Thread: Traveling to Asia or Europe in late September

I can recommend IST for Sept (ck for season ending dates now). Amazing destination. I can assist w/hotel info.
Malta--very small, very historical, good food and easy to navigate by bus. Relatively cheap for digs--lots of variety for accoms. End Sept is good weather. We just did it. Easy to get from Paris via zeds. Plan to return this summer or fall.
Asia--HKG is excellent option but hotels can be $$. Ck for Sept holidays/festivals.
Thailand--always a fave for us but can be tricky w/out S2 but good to access w/zeds from SIN or HKG as needed.
Guess it all depends on how much time you have.
We've always wanted to go to Croatia so that's prob next year.

I agree on IST.....great place!
You would need to ZED though, as flights end on 9/5 for the season.

Originally Posted by vulindlela

I agree on IST.....great place!
You would need to ZED though, as flights end on 9/5 for the season.

Gee, that early this year? I guess that might exclude some German gateways due to Oktoberfest? We went in May but 2 of the girls had to zed from Germany since JFK flight didn't look good for S4.

Originally Posted by mrs767er

Gee, that early this year? I guess that might exclude some German gateways due to Oktoberfest? We went in May but 2 of the girls had to zed from Germany since JFK flight didn't look good for S4.

It's a shame, isn't it?
I wish they would bring back some of these routes to year round.

At least you guys actually fly there

Greece will be tough--any port city will be very busy thru most of Oct. Seriously, take a look at Malta.
Another thought--have you been to Prague? We love Budapest, too (zed req'd). I've only tried Greece once and I got RT in biz but 24 yrs and S2. I don't think there are advisories for IST.
What sort of budget would work for HKG hotel? There are SO many options. I've stayed in a few places there. We have Accor deals there, too--Novotel for sure. We like HKG so much we stayed a total of 9 nts, ending in Chinese NY.
Hasn't Chile dropped the arrival fee for Americans?I've not been but I'm sure a few others have. Should be nice weather.

While there are a few isolated things that have happened fairly recently in Istanbul, the vast majority of fighting has been along the eastern borders of Turkey, and Istanbul is at the northwest corner. I would personally have no problems with going back to IST again, but I understand if you feel otherwise. My dad almost had a heart attack when I told him I was going, but to be fair, he only crossed an ocean to get to HNL, so he's a bit suspicious of pretty much any overly foreign sounding place.

I still haven't told him that I'm playing around with the idea of going to HAV this year...

Just to add my $0.02...
Yes, Chile has dropped their reciprocity fee. Brazil is waiving the visa requirement thru Sept. 18. Chile might be on the chilly side due to opposite seasons depending on where you go.
I preferred Budapest over Prague although when I went to Prague, I combined it with a trip to Vienna.
I did Greece in late Sept a few years ago. Flew AA to LHR the BA. I would imagine your options would include DL to AMS/CDG then KL/AF to ATH if the direct flights don't look good? Stayed in ATH for a few days then took a boat to Santorini & Mykonos before flying back to ATH. Getting out was tough. Spent all day at ATH and got the last flight out to LHR followed by a few days in Munich for Oktoberfest. Luckily I had some HHonors points to burn and didn't have to pay 200+ Euros/night. Had an awesome time at Oktoberfest.
Been a while since I've been to HKG but definitely a fascinating city. Can also vouch for Thailand. BKK and Koh Samui.
I've been hearing good things about Vietnam but haven't been yet.