May 18, 2013 MAGIC EBTA - Who is with us?

[bobbiwoz]

Originally Posted by padalyn

we are almost at the 100 day mark...my countdown in my phone (to May 17 the day I "walk" and we leave for this amazing trip) says 101 days.

Looking forward to this SSSSOOO much.

check list:

transport from NJ to Phili airport - done
air from Phili to Hobby - done (again!)
Transport from Hobby to Galveston - done
Hotel in Galveston - done
Cruise - oh yea....
Barcelona - transport to hotel - done
Barcelona - hotel - done
Barcelona - tranport from hotel to airport - done
Air to CDG - done
transport from CDG to DLRP - gonna use the train - no prepurchase
DLRP reservation - done
tickets to DLRP - <<<_____>>>>DVC's price is better than anything I can find online - LOS tickets are 150 ea (USD). gotta call and pay for them is all.
transport from DLRP to CDG - <<<____>>> [gotta look into this - my friend hasn't answered his FB message yet!]
Air to Iceland - done
Iceland tour of golden circle - done
air from Iceland to JFK - done
JFK to home - done

Whew....only 2 pieces left!! The tickets are a no brainer -

how is everyone else doing on their checklists??

Cayla

Good for you!

We are ready to go! Our final piece was the transfer to the ship from the airport, and we ordered them over the weekend!

[WVURunner]

Originally Posted by padalyn

air from Phili to Hobby - done (again!)
Transport from Hobby to Galveston - done
Cayla

Your checklist is way more done than mine! Hopefully the PHL to HOU doesn't change, I don't want to have to redo it. I figure since you already had a flight issue, the second flight will be fine for you and therefore fine for us!
What transport are you using from HOU to Galveston?

[twopeasonepod]

Originally Posted by padalyn

how is everyone else doing on their checklists??

Cayla

Um, certainly not as well as you are!

We still need to purchase:

RT tix HNL-IAH (I look all the time, waiting for the price drop)
Transportation to Galveston (just been lazy, I know which limo company I'm using)
Transport to hotel in Barcelona
Transport to BCN

Thankfully, we have family in Houston so we can stay with them on the way back! But BOOO the Astros are on the road so we can't go to any games.

[Tubbsteruk]

Hi guys,

I've been looking at what to do in Madeira as when we visited on the 2011 WBTA we did the HOHO bus around Funchal and found it to be expensive and disappointing (could have walked easier)

I've looked at the DCL tours and they seem a bit pricey ($300 for 3 of us to go to the beach).

We fancied going further afield this time and I looked at doing it independently for a bit more freedom rather than a taxi/tour (Sarah's (binkytell) stories of the volcanic pools in 2011 sounded great).

I've found a car hire firm - www.bravacar.com.pt - who will collect you from the port area and are very reasonable, for an economy car (ford fiesta, Renault Clio) from 1030-1830 it's only £14.

May be of interest for anyone wanting to head out out on a bit of an independent tour

Paul

[dee slack]

Originally Posted by Tubbsteruk

Hi guys,

I've been looking at what to do in Madeira as when we visited on the 2011 WBTA we did the HOHO bus around Funchal and found it to be expensive and disappointing (could have walked easier)

I've looked at the DCL tours and they seem a bit pricey ($300 for 3 of us to go to the beach).

We fancied going further afield this time and I looked at doing it independently for a bit more freedom rather than a taxi/tour (Sarah's (binkytell) stories of the volcanic pools in 2011 sounded great).

I've found a car hire firm - www.bravacar.com.pt - who will collect you from the port area and are very reasonable, for an economy car (ford fiesta, Renault Clio) from 1030-1830 it's only £14.

May be of interest for anyone wanting to head out out on a bit of an independent tour

Paul

The car hire sounds a good idea, will take a look at that. Thanks.

[Tink1987]

Originally Posted by Tubbsteruk

Hi guys,

I've been looking at what to do in Madeira as when we visited on the 2011 WBTA we did the HOHO bus around Funchal and found it to be expensive and disappointing (could have walked easier)

I've looked at the DCL tours and they seem a bit pricey ($300 for 3 of us to go to the beach).

We fancied going further afield this time and I looked at doing it independently for a bit more freedom rather than a taxi/tour (Sarah's (binkytell) stories of the volcanic pools in 2011 sounded great).

I've found a car hire firm - www.bravacar.com.pt - who will collect you from the port area and are very reasonable, for an economy car (ford fiesta, Renault Clio) from 1030-1830 it's only £14.

May be of interest for anyone wanting to head out out on a bit of an independent tour

Paul

Thanks for the tip about the HOHO bus as we do normally jump on them!

[Tink1987]

We have been looking at Maderia too now our plans are firmed up for Gibraltar.

I know a few people really recommend Daniels Taxis. Has anybody done the 6.5 hour tour? I see he offers a East and West version and was just wondering if anybody had any tips on one or the other?

To be honest I am leaning towards DCL's Unforgettable Madeira excursion. It's around £50 more for both of us with today's exchange rates but it's a 8.5 hour tour, guaranteed not to miss the boat and you get lunch included........

[Tink1987]

Our checklist is looking OKish - however we have everything on there including things like making pirate night outfits, FE gift panic etc.....

100 days countdown for us on Tripit now As we leave the UK on the 16th May :D

[Tubbsteruk]

Originally Posted by Tink1987

Thanks for the tip about the HOHO bus as we do normally jump on them!

Tink, they really were very poor. The main area is quite compact and you can walk from one end where the cable cars are to the shopping centres at the other end in about 15 minutes. We were so disappointed and felt ripped off. You could go to camara de lobos but there is only one bus a day from what I remember. The staff didn't tell us this and by the time we found out it had left for the day

I think it cost about €30 for 2 adults and Grace was free as she was 2 at the time. From doing a bit more research this time we are hiring a car for less

[NancyIL]

Originally Posted by Tink1987

We have been looking at Maderia too now our plans are firmed up for Gibraltar.

I know a few people really recommend Daniels Taxis. Has anybody done the 6.5 hour tour? I see he offers a East and West version and was just wondering if anybody had any tips on one or the other?

To be honest I am leaning towards DCL's Unforgettable Madeira excursion. It's around £50 more for both of us with today's exchange rates but it's a 8.5 hour tour, guaranteed not to miss the boat and you get lunch included........

You need to remember that a bus tour with 45 people will take longer to do everything - including eat lunch, than a small, private tour. My guess is that those on the ship's 8.5-hour tour will see no more than those on the 6.5-hour private tour.

[Tink1987]

Originally Posted by Tubbsteruk

Tink, they really were very poor. The main area is quite compact and you can walk from one end where the cable cars are to the shopping centres at the other end in about 15 minutes. We were so disappointed and felt ripped off. You could go to camara de lobos but there is only one bus a day from what I remember. The staff didn't tell us this and by the time we found out it had left for the day

I think it cost about €30 for 2 adults and Grace was free as she was 2 at the time. From doing a bit more research this time we are hiring a car for less

Such a shame that they are so bad - the few places we have paid for them in, we have found them invaluable. We do also like walking around though and getting a real feel for a place.

The hire car option sounds interesting

[Tink1987]

Originally Posted by NancyIL

You need to remember that a bus tour with 45 people will take longer to do everything - including eat lunch, than a small, private tour. My guess is that those on the ship's 8.5-hour tour will see no more than those on the 6.5-hour private tour.

That's a very good point Nancy, thank you! We didn't even consider that.

[Tubbsteruk]

Originally Posted by Tink1987

Such a shame that they are so bad - the few places we have paid for them in, we have found them invaluable. We do also like walking around though and getting a real feel for a place.

The hire car option sounds interesting

We usually like the HOHO buses, Barcelona, New York, Sydney, Dubai, & London are superb but Madeira was just poor. Saying that it's not the worst we've been on. Christchurch in NZ really was shocking, it was about half a mile with 10 stops. Worst thing was we bought a 2 day pass

[Tink1987]

Originally Posted by Tubbsteruk

We usually like the HOHO buses, Barcelona, New York, Sydney, Dubai, & London are superb but Madeira was just poor. Saying that it's not the worst we've been on. Christchurch in NZ really was shocking, it was about half a mile with 10 stops. Worst thing was we bought a 2 day pass

Oh no lol! We had the same thing in Stavenger in the Norwegian Fjords. It was good to hear the history but we had done it all in an hour and it cost us £20.

They must only be good in really big cities then? The Paris one was good. I really do love listening to the history in the bigger places. I think we will do the Barcelona one as we are only there for 24 hours.

[heatherb819]

I posted on FB and thought I would post here as well. I'm not sure if we'll do this or not but just an FYI....

Here's a tour in Madiera some of the others did in 2011. I however did not but I believe it was through Daniel Taxi...
Thank you so much for contacting us. So nice of Noel to give you my contact info. As you are interested in visiting the São Vicente Caves, I have a new plan for your tour: ■Cabo Girão - stop for the viewpoint on top of the cliff
■Ribeira Brava - just passing by
■Encumeada - stop
■São Vicente - due to shortage of time, your stop will only have a total of 1 hour, this will enable you to visit the caves, but not to watch the films
■Porto Moniz - staying for a total of 2 hours
■Paúl da Serra - there are several viewpoints, depending on time I think you'll visit at least one
■Ponta do Sol - just passing by
■Back in Funchal
This west side tour takes 6.5 hours and we'll charge as follows: ■27 EUR per person