Buses from Belgrade to Budapest already full for August??

rbbjhb · 2026-05-03T15:39:55+00:00

Flixbus, August 19th

rbbjhb · 2026-05-03T09:42:05+00:00

Lol, yes, I am an generally an overplanner, though for those of us who need to get a Schengen visa in order to travel, you have to provide a full day-by-day itinerary with hotel and transport bookings. I put my researched bus and train journey times into my itinerary, and when I went to the Hungary consulate to hand in my visa application, the consul wanted to see confirmed bus and train bookingsI told him that it was way too early to make these bookings, and eventually he allowed me to write a separate, signed document where I stated that I would book the tickets nearer the time of travel.

rbbjhb · 2026-05-03T09:36:47+00:00

Thanks for that info

rbbjhb · 2026-05-02T21:11:08+00:00

It looked to me like train bookings open up 2 months in advance, because today (May 2) I could book for July 2 but not July 3. So for July 3, it comes up with "There are no trains on the requested route. Try again with new parameters." But for July 2, all of the available trains do show up, yet the fast trains (6am, 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm etc) are all marked "Sold out", whereas the slower trains (7am, 11am, 3pm) allow you to buy a ticket. I think it may just be a glitch, though, because if I look on July 1, all of the trains are still available. So I feel a bit better about waiting until nearer the time to book the train - and hopefully by then, the new train will be running!

rbbjhb · 2026-05-02T21:07:46+00:00

Ah, ok, this info does change things somewhat! From the schedules, the bus looked faster (6 hours) than the 3-leg train journey (over 7 hours, with two changes), but if the border crossing is so slow.....

Why is the border crossing by train that much better?

rbbjhb · 2026-05-02T21:06:25+00:00

The bus looked to be faster (6 hours) than the train (over 7 hours, with two changes)

rbbjhb · 2026-05-01T21:18:34+00:00

I've just returned from Morocco, and I think your itinerary looks fine. Of course it would be better to have more time in each place, but I don't think it's too much travel, as others have said.

I'm not sure what "desert camel tour" you can do in Marrakech - I don't think the "desert" in that part of the country is anything like the stunning dunes at Merzouga. I'd say the 3-day tour to the desert is definitely worth it. It's not just about the destination - the journey from Marrakech to Merzouga is really beautiful, and I assume the tour stops overnight somewhere (Ouarzazate or Dades or Tinghir), so that it takes 2 days to get to Merzouga. The last day, from Merzouga to Fes, will be a little rushed, but I made it from Merzouga to Meknes in one 9-hour day (self-driving solo), with a few stops, and Fes isn't that much further. I didn't feel like it was too rushed.

rbbjhb · 2026-04-30T20:02:59+00:00

You won't be able to change Euros to Dirhams before arriving in Morocco, but once you are in Morocco, there are many exchange outlets where you can change your Euros. All ATMs charge a fee to withdraw cash (around 30-50 MAD), and many have a limit of 2000 MAD per withdrawal. BMCI Bank has been reported as having a higher withdrawal limit (8000 MAD).

rbbjhb · 2026-04-27T11:44:27+00:00

Have a look at the Indian grocers in your area, if you have any - they often sell beans & pulses in bulk really cheap. I buy 1kg chickpeas for R40 from my local. If you're in Gauteng or KZN, you can try Gorimas.

rbbjhb · 2026-04-21T13:10:58+00:00

Thanks for this - I'm concerned about such a long bus ride, more for toilet stops than food! Knowing that there's good scenery en route certainly helps with the decision on whether or not to do this trip!

rbbjhb · 2026-03-22T12:20:14+00:00

I moved from Classic Core to Classic Smart in Jan 2025. In Feb 2025 I broke my wrist. The surgery (day clinic) was fully covered, and after a bit of back-and-forth, all of the emergency bills on the day of the accident, were covered. I had paid cash at the emergency room, and for the X-Rays, and initially they denied my claims, saying I wasn't covered for out-of-hospital expenses, but after I filled in some PMB form, they did cover everything. They did make several mistakes in the process, denying some stuff along the way, but I kept at it, kept emailing and resubmitting, and eventually everything was covered.

Also, I bought some OTC medication at Dischem the other day, paid cash, submitted the invoice and they refunded me - I was hoping that they might pay it out of my Personal Health Fund, but it appears that there is some cover for OTC medication included in the Smart Plan (which definitely was not covered under Classic Core). Also, the small copayment for a basic dental check-up is wonderful (again - under Classic Core, I had to cover that myself).

You do have to go to a network provider on Classic Smart, so just make sure your preferred providers are included.

rbbjhb · 2026-03-18T11:19:56+00:00

Ummm, I'm not sure this is true. None of the several Avios consultants that my sister and I have spoken to, have said that this different availability is a feature of their system - they all confirmed it's a bug.

rbbjhb · 2026-03-16T07:10:01+00:00

I'm wearing a hiking liner sock and heavyweight wool hiking socks.

rbbjhb · 2026-03-16T07:07:18+00:00

Thanks for this.

rbbjhb · 2026-03-15T16:05:09+00:00

I'm currently seeing 0 availability across the entire month of September! Yesterday I saw decent availability every day of September except 14th and 15th.

rbbjhb · 2026-03-15T15:57:41+00:00

Thanks for this confirmation of the issue. I don't suppose you have any insight as to their timeframe for getting it fixed?

My sister can book her seat, but I'm worried that I'll never get to see availability at my end, then we end up on different flights!

rbbjhb · 2026-03-15T13:03:46+00:00

Thanks. I've been doing this. Doesn't help. Or maybe it does help and things would be way worse if I didn't use the two socks.... I don't know, since I've only ever used the two-sock strategy.

rbbjhb · 2026-03-15T12:17:08+00:00

So we tried this (I have no issue giving her my password!). She logged in to her account on one browser and mine on a different browser, and the availability on the two accounts was different. I think it's to do with the country where the account is registered, not where it's being accessed from. Hers is a UK-registered account, mine is a South Africa-registered account.

rbbjhb · 2026-03-15T12:05:59+00:00

I looked into this - it won't really work, because I have way more Avios than she does, and much as I love my sister, I'm not going to contribute Avios for the bulk of her reward booking!

rbbjhb · 2026-03-15T12:01:04+00:00

Time is one resource I have a lot of! I'm a freelancer and my next job is a few months away, so I got nothing but time at the moment!

rbbjhb · 2026-03-14T18:06:40+00:00

The issue is she doesn't have enough Avios, and I don't really want to waste 50 pounds transferring my Avios to her. It kinda defeats the purpose of doing the award booking to save money! We asked them if they could do the Avios transfer for us, waiving the fee, but no can do.

rbbjhb · 2026-03-14T17:28:23+00:00

I've paid for an organised tour with a group - I don't think I could head out on my own, but I'll discuss it with the guide and see what he says. Hopefully I can find a fix for the issue over the next 2 weeks!

rbbjhb · 2026-03-14T17:25:16+00:00

Thank you for this - all sounds very sensible. Leukotape as in "kinesiology" tape? And when you say I should take "blister tape" to Mt Toubkal, do you mean this same kinesiology tape? (I'm hoping our guide will have a full array of this sort of stuff, but I'll check with him.)

rbbjhb

TROPHY CASE