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Old 10-21-2017, 03:43 PM
 
Location: Niceville, FL
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Awesome! Be sure to report back afterwards about what great a time you had!
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Old 10-21-2017, 03:45 PM
 
Location: Northern California
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What kind of tour will you be on?
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Old 10-22-2017, 08:49 AM
 
Location: Coastal Georgia
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AARP Grand European Tours.
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Old 10-24-2017, 10:41 PM
 
Location: Land of Ill Noise
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Of the 2 Europe trips I've done(Ireland and also Northern Ireland(part of the UK still), and the Netherlands), the Netherlands definitely is my favorite country I've visited for sure. You could totally get by fine without knowing Dutch in so much of that country! I got the sense that a VERY high percentage of residents were bilingual between Dutch and English if they didn't know more languages, and the local culture in that country is just AMAZING. The local food, things to do, you name it the Netherlands blew me away. Amsterdam is an extremely amazing city to visit, as well.

Dublin(and Ireland/Northern Ireland, including Belfast and the northern coast including Giant's Causeway) was nice as well, but honestly Amsterdam(and the Netherlands, including Delft and Haarlem) no question is what I preferred. The only way Ireland may've beaten the Netherlands on, was natural/outdoor scenery, plus how historic its castles, churches, and cemeteries were. It kinda bummed me out too how early bars/pubs and stores closed in Dublin, vs. in Amsterdam. LOL, I guess I'm too used to certain stores being 24/7 in the US, or at least open late into the night!
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Old 10-25-2017, 07:55 AM
 
Location: Harbor Springs, Michigan
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gentlearts glad you have booked your tour, so many folks visit London only are missing out on seeing the real UK.. It would be like visiting New York city and saying you have 'seen' America.

I'm kind of late to the thread here but I'm going to suggest you pick up a good guide like Fodors and read up on the stops on your trip. That way you will have more of an appreciation for the cities/towns and other sites you will see rather than your guides 15 minute abridged version that you will more than likely forget anyway.
Other fun stuff will be Eire uses the Euro while Scotland, England and Wales are still using Pounds sterling, gone are the days of travelers checks instead make sure you have a credit/debit card with a chip and you should be fine. If you need extra cash or are like my hubby and enjoy the challenge of paying with local currency most banks over there have ATMs inside which are much safer.

Enjoy your trip !!
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Old 10-25-2017, 09:01 AM
 
Location: Coastal Georgia
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Thanks for the tips! I do intend to look up the stops and see what I can find out beforehand. The travel agent said to use the local ATMs to get a bit of cash, and most places take credit cards, so you only need a little. The trick is to not get stuck with much cash when you leave.
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Old 10-25-2017, 09:14 AM
 
Location: Harbor Springs, Michigan
2,294 posts, read 3,418,166 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlearts View Post
Thanks for the tips! I do intend to look up the stops and see what I can find out beforehand. The travel agent said to use the local ATMs to get a bit of cash, and most places take credit cards, so you only need a little. The trick is to not get stuck with much cash when you leave.
Be watchful of ATM's outside of banks, I have been intimidated and followed whilst getting money when in the UK, if I use an ATM I always go inside the bank nowadays. I'm English so we tend to go 'home' once a year so having leftover cash isn't a problem
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Old 10-25-2017, 10:01 AM
 
Location: Niceville, FL
13,258 posts, read 22,752,433 times
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The UK also is in the process of switching over currency and coin designs, so 'old pounds' not spent this time might require a trip to a bank to swap or just not be useful anymore altogether on the next time over.
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Old 10-25-2017, 11:10 AM
 
Location: Northern California
128,990 posts, read 11,931,519 times
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Also let your bank know that you will be travelling & in what countries & dates. This will stop them from freezing your account on "unusual activity"
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Old 10-25-2017, 11:56 AM
 
Location: SW France
16,616 posts, read 17,371,357 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlearts View Post
Thanks for the tips! I do intend to look up the stops and see what I can find out beforehand. The travel agent said to use the local ATMs to get a bit of cash, and most places take credit cards, so you only need a little. The trick is to not get stuck with much cash when you leave.
Just note that American Express is not widely accepted in the UK. Visa and Mastercard are.

If you have too much cash when you are about to leave I can arrange to take care of it for you.
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