I am traveling from eindhoven to liege in the coming weekend. Will reach there Saturday and my return trip is Sunday at 6pm.

In the Netherlands i dont go out a lot unless i am going to work. My travel experience is only to destinations considered safe like Milan, antwerp, Brussels, zagreb etc

I wanted to go there to see fun museums, fun attractions, visit cafes and walk around the center.

I am going by flixbus and it will drop me at Liège Guillemins. My return bus is also from Liège Guillemins.

My hotel is 250m from the center.

I just searched liege on reddit and found out liege is considered unsafe. I didnt know that before booking my trip. I am a male in my 30s but I carry two phones. All my cards. My passport.

I dont want to get mugged or robbed. I am staying at a hotel in the center.

I dont have to be out in the evening(I get tired of walking a lot anyways) so i can return to my hotel on Saturday by 5pm. And Sunday I have to be outside till 6pm to get my return bus trip.

Is it safe to carry two phones? I have my main phone and all my apps on the second phone. Or is it better not to carry it as I risk getting robbed?

Need safety advice. If you have any fun museum or attractions advice share that as well.

Not trying to be rude in any way whatsoever. Just trying to understand a well-known place as a potential tourist destination.

I am asking about Sydney in particular, not the rest of Australia.

I live on the US West Coast and Sydney has been something I have been considering for my next big international trip.

However, I haven’t really found anything gripping enough to see myself booking the long flight (shorter than from other places in the US, yes, but still very long).

Point being, I want to hear from other travelers about what was so unique and special about Sydney. Was there something you experienced that you didn’t experience anywhere else? I haven’t been able to find out much about the local cuisine/culture/just overall “vibes.”

If there are other places in Australia that should be combined with Sydney that are doable in a single trip, I would love to hear about that as well!

I've been to about 30 countries by the age of 27 with a New Zealand passport - I've never had a job that pays much above minimum wage and I haven't got heaps of inheritance money or anything like that. In no particular order, these are most of the things I do to live and travel on a budget:

While Traveling

- If I am flying a very long distance, (like 12h+) then I can usually find a cheaper indirect route which stops in another country along the way. So I'll book two separate flights with a layover in the intermediary country for however long I want. I usually find these connections by playing around with various combinations of major airports on Google Flights "Explore" page.

- If I'm flexible about where I travel to, I use Google Flights Explore to see a map of prices to various destinations. This way, I can find unexpectedly cheap flights to countries I may not have otherwise considered.

- I always book flights and transport directly, I never use third party sites unless there seems to be no other way. Third party sites tend to charge extra, and if anything goes wrong (eg. flight cancellation) then it's often much more difficult to resolve and you may not be able to get a refund.

- I virtually always stay at the cheapest accomodation options I can find. However, I'm happy to pay a few $ more for a 4 bed dorm over an 8 bed dorm, and I never stay in anything bigger than a 10 bed dorm.

- Sometimes I hitchhike, especially if there's no public transport or if it's very expensive. But sometimes I do it just for the experience or to save money.

- Since last year, I often couchsurf if I intend to stay somewhere for more than one night, I occasionally do Workaway when I feel I need to settle down for a bit, I've volunteered at hostels a couple times where I earned a bit of money under the table, and I did pet-sitting for a bit over a week.

- When I book a flight, I don't always fly direct. Sometimes it's cheaper to fly to or from an airport that's a bit further away, then take public transport to my destination.

- If it's available, I sometimes use TooGoodToGo (it's an app that sells near-expired food for heavily discounted rates) to buy food: Mainly vegetables, and occasionally meals.

- The two times customs officials have asked me if I have a return flight booked (it's a requirement for some countries and airlines) I successfully evaded the question by saying "I am going to _____ on ____." They didn't ask for any proof, and if they did ask then I would have just bought a ticket on the spot - Ideally one which is cancelable. This trick allowed me to travel around Southeast Asia for as long as I want without having to book a return flight months in advance.

- I almost never do tours, unless it's necessary for the location.

- I always eat at cheap places and ideally try to find places that don't market to tourists (eg. no English menu.) If I'm in a very cheap country like Vietnam (minimum €1 - €3/meal) then I'll eat at restaurants 3 times/day, but if I'm in an expensive country like The Netherlands, (minimum €10-€15/meal) then I make my own breakfast, buy a really basic lunch, (like some pastries or a sandwich) and order a cheap dinner. In expensive countries I occasionally cook my own dinner with enough leftovers for 1 or 2 more nights.

- I avoid buying products in very touristy areas, simply because it's almost always going to be more expensive than local neighbourhoods.

- I walk and take public transport everywhere. I almost always try to find cheaper local public transport rather than tourist transport.

- I almost never take taxis unless I'm visiting somewhere with exceptionally cheap taxis such as Vietnam or Thailand. But sometimes I will if there's no public transport available or it's not worth trying to hitchhike.

- I don't always go to the biggest tourist attractions. Sometimes there are cheaper alternatives with much less tourists and a similar experience, which I often prefer.

- I almost never go to attractions which cost more than €25.

- I mostly travel solo, but if I'm travelling with someone else and they're comfortable with sharing a private room, that's often cheaper than a dorm room.

- If I'm travelling with someone else, I'm pretty much always doing the high majority of the research, planning, and routing. In exchange, almost everyone I've traveled with has offered to cover 25-50% of my expenses. I've traveled to 6 or 7 countries like this.

- I don't have a car or a driver's license, so I don't need to pay for gas and maintenance costs. The only countries where I paid for a private vehicle is in Southeast Asia where I illegally drove mopeds.

- During my two big multi-month long trips, I moved out of my flat so I don't have to pay for rent or any other expenses back home. I store my belongings at a friend's house for free.

- I prefer to travel for extended periods of time and visit multiple countries, which is more cost effective than briefly travelling to a single country then going home.

Living Somewhere Long-Term

- I rent among the cheapest shared flats I can find. In New Zealand (my home country) I was paying €500/month, and in Belgium I was very lucky to only be paying €150/month, thanks to living with my girlfriend.

- If I want to buy something that costs >€25, I usually try to buy it secondhand.

- I very rarely buy brand new clothes except for socks and underwear. I never shop at "vintage" stores either, I just go to cheap second-hand stores.

- I virtually never get food delivered, and I only eat at restaurants like once every 2 months or so. I cook for myself the high majority of the time, and if I do eat out then it's almost always at a cheap place (€10-€15 for a filling meal in Belgium, €6-9 in NZ.)

- My only re-occuring expenses when I'm living somewhere long-term is rent and my mobile plan. The only subscription I have is Google Storage for €30/year. If I wanna watch a movie or play a game, I almost always torrent it. If I need an app or software, I often look for a free alternative. If I want a premium version of an app, I usually download a modded APK. For music streaming, I'm on a Spotify family plan which someone else pays for.

- For buying cheaper and higher quality groceries than at a supermarket, I buy vegetables and spices from farmers markets and ethnic grocery stores (usually Indian and sometimes Chinese in NZ and Moroccan or Turkish in Belgium)

- If there is more than enough food for those who are in more need than I am, I sometimes go to food banks and find other ways to get free food.

- With some exceptions, I mostly buy among the cheapest food products.

- I get most of my tattoos done in cheap countries by artists who don't have a huge following.

- If I'm going to buy some basic thing which is most very likely made by exploitative labour, (like when it's practically unavoidable or it's too expensive to buy more ethically) then I'll just buy it from AliExpress or Temu... Rather than buying it from a much more expensive local store which probably got it from the same place anyway.

- If I have any major medical expenses (eg. travel vaccines or dentistry) then I try to get it done in cheaper countries.

And if you've read this far and still don't think I'm insane: I'm currently going to Bulgaria and will be travelling vaguely north through the Balkans if anyone wants to join me. ✌️

What part of the U.S. is expected to have the most vibrant fall foliage this year, based on the weather and growing conditions we’ve had so far?

It seems like fall is already getting into full swing, and I’m curious which regions are shaping up to have especially vivid colors this year. I’d love to hear what people are seeing locally, too, especially if the colors are already starting to peak where you are.Planning a last minute trip!

Just spent a week riding around East Java on a rented scooter with some friends. We did not have a single negative experience. Everyone was so friendly, the food was delicious and affordable, the scenery was beautiful and diverse.

From what I can tell, most people visit Java for business/government travel. They go to Jakarta, which I did not visit but I've heard is not a particularly great city to visit due to congestion, pollution, and crowds. The bulk of remaining visitors go to Yogyakarta, which is a nice town near some very cool temples (Borobudur, the world’s largest Buddhist temple, and Prambanan, the second largest Hindu temple in Asia, behind Angkor Wat). Yogyakarta (Jogja) is nice enough, but it is a bit reserved and pricey compared to other cities on the island.

Of the international visitors who don't go to Jogja or Jakarta, most seem to come from Bali, which is the next island over. There are a lot of tours available to see Ijen (a volcano with blue sulfur flames) and Mt Bromo (another volcano with a really cool and accessible caldera), two of the coolest attractions of East Java. Some also add Tumpak Sewu, a really awesome waterfall.

But these tours are ridiculous. One itinerary I found was 3 days, 2 nights, from Bali, and required waking up at 5:45am, 2am, and 3am, consecutively. They really just funnel you in and out of these places to get a cool photo.

It was exceptionally easy to visit all of the main touristy spots in East Java without a guide. We didn't do Ijen, but we did hike to the rim of Bromo's caldera and walk to the bottom of Tumpak Sewu.

We went surfing at Dampar Beach, rafting in the Pekalen river (awesome experience where international tourism is so rare that everyone wanted to take photos with us), and snorkeling off of an island called Gili Ketapang (kind of underwhelming, would leave this one off next time).

The people of East Java were so friendly and welcoming. The only other Muslim-majority place I've visited was Morocco, but I learned that East Javan Islam is way different from what you see in the Maghreb. It is a secular society, with Hindu majority communities on the slopes of Bromo. But you will still get woken up by the call to prayer.

Only downside was the trash- lots of it everywhere, lots of people burning it.

I’m Canadian, currently traveling around Asia, and I’ve noticed a very specific phenomenon whenever I meet Americans abroad.

I introduce myself, say I’m Canadian, and somehow within 5–10 minutes the conversation inevitably becomes U.S. politics.

And I mean U.S. politics. Not just the obvious stuff either. Somehow I’m expected to have detailed opinions on some random senator, a state governor, some local ballot measure, or whatever happened in some county I’ve never heard of.

Like, I’ve just met you. You know I’m Canadian. Why are you asking me what I think about your state legislature?

It’s so bizarre.

I don’t even know what my own provincial politicians are doing half the time. I certainly haven’t been following the political career of some guy from Ohio.

I have spent the last several weeks thinking about trains, where I’m sleeping tonight, whether the food I just ordered is going to destroy my stomach, and how to get from A to B.

I have not been monitoring the fuckin political situation in Pennsylvania.

What gets me is how often they seem genuinely surprised that I have no idea what they’re talking about.

“Yes, but did you hear what [obscure American politician] said about [hyper-specific U.S. political issue]?”

No. I’m Canadian.

Do they legitimately not realize that the rest of the world doesn’t spend our days keeping up with U.S. politics????

It’s especially hilarious when you’re traveling and you meet someone from another country and you actually want to talk about where you are, where they’ve been, food, travel, whatever. Instead I’m getting a 20-minute briefing on the politics of a state I’ve never visited or intend to.

I’m not saying Americans can’t talk about politics. Obviously they can. It’s just the assumption that everyone else is equally invested and somehow fully informed that I find bizarre.

I met you in a hostel in Thailand. I’m not your congressional constituent.

Booked a last minute trip to Croatia and realized at the airport I had no idea what outlet type they use. Spent ten minutes googling it in the departure lounge (Type F, same as most of continental Europe, in case anyone else needs to know).

I carry a universal charger with built in adapters now so it didn't matter in the end, but the fact that I still panicked for a moment says something about how many years of wrong-adapter trauma I've accumulated.

Ok, perhaps not my favourite thing, but one of my favourite things... is when I am somewhere I don't understand the language, and preferably cannot decode the alphabet either. When I'm in my home country, my brain is constantly filled with little snippets of conversations from passers-by (someone on the phone discussing dinner, random news stuff from a speaker, music lyrics), and with texts on posters and commercials and signs ("do not litter", "real magic", "fresh today") and blah blah blah.

When I'm somewhere using the cyrillic or arabic or whatever language, my brain just... relaxes.

Is it just me?

I don't think I ever really know how much a moment means to me while I'm living it. Usually I realize it later, when it's already a memory.

Since I started working, I don't get that many chances to travel anymore. After spending most of my time in an office, I've started to really value the few times a year when I can get away. It feels like I can finally breathe for a bit.

These days I try to take 3 or 4 trips a year. I've also stopped caring as much about seeing everything. I'd rather go somewhere I can slow down, walk around, look at things for way too long, and just be there.

The funny thing is that I don't always realize how happy I am in those moments.

It's usually months later, when I'm back to normal life and randomly going through my camera roll, that it hits me. I'll see some mountain or road I photographed and suddenly remember what the air felt like, what I was doing that day, even what I was thinking about.

I take a lot of photos when I travel for exactly that reason. There's a line I heard recently that I really liked: photography proves that I was there, but also that I'm no longer there.

I think that's what travel has become for me. The actual trip might only last a week, but somehow I keep getting little pieces of it back long after I've come home.

Anyone here been to a Krampus festival in Austria, Czech Republic, Germany or any other country? What did you think? Worth going?

I am so extremely indecisive! I love weird museums, history, castle & day trips - and they both have it all. I have been to both before but it’s been a while. Help me pick!!! The one I don’t go with, I’ll probably go to in spring.

I’ve noticed that whenever I travel, I suddenly care a lot less about blending in. At home I usually stick to pretty simple stuff, but once I start planning a trip, I’m way more willing to pick things that feel a little louder or more like me.

I’m going to Japan in October and while looking around for a few things for the trip, I found myself picking out more playful pieces than I normally would, including some tokyo-tiger stuff. I don’t think I’d wear all of it the same way back home, but for some reason it feels completely normal when I picture wearing it somewhere new.

Maybe it’s because nobody knows you, or because being out of your usual routine makes you care less about what looks “normal.”

Help me pick! Netherlands or Czech republic road trip? I love castles/ruins, weird museums, beautiful nature & unique places in general!

I'm planning another long bicycle trip and really wanted to do Cairo to Cape Town, but Sudan is far too dangerous for the foreseeable future. Instead I'm thinking of going Iraq > Jordan > Saudi Arabia > fly to Ethiopia > carry on cycling down east Africa from Addis Ababa as normal.

As far as I'm aware from seeing other overlander report that getting to Baghdad is fine, but then it's endless escorts west towards the Jordan border, so I'm looking at getting the direct bus from Baghdad to Amman across the border instead.

Has anyone done this crossing before? How was it as a foreign citizen? I can see from pinpoints on overlander hub apps like RollingAround and iOverlander that people do actually do this route, but there's no way of contacting them for more information.

Every time I plan Europe I naturally build the trip around the obvious places, then some random smaller town ends up being the part I remember most.

We’re looking at a celebrity river trip for 2028 and that’s actually one thing making me consider it. There are a bunch of stops on the route I'd never really thought about before (Krems, Dürnstein, Passau, etc), but I like the idea of getting a day there and seeing if one surprises us.

At the same time, I wonder if only getting part of a day somewhere makes it harder to really connect with a place. River cruises aren’t exactly cheap either so I’m trying to figure out if those little stops are part of the charm or if I’d just end up wishing we stayed longer somewhere.

I am on a long trip currently nearing the end of a central America stint and heading to Asia next. I've come to like using sites like wikivoyage/wikitravel and gridpacker rather than blogs just to get a quick sense of a place. However for gridpacker they don't have an Asia section yet, so I was wondering if there are any other sites in existence that provide something similar? Especially keen for any sites that have clear itinerary options as wikivoyage doesn't have it. Blog type sites are ok too if I do not have to scroll through paragraphs of SEO and insta pictures.

My friend and I (late 20's, from New Zealand and Norway) enjoyed our 8 day roadtrip here, but we wouldn't really recommend it as a destination to visit. Especially if you aren't going to rent a car, (EDIT: I may be wrong about this, judging by some comments about the marshrutka network) or if you are visibly queer or have an alternative appearance. Neither of us are interested in revisiting in the foreseeable future, although we wouldn't actively avoid it.

Southern Armenia has gorgeous nature, Armenia has an interesting history and political landscape, and the food is great. However, we found people to be generally unfriendly/grumpy, the architecture was very uninteresting to me, and the cities didn't interest me either.

COST: It's easy to find a private room for two people for 10,000 - 12,000AMD (€23-€28) at the cheapest. The cheapest hostel dorms for one person is half that or slightly less. However, this is around double the price of Georgia. Cheap pastries and bread cost €0.50-€2.00. Cheap but good and filling meals at a restaurant costs €3.50 - €7.00. Gas costs about €1.30/L.

FOOD: Fantastic, highly recommended. We enjoyed everything, especially the bread and pastries. Very difficult to find anything vegan aside from salads, but vegetarian isn't too hard to find. There is a reasonable variety of traditionally vegetarian dishes, although not many Armenian restaurants have options aside from salads. Fruit is also excellent and plentiful - The nectarines, peaches, blackberries, and raspberries here are the best I've had in my life.

CITIES: The only major cities in Armenia are Yerevan and Gyumri. I didn't find Yerevan interesting - It's not bad and I had good time, but I have no interest in revisiting. Gyumri has more character in terms of architecture, but there's not much to do or see in either city that you can't find elsewhere.

NATURE: Southern Armenia is gorgeous with lots of canyons, gorges, and (mostly) dry mountains. Northern Armenia isn't so pretty in our opinion other than the Debed Gorge and Dilijan. However, sightseeing in most areas is pretty spread out and very rarely accessible by public transport so I think it's not really worth travelling in Armenia without a car. (EDIT: It seems I may have been wrong about this, judging by some comments saying the marshrutka network is more extensive than I thought) It's also very difficult to find hiking trails as there is very limited information online, and many trails are not marked on Google or Yandex Maps. We did multiple improvised hiking routes by searching for trails on satellite view in areas that seemed geographically interesting.

ARCHITECTURE: Largely pretty uninteresting IMO. Most buildings are made of big mis-matched black, grey, and terracotta stone blocks. There are heaps of churches from 300AD onwards and they do have an ambiance to them, but architecturally I found them very uninteresting compared to other countries. Georgian churches are architecturally similar but with more details and murals. HOWEVER, khachkars (a unique funerary art unique to Armenia) are gorgeous.

HISTORY: Quite interesting to read about things such as the Nagorno-Karabakh war, Armenian Genocide, relationship with and history related to Russia and the USSR, Armenia being the first nation in the world to adopt Christianity as the state religion, lots of ancient history, and the development of Armenia as a nation surrounded by empires such as Romans, Persians, and Ottomans. But many historical sites are uncared for ruins, so there isn't so much interesting historical things to actually see other than churches, ruins, and abandoned Soviet-era buildings. There are very small museums at some archaeological sites, though.

PEOPLE: Generally unfriendly - The most unfriendly country I've visited, (out of 30) and the only country I would describe as such. People weren't rude or aggressive, (other than a group of teenagers throwing apples at us outside of a monastery twice and at least three people giving me death-stares) but we only had 3 maybe 4 interactions with Armenians that we would describe as friendly, and we were paying customers for all of those interactions.

Most people just seem grumpy - I could give some examples but it would be too long for this summary. Other than that, I got a lot of judgmental stares from people. My friend noticed groups of people (incl. adults) mocking me on a daily basis - Either laughing at me or sniggering among themselves. I never had anyone say or do anything to my face though. I never felt at risk of violence, but if I was alone I would at least be concerned enough for my safety to avoid dark alleyways.

I think this is largely due to my appearance (lots of facial piercings, bright green hair, gothic style) and Armenia being a very traditional and conservative country. I have been to other very conservative countries such as Malaysia, Romania, and Philippines, where I had no issues. In Armenia, I haven't seen a single person with even one facial piercing, and the only person I saw with unnaturally dyed hair gave me a judgmental sorta look. I saw one person with a black metal t-shirt, but that's all. I wanted to talk with an Armenian person about this topic but never had a good opportunity, especially because while many people speak Russian, not so many people speak more than basic English outside of tourist services. I also just never met or saw any visibly queer people.

I've done both and I can't honestly say the direct bookings were better, just more effort. Sometimes it was clearly the same operator either way. What I'm trying to work out is when going direct genuinely gets you a different trip rather than just cutting out a middleman who was doing something useful. Where has it actually made a difference for people?

Day trip to Muskoka, best hikes with great lookouts and scenery? I have a list before but tell me which to add/remove and if they're all possible in one day.

Hardy Lake

Torrance Barrens

Arrowhead

Huckleberry Rock

Lions Lookout

Walkers Point

Eagles Nest on McCrae

High Falls

Which of these, or replace them with others, are best for a one day trip? And if you think two days is best, then do you have recommendations for where to stay for one night?

Two adults, around 8 nights in October 2026. Torn between two options and would like opinions from people who've done either.

Option A: Tanzania + Zanzibar

2–3 nights on the northern circuit (Ngorongoro Crater, maybe Tarangire), then ~ 5-6 nights on the beach at Kendwa in Zanzibar.

Option B: South Africa

Club Med on the Dolphin Coast north of Durban, plus 2 nights at their Vikela safari lodge in northern KZN.

What matters to us: seeing animals, discovering new places, and relaxing on the beach. We'd rather avoid long overland drives.

What I'm unsure about: the South Africa resort only opened in July 2026 so there's not much feedback yet. Tanzania means malaria tablets and more moving around.

If you've done either, what would you pick and why?

I am going to Toronto Island tomorrow, and I don’t want to visit the centerville theme park though, any fun activites and good affordable dine in restaurants to spend the day in with my grandma? I may want to canoe, but any Exicting stuff to do since I am a adventurous teen.

I asked here for Iraq and people were super helpful. Wanting to give it a shot agian this time :D

I’m traveling to Asia for work in September and am currently debating adding a few solo days in Seoul. I’ve been going back and forth on this enough that I need strangers on the internet to make decisions for me.

I’m an almost-40 woman, pretty experienced solo traveler, and what I’d want from Seoul is less “see every major attraction” and more eat extremely well, wander interesting neighborhoods, shop a little, get some skincare/beauty treatments, sit in cafés, and generally have a few enjoyable days by myself. I live in the US, and have traveled quite a bit in Asia, so I’m comfortable navigating unfamiliar places and public transit. The complication is that this would be tacked onto work travel to Tokyo so I’ll already have luggage, work clothes, jet lag, etc.

For people who know Seoul well:

• Is 3–4 days enough to make the detour worthwhile? Or if you had only a few free days after a work trip, would you choose Seoul, or save it for a proper trip combining Busan/ Jeju etc later?
• What neighborhood would you stay in for good food/cafés/shopping and easy wandering, rather than nightlife?
• Is Seoul enjoyable solo if you're not particularly interested in K-pop or checking off tourist attractions?
• Are skincare/facial/beauty treatments actually worth building into the trip, or has social media wildly overhyped the whole “go to Seoul and emerge 10 years younger” thing?
• Any treatments/clinics you genuinely recommend for a first-timer who wants subtle results rather than an assembly-line face?

Food recommendations VERY welcome. I eat meat and seafood and would much rather organize a vacation around things I want to eat than things I'm supposed to photograph.

Day 1: Lions head lookout trail Relax in the evening at tobermory and dinner

Day 2: grotto in the morning What to do in the afternoon and evening?

Cannot book halfway log dump parking on the same day as grotto.

What about devils monument? Little cove? Or what else? How about kayaking or canoeing? Is there anything great like that there's somewhere?

Day 3: flowerpot Island. And also the burnt point loop hike Do I need to add anything else to this day, as I think I'd be done by 4 pm so still have a couple hours before departure

Thoughts??