Officially booked 7 nights on the Cook Islands (Rarotonga) and were contemplating 5 or 6 nights in New Zealand for the honeymoon. Anyone have experience traveling in either of these places? Anything we should make sure to do or avoid?
I spent a few days on the south island in Queenstown back in 2007. Great snow skiing, hiking, etc type activities there and it's NZ wine country. Additionally, there are Lord of the Rings tours you can take if you have an interest in seeing locations where the movies were filmed.
Are there any backcountry campers/hikers on here? I'm planning a trip with a buddy for next spring or summer and we want to do a big national park. We want to do 3-5 days of hiking and camping. And I don't even know where to begin as far as picking a place. Does anyone have any particular parks or places they love? National parks aren't even totally necessary. But the more I read, the more places I learn about and the harder the decision gets.
It probably won't come as a surprise but I suggest you take a look at Voyageurs National Park/Superior National Forest and the Superior Hiking Trail in Minnesota. Voyageurs may be known more for the canoeing and fishing but there's miles and miles of hiking trails that wind through the wilderness from lake to lake, and the Superior trail is almost 300 miles long and closely follows the North Shore of Lake Superior too.
This past year I spent 9 days in and around Banff and Jasper, which was pretty spectacular. Highly recommended. The views are stunning, the density of trails is almost ridiculous, and the lakes are a variety of surreal colors. Within the US, my favorite park is probably Olympic National Park in Washington. It's got an absolutely amazing diversity of terrains, including one of the only temperate rainforests in the world. It's a really special place.
The only thing that sucks with Jasper/Banff are the insane amount of tourists that crowd the place right near the cities. We're talking huge numbers of rental cars and non-English speaking visitors. Mind you, a 20 minute drive in any direction has you in the heart of the wilderness.
Yeah, good point. I'd actually advise anyone doing Banff National Park to skip the entire town of Banff. It's a tourist hell-hole. We stopped there to grab lunch at a brewery and it was absolutely miserable - the sidewalks were crammed to overflowing with people wandering around with their eyes anywhere but in front of them, the streets are stop-and-go with confused drivers, and a lot of the prices are shockingly high. The town of Jasper was still crowded but was at least manageable and you could find reasonably priced meals and grocery stores that didn't charge $3 for a banana. I really didn't mind the Jasper downtown as long as you're not in a hurry. When we went, while we were in Banff we stayed in the town of Lake Louise, and when we were in Jasper we stayed on the outskirts of town.
I go on 2-3 backcountry camping trips a year. I live in Calgary, AB which is just outside of Banff National Park. As others have mentioned above Banff/Jasper national parks are pretty fantastic. Some really notable backcountry locations around here are: Mt Assiniboine - Canada's Matterhorn - I'm itching to go here. The skoki lodge area is supposed to be pretty awesome. Just outside of the Lake Louise ski area. I've only day hiked up to Ptarmigan Lake/Deception Pass. I highly recommend hiking the Rockwall in Kootenay National Park. It's 55ish km's (35ish miles) over 4 nights (you can do it in 3 if you boot it). You're in the high alpine for most of it, hiking beside glaciers and a 1000ft high limestone cliff. It was awesome. The twin falls/emerald lake area is also pretty fantastic. Great place for having a base camp and day hiking. Lake Minnewanka isn't too bad. Not super demanding hiking and snow free pretty early. Lake O'Hara is supposed to be amazing as well. Book early as the camp sites usually fill up on opening day. Great area for having a base camp and day hiking. Also the route up to Abbot pass if you want to stay at the hut. Check Alpine Club of Canada. Waterton/Glacier National Park on the US/Canada border has some really nice trails as well. I think this year I'll be doing Assiniboine, or Egypt Lakes, and Twin Lakes or Skoki. I don't know if you do this or not, but dehydrate your own food. It tastes miles better and it's not loaded full of salt.
Wow. Thank you for all that. Looks like I might expand the search into Canada. I wasn't originally intending to cross the border but if it just that spectacular, I will have to consider it.
I'm sitting beside my best friend, who spent several years living in Watertown National Park in Alberta. Less tourists and more wildlife. She is raving about it for the type of activities you're looking for. Specifically, the Crypt Lake hike, which is apparently quite challenging (or, to me, NEVER IN THIS LIFETIME WILL I CRAWL ACROSS THAT DEADLY MOUNTAIN LEDGE). In 2013, National Geographic rated this hike one of the 20 most thrilling trails in the world. Give it a Google and if you want more firsthand info, I could put you two in touch.
This is the view from the Alpine Club of Canada hostel in Canmore. Something like $40 to stay here. You can hike to (or from) Banff in a day. Hostelling International runs a series of hostels/huts up and down the highway from Canmore to Lake Louise. Some of them are in conjunction with the Alpine Club of Canada. The spacing is a bit wonky, though - they're kind of ideal for cycle touring, and they're either spaced too far apart to hike between, or there aren't much in the way of decent hiking paths between them. But you can definitely check them out as they're going to be off the tourist path and they're often quite, er, rustic.
Going to Fiji in July for two weeks with the missus. Any tips? Where to go/stay? What to check out? Any guidance is appreciated
So i really wanted to see an NFL game while we were in the US but i have checked the schedules released recently and somehow we have managed to just miss games in every fucking city we stop in (certain dates are already locked in so i cant reshuffle enough to get to one)... I've heard College games can be just as good or even better (in terms of atmosphere) and while I realize this will be a highly subjective answer for many people, are there any suggestions for good College games we could go to? The stretch between New Orleans and DC is probably our best bet to catch a game as our itinerary is pretty open for this leg (Charleston and Savannah are our only things locked in thus far) and we have a car (Dates are Dec 17th - 24th) . Any good websites for the schedules of college games people could point me to?
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/schedules is a good one. But, if your dates are Dec 17 - 24, you're fucked. There aren't any good college games during that time. There might be a pre-Christmas bowl game, but you won't know the teams yet, and it'll probably suck. But, if you were here the latter part of November, you'd be golden. Any rivalry game in the SEC would be fantastic. (Auburn - Alabama, especially.)
Any seasoned Vegas travelers out there? My friend and I are headed to Vegas May 1-3 for the first time and was hoping to get some recommendations on places to eat (particularly sushi) and any must-see shows. We're not big gamblers so the casinos don't appeal to us too much but we would like to catch a show on Friday night and then possibly hike Red Rock Canyon on Saturday. We're staying at Circus Circus, so we'll be within walking distance of the strip but I'm especially curious to see if anyone has any tips on a good spot to catch the Mayweather–Pacquiao fight on Saturday night.
You're traveling from DC to NYC after Christmas. Washington plays at Philadelphia on the 26th. I know I earlier suggested flying to NYC from DC instead of taking the train, but if you haven't locked into a flight, that's a reason to take the train or drive. Its a rivalry game, so it should have a good game atmosphere and worth a stop in Philly. As far as college games, your time between CA and Texas will be your best bet for a college game. More than likely Texas will have the most options, be sure to check Oklahoma teams as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are closer to Dallas than Texas Tech. Otherwise, as Rush said; after the first weekend of December, the college season is over except for pre-Christmas bowls and more than likely any of those will leave you disappointed as far as a true college game experience.
So I'm going to be spending a week in California in June, flying in and out of LA. I'd like to see San Francisco and maybe get out to a winery. I know that SF and LA aren't exactly close. Any advice on the best way to travel around (bus, train, etc.) or things to do?