Friendly Planet Travel

I recently booked a trip to Greece using Friendly Planet Travel.

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The booking process couldn't have been easier, and we lucked out and got a discount using a code from the Travelzoo Top 20 even though it was technically for a different trip. Try codes even if you're not sure they'll work! We did everything online, and the whole process was straight forward and simple. We got a confirmation email right away, followed a few days later by an email with our flight details. Two weeks before the trip, we received another email with our detailed itinerary and travel documents.

When we arrived in Athens, a driver was there to pick us up. He was our driver throughout the trip, and he was always on time and had interesting things to say as we drove. He gave us ideas and suggestions of things to do in Athens, and we were very happy with him.

When we got to our hotel in Athens, a representative from Friendly Planet was there waiting for us and spent about an hour going through all the details of the trip. She went over all the times we would need to be ready for our driver and gave us vouchers for our hotel, maps, and recommendations. We were exhausted after a full day of traveling and the hour was kind of hard to sit through, but it was also very informative.

Our trip included a three night cruise, and a couple of times we saw another Friendly Planet representative on the ship who told us he had been asked to look out for us and make sure we had everything we needed. We always knew where to go if we had any questions or problems, and it was definitely the most extensive and caring service we have received from a travel agency. We luckily never needed his help, but it was great to know he was there if we did.

There are only two things I would say on the not-as-positive side. First, our flight was from New York City to Athens with a stop in Zurich, and we would have preferred a non-stop flight. It's already such a long day, and without that stop we would have arrived in Athens several hours earlier. Second, the itinerary we received two weeks before we left said someone would be at the airport to pick us up, and it said we would get on the ship the next morning, but it didn't say our driver would pick us up and take us there. We got all of those details when we arrived in Athens, but until then we weren't sure if we would need to have a taxi take us to the port. It would have been nice to know for sure what was going to happen before we left.

Overall, I would recommend Friendly Planet Travel without hesitation and would definitely use them again in the future. They have lots of destinations to choose from, their prices are competitive, and the service can't be beat.

#FriendlyPlanetTravel #Greece

Sunshine Helicopters

In Kauai, my brothers and I took a helicopter tour over the island with Sunshine Helicopters.

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They took our picture standing outside the helicopter and gave it to us later, so this is a picture of a glossy picture. My apologies for the quality.

Getting ready to go!

This was my view out the front...not the best. They assign seats based on weight, and I ended up in the middle of the back row.

Out the sides was much better

There's a glare from the window in some of these, but you get the idea.

Can you believe the color of that water?

The helicopter was able to get down into canyons that would take days to hike to, and we saw so many waterfalls. 

Absolutely breathtaking

So much of this island is uninhabited and only accessible by air.

This was an INCREDIBLE way to see it!

After calling to make our reservation, we got a call back asking if we could change our time by about an hour. For our trouble, we were offered free pictures (the one at the top) and a free DVD of our tour. We didn't mind at all and wouldn't have expected to get free stuff, but it was definitely a nice bonus! All of the people we worked with were incredibly nice, funny, and dedicated to making our experience with them as good as possible.

I did, unfortunately, have to make use of the complimentary barf bags toward the end of the flight...but that wasn't their fault. My body's aversion to any and all motion was to blame for that, but everything that was under their control was perfect. It really was such an amazing experience...one I would recommend to anyone without hesitation.

#SunshineHelicopters #Kauai #Hawaii

Hotel Tosca

A few years ago, I spent a freezing cold week in Prague and stayed at Hotel Tosca.

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The entrance to the hotel is the red door on the left in this picture, and just up the street was an erotic shop (the brown building with the red sign). Every time we left the hotel we turned the other way (toward a metro station that was a quick 2-3 minute walk), so we never passed the erotic shop and it wasn't a problem for us. But, something to think about depending on who you're traveling with.

Our room


This is a modest, budget friendly hotel with basic amenities. The location is probably not the best, except for the metro station being so close. That's really the best way to get around the city anyway, so being so close to a station is definitely a benefit. The location really didn't bother us much, but it's something to consider. Without a doubt, the worst thing about the hotel is the noisy street car that runs right outside. Our window faced the street, and the rattling bothered us at night.

The front desk staff were friendly and helpful, and a couple of times they made phone calls for us which was very appreciated since we don't speak Czech. The simple continental breakfast was basic but pretty much what we expected. No complaints there. We did have to ask to have our room cleaned after a few days without housekeeping, but they apologized and it was taken care of right away. We had missed a connecting flight on our way to Prague and checked in a day late, and we weren't able to get a refund for that unused night. We figured as much, but thought we might as well ask.

Overall, our stay at Hotel Tosca was just okay, and if I was going back to Prague I would probably look for a different hotel. It wasn't awful by any means, but it also didn't offer enough to draw me back.

#HotelTosca #Prague #CzechRepublic

Aston at Poipu Kai

A couple of years ago, my family went to Kauai on vacation and stayed at the Aston at Poipu Kai.

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The resort has several buildings with individually owned condos that can be rented by the week, and we rented two to accommodate our family. This is the family room and kitchen in one of them, and down the hall to the left there were two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Since each condo is owned by someone different, they won't all look the same.

This condo was on the ground level, and this was our view out the back entrance. If you look reeeally close, you can see a sliver of ocean in the distance.

A quick 5 minute walk through the resort and we were at Poipu Beach. The resort is just across the street from the beach, so some buildings have a great ocean view, but even for us being at the other end it was such a short distance and we didn't mind the walk at all. How could you when it looks like this?


Poipu Beach




We loved our stay at this resort. The island is small enough that there really isn't a bad location, but we thought the Poipu area was perfect. There was a grocery store nearby, we were only about 20 minutes from the Lihue airport, and we could easily get anywhere we wanted to go. While I wouldn't call our condos luxurious, they definitely met our needs and we were very happy with them. We didn't deal with the front office much other than checking in, but when we did they were very nice and eager to help. If you're looking for a budget friendly way to do Kauai, this is a fantastic option!

#AstonatPoipuKai #Kauai #Hawaii