Where did you go spring break, how did it go?

[Anonymous]

Eight days in Sedona, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Page and Zion. Fantastic.

[Anonymous]

We went to the UK and had a lovely time -- weather there was gorgeous (clear, sunny skies, highs in the high 60s, might even have topped 70 a day or two). Everything was open -- that is, some places are only open weekends at this point in the year, but no COVID-related closures that I could discern. Very little masking in London and in the southeast outside of London. We used masks pretty religiously, especially on public transportation and managed to escape infection even with the surge. The actual proctored testing to come home went fine (we used eMed), but the "pre-verification" of our test results by the airline was a little rocky -- on the second try of uploading our results, one traveler's results were accepted but not the other. We had hard copies that we showed at check-in, which took no time at all, so I might just do that next time (assuming we still need to test to come home the next time we travel internationally and have easy access to a printer).

My only real gripe is that both our outbound and inbound flights were changed multiple times before departure as the airlines shifted their schedules. This left us with a connecting flight on the way home, which included a 3.5 hour layover in JFK and therefore a much longer travel day. On the upside, I was very pleased with the new Mobile Passport Control app, which was easy to use and allowed us to go through immigration with no more than a 10 minute wait.

Our activity highlights were probably country walks with our British friends (see gorgeous weather, above) and the street markets in London. The teenager really enjoyed the used record stalls at Camden Market.

[Anonymous]

We went to Fort Myers FL. It was a great trip. Beautiful weather until the last day. On the way down we took Amtrak auto train. That was an excitement in and of itself. Overall a good experience, but the north bound auto train was delayed for hours coming in, so our trip was delayed as well (same train going back and forth). The delays just cascaded to everything, most noticeably meal service. Some people didn't get their dinner (that they reserved for 8PM) until close to 10 PM.

Driving through central FL was not fun. We took 2 days to drive back and it was a slug getting out of FL. Considering how short spring break is, losing 2 days on both ends just for travel is hard to swallow. But we made the decision due to the fact that flights are still unpredictable with cancellations and delays, and car rental is not back to normal. Hoping for easier travel logistics by next year.

SW FL is great for outdoor activities. We saw lots of manatees, dolphins, birds, and gopher tortoises. Also collected lots of seashells from Sanibel Island. Highly recommend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eight days in Sedona, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Page and Zion. Fantastic.

Any suggestions for Sedona and Grand Canyon? We're thinking of doing the pink jeep tours in Sedona but there are a few other companies, too.

[Anonymous]

Portugal for 8 nights. Portugal was great, despite unusually cool and wet weather. We saw castles and palaces and ate so many pastries.

Travel/COVID - a MAJOR headache. We flew from O'Hare on a Friday night and the security line was more than two hours long - after we got in the right line (we spent about 30 minutes in a wrong one - it was a zoo). And my three year old was less than happy, as you'd imagine. The flight was late, so we made it. But it made for a challenging flight over. No Precheck or shorter lines available. We'd arrived at the airport 2.5 hours before the flight, with boarding passes in hand and carry on luggage only. It'd never before been an issue.

Flowflex video tests worked perfectly for the return COVID testing. Unfortunately, my husband got a positive result. We'd understood that this was a possibility, of course. What we didn't anticipate was just how incompetent TAP Airlines could be. Between my husband and me, we spent 10-11 hours trying to change flights, including online, on the phone, and in-person. On two occasions, there was a 2+ hour wait to speak to someone at the airport. So we lost parts of three days rearranging tickets (one to tell the airline none of us would be on the flight, one to get me and the kids new flights home, and one to get my husband home). Never again with TAP. But now my husband doesn't want to go abroad, given that his 8 night trip turned into a 15 night trip. He had only a mild case and had his work laptop to work remotely, but it was still a huge headache.

So now I'm dreaming up trips I can take solo, with friends, or with the kids. Because I still have the travel bug.

[Anonymous]

Williamsburg Wed - Fri. We spent both nights at Great Wolf Lodge and spent a couple hours at Busch Gardens on Friday before driving home. Boys are 5 & 8. GWL was perfect for our needs, 8 year old loved the water slides and 5 year old loved their magiquest game/scavenger hunt. Traffic was fairly light comparatively since most Va school districts weren't on spring break yet. We're going again in August, Busch Gardens/Water Country USA and Colonial Williamsburg and I'm excited.

[Anonymous]

went to Tucson and left out of Phoenix. Had we not had our TSA precheck pass we likely would have missed flight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Portugal for 8 nights. Portugal was great, despite unusually cool and wet weather. We saw castles and palaces and ate so many pastries.

Travel/COVID - a MAJOR headache. We flew from O'Hare on a Friday night and the security line was more than two hours long - after we got in the right line (we spent about 30 minutes in a wrong one - it was a zoo). And my three year old was less than happy, as you'd imagine. The flight was late, so we made it. But it made for a challenging flight over. No Precheck or shorter lines available. We'd arrived at the airport 2.5 hours before the flight, with boarding passes in hand and carry on luggage only. It'd never before been an issue.

Flowflex video tests worked perfectly for the return COVID testing. Unfortunately, my husband got a positive result. We'd understood that this was a possibility, of course. What we didn't anticipate was just how incompetent TAP Airlines could be. Between my husband and me, we spent 10-11 hours trying to change flights, including online, on the phone, and in-person. On two occasions, there was a 2+ hour wait to speak to someone at the airport. So we lost parts of three days rearranging tickets (one to tell the airline none of us would be on the flight, one to get me and the kids new flights home, and one to get my husband home). Never again with TAP. But now my husband doesn't want to go abroad, given that his 8 night trip turned into a 15 night trip. He had only a mild case and had his work laptop to work remotely, but it was still a huge headache.

So now I'm dreaming up trips I can take solo, with friends, or with the kids. Because I still have the travel bug.

This is literally my nightmare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Florida to Destin and Miramar beach. I thought the line at the airport in Destin was insane. We arrived 1 hour 45 min early and nearly missed our flight! Not sure if that is due to lack of staffing due to the great resignation or because it's a cruddy airline and they intentionally understaff....or both!

No other issues beyond a few glares when we masked in crowded, indoor spaces....like dang! I'm not hurting anyone by masking myself or my kids. I have an unvaccinated preschooler sooo we all mask but only inside. I was too busy wrangling my kids to pay much attention but it was hard to avoid the stares and glares at times.

so interesting! We did a similar trip, though Destin and seaside and had no problems at the airport - probably go lucky because we only went for a few days and came back on Thursday. Arrived 50 minutes before our flight (not intentional! Unfortunate events happened before) and I was terrified, but we still made it to the gate with 15 min before boarding. So I bet it was the spring break rush that led to the lines on the weekend coming back.

I also didn't notice any glares at all, also have a preschooler so we masked inside for the most part. I did feel awkward, being literally the only one but just shrugged my shoulders. It made me feel better so I went with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Portugal for 8 nights. Portugal was great, despite unusually cool and wet weather. We saw castles and palaces and ate so many pastries.

Travel/COVID - a MAJOR headache. We flew from O'Hare on a Friday night and the security line was more than two hours long - after we got in the right line (we spent about 30 minutes in a wrong one - it was a zoo). And my three year old was less than happy, as you'd imagine. The flight was late, so we made it. But it made for a challenging flight over. No Precheck or shorter lines available. We'd arrived at the airport 2.5 hours before the flight, with boarding passes in hand and carry on luggage only. It'd never before been an issue.

Flowflex video tests worked perfectly for the return COVID testing. Unfortunately, my husband got a positive result. We'd understood that this was a possibility, of course. What we didn't anticipate was just how incompetent TAP Airlines could be. Between my husband and me, we spent 10-11 hours trying to change flights, including online, on the phone, and in-person. On two occasions, there was a 2+ hour wait to speak to someone at the airport. So we lost parts of three days rearranging tickets (one to tell the airline none of us would be on the flight, one to get me and the kids new flights home, and one to get my husband home). Never again with TAP. But now my husband doesn't want to go abroad, given that his 8 night trip turned into a 15 night trip. He had only a mild case and had his work laptop to work remotely, but it was still a huge headache.

So now I'm dreaming up trips I can take solo, with friends, or with the kids. Because I still have the travel bug.

We had an asymptomatic kid test positive on a PRE TRAVEL screening a few months ago. Now I am not planning any more trips that involve testing for the foreseeable future. Sorry for your problems!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Charleston, SC Gorgeous weather, sunny every day with highs in the upper 60s to low 70s. Lots of history, walking, live oak trees and even alligators in ponds at a park outside the city. Used Uber instead of renting a car, which worked out OK.

Almost zero masks to be seen anywhere. The county has moderate transmission, so it was a little unnerving. But when in Rome…. It was fun pretending Covid didn’t exist for several days. Had a sore throat last week when I got home but tested negative twice for Covid.

The flight on the way had a lot of turbulence, but was on time. The way back had delayed boarding for 1.5 hours and then we sat on the plane another hour. Virtually no explanation, but it wasn’t all that bad.

All in all a nice break!

[Anonymous]

Third person with a Puerto Rico designation. Took a Spirit red eye Sat, flight delayed 2 hours which kinda sucked but our early checkin was delayed so it all worked out. AirBB in Farjardo. Tomorrow we ferry to Vienquas. We just like to get take out and chill and PR is good for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Puerto Rico now. It’s gorgeous. Big excitement at the resort pool this morning. Two iguanas were swimming and one hot out but one got stuck on the water slide. An employee was called to assist and his best idea was to fan it with a piece of palm bark. Many spectators in the pool offering suggestions for more useful techniques. Im getting my first drink at 10:30 when the tiki bar opens.

Which resort? We want to go back there next year, but I'm struggling to find something that's not just a hotel room. thanks.

Wyndham Grand Rio Mar. i hear you on not just wanting a hotel room, I typically hate being stuck in a hotel room with my kids with no room for people to spread out. That said, it’s a nice resort and we’re enjoying it here.

[Anonymous]

Drove to Hilton Head - awesome weather, great service everywhere, virtually no masking as 95% of everything was outdoors anyway. Biked or walked everywhere once we arrived. Even arrived/departed on odd days so didn't have typical 95 traffic. Would totally go again for spring break.

[Anonymous]

Sedona, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Page, and a Diamondbacks game.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to go to Page and my personal opinion is to do GC for no more than a day (really, a few hours), if not doing more than the Rim Trail. We loved renting e-bikes and biking through Zion, stopping to do hikes as we pleased. We also loved Bryce. Another really fun thing we did was doing a ATV ride to a slot canyon.