxMonster on Mar 31, 2015 18:11:14 GMT -5
A semi-private wine tour in Napa.
There was just us and one other couple and our guide, who is also the owner of the company (it's just him and one other guy) was SO incredibly knowledgable. He asked us our preferences and built our itinerary from that. He was calling up vineyards as the day went on and he got to know us better, rearranging our schedule. He was able to get us in for private tastings at wineries that big tour companies could not go to.
It was a splurge and $400 (including gratuity) plus extra for tasting fees and the wine themselves compared to about $100 for a bigger company, but is was SO so worth it.
(FWIW, if anyone is heading to Napa and is interested, we used Max Napa Tours).
Helicopter tour in Kauai Dinner at Gary Danko in San Fransisco Dinner at Garde Mange in Montreal (really, it's the wine there) A silk comforter (stuffed with raw silk) in China. It's amazing-- warm in winter, not too hot in summer. thebulldog, you should get one!
Post by dragon's breath on Mar 31, 2015 22:54:34 GMT -5
My splurges have almost all been for experiences:
Gladiator School in Rome (where I had to try to catch my son in a net) Dog sledding, Leavenworth, WA Ceremony of the Keys, Tower of London (free, but you had to request tickets a few months in advance) A play in London (The 39 Steps)
My son loves theater, but he's not sure about seeing a play in a foreign language this summer. I'll keep working on him, maybe we can find one he's already pretty familiar with so he'd know what's going on.
Post by msamyfarrahfowler on Mar 31, 2015 23:54:21 GMT -5
Definitely the accommodations. Having a spacious, conveniently located hotel to come back to after a long day of activities just makes the whole trip better for me.
Since I love shopping and collecting specialty items I can't procure anywhere else, I also like to splurge on shopping excurisions. It's nice to look at a keepsake and have it remind me of my amazing trip.
I don't get off on fancy hotels, at all. Don't get me wrong, I love luxury, but if it came down to a $200 hotel or a $200 meal I'd go for the meal every time.
For me I think going to a lot of places more affordably trumps fewer places on luxury. So I guess my answer is "quantity", heh.
Not helpful, I know. I've recently realised my travel priorities lie in wildlife, culture and food/booze. If I can get an equal split in all 3 categories I'm a happy camper. So I'm more into balance than splurging on travel.
A weekend trip to Madrid to visit my best friend. Our trip to the Maldives. H's 30th birthday in New York where I surprised him with a stay at the Ritz and dinner at Eleven Madison Park & Marea. The whole safari trip that we did.
We're splurging in Paris next month. 3 3-star Michelin meals. Food is our thing.
My biggest splurge usually involves taking unpaid leave from work so that I can spend longer than 5-7 days somewhere when I travel. I did this even before I worked for myself, but the industry I was in was very big on sabbaticals and whatnot, so taking a month off during the down season wasn't career-killing or anything.
I think my biggest splurges have been the trips themselves. I'm not a big resort or fancy hotel room person, so it's been much more about the experiences and adventures. My favorite travel memories were not necessarily expensive--jumping off a boat at night into water filled with glow in the dark phosphorescence in Ha Long Bay with my husband on our honeymoon, riding on the roof of a bus through the jungle in Guatemala, canoeing up a river gorge in the NT, Australia to a totally deserted camping spot... Taking the time off to get there and spending money on the airfare was probably the biggest expense.
The private tour guide we hired when we visited St. Petersburg. Worth every penny to be a group of 5 getting taken to see all the major sites rather than a crowd of 50. In similar fashion, the private whale watching tour we took. Just our family and the captain in Juneau. We got so close to the whales and it was wonderful to really get time to speak to him and learn a lot about the area.
While we were on our honeymoon in Rome, that Icelandic volcano erupted and grounded European air traffic. We were supposed to spend a week in Rome then a week in Paris. Our flight to Paris was canceled, we couldn't get a train, and we couldn't rent a car. We couldn't get a room at the hotel we had been staying at, so we went looking for other hotels. The only hotel with a room was €350/ night. It was that or a 12-person room at a hostel. Given that it was our honeymoon, we chose the crazy expensive hotel.
We took a bath in the giant jacuzzi, put on the fluffy robes, ate the pillow mints, and enjoyed the hell out of that room for two days before we moved back to a hotel more within our budget.
We're splurging in Paris next month. 3 3-star Michelin meals. Food is our thing.
Any food splurges planned in London? I haven't tried anything fancy here yet.
No. We wanted to do the fat duck or whatever it is outside of London but it's closed. I sent you that list that my boss in London had given me. We're going to the place she said was the hot table in town and we have the chef's counter. I want to do an Indian restaurant. Heard Amaya was Indian tapas so I will look at that because I love anything that comes in a snack size.
We don't splurge that much on vacation. Most of our trips are 3-4 weeks long, so that in itself is a splurge.
A few that I can think of . . .
Hiring a private boat to take us from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang in Laos. Business class tickets to Bangkok (we used points, but we still splurged by using a lot more points to go business) Staying on a working sheep ranch in Patagonia
Post by daisypaloma on Apr 1, 2015 22:06:37 GMT -5
Small splurges, if any.
We always spring for Balcony whenever we go on a cruise.
Lately, I book the basic room, and when I check in, I always check to ask for a view. If they can not upgrade me for free, I always ask how much and if it's affordable, I'd spring for it then.
As of recently, we try to have a fancy dinner at least once.
Post by explorer2001 on Apr 1, 2015 23:06:04 GMT -5
Huge splurge at the time and completely life changing - I did a summer study abroad in college. I was a broke as a joke college student and I didn't work that summer (and even took a student loan to be able to go). But my best friend and I became best friends on that trip. I had homework assignments that included: seeing a Shakespearean play at the Globe, seeing Cyrano at the Royal National Theater, touring the Tower of London, the British Museum, the Museum of London, Westminster Abbey, Canterbury, Dover, Glendalough Ireland, a Bloomsday/James Joyce festival in Dublin, Edinburgh Castle, mutliple literary walking/pub tours, and so much more. While I was there I splurged on a few side trips one to Salisbury and Stonehenge, one to the West of Ireland, Newgrange and the Hill of Tara, and Loch Ness.
Huge splurge at the time and completely life changing - I did a summer study abroad in college. I was a broke as a joke college student and I didn't work that summer (and even took a student loan to be able to go).
Ha, this is not optional for my future hypothetical spawn.
THe biggest splurge so far was the train ride to "The Top of Europe" in Switzerland. It was $400-$600 for two (depends on which currency you were converting to). But it was so incredible to be at the top of the glacier. After we didn't plung to our deaths from the cog train failing (afraid of heights, this was a real fear)
My H had wanted to do the "walk for 45 minutes outside ON THE GLACIER to get to your restaurant" for dinner, but it was too windy so it was closed. One of the interior restaurants was just as wonderful.
Post by hurricanedrunk on Apr 2, 2015 6:04:45 GMT -5
Our whole trip to Italy was a splurge. Stayed in a little nicer places for location, didn't scrimp on food or experiences. Our one big purchase was a glass bowl from Murano. It's gorgerous and has our names on the bottom. It sits in our dining room table and reminds us of how awesome the trip was daily.
In Mexico we upgraded to the premium level for a room/view, free internet and access to the special lounge.
It wasn't a huge splurge, but one of the best things we have done. We hired a private driver to take us from Prague to Munich. He picked us up at our apartment in Prague, drove us to Cesky Krumlov where we saw the sites for a few hours, drove us to Munich and dropped us off at our hotel. There were 5 of us and was so much easier than carrying luggage etc through train stations, subways. We also got to see Cesky Krumlov, which we wouldn't have seen otherwise. It may have been about the same price as the train for 5 but so much more convenient.