SarChar:

We are going Taiwan 16days Slow & Steady F&E......I bring my parents for holidays every other yr. This yr they wish to go Taiwan.


I did pre-book all my Minsu and Hotels because there are places we like to be for our kids and I dont want to stress my parents :rotflmao:

SarChar:

Dnls_mum:

you must book 180 days in advance or at least 120 days. Any later, you may not be able to get decent dining times at the popular places. Some ultra popular restaurants are gone within days or weeks of release for bookings. Many first time visitors are unaware and could end up disappointed. This is esp important if you are going to be 3 families and will be a big group :sad:

you are making me very nervous! :faint: n super excited! :boogie:
I will do some research on my own and then call on you to give me some tips next year :evil:

Dnls_mum:

SarChar:

[quote=\"Dnls_mum\"]


you must book 180 days in advance or at least 120 days. Any later, you may not be able to get decent dining times at the popular places. Some ultra popular restaurants are gone within days or weeks of release for bookings. Many first time visitors are unaware and could end up disappointed. This is esp important if you are going to be 3 families and will be a big group :sad:

thebusybee:

bebebub:

[quote=\"try\"]slow down and smell the flowers - agree! But just have the nagging fear that there are no accommodation if I didn't book in advance or charged at exorbitant fees if just turn up at the hotel!

Can be a concern if u r traveling with young kids. Do some research n see if the period u r visiting is peak season not, and take it from there. Of course it helps if u r not overly particular about the accommodation standard. For me, I'm alright as long as the place is safe n clean. No need for unnecessary amenities or services. Can compromise abit on location (no need to be in city area) if you hv a car.

Once, in Tasmania, we were stuck with no suitable accommodation. We ended up staying on a mountain ranch. We had a great time there, n were literally 'smelling the roses'

bebebub:

try:

slow down and smell the flowers - agree! But just have the nagging fear that there are no accommodation if I didn't book in advance or charged at exorbitant fees if just turn up at the hotel!

Can be a concern if u r traveling with young kids. Do some research n see if the period u r visiting is peak season not, and take it from there. Of course it helps if u r not overly particular about the accommodation standard. For me, I'm alright as long as the place is safe n clean. No need for unnecessary amenities or services. Can compromise abit on location (no need to be in city area) if you hv a car.

Once, in Tasmania, we were stuck with no suitable accommodation. We ended up staying on a mountain ranch. We had a great time there, n were literally 'smelling the roses'

SarChar:

Dnls_mum:

[I am the opp, the KS type :rotflmao: . Always book early because I scared :nailbite: I don't get the popular accommodation I want if I book late. I always think people who don't book accommodation b4 hand are very brave.....what happen if cannot find a decent place to sleep and got kids around somehow. :yikes: So I very pei fu people like u, SarChar! :udawoman:

Heehee Mdm Dnls_mum.....I more pei fu you hor! I saw your comments everywhere in Florida/Orlando discussion. You are very well-travelled. We are now planning 20 days Orlando trip with 2 other familes in 2014.

try:

slow down and smell the flowers - agree! But just have the nagging fear that there are no accommodation if I didn't book in advance or charged at exorbitant fees if just turn up at the hotel!

try:

slow down and smell the flowers - agree! But just have the nagging fear that there are no accommodation if I didn't book in advance or charged at exorbitant fees if just turn up at the hotel!

bebebub:

SarChar:

We usually book the first 2 nites of accommodation and decide along the way for the subsequent nites. Exceptions are when we visit resorts or small city countries like HK. But ski resorts during ski season must be pre-booked to avoid disappointment.

For some families, pre-book everything prior to arrival is preferred. They feel 'safe'. Just different style of travelling.

Dnls_mum:

[I am the opp, the KS type :rotflmao: . Always book early because I scared :nailbite: I don't get the popular accommodation I want if I book late. I always think people who don't book accommodation b4 hand are very brave.....what happen if cannot find a decent place to sleep and got kids around somehow. :yikes: So I very pei fu people like u, SarChar! :udawoman:

SarChar:

Actually sometimes we didnt book accom before we went for our holidays was usually because we werent sure how many days we would like to stay at each place. DH said we must slow down to smell the flowers along the way....

SarChar:

try:

Like to know if anyone of you has any problems getting hotel accommodation at cheap or reasonable rates if flight is booked last minute - like one day to less than 2 weeks before leaving to Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand or Europe?

If it is a self-drive trip and not super peak season, it is still possible to get reasonable priced accom as you travel to these places. We had done it for New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, England.

But bear in mind - booking early sometimes will have better rates such as early bird rates with free breakfast etc.

Actually sometimes we didnt book accom before we went for our holidays was usually because we werent sure how many days we would like to stay at each place. DH said we must slow down to smell the flowers along the way....

SarChar:

If your kid is Harry Potter fan, you can plan Scotland/England.... We went for 18 days in June 2009. DD2 was almost 3 and DD1 in pri1.

We did the Harry Potter ride on Jacobite Steam Train in Fort William, Scotland. This is the train you see in the same movie and we also visited Alnwick Castle. This castle is the one where Harry learned to fly on his magic broom and where Ron crashed his flying car.

The highlight was actually Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park in Scotland. If you reads love novels, Northumberland is the place for you. There is this place called Farne Island (bird watching) and Holy Island that you must visit.

We got lost many times as DH refused to use expressways. He drove us through small roads, through little Scottish towns where farmers still use Horse Carriages, wild flowers and we counted wild hares till DD2 begged us to stop!

We stayed in B&B along the way and at some places, we got really good deals.

We didnt plan in advance where/how to go about this trip. We only decided to fly into Glasgow because the air ticket was on sales at $ 680 only compared with the usual $ 1400-1500 on Emirates. So we bought the tickets on a Thursday and flew out the following Friday nite!

Scotland/England is truly a very nice place to visit. If the air ticket prices are affordable again, I dont mind go there again!

auntieM:

I am looking for some tips for Bhutan.. ...

peapot:

Not sure if I can say the resort name here. But a hint it start with A and ends with A.

I wouldn't go there for sure.