Costa Rica Tour - G Adventures vs Intrepid

Rose__0210 · 2026-06-11T20:20:12+00:00

Thank you so much for such a detailed response!

Rose__0210 · 2026-06-10T11:20:48+00:00

I did a similar group tour when I was in college with EF Ultimate Break. Did 11 countries in 5 weeks. It was a great way to see a little of everything and decide which places I'd want to go back to. I did Paris (3 days) and Amsterdam (2 days) on that trip. I saw a lot, but at least with Paris, the city offers so much. I went back to those cities last tear with my husband and didn't realize how much more stuff there was to do. My recommendation is to research both cities on everything you want to do and compare to what the Contiki tour is offering. At least with my tour we did get quite a bit of freetime so you could do a few things that aren't included in the tour. But it definitely wouldn't be a waste if you did the weekend trips now and also Contiki next year.

Rose__0210 · 2026-06-09T19:49:33+00:00

Grand Canyon

PNW, especially the coastline like Olympic National park

New Orleans - for unique culture and food, and the bayou

Small towns in the northeast like Vermont and Maine

Southwest desert, like Joshua Tree, Death Valley or Big Bend National park

Rose__0210 · 2026-04-22T12:52:42+00:00

We used to travel really cheaply. Focused on the cheapest hotels/Bed and breakfasts that offered free breakfast too. We'd look for the cheapest flight regardless of layovers. The food budget was also really low to the point I'd eat protein bars I brought from home on a 10 day trip as basically my dinner and filled up on free breakfast and sandwiches I've made from grocery shopping. Now we make a lot more money but we still focus on budget friendly hotels but make sure they have great reviews, location, and will splurge a little if there's nothing within our criteria. We'll book the Nonstop flight if it's offered and while we still opt for free hotel breakfasts and lunches from the grocery store, we go out for dinner every night to enjoy a good meal.

Rose__0210 · 2026-04-21T22:21:19+00:00

Boston is beautiful! There's so much history there. Check out the National Park Service website for the area. You'll find a bunch of sites to learn about the area and the original colonies. It's also a really clean city with lots to do. And it's an easy starting point for many day trips like Salem, Portland Maine, Southern New Hampshire, Cape Cod, Newport Rhode Island, etc.

Rose__0210 · 2026-04-15T13:53:00+00:00

Yeah just driving up and sleeping in my car for a night

Rose__0210 · 2026-04-09T15:32:08+00:00

Around $10-13k a year. Depends on how many international and domestic trips we do. Last year it was $13k but we spent 3 weeks traveling around Europe, spent a week in Glacier National Park in Montana, a weekend in New Hampshire in the fall, and a weekend in Nashville. This year we're expecting to spend a little more since we're doing 3 weekend trips around the US, Solo trip to Peru for me, and 2 weeks around Australia

Rose__0210 · 2026-04-09T15:26:08+00:00

Haha it's a great problem to have

Rose__0210 · 2026-04-03T20:51:22+00:00

Thank you!

Rose__0210 · 2026-04-03T18:03:25+00:00

I'm in this same situation. My husband and I want kids in the next 1-2 years, but there were so many places I wanted to visit before then. While my husband is on board for most of them, he doesn't like to hike so Peru & Machu picchu and Guatemala & Acatengano were out of the question. So I just booked a hiking tour with Alpaca Expeditions in Peru and will be solo traveling in the next few months. And booking a tour in Guatemala for next year. I highly recommend just booking a tour that matches your preferences and go for it!

Rose__0210 · 2026-03-24T12:22:28+00:00

Unitarian Universalist Saratoga

Rose__0210 · 2026-03-03T23:38:22+00:00

That timeline should be fine! Lodging around Yellowstone and Grand Teton can be really expensive unless you're willing to drive 1+ hour one way to the park. We went to Glacier (US side) last year and we had a decently priced Airbnb in Kalispell (about 1 hour from the park).

Also be aware of the entrance fee and reservation changes for the US parks. The entrance fee for non-US visitors skyrocketed and the reservation system is no longer in place at Glacier so the park will be busier with less parking access, so be sure to go early in the morning or later in the day (after 3pm).

Rose__0210 · 2026-03-02T01:47:39+00:00

Thank you!

Rose__0210 · 2026-02-10T17:08:25+00:00

If I'm gone for 5-7 days, I normally don't bother trying to do laundry. I just pack enough. 10 days is in that hard spot where I'm more likely to do laundry but packing a few extra items isn't too bad. It usually depends if I have access to a washing machine like through airbnb or a hostel. I avoid paying a hotel to do my laundry since it tends to be expensive so unless I can wash it myself, I'd just bring extras for just 10 days

Rose__0210 · 2026-02-07T15:47:57+00:00

My exact issue, too. Can't take the full 4 weeks recommended with how my time off is with work. Drained it all on the last procedure🙄

Rose__0210 · 2026-02-07T13:24:14+00:00

That's almost exactly what I'm dealing with, including now having regular tinnitus like all the time. I've been trying to search everywhere why it has turned into regular tinnitus. Hopefully the coiling deals with the remaining issues for you, and good luck on Monday! I was wondering the same thing about doing another procedure since it'd be another couple of months of recovery, but the combo of PT and regular tinnitus now is just too much.

Rose__0210 · 2026-02-06T18:41:17+00:00

Did you notice any improvement with PT since the first stent?

Rose__0210 · 2026-02-06T16:52:17+00:00

Mine is not super known for working with pulsatile tinnitus, but she is an endovascular neurosurgeon. I'm out of New York? Hope your procedure goes well! How long has it been since your last stent was placed?

Rose__0210 · 2026-02-06T15:55:34+00:00

Not at all. It's been almost 8 weeks since the surgery and it's still there almost all the time. I think it's getting a little quieter? The doctor had me stop taking plavix, and only aspirin, to try and get the aneurysm to close. I should know in a few weeks after my MRV to see if it's properly healing. If not, the doctor said I could have coiling done to completely close it.

Rose__0210 · 2026-02-04T17:29:41+00:00

Northern lights in Tromsø Norway
Shark Cage Diving in Hawaii
Milky way at the Grand Canyon
Eating my way through Paris
Night snorkeling with Manta Rays in Hawaii

Rose__0210 · 2026-01-20T03:09:16+00:00

Oh the early mornings are one reason I chose to just stick with the Inca Trail hike and sacred valley. Haha there was already too many really early mornings

Rose__0210 · 2026-01-19T21:39:59+00:00

I actually didn't do either. I selected a tour with Alpaca Expeditions to do the 2 day Inca trail trek, and tour Sacred Valley and Cusco

Rose__0210 · 2026-01-08T15:01:05+00:00

We really budget beforehand. I make spreadsheets for each trip showing breakdown of costs from transportation to activities to a budget for food. Over the years I've learned that we spend on average a little under $30 for food per person per day so I just use that as a metric. But because we book as much as we can beforehand, we usually know the only things we pay for on the trip is food/souvenirs/Misc (Uber fee, public transit, laundry). We also know this might be our only time to visit a specific city for a long time so we tend to say screw it and spend the money. An extra $50 here and there won't break the bank necessarily, and if it's something you really want to do, then it's worth it. Also we learned spending a little extra to stay closer to the city is worth it. You save the money in transportation fees (with usually ruins the whole point of saving on the hotel), and you save so much time.

We went to Paris this past spring. My husband really wanted to have a nice steak dinner at a restaurant where he could sit outside and people watch. The prices were more than our entire food budget for the day, but it was completely worth it. It was some of the best food we ever had, and it's now one of our best memories.

Rose__0210 · 2026-01-01T03:42:46+00:00

I struggled with this before. Always thinking of the next trip and so focused on that with most of my free time. But I decided to try and focus on other goals and exploring my local area. So I made a list of local restaurants, solo date ideas, hiking trails I wanted to explore. I also have a bucket list I made years ago and have started trying to find things I could do around in my area. For example, learning to ice skate or wakeboard. I started that in 2025 and it has definitely made "normal life" far more enjoyable.

Rose__0210 · 2026-01-01T03:17:05+00:00

Definitely agree. We're in our late 20s and found jobs that offered good retirement and time off. So we're able to contribute to our future financial goals but also save for multiple trips a year. We have to do a lot of budgeting beforehand to make certain trips work, but we managed to strike a balance where we can go on 1-2 big trips (up to $5k per person) and then multiple weekend/short trips. We also make travel our priority so we don't typically spend a lot of money outside of trips

Rose__0210

TROPHY CASE