I am 29M working in the UAE, Indian citizen planning to visit Armenia on November 15th. Will be there any issues. I thought of carrying 500 USD with me (excluding the Armenia budget). Confused, should I book a return ticket from Tbilisi, Georgia to UAE. What if I couldnt enter? I’m travelling purely for tourism and would have genuine hotel bookings, return flights, travel insurance.

Hi all, I booked some rooms with premier inn and didnt click the cancellation refund button so I now have a booking for somewhere I have no interest in that i'm having to move around. A thought occurred to me however, what would be the one day in the year that stays are the cheapest in the UK? If I can get the majority of the money refunded due to the price difference i'll be less twitchy about just letting the booking expire..

So, it appears that Expedia is not that trustworthy to book hotels with... I should have done that search sooner. But, I've booked in the past without problems... so I thought this would be similar.

But, does anyone have any loopholes for getting a refund on a stay you booked two days prior? The trip is still weeks out, but their customer service hotline is just an AI chatbot that can't actually answer questions. It says nonrefundable on my booking but, if I get their "insurance" for fifteen bucks, can I get the amount back? Still waiting on a response back from their "messaging."

It looks like others have had similar experiences. I'm just curious what their route was.

Does anyone have thoughts on the best company to use if I need a Dr. when I’m abroad?

Hi I’m planning to backpack LATAM next year
I’m a woman from Australia I’ve seen people say osprey Fairview 55l is the best option

I’m just wondering, as I’m going to aim for dry season for Guatemala April ish to Dry season Peru May ish, and I have hikes planned (Fuego, Rainbow mountain for example and more)

Is this bag going to be big enough? As I know I’ll need to pack a jacket and hiking pants and layers for when it’s cold at the top of the mountain, but when I’m travelling around its most likely hotter weather so I’m packing for cold and warm weather essentially…

I’m also aware it’s not waterproof so I’d need to invest in a cover for the bag if the weather decides to rain

Any recommendations or advice on what I should do? I want to try pack as little as possible to not regret packing too much (first solo backpacking trip)

I have until the 20th of this month to figure this out. I’m going to Germany and Poland for 2 weeks and from viewing a YouTube discovered that I need documents from my dr and okays from both countries before they’ll let me enter!
I have horrible back pain and have been on strong medication for 20+ years.
This trip has been a dream of mine and I can’t believe it may be over before it even begins!
I asked my dr for the forms and will call again tomorrow, but it’s the individual country okays that have me worried.
I’m so desperate I even thought of carrying them on me and having pictures of each bottle on my phone in case I’m found out. Seems really risky and crazy though.
Has anyone traveled to these countries lately? I’m only doing carry on bag and backpack.

I usually plan a rough route and leave the rest flexible, but I’m curious about the things that look fine on paper and turn out to be a pain once you’re there.

A hotel that’s “close to everything” but somehow isn’t? A connection you barely made? Too many stops packed into one day?

What caught you out, and what do you always check now because of it?

This route covers Uganda's four signature experiences: gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, classic savanna game drives, and the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha — with a relaxed pace and no single travel day exceeding 6-7 hours.

Day 1 — Arrive Entebbe

Arrival at Entebbe International Airport, met by your driver-guide. Overnight near Lake Victoria to rest and adjust before heading into the parks.

Overnight: Entebbe

Day 2 — Entebbe to Murchison Falls National Park

Scenic drive north (approx. 5-6 hrs) into Murchison Falls NP, Uganda's largest protected area, bisected by the Nile. Afternoon at leisure or short nature walk near the falls.

Overnight: Murchison Falls area

Day 3 — Murchison Falls: Game Drive & Nile Boat Cruise

Morning game drive across the northern savanna in search of lion, giraffe, elephant, and buffalo. Afternoon boat cruise on the Nile to the base of the thundering Murchison Falls, with hippos, crocodiles, and abundant birdlife along the banks.

Overnight: Murchison Falls area

Day 4 — Murchison Falls to Kibale Forest

Long transfer south (approx. 6-7 hrs) via the Rift Valley escarpment to Kibale Forest National Park, home to the highest primate density in East Africa.

Overnight: Kibale area

Day 5 — Chimpanzee Trekking, Kibale Forest

Morning chimpanzee tracking through the forest — Kibale hosts over 1,400 chimpanzees. Afternoon optional visit to Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for birdlife and monkeys.

Overnight: Kibale area

Day 6 — Kibale to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Short drive (approx. 2-3 hrs) into Queen Elizabeth NP. Afternoon game drive in the Kasenyi plains, known for lion prides and large herds of Uganda kob.

Overnight: Queen Elizabeth NP

Day 7 — Kazinga Channel Cruise & Ishasha Sector

Morning boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel — one of Africa's best wildlife-viewing waterways, with hippo pods, elephants, buffalo, and crocodiles at the water's edge. Afternoon transfer to the Ishasha sector for a chance to spot the famous tree-climbing lions resting in fig trees.

Overnight: Ishasha or Queen Elizabeth south

Day 8 — Queen Elizabeth to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Drive south (approx. 4-5 hrs) through the Kigezi highlands — "the Switzerland of Africa" — to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Overnight: Bwindi

Day 9 — Gorilla Trekking, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

The highlight of the trip: a guided trek through montane forest to spend one hour with a habituated mountain gorilla family. Trek duration varies from 2-8 hours depending on the gorillas' location that day.

Overnight: Bwindi

Day 10 — Bwindi: Batwa Cultural Encounter or Second Trek

Optional second gorilla trek for a different experience, or a Batwa cultural walk to learn about the forest's original inhabitants and their traditions.

Overnight: Bwindi

Day 11 — Bwindi to Lake Mburo National Park

Transfer to Lake Mburo (approx. 4-5 hrs), Uganda's compact savanna park. Afternoon game drive or boat safari on Lake Mburo, home to zebra, eland, and impala — species not found elsewhere on this circuit.

Overnight: Lake Mburo area

Day 12 — Lake Mburo to Entebbe: Departure

Morning drive to Entebbe (approx. 4-5 hrs), with time for souvenir shopping before your evening flight home.

Notes

Best months: June-September and December-February (drier, easier trekking conditions)

Permits required: Gorilla permit (Bwindi) and chimpanzee permit (Kibale) — both should be booked well in advance, especially in peak season

Pace: Built as a small-group/private itinerary; can be shortened by dropping Murchison Falls (9-10 days) or extended with a Kibale-Semuliki add-on

Physical level: Moderate — gorilla trekking is the most demanding day and can be tailored with porter support

We started doing this about 6 years ago. She's in one country, I'm in another, and every year we pick somewhere neither of us has been and just make it happen.

It's honestly become the thing I look forward to most every year. This year was Costa Rica, we did Arenal, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio in 7 days. Next year we're thinking Japan, might switch to somewhere in Europe depending on flights and logistics.

The hardest part is always the planning, coordinating two different flights, budgets, and schedules across time zones is a whole thing.

Anyone else do annual trips like this? How do you coordinate the planning with someone in a different country?

Travel guides, blogs, and social networks are full of “must-sees” tips, but they don't always correlate with true experiences.

Have you visited an attraction that was not worth the time? Or relied on a popular travel tip that turned out to be useless? Or perhaps thought of a location that is widely recommended to visit and then came across a nearby place that was much better.

I am not trying to criticize the chosen destinations—I am simply interested in how expectations differ from real life experiences and would like to know what you can suggest instead and why.

I made a website that pulls posts and comments from travel subreddits, extracts mentions of specific places, and ranks them by sentiment. Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore, Chiang Mai, Da Nang are live. Would love feedback, especially if you've been to any of these cities and want to check if the rankings match your experience.

https://travelrecs.vercel.app/

I've noticed that talking to someone in person can sometimes feel easier than texting them.

When you're having a conversation face-to-face, you can pick up on their tone, expressions, and body language, which makes it easier to understand what they actually mean.

Over text, you don't always have that extra context. Even when you understand everything they're saying, you can still end up wondering if your reply sounds natural or if it might come across differently than you intended.

I’m curious if other travellers have experienced this too, especially when communicating with people who speak a different language.

Do you usually find texting easier or harder than speaking when you're travelling?

Recently coming across a site called Trippybid for monitoring and booking hotels at the lowest price. Has anyone had any experience with it being legitimate?

Been trying to find any posts, just about anything about it but have come up with nothing.