merrilyanne
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Posts posted by merrilyanne
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An hour away is the Grotte di Castellana which looks interesting. It can be combined with a tour of the round houses in Alberobello, or the Old Town in Ostuni. Am hoping to find someone who has done this day trip on their own.
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I have been on over 40 cruises including on many small ships, and the only cruise I hated was on the Paul Gauguin in FP. Went a few years later to the same places on a larger ship for one quarter of the cost, and the entire experience was so much better. I disagree that small ships are always better and in some areas of the world, I prefer a larger ship in rough waters.
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You can take a local bus from the other side of the town but it is a long walk to get to the town itself so looks like you will have to take a taxi the entire way.
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From my research, it appears that Cas Abou is about the nicest, followed by Lagun, Porto Marie, Plaza Kalki, Kenepa (Knip) and Playa Grandi. These are a ways up on the west coast. I have been to the beaches on the south coast, but they appear to be manmade, not very scenic, and are crowded and not all that nice. I will wait to hear from others about the best ones on the west coast.
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I would like to recommend an excellent driver/tour guide in Bali. I was picked up at the airport by my prearranged driver Putu Supartana who was excellent and his price much lower than most of the others. Please email him and he will put together an excellent itinerary for you. His English is great and he is conscientious and will work with you and outline everything specifically so you can finalize your plans before leaving home. You need to nail down an itinerary with someone you can trust, in order to get back to the ship on time. I used him for 5 days as I found him to be awesome. His English was excellent, his knowledge of Bali and the local culture and religion was extensive, his van was nice and it had great A/C. He was flexible and worked with me both before I left home, and after I arrived, to make sure my itinerary was the best possible. We often spent 10 hours a day exploring all areas in Bali and he made suggestions about additional things to see or hotels I might like. He was very friendly and is a good family man. I went to Lombok for a while but made sure I could have him again as my driver when I returned again to Bali. We have actually become friends and I will use him when I make a return visit to Bali and he has offered to do anything for me that I might need, both while at home and when I return to Bali. He always had an umbrella available, and a sarong and sash in order for me to visit the temples. Sometimes he would be arranging my sarong and sash outside the van, before I went in the temple, while local women supervised. :) I was able to see all of Bali and its temples, amazingly beautiful rice terraces, lakes, mountains, beaches, and small traditional towns. I would not have been able to see as much without having Putu as my driver. He was always great to respond promptly to my emails. He has a lot of experience picking up cruise ship passengers and making sure they get back to the ship on time.
If you need a good driver his contact info is: http://www.putudriverinbali.wordpress.com
call/sms: +62 81 805 671 005
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Say what? You only spent an hour and a half on the phone with Celebrity? I just spent three days. Someone on my post spent three weeks and then gave up and abandoned the cruise entirely. Try being a single person and try to get an agent to book you into a cabin, and see the fiasco. Yes, Celebrity is guilty of false advertising, and yes Celebrity's website is a disaster, even though this is their "new" website which was supposed to correct the problems with their old website. I understand (but don't like) being charged double as a single person to have a cabin to myself. HOWEVER, Celebrity won't let a single person book the lower priced cabins, so they try to make a single pay MORE than double for a cabin. Which to me is total discrimination to make a single person pay more than the total that two people would for their cabin. If you complain, and sit on the phone forever, someone in "Revenue Department" will override the system and let you book for "only" double the cost which is still not a great deal given a single person doesn't eat twice as much food and doesn't take up space in the dining room or theaters, etc.. But most agents and supervisors do not know about this mysterious "override" that is needed for single people and won't even inquire about it. I have complained to Celebrity for the past 10 years about this override system, and they refuse to change it. And they refuse to stop confusing people with their misleading advertising. And as someone has stated on here, they suddenly increase the price dramatically and then offer you free "perks" that essentially you are paying for. I get emails all of the time advertising these low prices and they never exist. Ever. Such a shame to give themselves such a bad reputation as once they lose a customer, they likely will not be able to lure them back. I am sailing with Celebrity but tired of the hassle just to book a cruise.
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I sat at dinner with Mickey Jones and his wife quite a few years ago. He was the drummer for Kenny Rogers and the 1st Edition and also starred on Home Improvement. "He was in 80 movies and more than 500 TV episodes and commercials. Twice he bullied Chevy Chase (National Lampoon’s Vacation, Fletch Lives) and he spent nearly a decade making appearances on Home Improvement. He played many bikers and a lot of killers. He also played drums on hit songs and famous — or infamous — tours."
He was a very laid back Redneck but his wife was a real obnoxious floozy trying to feel important and kept reminding us that her husband was famous. She had the waiter in tears as she kept insisting he didn't bring her the right dessert that she ordered off the menu. He brought her the menu again and went over the desserts with her, and was willing to bring her another one, but she simply kept arguing about what the dessert should be. He finally brought an entire tray of desserts to her, as he didn't know what else to do, so was so irate, and then she said she was going to the show instead, and got up and stomped off in a huff without Mickey.
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Then why, Meg, are you believing anything that has been said about Brian Williams if you can't believe anything in the media?
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I think when so many reporters and writers are saying the same thing, and so many people have found it to be true, then it likely is true.
If the person booking so many flights for trade shows is that paranoid about someone missing their flight and not being given another one, perhaps they should advise people not to fly at all, given there have been several airplane crashes in history. I do not appreciate this person scaring others into not booking online. What he/she is NOT telling you, is that travel agents use the same consolidators that the online websites use. What he/she is not telling you is that once you book airline seats online, the booking goes to the airline and the internet site does not monitor or control that ticket or seat afterwards. Think about it. Once you check in at the airport, and hand the boarding pass to the agent, the airline does not know or care who you booked the ticket through. Therefore to say that if you book flights online, you are going to get stranded and the airline won't try to find you a seat on the next flight, is totally false. Think about it. Have you ever been at the gate when a flight has been delayed or cancelled? Does the gate agent announce that everyone that bought their ticket through an online internet site should move to the right as only the passengers who bought tickets directly from the airline are going to get on the next flight?!!!! Absurd!
And I find it odd that posters/haters on here want to discount all of the information and evidence contained in all of the articles I posted, saying they are false, but they are so ready to believe one person's hypothesizing about why they book high price flights for their clients. Obviously, the poster does not use online internet sites to book flights, so why is everyone believing him or her and denying that what the independent writers and articles are saying?
Originally I called Singapore Airlines before I booked my flights with an internet site and they assured me that they don't differentiate between flights they sell and flights that people book online with the various internet sites. They said otherwise, they wouldn't sell blocks of seats to the consolidators if they didn't want them to sell them to the public. The rep said that the consolidators can offer lower prices if they want to, and Singapore Air does not care if the price is lower, given it is up to the consolidator to sell off the seats at whatever price they want, as well as Singapore Airlines being able to also control and monitor their own seats that they sell. The contract is not any different, given that once you purchase the seats, you are under Singapore Air's contract as far a their tariffs, rules, regulations, etc.
I am on vacation and won't be addressing any more bashers/haters posts. I have tried to provide concrete factual evidence on here but unfortunately the bashers and haters (and friends of the main poster) jump on here and condemn me personally without ever providing specifics or factual information. This site is supposed to be to assist others, and it serves no purpose for haters and bashers to jump on here and take sides without providing anything concrete.
Again, although the main poster has gotten friends to come on here (how else would they know it is a "she" when I thought it was a "he) and make generalized attacks on me, I still don't see any concrete evidence from anyone. And if you really believe that this person books 800 flights a year and doesn't indirectly make money off of it, you better think twice. The person who started the post is taking a short flight for personal reasons, whereas the main instigator is talking about business dealings with people from other countries who have to get to a certain place on time. I wonder if they ever heard of flying out the night before to avoid all of the fear this poster has, that they will miss their flight? I think when I save $700. on flights, I could opt for a $100. hotel room to make sure I got some where on time. The original poster did not say it was crucial that he had to be there in a certain timeframe. So all of this nonsense that has been posted by someone running trade shows, that isn't paying for the high price flights themselves, really doesn't apply.
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If all of you bashers could write all of these lying, misleading writers, and prove to them why their theories don't work, that might be a first start instead of writing generalized and hypothetical comments on this thread that don't really say or prove anything. And when you write them, tell them that it was just a fluke that I have travelled to over 164 countries in the past few years, (because I get my flights so cheap), and never had a problem with my "cheap" online flights, even when I have missed a flight or my flight has been delayed, by following their instructions to clear the cache and cookies when finally going back in to book a flight.
http://gadling.com/2010/02/15/airline-tip-clear-your-browsers-cookies-before-booking-flights/
http://www.wikihow.com/Buy-Cheap-Airline-Tickets
http://dotcomplicated.co/content/2014/01/save-money-on-flight/
http://www.happyschools.com/tips-find-cheap-flight-tickets/
http://www.johnnyjet.com/2013/02/why...ooking-travel/
http://travel.stackexchange.com/ques...t-ips-result-i
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It is hilarious that although I flew out BEFORE of all you other posters jumped on this thread, I am accused of leaving because of the recent threads. If you really think my travel is governed by what unknown people "think" on a thread, you are sorely mistaken. I stand by everything I have said. I have missed flights, had delays, etc. etc. and all of my flights have been honoured by the airlines, regardless of what website I have booked them on. Once again, everyone on here is making assumptions and hypothetical analysis, about my travel and that is not fair. You ASSUME the tickets I purchase have restricted fares or bad routing, and they do not. You ASSUME the airlines won't provide me with the next flight or an alternative flight. You ASSUME I don't investigate what I am purchasing before I purchase it. You ASSUME all of the professionals that have written articles on this subject and all of the people that have tested the tracking of cookies, are wrong and they are not. No, I never said that every time that you go back to a site they increase their price - sometimes they do, sometimes it is after a few times, and sometimes it is after a few days. But THE FACT is, that when I clear my cache and cookies and history, after going in many times over a few days, the price magically becomes lower. What all you people who merely want to bash others on here are missing, is that I am talking about comparing an internet site's prices with that same internet site's prices if you keep returning to the site. Therefore the routing, terms of contract, etc. are obviously the same. And yes, the airline websites are higher priced and often I have been told by the airline that yes, I should go to an internet site to book at a lower cost, as the flights and terms are the same.
I am writing on here about my, and other travellers I have spoken with, experiences. If your experience with bringing business people to trade shows is different than my purpose in booking flights, than why is it even relevant? Again, you are making assumptions about the nature of my travel. The issue has nothing to do with the nature of anyone's travel - we are talking about websites tracking cookies, not about why anyone books certain flights or the risks associated with it or why business people need higher priced flights. You keep saying you can't compare apples and oranges, then why are you comparing your business purposes in booking flights, to my purposes in booking flights? They clearly are not the same. Basically, you admittedly are offering travel services which is an entirely different situation than how and why I book for my own purposes. My comments were for those people, like myself, who use internet booking sites and have experienced price increases when returning to the site, and price decreases after clearing out cookies, cache and history. You admittedly don't use these sites, so why is your experience with booking for business people, even relevant? I would never compare the price of my flights with the price paid by a dressed up businessman sitting in first class whose company is paying for his flight.
First, you argued that the prices aren't lower on internet sites after clearing cache and cookies, etc., but now you are totally changing your argument to arguing about the flights and routing and conditions not being the same between airlines and internet sites. You give no credit to travellers for knowing what they are doing, or comparing routes, conditions, etc. and making educated decisions on what they are booking. And anyone who thinks an airline's contract is carved in stone, and can't be easily overturned in court, is mistaken, particularly when airlines are always guilty of violating their own tariffs.
Why would travel writers, newspapers and T.V. shows write totally false articles that they know the public will discredit them for, if their research is not true? To hurt their own reputation and discount their own credibility? To try to generalize and say all of these writers and reporters are writing false articles, is a bit bizarre. All I know is that I book many, many, many flights each year, for myself and friends and people all over the world, with no profit and no business purpose, and know that the internet sights track cookies and cache and this has been proven over and over again by professionals in the travel industry and media and MYSELF. I note that most bashers on here are not writing about their own personal experiences with this, only choose to hypothesize about something they haven't experienced first hand.
Happy travelling!
http://www.johnnyjet.com/2013/02/why-you-should-delete-your-cookies-when-booking-travel/
http://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2010/aug/07/computer-cookies-booking-online
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I am very sorry to say that someone off of our HAL cruise drowned at Klein Bonaire. Very upsetting to witness. I am not sure of the details but she was a fairly young woman. It was a bit rough that day. There is no life saving equipment or emergency phone on the island.
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You talk the hypothetical talk, but can't walk the factual walk. Find me a price of $900. for the $1600. flights offered by Singapore Air, if you and your consolidators are so great. You simply ignore the facts of what is occurring with websites tracking cookies and history, because obviously you make money off of booking people flights at much higher rates. I do have access to consolidators also and yes, I do understand what you are accusing me of not being knowledgeable about, but the fact remains that online websites still offer the cheapest prices, otherwise people would contact travel agents to do the work for them. I have NEVER found a travel agent to be able to find the same flights as cheap as I book them online myself for, and the travel agents readily admit this. Consolidators are very limited in what flights they can offer, hence the higher prices and long layover times.
I am stunned that you say you book over 800 flights per year yet haven't discovered that travel agents and consolidators charge more for the same flights as the online companies do. That is so unfortunate for your clients.
Leaving for the airport soon, so I am sorry I won't be able to continue to try to discuss the well known fact that websites track cookies and raise the prices when you return to their site. I will leave readers to draw their own conclusions about this widely known and widely publicized practice.
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I loved Mauritius as it is many factors that make for a good vacation - beaches and resorts, flowers and scenery, shopping, etc. It is isolated, however, but I combined it with a trip to the Seychelles. Worth going there at least once.
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Again, you keep hypothesizing instead of dealing with the facts. Although you are trying desperately to come off as knowledgeable and professional, the fact is that most readers can see through your posts, especially given the fact that you have quoted me very selectively while leaving out the most important fact of my post: "I booked a flight for $900. to Bali and return, that was listed at a price of $1600. and my flights were identical to those I met on the plane that did pay the $1600". You have ignored that fact and rambled on incessantly that the flights I booked aren't the same as the $1600. flights, which is totally false. Quit dreaming up false scenarios to try to back up your false statements. You are trying to portray all travellers who book online flights themselves, as idiots who don't even pay attention to what flights they are booking, or the routing. Give me a break. I carefully compared the $900. flights to the $1600. flights and they were identical in every way, shape and form. So to mislead readers into thinking they were different, is not acceptable to me and shows your lack of credibility. And for your information, I do have access to consolidators database, and I can assure you that their prices are never lower.
Obviously, if you book 800 flights a year for others, you are somehow connected to the travel industry or a consolidator business for profit. Obviously you are trying desperately to defend the outdated concept of using travel agents and consolidators. Travel agents and consolidators NEVER offer lower prices than what can be found on the internet. Consolidators have very limited options as far as flights and the airlines they can use, resulting in their prices always being higher. Do you not know that the reason everyone books online themselves is because consolidators offer terrible connection times and high prices and limited options? I have attempted to use travel agents and consolidators many times, but the fact is, their prices are always 50% higher and usually have really bad connection times, like a 6 or 8 hour stopovers in the airports. I am sure if travel agents and consolidators gave better flights and prices, more people would be using them, but unfortunately less and less people use travel agents for that very reason. And travel agents do not take the time to look at all of the various options because they make very little money on flights, and I can't blame them for that. Many travel agents don't even want to be bothered finding flights for people. I have many friends that are travel agents and they admit they can't beat the prices of the online websites and don't have the options for co-sharing that online sites have. One friend confided that she spends all day giving out quotes but nobody ever books with her because the prices she has to give them are all so much higher than they can find online. Fine if you are not computer savvy and don't want to do it yourself - but don't try to tell people that online travel sites do not offer lower prices FOR EXACTLY THE SAME FLIGHTS, SEATS, AND ROUTING.
Please stop misquoting me and twisting around what I am saying by trying to post here that my $900. flights were not the same as the $1600. ones on the airline's website, because they were. That is why I am going back to Bali and booking the same flights again. You don't know what flights I had taken before, or will take in future, so for you to write a long rambling post trying to convince the readers that cheaper flights are no good and not the same routing or type as the more expensive flights, is very unethical. I am sure any intelligent reader can ascertain whether the flights they book online are the same as other higher priced flights. It is not rocket science to compare flights on an airline's website with flights on an internet booking site, and know if they are the same or not.
You are entitled to your opinion but do not twist my words around by deliberately quoting me out of context to try to make your point, or make false statements and hypothetical assumptions about my flights.
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It is hard to believe that you think buying the same flights for $900. instead of $1600. isn't a good idea. Dah?
There is no sense in arguing with you. You are just another know it all with too much time on his hands that has no idea what he is talking about but loves bashing people for no reason and will never admit they are wrong.
As if anyone believes you are not a travel agent but book 800 flights a year? From your posts, it seems that you seldom even travel. For someone who books that many flights, you sure do have a lot of time on your hands to stalk people's posts and try to bash them.
I stand by everything that I have said as it has been proven many times over by many professional T.V. shows, reviewers and even travel agents. I have provided concrete proof through professional studies and you have provided NOTHING to prove your point. Why don't YOU find me a $900. flight with Singapore Airlines, to prove your point? BECAUSE YOU CAN'T. Your hypothesizing without providing anything concrete is very suspect.
Like I said before, I was addressing a certain person on here and now that you have made your very dubious opinion known, please don't bother to keep intervening in my posts. Let people decide for themselves.
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I think you have no idea what you are talking about. It is unbelievable that you would book that many flights at a higher cost than you need to, just because you refuse to accept the fact that this practice exists.
Your previous post contradicts itself. You say on the one hand that no website would do this, as people would not book the flight at an increased cost and would go elsewhere. But then you contradict yourself and then say that the reason the flights have increased in cost when someone returns to a site is because they have started to sell out, etc. So obviously you are falling prey to the tricks of the trade: you believe that the seats are selling out and therefore you, like others, panic and jump in and book at the higher price. This is what the websites count on - you believing that the flights are going to keep going up in price and are selling out, so you book it. BUT AGAIN, WHAT YOU AREN'T ADDRESSING, IS THE FACT THAT ONCE YOU GO BACK IN WITH COOKIES AND HISTORY AND CACHE CLEARED, THE PRICES ARE LOWER AND BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PRICE.
I do not appreciate you jumping on this post and badgering me when I was posting the information for someone else. Keep paying more for all of your flights, if you want to be stubborn and uneducated, but please stop posting comments that aren't even understandable due to your improper phrasing and use of grammar, when the majority of savvy travellers know what I am saying to be true. Your insistence that something does not exist when I, and others, including reputable news sources and reviewers, have proven it does, is actually making you look very foolish.
I know you will keep arguing on here, and it is odd that you are saying you know another poster and are speaking on his behalf, but I trust that most readers have tested this for themselves and know that websites do this. I have no idea what your comments on my Singapore flights mean, as again, your comments are incoherent. All I know is that I booked a flight for $900. to Bali and return, that was listed at a price of $1600. and my flights were identical to those I met on the plane that did pay the $1600. So although you are rambling on about irrelevant "apples and oranges" not being equal, the fact is, the flights were identical. I just got a lower price. I have now booked another $900. return flight but the airline's site is still charging $1600. Not sure why anyone would pay $700. more for identical flights, unless, like yourself, they are not knowledgeable about how websites that track your cookies, work.
Marilyn
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I used Putu Supartana for five days plus pick up and return to the airport on two other days. He is excellent, speaks good English and is very good at working with tourists to arrange the perfect itinerary. I learned a great deal about Bali, the Hindu culture and various customs from our conversations.
He responds to emails promptly and will take the time to explain things to you before you arrive. I think I saw a lot of things off the beaten path that other guides don't take the tourists too. He is willing to drive long distances, whereas I found the other drivers balked at having to travel a long way each day, and tried to tell me it was too long a day to fit everything in, but Putu and I did it easily. I am happy I used Putu and saw what I wanted to see for less cost than most other drivers and companies.
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Go on your own. The tram is right at the pier, literally. The information booths are also right on the pier. The main museum and park are easy to get to on the tram. The children and teenagers love to talk to English speaking people and will "walk" you anywhere you want to go. You can also walk around near the port and shop and see gardens, etc. Very easy port.
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So many people have proven that this is happening. What you fail to mention is why the prices are LOWER once someone goes back in and deletes the cookies and history and cache. Not a coincidence. What you also fail to mention/realize is that a lot of the sites are connected to each other, so when one sight raises its price when you go back in, all sights have increased prices.
Obviously you are a travel agent and shouldn't even be commenting on here.
I spoke with an agent who was leaving cheapoair and he admitted that cheapoair does this, and he was tired of customers phoning in and being angry about it, so he decided to leave the company. So guess he was lying, too, right? As are all of the professionals on the internet that have studied this and wrote reviews and reports on it. Please call up 60 Minutes and tell them they are liars too.
I will leave it up to the readers - do you want to pay hundreds more for a certain flight, or clear your cache and cookies and history and go back to the originally low price that you saw? Look on Singapore Air's website and see that the flights for next Jan. and Feb. from JFK to Bali are consistently $1600. and I just booked it for $900. I don't need people on here trying to deny what I, and every experienced traveller, know to be true especially when I am not a travel agent but have people from all over the world, including the U.K., emailing me to ask me to help them find cheaper flights, given they have never seen anyone book the low priced flights I have.
Marilyn
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You need to become aware of what is happening in the real world and stop arguing with people just so you can be right. I am sure that I likely book ten times the number of flights in any given year that you do, and have had many travel agents confirm that this practice occurs. You are hypothesizing on what you imagine might be true, and are not basing your views on FACTS. You are incorrect about hypothesizing that people will go to the airlines' sights, because the airlines sights do not usually offer the lower prices that other booking websites initially do. I think it odd that you have not bothered to try it out for yourself before insisting/hypothesizing that you are right. Top travel writers and even 60 minutes had a program on this. Guess you know more than they do, also.
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Sorry, but many articles have been written about how the websites increase the prices if you return to their site. I have tested this theory many times and it is for a fact, true. It is not a coincidence that once I have cleared out my history and cache and then gone back in, the prices are lower. It is not the airline that does it, it is the website. And most of the websites are now owned by the same company, so they do not worry about you going to another website to book. Research articles on this on the internet and you will see that it is true.
http://www.johnnyjet.com/2013/02/why-you-should-delete-your-cookies-when-booking-travel/
http://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2010/aug/07/computer-cookies-booking-online
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I just returned from an extended stay in Bali. I was picked up at the airport by my prearranged driver Putu Supartana who was excellent and his price much lower than most of the others. Please email him and he will put together an excellent itinerary for you. His English is great and he is conscientious and will work with you and outline everything specifically so you can finalize your plans before leaving home. You need to nail down an itinerary with someone you can trust, in order to get back to the ship on time. I used him for 5 days as I found him to be awesome. His English was excellent, his knowledge of Bali and the local culture and religion was extensive, his van was nice and it had great A/C. He was flexible and worked with me both before I left home, and after I arrived, to make sure my itinerary was the best possible. We often spent 10 hours a day exploring all areas in Bali and he made suggestions about additional things to see or hotels I might like. He was very friendly and is a good family man. I went to Lombok for a while but made sure I could have him again as my driver when I returned again to Bali. We have actually become friends and I will use him when I make a return visit to Bali and he has offered to do anything for me that I might need, both while at home and when I return to Bali. He always had an umbrella available, and a sarong and sash in order for me to visit the temples. Sometimes he would be arranging my sarong and sash outside the van, before I went in the temple, while local women supervised. :) I was able to see all of Bali and its temples, amazingly beautiful rice terraces, lakes, mountains, beaches, and small traditional towns. I would not have been able to see as much without having Putu as my driver. He was always great to respond promptly to my emails.
If you need a good driver his contact info is: http://www.putudriverinbali.wordpress.com
call/sms: +62 81 805 671 005
You can also email me for suggestions if you decide to book with him, or I can review what he suggests, to tell you if I think it is doable or what is more important to see. I found the other companies I researched, wanted to recommend whatever was the shortest or easiest drive, and often told me that I couldn't fit everything in, when I could, and did. I know for a fact I saw more amazing things than most other people did, and at a cheaper cost. You are like me - I don't want to stop for a long lunch and didn't stop to waste time watching jewellery or carvings be made as there are more exciting things to see and visit.
Marilyn
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I just returned from an extended stay in Bali. I was picked up at the airport by my prearranged driver Putu Supartana who was excellent and his price much lower than most of the others. I used him for 5 days as I found him to be awesome. His English was excellent, his knowledge of Bali and the local culture and religion was extensive, his van was nice and it had great A/C. He was flexible and worked with me both before I left home, and after I arrived, to make sure my itinerary was the best possible. We often spent 10 hours a day exploring all areas in Bali and he made suggestions about additional things to see or hotels I might like. He was very friendly and is a good family man. I went to Lombok for a while but made sure I could have him again as my driver when I returned again to Bali. We have actually become friends and I will use him when I make a return visit to Bali and he has offered to do anything for me that I might need, both while at home and when I return to Bali. He always had an umbrella available, and a sarong and sash in order for me to visit the temples. Sometimes he would be arranging my sarong and sash outside the van, before I went in the temple, while local women supervised. :) I was able to see all of Bali and its temples, amazingly beautiful rice terraces, lakes, mountains, beaches, cities and towns. I would not have been able to see as much without having Putu as my driver. He was always great to respond promptly to my emails.
If you need a good driver his contact info is: http://www.putudriverinbali.wordpress.com
call/sms: +62 81 805 671 005
He can take you from the airport to your hotel, or to the ship, or combine some sightseeing with either or arrange to take you for full day trips.
Marilyn
Taranto Italy
in Italy Ports
Posted
Thanks. I was thinking combining the caves with Alberobella OR Ostuni, but not both. And we would go cross country to get to Ostuni from the caves or from Alberobello, not go up and along the coast. Would you say the caves or Ostuni would be more interesting? I thought the caves would be a change from visiting old towns.