SJD117

You might consider a driving tour rather than relying on a cruise and cruise extensions to see the country. I’ve done the Ring Road twice around Iceland and another driving trip in the northwest peninsulas. It’s a great way to travel!

@photopro2 I had a similar experience in BA in March 2020, right before the city closed up due to the pandemic. Viking offered a free shuttle from the port to the outskirts of downtown, near Calle Florida as I recall. It was an easy and scenic walk from there to the main plaza. No reason at all to add to that walk by starting at the port.

I did the entire Tongariro crossing on my own (not through a cruise extension) in April 1998. It was a great walk! I took three days and two nights to complete the hike, then took a bus to Lake Taupo and on to Napier. I have a good recollection of the crossing and the general Tongariro area. Tell me about Viking’s guided hikes and I’ll give you my input.

To see Iceland at its most majestic, consider driving the Ring Road around the main part of the country. I’ve done this twice. It’s about 800 miles from Reykjavik and return — an easy road trip over a week to ten days. Great trip!

We visited Iguazu Falls in 2000 near the end of our six-week DIY trip around South America. It was very easy to make flight arrangements from Buenos Aires. We stayed on the Argentine side, did our touring on that side of the falls, and then crossed the border to check out the Brazilian side. (Visit both!) We then flew on to Rio. Then in 2005 we did another DIY trip to Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu. No problem with any of the travel arrangements. Make sure to drink coca tea to alleviate altitude problems, and don't drink too much Chilean wine at 11,000 feet!

We’ve done this many times. Tables 1 and 2 are indeed quieter. Plus, the Restaurant as a whole is less busy at 6 pm, so there isn’t as much noise in the dining area then.

It may not have been a tour to you. But it was a tour to us. My wife and I have traveled the world on our own. We thoroughly enjoy exploring out-of-the-way places like Qaqortoq. We don’t need shuttles, taxis, and guides in order to tour a place. Our own two feet work just fine.

We did this self-guided tour in 2019. It was great! We loved walking around at our own pace, seeing kayaking demonstrations, hearing music, meeting locals, and otherwise enjoying the small Greenland town of Qaqortoq.

I spent three nights at Monteverde in 1983. (No Google or Apple maps then!) The Cloud Forest is at altitude (about 5,000 feet) so it takes a fair amount of time to get there from Puntarenas at sea level. But the time was well worth it — the Forest was one of the highlights of my Costa Rica trip.

As a survivor of Stage 4 metastatic melanoma, I don’t make very many jokes about sunscreen. Buy it and use it.

Consider renting bicycles! We did this on our 1987 trip to Bora Bora. The bikes weren’t fancy, but the road was mostly flat, so we were able to easily ride around the entire island. Great memory.

We’ve been called worse — a lot worse! 😛

@longterm We spent three weeks in Scotland last month, a visit that included five days in the Shetland Islands and three on Orkney. It was an excellent trip despite my Covid diagnosis in Lerwick! If you do decide to pursue a Scotland land tour, let us know and we’ll tell you more about what we did, where we stayed and ate, etc.

I’ve driven the Ring Road around Iceland twice. I’d do it a hundred times if I could! The scenery is some of the best on the planet. You’ll have a great trip.

A risk of generalizing — in the above case, about Americans and American food — is that you can lose the forest for the trees, metaphorically speaking. One member of our household is immuno-compromised with colitis and an adrenal insufficiency; the other has blood sugar issues. So when we take tours that overlap lunchtime but don’t include food, it often works best for us to go back to the ship after the tour ends. Then we can go directly to the World Cafe or the Pool Grille and get lunch right away. In that case, the need for prompt food availability takes priority for us. (Takeaway snacks help bridge the time gap between meals, but in our experience aren’t a full substitute for the meals themselves.) On other occasions, and when food intake isn’t an urgent issue, we’re more than willing to enjoy the local cuisine. In my case, I’ve done this in more than 70 countries around the world. Neither of us is afraid — much less “terrified” — to try something new.

My takeaway from this thread and countless others like it: Never, ever get between a Viking cruiser and his or her beverage of choice. It can be ruinous to your health. 🙃

It will be a cold day in you-know-where before I stay in an STR.

One way to avoid cruise ship complainers is to not go on the cruise in the first place — to instead travel on your own, make your own plans, and set your own pace. That approach can also increase your chances of visiting a particular destination. Example: Back in 2019, our TA from Bergen to Montreal missed the Shetland Islands in Scotland. We understood the captain’s decision to skip the port (Lerwick) for weather-related reasons. Still, it was frustrating to miss a place we really, really wanted to visit. How could we get to the Shetlands? Problem solved! We spent three weeks in Scotland last month, including three days in the Shetlands and five in the nearby Orkney Islands. The leisurely itinerary allowed us to design our trip around the very reliable Northlink ferry schedule. And we didn’t have to listen to a single cruise complainer along the way.

For a skiing reference, Quito is about the same altitude as Telluride, Colorado in the States. For Andean references, the city is about 1,500 feet higher than Machu Picchu and 1,500 feet lower than Cusco. Drink plenty of coca tea while you're in Quito if you feel the altitude -- but don't try to bring it home with you!

I'll chime in with my observations, knowing that you appear to have made your decision. I've been to all of the areas you mentioned, with the exception of the Galapagos. Caveat: I visited them on DIY trips in 2000 and 2005, with no cruise or tour group involved. So I had to do quite a bit of research to find out what I'd encounter: raging guanacos, angry Incas, etc. 😀 From the standpoint of pure scenic value, you can't go wrong with Patagonia, Peru and Iguazu Falls. I'd go back to all of them in a heartbeat. Altitude is an issue for some in Peru, though it wasn't for me. And if I saw an intestinal bug anywhere, I quickly took care of the problem with some fine Chilean wine. 😜 You'll love Patagonia! Are you going to Torres del Paine National Park? Simply spectacular. If you're there and able, try to walk up to the base of the famous rock spires. Or, take a boat on the glacial lakes. You'll have a great time regardless. Let me know if you have any Qs.

Husavik is worth your time. I’ve been there twice, on my own — it’s a great little town.

Visit Juneau in the winter, which I did in 1979 for my first visit to the city. That way you avoid the cruise ship crowds. There’s a tradeoff, however: The Alaska Legislature meets in Juneau in the winter, so you’re likely to meet one or more of the political nutters who make the Alaska sausage.

Glad to hear my recommendation for Heart of Lofoten worked out for you! Andrea wasn’t our guide, but my point of contact for our small group (also organized through CC) — he was very easy to work with.

We were able to tender in to Qarqatoq in 2019. The town (village?) greeted us with sea kayaking demonstrations and traditional music. I thought it was a great port to visit. But it wasn’t for others — I recall a Viking couple complaining vociferously that there “wasn’t enough to do” in Qarqatoq. For some, I guess, the allure of a place starts and ends with mass tourism and big fancy tours.

@DrKoob Sorry to hear about your experience in Bergen. It resonated with me because I was assaulted in Paris in 2015. Because I had a corroborating witness, and also due to the incident’s severity (I was punched multiple times in the head), I reported the assault to the Paris police — who didn’t seem very interested in my case. No charges were ever brought to my knowledge.