Your favorite ABD moment and trip

[familygoboston]

I have one for each ABD. One delight for me was getting soclose to the wildlife in the Galapagos; snorkeling and having a baby sea lion swim all around our group was like magic...he was as interested in the little "ABD sea lions" (kids in their wet suits) as we were in him!

My other moment was when we went rafting with my very anxious daughter (then 10) in Costa Rica...I was starting to flip out because she was panicking and throwing up objections to going all over the place, refusing to gear up and insisting "my helmet doesn't fit" etc. Our Adventure Guides, Amy and Fico could not have up handled her better. They addressed all her concerns, and in addition to the river guide on our raft, Fico rode on our raft and joked and goofed with her the whole time we were waiting to start. Once we got underway, she was fine and absolutely loved it! She had a blast and the way the guides handled it calmly and matter of factly, like nothing was going on, allowed her to relax and not be embarrassed for having a panic attack. It still brings tears to my eyes thinking about how well they handled that situation, so she could go and succeed and have so much fun instead of waiting on a bus! Because of that she's learned that even though something is "risky", if it's done safely she can actually let go of her anxieties...and now she rock climbs, and does high adventure, and loves it!

 

[sayhello]

I have one for each ABD. One delight for me was getting soclose to the wildlife in the Galapagos; snorkeling and having a baby sea lion swim all around our group was like magic...he was as interested in the little "ABD sea lions" (kids in their wet suits) as we were in him!

My other moment was when we went rafting with my very anxious daughter (then 10) in Costa Rica...I was starting to flip out because she was panicking and throwing up objections to going all over the place, refusing to gear up and insisting "my helmet doesn't fit" etc. Our Adventure Guides, Amy and Fico could not have up handled her better. They addressed all her concerns, and in addition to the river guide on our raft, Fico rode on our raft and joked and goofed with her the whole time we were waiting to start. Once we got underway, she was fine and absolutely loved it! She had a blast and the way the guides handled it calmly and matter of factly, like nothing was going on, allowed her to relax and not be embarrassed for having a panic attack. It still brings tears to my eyes thinking about how well they handled that situation, so she could go and succeed and have so much fun instead of waiting on a bus! Because of that she's learned that even though something is "risky", if it's done safely she can actually let go of her anxieties...and now she rock climbs, and does high adventure, and loves it!

I love your story about your daughter in Costa Rica. Pretty much all of my great ABD memories involve the Adventure Guides in one way or another!

Sayhello

 

[mbferruggia]

I agree the guides and the way they handle all situations make our adventures so special. I too loved the wildlife in the Galapagos Islands. My sons favorite moment on that trip was when he was snorkeling off the beach of Darwin Bay and two baby sea lions swam with him for over two hours. They blew bubbles in his face, swam around him and was as curious of him as he was with them. It was another magical ABD magical moment.

 

[slachowski]

My Fiancee and I just took the Viva Italia trip on May 18-26th and was our first ABD trip. While there were some hiccups with customs on some medical supplies stuck in Milan because customs wanted an additional 40 euros to release them the trip overall was still fantastic, the disney guides did everything they could to work out something with customs but since it was the weekend it just added to the headache since customs was closed.

One of my personal favorite moments was at the Colosseum during our private tour our guide pointed out that Prince Harry was also touring the Colosseum, so I jokingly hinted to him to take his time during our tour in hopes he'd come our way. Well I think he actually did because while we were on the 3rd level overlooking levels below, up walks Prince Harry and his security guard! We were lucky enough to snap some pictures from about 10 feet away and it made our trip that more memorable!

For my fiancee it would have to be the entire day at the Vatican and then the Vatican museum that night. The private tours were all just fantastic and there is nothing like walking through an empty museum with just your group and your guides!

 

[pihanettie]

My Fiancee and I just took the Viva Italia trip on May 18-26th and was our first ABD trip. While there were some hiccups with customs on some medical supplies stuck in Milan because customs wanted an additional 40 euros to release them the trip overall was still fantastic, the disney guides did everything they could to work out something with customs but since it was the weekend it just added to the headache since customs was closed.

One of my personal favorite moments was at the Colosseum during our private tour our guide pointed out that Prince Harry was also touring the Colosseum, so I jokingly hinted to him to take his time during our tour in hopes he'd come our way. Well I think he actually did because while we were on the 3rd level overlooking levels below, up walks Prince Harry and his security guard! We were lucky enough to snap some pictures from about 10 feet away and it made our trip that more memorable!

For my fiancee it would have to be the entire day at the Vatican and then the Vatican museum that night. The private tours were all just fantastic and there is nothing like walking through an empty museum with just your group and your guides!

I second the private Sistine Chapel experience (I didn't get to see any princes on my tour!).

 

[mbferruggia]

Just looking thru and three adventurers made comments about the Scotland trip and how they loved hiking in the Quairand. Scotland wasn't at the top of my list but I think its a trip I am seriously going to consider next year. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Calfan]

Just looking thru and three adventurers made comments about the Scotland trip and how they loved hiking in the Quairand. Scotland wasn't at the top of my list but I think its a trip I am seriously going to consider next year. Thank you for sharing.

In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that CaliforniaGirl, calypso and I were all on the same Scotland ABD, but that doesn't take away from how much we all loved it, and the hike on Skye in particular. It helps that we had a postcard perfect day for the hike, but I think it would be spectacular regardless of the weather. And there were so many other highlights on the trip. You should definitely consider it!

 

[calypso726]

Just looking thru and three adventurers made comments about the Scotland trip and how they loved hiking in the Quairand. Scotland wasn't at the top of my list but I think its a trip I am seriously going to consider next year. Thank you for sharing.

I would jump at doing another Scotland ABD with a different itinerary to see other parts of this beautiful country! We are doing the 11 day Norway/Iceland DCl next June. Calfan and CaliforniaGirl are also on the same cruise with us Initially, the itinerary included the Faroe Islands as the third stop which I was excited about since it was such an unusual place to get to visit. They changed that stop to Kirkwall, Scotland and I wasn't disappointed just because of how much I enjoyed Scotland and have not been to that area yet.

One thing I have learned with ABD is that the descriptions of the itinerary are somewhat underwhelming when compared to the actual experience. Twice now, what I wasn't interested in doing was a highlight of the trip. If you'd like to see some pictures of the hiking we did they are here on post # 64 of my trip report http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3150065&page=5

Enjoy!

 

[wld]

just stopped by because hubby and i are contemplating another trip in 2015. our first and only trip so far was Scotland and i can say hiking on skye is just as wonderful if it is misty with a stiff wind! Actually not sure i could pick just one favorite from that trip! i also loved the isle of Lewis, a very magical place and walking up thru Edinburgh castle that last night was the sum of all rhe experiences in one moment.

I'm envious of the Norway, Iceland, Scotland cruise. we have really looked at it but motion sickness caused trouble on the bus in Scotland.....

anyway i will browsing to get a feel for another trip but couldn't resist posting when i saw the Scotland comments and i would go back in a heartbeat too!

 

[mbferruggia]

Just got back from the ABD Greece trip. This was our 7th ABD trip to date and by far our favorite. My Favorite moment was taking a pirate looking sailboat and cruising over to an active volcano. We hiked up the volcano and the views were amazing. After our long hike we got back into the boat and cruised over to a spot to swim in the hot springs and swim in the beautiful waters of the Aegean Sea. Then we headed by boat to this little restaurant on the water for an amazing lunch.

 

[jjharts]

I posted this picture in the Scotland thread but it is my favorite moment so I will post it again Hiking the Quiraing in not-so-good weather but still having a blast!! This is my daughter jumping on some of the squishy yet very bouncy moss.

 

[mbferruggia]

Looks like your daughter is having the time of her life. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

I've done 2 ABDs - the Knights and Lights and Once Upon a Fairytale. In the planning, I'm always focusing on the sights, but after the trips, it's always the unplanned moments with my fellow travelers that linger. Our first night in Paris, a group of us walked to the Arc de Triomphe, hung out in a cafe on the Champs de Elysees, and watched the Eiffel Tower twinkle. That stays with me. I know if you asked my husband, he would say his favorite moment was biking through the gardens at Versailles.

For the Germany trip, my favorite experience was hanging out in the Castle Waldeck. It was a part of the trip I wasn't particularly looking forward to and it ended up being a favorite. My husband's favorite moment of that trip was watching Neuschwanstein Castle rising up out of the mist.

Laurie

 

[sayhello]

I've done 2 ABDs - the Knights and Lights and Once Upon a Fairytale. In the planning, I'm always focusing on the sights, but after the trips, it's always the unplanned moments with my fellow travelers that linger. Our first night in Paris, a group of us walked to the Arc de Triomphe, hung out in a cafe on the Champs de Elysees, and watched the Eiffel Tower twinkle. That stays with me. I know if you asked my husband, he would say his favorite moment was biking through the gardens at Versailles.
Laurie

That night at the Arc de Triomphe *was* quite the highlight, wasn't it? You're totally right!

Sayhello

 

[1whooper]

I am going on the Austria trip in 2 weeks. Very excited. Could you give me some packing advice? How many dress clothes for dinner? Any advice will help me decide how much to pack. Thank you!

 

[Calfan]

I am going on the Austria trip in 2 weeks. Very excited. Could you give me some packing advice? How many dress clothes for dinner? Any advice will help me decide how much to pack. Thank you!

If you are going on the Central Europe ABD, I would pack 2 sets of dress clothes (and only moderately dressy) at the most. Folks were very casual for the welcome dinner. You do not go back to the hotel before the dinner at the Folklore Gardens in Prague, so you will be wearing whatever you wore for the full day of sightseeing. This is the same in Salzburg. I did change for the on your own dinner in Berchtesgaden, but it is not necessary. The only other dinners that I changed for were the dinner at the zoo and the farewell dinner.

 

[mbferruggia]

White water rafting in Noway in cold temperatures was such a highlight for our family. What a special moment we all jumped in after rafting and swam to the shore and of course Disney had hot chocolate waiting for us. The scenary and Rapids were both amazing

 

[DCPhotoGal]

I have one for each ABD. One delight for me was getting soclose to the wildlife in the Galapagos; snorkeling and having a baby sea lion swim all around our group was like magic...he was as interested in the little "ABD sea lions" (kids in their wet suits) as we were in him!

My other moment was when we went rafting with my very anxious daughter (then 10) in Costa Rica...I was starting to flip out because she was panicking and throwing up objections to going all over the place, refusing to gear up and insisting "my helmet doesn't fit" etc. Our Adventure Guides, Amy and Fico could not have up handled her better. They addressed all her concerns, and in addition to the river guide on our raft, Fico rode on our raft and joked and goofed with her the whole time we were waiting to start. Once we got underway, she was fine and absolutely loved it! She had a blast and the way the guides handled it calmly and matter of factly, like nothing was going on, allowed her to relax and not be embarrassed for having a panic attack. It still brings tears to my eyes thinking about how well they handled that situation, so she could go and succeed and have so much fun instead of waiting on a bus! Because of that she's learned that even though something is "risky", if it's done safely she can actually let go of her anxieties...and now she rock climbs, and does high adventure, and loves it!

We had a similar experience in the Galapagos with my anxious 11-year-old daughter. She was refusing the snorkel (the water will be too cold, I may get bitten by a shark, etc) and our Adventure Guide stayed back with her on the raft and talked her into the water, holding her hand and snorkeling with her. Then after that she was confident and jumped in the rest of the trip with no problems.

 

[DCPhotoGal]

We also had a wonderful trip to Scotland, and that was our first ABD. There were several really fun moments on that trip. One was when my daughter, who was 9 at the time, made friends with the daughter of the baker (also 9) at the Isle of Skye Bakery. They made Mickey-shaped scones together and had flour all over their faces. They made up some little songs and hugged when we had to leave. Another great moment for me was when we were in Inverness, we saw that Diana Gabaldon was in town for a discussion and book signing, and it was only a couple blocks from our dinner that evening. Our Adventure Guide helped arrange for a few of us who were interested to make it to the event.

 

[acndis]

We just did our 6th trip (Greece, Ireland, Winter in Wyo, Grand Canyon, Knights & Lights, SE Asia) and some of our favorite moments have been covered but I will put in a plug for SE Asia since it seems like a trip that does not get much discussion on the boards--it's wonderful--go!

Making offering to the monks in Laos was a moving and wonderful experience. Laos is someplace I would have never visited without ABD but it was a truly fascinating and beautiful country. In Vietnam, seeing the Cu Chi tunnels and realizing the struggles of the people there and then having a beautiful lunch outdoors in a remote part of South Vietnam was unforgettable. The history and beauty of Hanoi was also amazing and I was surprised how I was affected by seeing Ho Chi Minh's tomb. Siem Reap is a wild ride and a great way to enjoy the last stop.

I could not agree more with the poster that said the Itineraries do not do the activities justice! Some of the things that I thought would be meh were just amazing. This trip has probably been our favorite.