10 best couple of july 2019 If you have a couple of days just find everything here, real and fake, stay outside the town to feel the real cheap and expensive. Since some Balinese vibes and having a relaxed parts of the market can be pretty getaway. smelly, be ready to practice your mouth breathing before you go. Transportation You will find The Ubud Royal Unlike the most part of the island, Palace just on the other side of the Ubud doesn’t have regular metered street. It still has well-preserved taxis. Expect to find drivers standing Balinese architecture and charming on the side of the street holding little gardens. Definitely a short and signs or just inviting people to enter worthwhile visit! in their unmarked vans. Even if it sounds weird it’s a safe way to travel You can continue your trip around, just don’t forget to negotiate heading to The Monkey Forest the price before you get in! Renting (daily from 8h30-18h, around a motorbike it’s also a great idea 3$ adults and 1$ children). You’ll and a very cheap option (you can find a mystical forest filled with find prices as low as 4$/day). It’s not photogenic monkeys. They may that hard to drive in Ubud compared seem cute but they’re just little to other big cities in Bali. Due to the thieves who secretly want to steal one-way system, you will drive most your food and personal items. If this of the time straightforward, having happens run, run for your life! Just at one corner The Royal Palace and kidding, don’t make any sudden in the other one The Monkey Forest. movements and just take care of your belongings. It’s not an easy Exploring Central Ubud task since there are way too many monkeys to keep track of. It’s a little You can start your day early in the controversial whether will you love morning exploring the chaotic Ubud or hate this place, but it’s definitely market. If you’re with guys and they an experience! want to skip the shopping time, you can always argue that shopping You’ve probably already read counts as cardio (it worked with that some witnessed people being Miguel at least…). bitten or scratched. Well… perhaps they were talking about us! That’s Start to walk around so you get the price for trying to take a picture an idea of what they sell and what with them. If you really want to send kind of prices to expect (here is your family a picture saying: ‘Mom, the perfect place to put in practice I’m making new friends!, pick up the your bargaining skills and have a small monkeys (it hurts less when fun interaction with locals!). You’ll they bite!). Later in the afternoon, cupidtrails.com 53
2019 10 best couple of july you can enjoy the views from crowded (the laziest ones don’t dare Campuhan Ridge Walk. The light will to walk up that much!). To avoid the be better to busy hours, go early in the morning or late in the afternoon. There are take awesome photos and you also several cafes near the ledge will not get dehydrated from the where you can have a drink and heat! It’s an easy trail that leads you admire the splendid views. through some amazing winding pathways with rice fields. Rice terrace owners will ask you for a donation, so prepared to be The cherish on top of the cake stopped every now and then… it will be ending your day with a massage. Or maybe two or as many For those looking for a one in a as you want! Ubud is packed with lifetime experience, we recommend spas and beauty salons so there are you climb the Mount Batur volcano. plenty of options available for you. This active volcano is 1717 meters above sea level and you can reach Around Ubud the summit after 2 hours hiking. Expect a spectacular scenery and an An easy 20-minute drive from Ubud unforgettable sunrise from the top. town, heading to north will take you to Tegalalang rice terrace. For the waterfalls lovers we advise you to head to Tibumana Since it’s one of the most Waterfall. This journey will take you famous rice terraces in Bali it’s also around 45 minutes but it’s a great one of the most visited. You can spot for those who want to enjoy the either enjoy the view from the top or forest atmosphere. After you park, hike down crossing to the other side. you still have a 15 minute-walk, but Go for the second option because the pathway is refreshingly beautiful. you’ll find it a lot quieter and less There are vines creeping down the cliffs and colourful butterflies flying around. The waterfall is a single column in the dry season, while in the monsoon season you may find twin columns of water cascading down from the hill. The water is no more than 1.5 meter deep, so diving is not an option. Don’t let that discourage you, you can still stand right underneath the waterfall and let the hydro pressure do wonders for your stress relief. 54 cupidtrails.com
10 best couple of july 2019 Daniele & Alessia Together we are Dale on Travel (@daleontravel) As you may guess our passion is to travel and to see as many places as we can. We come from Vicenza, a pretty artistic city in the North of Italy. We have been friends for a long time and then we started our relationship six and a half years ago. That’s when we started traveling together. We love to experience the culture and the beauty of every different place, as much as possible. cupidtrails.com 55
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10 best couple of july 2019 Around the World in 15 Days It’s Possible!! Hyped to wander Sarah & Enrique Why did we want to do a crazy trip around the world you might ask? It starts with our passion for travel. We believe its important to do and see as much as we can on this Earth while we have time to enjoy it. W e had talked about a trip experiences so you can make your like this for years. So when dream trip a reality. we got engaged we thought we could turn our honeymoon into Quick Rundown an adventure of a lifetime. Duration: 15 days Through our years of traveling Countries Visited: 4 we’ve figured out that we really United Kingdom, Maldives, enjoy spending part of our time at Thailand, China luxurious locations but also like Locations: 10 to immerse ourselves in different United Kingdom: London cultures. Maldives: Hudhuranfushi & Male Thailand: Chiang Mai, Koh Phi Phi, Sarah’s a ninja at finding the Krabi Town, Railey Beach, Tonsai most cost effective ways possible to Beach, Phuket make these trips happen. Now we China: Hong Kong want to share our knowledge and cupidtrails.com 59
2019 10 best couple of july Distance Traveled: 20,021 mi you first pick the top two countries (32,220km) where you want to spend most of your time. From there you can Flights: 9 adjust your travel dates and other Ferries: 9 destinations along the way. Taxis: Too many to count lol Now it’s time to look at flights. …And after all this we were still This is where reality begins to set happily married!!! in as you will see airfare to places halfway around the world can be Before the trip expensive —don’t freak out! It can seem daunting but if you don’t Planning is very important to us. commit, you’ll never go. We’ll be We like to maximize our time where writing a blog post soon about ways ever we’re at. Having a schedule will to start saving before you book your keep you on track but leave room flights. for adjustments and spontaneous moments of fun. Most blogs that we’ve seen say don’t waste your time with layovers Flights but we suggest the opposite. Search for cheaper flights with longer If you want to do a trip around the layovers. When we mean longer world in a month or less we suggest layovers we’re talking about 8 hours or longer, it’s possible that there are also overnight layovers. If it’s less than 8 hours, you may not have a enough time to really see the city you’re in. This is how we were able to go to London and Hong Kong. Even though we didn’t have much time in both cities we were still able to see all the major touristy things. Doing it this way gives you a feel of more places. For example, we loved Hong Kong and now we know that we want to go back and spend more time there. The downside of this is you’re going to lose a little bit of time at the destination you ultimately want to make it to. There are SO many 60 cupidtrails.com
10 best couple of july 2019 more possible ways to search for will definitely help you save on reasonable flights but we don’t want your budget. Research blogs, review to keep this first blog too long. Please others comments on places and look out for a separate blog post on make sure to book it if you like it. more tips on how to book reasonable Places can book up fast. Look at the flights around the world. refund policy as well, if you can get a refund, book your stay and Building your itinerary and if you find one that is even more booking accommodations appealing you can just cancel. After your flights are booked we Now it’s looking at what you suggest you start developing your want to do when you’re there. itinerary to determine exactly where Some travelers like to just wing it you’re going to be on what exact but that’s really not our style. We days. Start putting in your time enjoy having an tentative plan with frames as well with your flights. knowing that it’s subject to change. You have to set 2 hours before your We do like to do the touristy things flight to make it to the airport and but also like to go off the beaten give yourself time after your flight path to really experience the local to potently have to go through culture. Read multiple blogs, ask for customs, exchange money, change recommendations on Facebook or clothes/freshen up, grab bags, check twitter but please don’t book each bags into lockers, and find modes of day with guided tours that you see transportation, etc. on TripAdvisor. It’s great for a couple days but make sure you’re choosing Then it’s time to book where ones that get great reviews from you will be staying. This is also multiple sites. where trips can get costly. We again suggest that you do your Also if you do a guided tour that research. Our recommendation is you want, book it. Guided tours can to experience at least one or two sell out fast. We are pretty on-the- nights in a luxury resort/hotel. Now go people so our days our usually we enjoy medium priced Airbnb’s filled with places to see and things or boutique hotels compared to to do. If we wake up in morning hostels or cheap Airbnb’s/ hotels but and we’re too tired, we can adjust that’s just us. Depending where we our schedule from there. Search are though we are up to roughin’ it, how long usually each adventure Sarah just enjoys her hot showers. will take you and add that time into We met many people on our trip your itinerary plus of course adding that were staying in hostels the in times to eat. If you want to go to whole time or house sitting. These highly rated restaurants make sure cupidtrails.com 61
2019 10 best couple of july to book far enough in advance, outfits that you can use at multiple if they have that option. This is occasions and in multiple ways. probably where we usually save Remember you may buy clothes that money at, we are always looking for you can wear on the way. local eats that are reasonably priced. Biggest thing is have fun, enjoy Don’t drink local water or get ice yourself and whoever you are with! in drinks in countries where there is higher risk of diseases. We didn’t get Some Random Do’s and Don’t sick but we met others on our trip before we go into Our Trip that did. Do’s A big mistake for both of us was not getting a drone before the trip. Find free things to do; hikes, We kept going back and forth on it, viewpoints, beach days, just now we regret it. We are very happy exploring, etc. We saved money of what we have with Enrique’s on finding hotels that provided camera and he is so talented but we breakfast. know that a drone would of made our videos/pictures even more If you’re using credit cards right amazing. now that have cash back reward points, save those points until you Don’t wait last minute to call are close to going on your trip. A your credit cards/debt card to let month before, get those cash back them know that you’ll be traveling reward points put into your account. out of the country. Also find what Use that cash for spending money on type of international transactions your trip. Just make sure your paying fees will apply if you are planning off your cards on a monthly basis. to use your cards. Also don’t wait till last minute in exchanging money. Cheap Airlines can be great for It stressed us out when we got into your pocket but make sure to see later flights, also when we got to new what the bag weight limitations are. places we wanted to get there right away. When having multiple flights make sure to pack on your carry-on; Don’t expect that everything is small blanket, eye mask, noise- going to go perfect because it won’t. cancelling headphones or ear plugs; Besides making sure you’re safe, journal/planner and a deck of cards. nothing can be fixed. If there is a problem, then there is a solution to Dont’s that problem. Try to stay on track to your schedule but if it doesn’t go Don’t overpack!! This is always according to plan, try not to stress Sarah’s biggest weak ness and it and adjust your schedule. cost us when we didn’t check bag weight restrictions on Air Asia. Bring 62 cupidtrails.com
10 best couple of july 2019 Our around the world itinerary Los Angeles (LAX) – signing up for mileage programs especially if your planning flying a January 9th lot in the next year to couple years. Tip: You can find flights at a London – January 10th cheaper prices if you look for departures from airports that are We had an 8 hour layover in London international hubs. arriving at 12:05 AM and our next flight was at 8 PM. If you do find a Tip: We have status with American layover in London make sure that Airlines, if you fly internationally the arriving and departing flights you are able to get into the Flagship Lounges around the world. Start cupidtrails.com 63
2019 10 best couple of july are at the same airport. Maldives – The two major hubs are January 11th-15th Heathrow and Gatwick. The distance time between airports is about 45 Maldives has been the #1 mins with no traffic but traffic is destination on our bucket list common in London and it could since we met. Sarah has been take up to 2 hours to get from one dreaming about going to the airport to the next, making it very Maldives since she was 10 years difficult to really see London in a old. She remembers learning about short amount of time that you have. a “Disappearing Paradise”, it is the world’s lowest country and What we were able to see… is at risk due to climate change and bleaching of the coral reefs. Buckingham Palace We really hope that this paradise St. James Park doesn’t disappear because it really Westminster Abbey is perfection; the beautiful clear Parliament Square blue water, all the sea life, the Churchill Statue temperate weather plus some of the Big Ben nicest people you’ll ever meet. London Eye Walk on the Westminster Bridge Now Maldives is considered a Take a picture in a red phone luxury destination and can be very booth of course! expensive but we do have many Went to Harrod’s to get some tips on how to find the best options dessert and souvenirs for our family. for you and your budget. We will be going over those tips in our Maldives post. Soon to come!! 64 cupidtrails.com
10 best couple of july 2019 We stayed at The Adaaran Read more about Male when our Prestige Ocean Villas on blog post comes out. Hudhuranfushi for 3 Nights, 4 days. This resort was a 30 Thailand – minute speedboat ride from Malé January 15th-22nd International Airport. Our all- inclusive ocean villa we felt was We decided to have Thailand be pretty reasonably priced for around our 2nd Destination because we $740 USD a night. We were a little read that if you haven’t been to a nervous about booking this resort South Asian country before that this because it was a middle range price was a good place to start. There are for what you can pay for resorts in many American tourists that flock Maldives but we can’t rave enough to Thailand every single year. We about our stay and absolutely were actually very surprised at how enjoyed every second of our trip. many Americans we met on our trip. We even met some fellow San On our last night in the Maldives Diegans. Thailand was where we we headed to Malé which is the stayed the longest because we knew capital. Malé is where the locals live, first that Maldives was beautiful even though the island is small and but there were only so many days most reviews that we saw said there that we could just hang on a beach, wasn’t much to do, we still wanted we wanted to experience more to see the culture. Most tourists don’t consider seeing Malé because it doesn’t have the charm like the resorts do and drinking alcohol is against the law. Maldives is an Islamic country and every Maldivian is Muslim. The resorts are able to get special licenses to carry liquor, the Maldives exists through tourism but in the city where most of the people live, it’s forbidden. Again unlike some reviews that you may read, we enjoyed our time in Malé. We got to see how the locals spent their days with also seeing some sites. The island is so small that you can walk around the city in a couple hours to a half a day. cupidtrails.com 65
2019 10 best couple of july adventures and our money can go a Once this blog post comes out lot further in Thailand. it’s going to EPIC!! Where we went in Thailand… Island hopping literally: When you’re traveling island to island Chiang Mai – you’ll be taking ferries. Most ferries January 15th-18th can be booked early which we would recommend. All the ferries We absolutely loved Chiang Mai. we used were extremely full plus the We got in late on the 15th and left lines got very long to buy tickets. If early the 18th so we really only got you book your tickets early online, 2 full days here. We would totally go you’re going to bypass that line back in a heartbeat and felt that we instead of wasting time. Some could’ve easily spent anywhere from islands are so close to one another another 3 weeks to 3 months in this that you can’t get ferry tickets online region, which a lot of tourists do! but those are easily accessible once you arrive. Also if you’re searching Chiang Mai is in northern for Airbnb’s, many of the hostels Thailand where you’re surrounded and hotels are using Airbnb to by mountains, jungles and temples. attract more guests. It seemed more The three main things that we did in difficult for us to find an actual Chiang Mai were: home or room that we could get for each night. Dio Suthep Temple Elephant Sanctuary Night Bazaar Koh Phi Phi – January 18th-19th Had a very short visit to Koh Phi Phi. We read many reviews that this is where young backpackers and tourists like to party. It sure was!! If you’re from the ages of 18-26 and you still like the nightlife scene then Koh Phi Phi is your thing and can probably stay a couple more nights then we did. Even though Koh Phi Phi wasn’t our favorite place we still had fun!! Our main thing we did in Koh Phi Phi was doing a boat tour that took us island hopping and to Maya Beach. We were thrilled about 66 cupidtrails.com
10 best couple of july 2019 our tour and will let you know more Tiger Cave Temple. We knew we were details when our blog of Koh Phi Phi going to be exhausted after the hike comes out. so we just wanted to have a hotel where we didn’t have to travel too Krabi Town – far. We loved Krabi so much because January 19th-20th it just had a different feel to us, very local. We loved our boutique hotel, What a pleasant surprise Krabi we ate at a fantastic restaurant that Town was for us. When we put Krabi were filled with locals and we had Town on our itinerary we were just a great night out on the town. This thinking of it as a one day stay to is what we love about traveling, get us to our next destination, which when some places that you thought most people do. Krabi is known as weren’t going to be that great turn a transport town. Most people don’t out amazing. stay in Krabi because there are more popular beach towns close by; Railey Beach / Tonsai – Such as Ao Nang, Railey Beach and January 20th – 21st Phang Nga. Now we decided to stay in Krabi Town because it was closer From Krabi Town we took a ferry to the hike that we wanted to do, to Railey Beach. This is one of the cupidtrails.com 67
2019 10 best couple of july ferries that we were talking about from Railey Beach and it’s where earlier where the islands are so rock climbers and free spirited close that you can’t book it in people go!! If planning a trip with advance. When arriving to Krabi, your family, we wouldn’t suggest you’re going to walk through the Tonsai as a place to go, Railey ferry station before you exit and Beach yes but Tonsai no. If you’re this is where there will be ferry boat backpacking throughout Thailand companies that will help you get then this place is a must see. Spend tickets to your next destination. a couple nights to a week here. Princess Ferries helped us book We wish we spent at least one our ferry a day early. It was great night in Tonsai, even though it was because they had a shuttle pick us so close to Railey Beach. Why you up at our hotel in Krabi to take us may ask, well we wish we could’ve to a small dock where a small boat gone rock climbing with all the would take us to Railey Beach. Not badass rock climbers and the bars a ferry, even though they call it a seemed so fun!! It was still a blast ferry. spending half a day there. More details to come in our Tonsai Beach If we hadn’t gotten that service blog post. when we arrived in Krabi it may have taken us longer to figure out a Phuket – January 21st – 22nd way to get to Railey. We think this is (Last stop in Thailand) great information to know because when we were doing our research When planning our itinerary we before our trip we couldn’t find any knew that we would seriously be info on how to get to Krabi Town or go-go-go from Chiang Mai and Ao Nang to Railey. throughout the islands so we decided to have more of a luxurious Railey is a pretty beach where stay while we were in Phuket. Now a lot of Instagram photos are taken we can’t give to much details about at. There are two sides of the island Phuket because we didn’t check out that you can stay on, West or East. the city but we can tell you about We would say that West is the more our stay at the JW Marriott Phuket, popular side to stay on but just which we enjoyed. It’s not cheap, the know this beach can get crowded. cost is probably around $450 USD In our two days here we were able a night but we used our Marriott to relax beach and poolside but also points to stay there. More details to have some adventures. More details come in our blog post about the JW to come when we post our blog Marriott Phuket about Railey Beach. What we heard from other Tonsai is just around the corner 68 cupidtrails.com
10 best couple of july 2019 travelers that we met on the way in the middle of night in Bangkok that Phuket was just an okay and then had a 12 hour layover in experience for them but we also Hong Kong before we headed back heard this about Bangkok, while home to California. we met other travelers that loved Bangkok. However our excitement to see Hong Kong was so high that we When looking at our next trip to actually didn’t feel too tired. Thailand we would like to go back to Chiang Mai, see Phang Nga (James We arrived in Hong Kong at Bond island), Bangkok but also 10am and our departing flight to LAX head to Vietnam and Cambodia. wasn’t until 12:05am on the 24th. Hopefully that trip will come soon!! With this amount of time we had were able to… Hong Kong – January 23rd See the Financial District in We might be insane but we took a downtown Hong Kong red eye from Phuket, had a layover Experience Victoria Peak Lunch at Tim Ho Wan, the cupidtrails.com 69
2019 10 best couple of july cheapest Michelin-starred experiences and creating our video. restaurant in the world. It really made us re-live some of the moments. This post was an Ozone Bar at the Ritz-Carlton: over-view of our trip, now we will be Ozone Bar is the tallest rooftop bar breaking down each place that we in the world. went to and go more depth about our adventures. This will give you a Take the Star Ferry around the better idea on potentially what you Harbor to see the city’s Symphony of can do on your trip. Lights show Please contact us if you have Walked around what we would any specific questions or comments. call Hong Kong’s Time Square We are open to all feedback that will help us become a more powerful Even though we had a short blog for our readers. time in Hong Kong we at least know that we would easily go Some individuals love planning back. We were unable to see Po Lin their own itineraries, some don’t Monastery, which we read is an all have the time or energy to do all day event, also we would really love the planning but need a vacation. to experience the nightlife. We heard If that is you, we are here to help. It the bars and clubs are phenomenal. also doesn’t need to just be in these Our blog “12 Hours in Hong Kong” locations, we can help you plan will be coming out soon. wherever you want to go. Message us if you would like our help. We really hope that you enjoyed our FIRST blog post! We do know that we enjoyed writing about our 70 cupidtrails.com
10 best couple of july 2019 Iceland roadtrip tips Our sweet adventures Christina & Adam cupidtrails.com 71
2019 10 best couple of july We spent 7 amazing days on our Ireland road trip, which means we have several tips for driving in Ireland. Driving in an unfamiliar area is never easy – let alone driving in a foreign country. And for us Americans, let’s not forget about driving on the opposite road! T here were SEVERAL differences easy about driving in Ireland. Losing that we had to adjust to, but your focus or driving recklessly can with a good spirit and some lead to huge mistakes. Not only are road trip essentials, we managed to you driving on the opposite side make it through our Ireland road of the road (with the exception of trip (even with a car accident). With some countries), but you also have that being said, we learned a few to share the most narrow and single things along the way that we think lane roads. will help prepare for your Ireland road trip. So without further ado, Everything Is Opposite here are our 20 helpful tips for driving in Ireland. There are only a handful of countries that drive on the left side Get Comfortable Being of the road, Ireland being one of Uncomfortable them. Almost everything is opposite – steering wheel is on the right, fast This is one of our biggest driving lane is on the right, street lights tips for Ireland. There is nothing and more. Take your time getting 72 cupidtrails.com
10 best couple of july 2019 acquainted with the adjustments. to make the decision or sacrifice to drive backwards until they come Sharing the Road across an area to pull aside letting the oncoming traffic go through. Our There will come a time when best advice, follow the flow of the you will have to get even more traffic and be patient. uncomfortable. Driving down the most narrow roads is never easy, Renting Your Vehicle but when you add oncoming traffic to the mix it becomes very stressful There are so many small details that and unnerving. Driving through the can help make for a great Ireland country was always okay because road trip and they all start at the we could pull off into the grass and rental car. the oncoming car would drive slowly by (or vice versa). It was while we Automatic vs. Manual were driving on the Ring of Dingle and around Kerry that became As we have said, driving in Ireland is difficult. While driving on narrow not easy. If you are not comfortable roads on the cliffs, oncoming traffic driving a manual vehicle, we HIGHLY would have nowhere to pull to the recommend you rent an automatic side of the road. So one car will have vehicle. Yes, it is the more expensive option, but can you imagine driving cupidtrails.com 73
2019 10 best couple of july on the opposite side of narrow see and had to pull over before we unpaved roads with a manual caused an accident. We also had a vehicle? It is truly not worth the mishap with figuring out how to lock stress. Rent an automatic vehicle. our car; luckily we fixed it without even trying to. Get to Know Your Vehicle Car Insurance Get familiarized with your vehicle before leaving the rental car Prior to our Ireland road trip, we grounds. Make sure everything in read that car rental companies the car works before you leave i.e. REQUIRE car insurance. If you air conditioner, radio, headlights have a credit card that provides and more. Not that we would have car insurance, like Chase Sapphire known before we drove off the lot, Reserve, you must ask your but when the rain started to come credit card company for a written (inevitable in Ireland), we realized document stating the car insurance our rental car’s defroster was agreement. working poorly. It made an already uneasy driving situation even more As we briefly mentioned, we got stressful. At one point we could not into a car accident and fortunately our Chase Sapphire Reserve credit 74 cupidtrails.com
10 best couple of july 2019 card covers up to $75,000 worth of Costco! damage to our car. However, we have now learned that they do not Basic Need to Know cover damage on the third party Driving Tips vehicle. So, play it safe and make sure you have rental car insurance These next few tips are all around for both you and the third party. helpful for your Ireland road trip. From road signs, to gas information and snacks, this category has it all. Must Have Car Features Road Signs We are firm believers on having We found that the northwest part three car features for road trips: of Ireland has limited signs of the GPS, cruise control and USB road. We would drive for miles compatibility. Luckily our cell without a single speed limit sign. phones had access to international Ireland is well known for their data (check with your cell phone unpaved, single lane and winding provider), so we did not need GPS roads. While driving in those on our car. It almost goes without circumstances with oncoming saying that GPS is a dire necessity traffic, we would just use our best for driving in a foreign country. judgement on speed. Of course, Cruise control is also a helpful car slow down and move to the side feature because there are times of the road as quickly as possible when you will be driving over 30 with oncoming traffic or on a sharp miles on a straight highway. Lastly, turn. Ireland really trusts drivers to in this day in age, a USB outlet drive carefully. When coming into is needed to recharge electronic small towns, we would notice SLOW devices and to connect to the car to painted white on the road, but other listen to your GPS or playlist – very than that, no speed limits. essential. While we were driving in the Finding the Best Deals southwest part of Ireland, we noticed they are more westernized We book our rental car through two with their road signs and have them reliable companies, either Costco more frequently. They are also more or AutoSlash. Both have saved us common when entering and leaving several hundred dollars. Recently, towns. Costco has been saving us more, but in the past we always used Wheels Go Around Autoslash. Can you believe we got Roundabouts an automatic car for seven days during Easter for only $105 with We first drove through several roundabouts during our road cupidtrails.com 75
2019 10 best couple of july trip through Italy, so this was one familiar territory for us. Even with our experience, we still found ourselves exiting the wrong turn a couple of times. If you are uncertain which exit your GPS is referring to, just go slow and go around the roundabout again. Also, always remember to yield to the oncoming traffic from the turns before you. Avoid Tolls the gas station. The nicest gas station we came across was Apple Avoiding tolls is not only budget- green. They donate a portion of their friendly, but you will see more of profits to charity and have freshly the Ireland countryside, which baked pastries, a Subway and plenty is what an Ireland road trip is all of road trip snacks. about! If you do happen to drive through a toll, you can pay for them Also different from the United immediately at a grocery store. The States, is buying gas from the rental only exception is driving in Dublin, car company. Most times, filling you will have a bill from your rental up your gas tank on your own is car company when you return cheaper than the gas rates at a rental home. car company. However, in Ireland it was cheaper to buy a full tank of gas Getting Gas with our rental car company. It was at least .15 cents cheaper. Gas is by the liter and much more expensive than United States. The Pack Snacks! average price of gas we saw (March- April 2018) was €1.35 a liter for Snacks are essential for any road unleaded and €1.25 for diesel. For trip, so find a gas station or grocery our seven day Ireland road trip we store and stock up. You MUST buy spent between $200 to $250 with an yourself some Taytos, they are economy sized car. potato chips cooked in sunflower oil. They come in many delicious Like most things in Ireland, flavors like Smokey bacon, salt getting gas is also a little opposite and vinegar or cheese and onion. than in the United States. Unleaded We recommend buying them at gas is the green pump, whereas SuperValu or Tesco for grocery stores diesel is the black pump. You will (bring your own bag at grocery also have to pay for your fuel inside 76 cupidtrails.com
10 best couple of july 2019 will not reroute. The situations can be countless, so take a deep breath and remember to enjoy the beauty of Ireland surrounding you. stores, you will have to pay for them) Be Felxible and Apple Green for gas stations. When you plan your trip, leave room Create an Awesome for flexibility in your driving route. Playlist! You will most likely come across unqiue places you never read about A great music playlist is essential for on the internet. You will want to any road trip. Mix up your playlist stop and take photos or explore – we with some traditional Irish music to highly encourage you to do so! With go along with the Irish countryside that being said, we also encourage and some pump up music for the you to allocate for at least an hour of mornings to get your day going. your driving route for this flexibility. Planning Your Book Refundable Ireland Road Trip Hotel Rates All epic road trips start with a lot This tip goes hand in hand with of planning and a great packing the previous ones. Anything can list, but some things are just out happen during your Ireland road of our control. So be prepared and trip that will make you miss your consider these tips when planning final destination. So book hotel your Ireland road trip. rooms with a refundable rate in case you have to cancel. We were Expect Things to go Wrong lucky to always make it to our final destinations, but there were some When it is all said and done, no close calls. matter how much you plan to the “t”, things will go wrong. Some Never Expect Your Driving may be out of control like traffic or Route to be Perfect pouring down rain, other times it can be a wrong turn and your GPS We used Furkot and absolutely loved it! It is a website that plans every minute of your road trip, but when you make plans, you never REALLY know how long you will spend at a castle or Giant’s Causeway. Or as we said above, you never know cupidtrails.com 77
2019 10 best couple of july what things could go wrong or extra you plan to drive to Northern sights you may stop at. From our Ireland (don’t try to lie because if experience, we NEVER made it to our anything were to happen outside final destination on ti me. of Ireland the price can be worse). However, when we told Alamo we Create Routes for Breaks were driving to Northern Ireland, they just gave us advice about Ireland is a small country; you can driving there. We asked about the get from Dublin to Cork in around fee and they said that they do not three hours. However, three hours charge extra for their clients to drive is still a long drive and when you into Northern Ireland. We have have a 7 day Ireland road trip – you heard different stories, so all we can will get tired of driving. So create a recommend is you prepare for the driving route that will allow for some chance to pay extra to drive into sightseeing breaks. There are SO Northern Ireland. MANY beautiful castles, ruins, abbeys and more to explore. From Galway to Crossing the Irish border into the Cliffs of Moher alone there are at Northern Ireland is easy. There is least three stops you can take. a small fee for a toll, but when you have your GPS avoid tolls, you will Driving to Northern pass the border with no problem. We Ireland actually almost missed the Northern Ireland Welcome sign because it If you plan to drive into Northern happened so fast. Ireland, (which we highly recommend for your Ireland road KPH to MPH trip), here are some more helpful driving tips. We recommend doing some preliminary research on KPH to Northern Ireland Fee MPH or vice versa. We had friends driving throughout Ireland the Prior to our Ireland road trip, we same time as us, and both of our were told that we would incur a cars did not have a speed odometer fee to drive into Northern Ireland. that featured both KPH and MPH. Renting with Alamo, our fee When driving in Ireland the speed was €30, but when we looked at is in KPH, but when you cross the Enterprise we saw their fee was border into Northern Ireland, the €150! So it appears that each rental speed changes to MPH. With our car car company has their own rules for not being able to tell us the MPH, their clients driving into Northern we had to look up and convert it Ireland. When you are at the rental ourselves with slow cell data. car desk, you must tell them that 78 cupidtrails.com
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10 best couple of july 2019 “There ain’t surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them” Mark Twain cupidtrails.com 81
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