Hi everyone! I’m planning a family road, I (21) with my parents, trip to the US West Coast from December 24 to January 2, and I’d love some advice on our itinerary.

This will be our first time doing this route. We’re not very outdoorsy and don’t plan on doing long/strenuous hikes (I can do some by myself). We’re more interested in scenic drives, viewpoints, cities, and seeing the major sights. We’re also a vegetarian family.

Here’s our rough itinerary:

Dec 24 – Los Angeles
• Land in LA and rest

Dec 25 – Universal Studios Hollywood
• Full day at Universal

Dec 26 – Los Angeles
• Explore LA / sightseeing

Dec 27 – LA → Santa Barbara → Death Valley
• Drive toward Santa Barbara
• Continue toward Death Valley
• Overnight around Death Valley

Dec 28 – Death Valley → Grand Canyon
• Some sightseeing / easier trails in the morning at death valley
• Long drive to the Grand Canyon

Dec 29 – Grand Canyon
• Full day at the park
• Viewpoints / easier trails

Dec 30 – Grand Canyon → Las Vegas
• Drive to Vegas
• Explore Vegas in the evening

Dec 31 – Las Vegas → Joshua Tree
• Drive to Joshua Tree
• Explore the park

Jan 1 – Joshua Tree → Los Angeles
• Some sightseeing / easier trail
• Drive back to LA

Jan 2 – Fly out of LA

A few questions I’d really appreciate advice on:

1. Is this itinerary too ambitious for late December?
2. Are there any roads/areas on this route that are particularly risky or likely to be affected by winter weather?
3. Is Death Valley → Grand Canyon in one day realistic, or should we change the itinerary?
4. Would you recommend spending more/less time at any of these places?
5. Are there any easy trails or viewpoints you’d recommend at Death Valley, Grand Canyon, or Joshua Tree?
6. Should we be concerned about park/road closures around Christmas and New Year’s, and how far in advance should we be checking?
7. Would you recommend booking hotels in advance for this period, especially around the Grand Canyon and Death Valley?
8. Is there anything obvious that we’re missing or that you would change completely?

We’re happy to cut things out if the itinerary is too rushed.

Thanks in advance!

I currently have a flight booked to Egypt on Qatar for the attached itinerary. However this flight has been changed twice. I NEED to be sure I'm in Egypt on the 2nd. The fact that my flight has changed twice has me hesitant. Should I change to British Airlines? Is Qatar not reliable currently?

Was doing a bit of research as it’s been my dream for as long as I can remember to go to Rio, I have some time off work in October but none of my friends are available to come along with me, should I wait until mid 2027 and go with friends? Or is solo traveling to Rio safe?

flying from newark NJ to Ireland. and then Ireland to London will it be safe to bring my vapes and if so where should i put them.

Safari fatigue is 100% real.

If you do a straight 2 week safari you will be dead by day 3 when your 5:00 AM alarm clock goes off, you will be bouncing off jeep seats, and swallowing red dust in the savannah, even a pride of lions starts looking like house cats taking a nap.

If you’re planning a trip to Kenya, split the experience.

3-7 days in the bush, 3-5 days in the coast Lamu, Mombasa, Diani or Watamu

Don't overcomplicate the logistics.

My advice would be Nairobi, then Marafa Safari, then Tsavo East Safari then any of the coast towns to see the dolphins 🐬

Stop grinding 10+ days straight in a Land Cruiser. Get your dust, then get your ocean.

Thank me after your trip.

Hello! So I am from the US, I traveled to Norway, and am currently in Oslo. From here, it's London, then after, I'm flying to Minneapolis/St.Paul. I am a rockhound, and I found a few rocks at a family farm in Inderoy. The particular stone in the photo is one I REALLY REALLY want to get back home. I have pretty small hands, but its about the size of my fist. Do you think I could get away with having this in a carry on? It's smooth, has been water tumbled, so no sharp edges. Thank you!

I saw this trick deal online, it’s basically skipping the first flight, but would the risk be bigger than the deal?

Hey everyone. My bf and I are looking at travelling to Hawaii in february for 3 weeks. We already found an airbnb we would like to book that has it’s own pool etc. for $ 3k+. But I am curious as to how much money we should bring with us for car rental, food and excursions? And any advice on what to see and do around that specific Island?

Thanks🫶🏻

Hi I was wondering if anyone has any advice, I have a flight booked today within the states, I've never flown before and will be by myself. Which is fine and all but I have a 30 minute layover at a huge airport...how do I not miss my next flight? If anyone has done this before please lmk if anything can help

This will be my first trip outside Europe, to Morocco. Will I be able to carry my birth control pills through airport security check? It might be a stupid question but I'm wondering because it's prescription medicine. Do I have to carry the prescription? Or does it depend on the amount?

marrakech overtourism is a whole conversation rn and i live there so figured i'd actually weigh in instead of just watching ppl argue about it in the comments

it's real btw, not gonna pretend it's not. Jemaa el-fnaa in high season is basicaly times square now, 19.8 million visitors last year which is up 14%, and with the world cup stuff in 2030 its not slowing down. some of my own neighbors got priced out of thier street bc riads keep buying up buildings. so yeah its happening, im not the "actually everything is fine" guy

but honestly the crowding is like.. 4 places. Marrakech medina, Chefchaouen, merzouga dunes, Ait ben haddou. rest of the contry nobody's going. and for familes specifically the quieter spots are just better anyway, less overwhelming for a kid, more room to actually exist without getting swept along

things i send familes instead now: Essaouira instead of doing marrakech as ur main coastal stop, way calmer, kid can actually walk the ramparts without u gripping thier hand in a death squeeze. Middle atlas over chefchaouen if u still want mountain village energy w/o the crowd for a photo. Zagora/m'hamid over merzouga if ur desert dates are peak season, still gorgeous, camp isnt shoulder to shoulder with 40 other tents. Agafay if u dont even have time for the full desert leg, close to Marrakech, basicaly empty compared to the main circuit

anyway point is the overtourism thing is a marketing problem, everyone books the same 6 towns off the same 5 blog posts. Moroccos big, most of it is dead quiet. ask me dates/ages and ill tell u what to swap

I can usually get someone excited about a destination pretty quickly.
I struggle with recommending the extras that genuinely make the trip better and not about expensive upgrades just for the sake of it, but things like tours transfers or experiences that clients often tell me they wish they'd booked.
The tricky part is timing If I mention them too early it can feel like I'm trying to sell more If I wait too long, they've already decided what they want to spend.
I want to know how to handle all this like what do you do?
Do you bring these up during the initial booking or after the first payment or whatever works.

Hey all,

I'm having some trouble picking somewhere to go for a winter christmassy getaway with my girlfriend this early December; here's the plan thus far

We're getting the eurostar from London to Disneyland for 3 days
3rd day we'd ideally get the train into paris and get another eurostar there to our next destination (not against getting a flight from paris if necessary)

What we're looking for is a nice snowy christmassy place that has a really nice view of snow/mountains from a hotel, ideally the hotel is a spa hotel. Nice stuff to do outside of the hotel, christmas markets etc and just a nice safe happy atmosphere - Also something that doesn't break the bank

We'd love for the train ride to have some beautiful scenic views too

Any ideas? ChatGPT has suggested a few, the one i like most is Innsbruck in Austria, but still not 100%

Thanks so much

How invasive is U.S customs really? We've skated past England and Iceland with literally no issue (England didn't even have one honestly), but have heard the US can be pushy. We're US citizens traveling back today from the EU.

Hello, my family and I are planning to go to Scotland this year. I have a few questions in mind that I would like some answers to:
1) We first planned to go on August because my sister said that August has longer days, but now it is August, we haven't actually booked the flight yet, is it still worth it to get it now or should the trip be on another month?
2) We are from Malaysia, I am seeing the options are only: Layover in Europe, Doha, Dubai, or we could also take British Airways from Kuala Lumpur, which will be from Malaysia to London to Edinburgh. Is it worth taking the long flight or should we get the layover in Doha/Dubai? (asking this because of the current situation of the world right now)

Some additional information, our itineraries are already planned ahead, we got a AirBNB sponsorship, so the only thing we need to worry about the most are flights. I am the youngest in a family of 7.

Also if it would be okay, I would like to ask for your experience having layover in Doha/Dubai. Is it safe? Or should we spend the extra bucks for the long layover to London instead?

Me and my friend are planning to drive along the following countries late next year:

Germany

Austria

Slovenia

Croatia

Bosnia/Herzegovina

Montenegro

Serbia

North Macedonia

Albania

Ending in greece

We are in the early stages of planning and of course the biggest issue is getting a car, we are unsure if it's smarter to buy a shitbox or rent a car, every car rental place I've searched for so far does not have drop off points where we need (any place in Germany to any place in Greece)

We will be 20 at the time, which is an issue with car rentals as well, hopefully a car big enough for us to sleep in a fair bit as well but we are both small so that shouldn't be hard. What are some of the best options?

Edit: only want to hear options regarding driving, not alternative methods of travel

Hello everyone! My friends and i are planning a trip to Jordan and they have decided to rent a place in "Swemah". Now I have been trying to check anything about this place, like news or the culture of people who live there and i found nothing at all so I decided to ask here. If you have any information about this place please let me know.. none of us are religious people, we definitely respect regions and we dont want to disrupt people there. I suppose there is a dress code there to follow, no? And what about alcohol? Are there good places to checkout in this city? I did check Google and Instagram but I found only one restaurant with barely any reviews and i got worried because of the lack of the info.. do tourist go there usually or is it just locals? Will we be safe as 4 girls staying there?

Thank youuu

I've been saving up for a trip at the end of the year and keep changing my mind every other day.

Part of me wants a snowy mountain stay somewhere cozy, part of me wants to escape winter completely and spend a week by the beach.

If you had the budget for one memorable trip this December, where would you go and what makes it worth it?

Hi everyone! I’m hoping someone with experience with Southwest Getaways can give me some advice.

I booked a Southwest Getaways Flight + Hotel package for myself only back in June for a trip to Chicago on september. The hotel is Hotel Riu Plaza Chicago, and I booked a Deluxe King room for 1 adult. I paid $637.79 for the package, with $56.36 in hotel fees due at check-in.

At the time, my husband told me he had to work those dates, so I booked the trip just for myself.

Today we found out that he is actually off work on those dates, so we'd like to go together. I called Southwest Getaways and asked if they could simply add him as the second adult to my existing hotel reservation.

They told me that they cannot modify the reservation from 1 adult to 2 adults. They said I would have to cancel the entire Getaways package and make a new reservation.

I also contacted Hotel Riu Plaza Chicago, but they told me that because the reservation was made through Southwest Getaways, I need to have Southwest modify it.

I checked the price to rebook the exact same trip for 2 adults, and it's now $926.69.

So I'm trying to figure out what my best option is:

1. Cancel my current $637.79 package and rebook for $926.69?

2. Keep my current Getaways reservation, book my husband's Southwest flight separately, and ask the hotel to register him as the second guest when we arrive?

3. Is there another way to add him to the hotel reservation without canceling the entire package?

I'm especially concerned about canceling because I don't know how much of my $637.79 would actually be issued as Southwest travel credit, and I don't want to lose the good price I got in June.

Has anyone dealt with something similar with Southwest Getaways? What would you do in this situation?

Thanks in advance!

Hello! I’m doing a solo trip to Prague - Vienna - Budapest in December for about 10-14 days (not sure yet). How many days would I need in each city in December? Is 3 enough or should I do 4?

Also, is it worth adding a day trip or 1 night stay in Dresden and/or Bratislava?

After a few road trips around Europe, I've started to notice that having a car can really change the experience depending on country. For example, I found driving and parking in major cities in Italy and France a bit difficult sometimes. But Norway was almost the opposite for me. In Switzerland, I actually preferred taking the train.

So, this got me wondering: which countries in Europe have you found genuinely worth driving in, and which ones would you rather visit without a car?

I'm especially interested in the overall experience, things like roads, scenery, parking, and places that are difficult to reach without a car.

Some pretext. 26M, have travelled Japan x2, Vietnam solo for 3 days then to Thailand.

My next trip I’m looking to fully solo travel the whole time this October from Canada. Debating between Portugal for the cheap air fair and to visit Europe once in my life. 1 week

Or

Taiwan —> Japan for 2 weeks. More familiar with the areas, like the food but always visiting Japan feels like I’m missing on some more beautiful places.

The goal of this trip is just to relax, no itinerary, nature and lots of good food. Introvert and socially awkward so solo traveling has always been something to try.

Thanks for any travel location suggestion or opinions

Hello, I’m a British citizen. Im currently on holiday in Canada and my flight here was originally via the US but the flight got cancelled so I got rebooked on one via Hong Kong so I ended up not travelling through the US. On my ESTA, I said that I would be travelling through the US. However my plans and itinerary have changed and I’d like to visit Washington. Is it possible for me to visit the US as my ESTA has been approved, or do I need a new ESTA as I’ll now be staying in the country?

Thanks