"Under Construction"
Pro's (+) |
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Eastern/Central Europe
Slovenia
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Caribbean
Aruba
Beautiful white sand beaches, Windsurfing capital of the world. Shallow aqua blue waters great for swimming. Great weather and relatively inexpensive.
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Quite a baron and desolate island. Windy most of the time thus one of the worlds most famous windsurfing/kiting areas.
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Antigua
Beautiful beaches, not very populated and layback lifestyle. Most of these Caribbean Islands are much the same.
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Expensive and pretty impoverished when you travel outside the tourist destinations.
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Curacoa
Beautiful architecture, beaches and a wonderful liqueur named after the country.
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Not a thing!
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Bonaire
Pure paradise, beautiful beaches and great diving.
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Pricey!
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Nassau
Very close to Florida. Great if you like gambling. Paradise Island is a gorgeous resort.
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Very commercialize near the port. Not much to see outside this area.
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Puerto Rico
Not much!
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Some very sketchy areas. Did not feel safe.
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Barbados
Great Rum!!
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Very expensive. We are finding most of the Caribbean Islands to be very much alike. Some beautiful areas, some sketchy and lots of poverty once you stray from the tourist areas.
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St. Lucia
Beautiful port area.
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Not much to see except a lot of poverty.
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Granada
Beautiful Island. We visited shortly after the U.S. led invasion and it looked a little war torn.
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Looked pretty beat up! Lots of poverty.
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Jamaica
Not Much!
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Dunn River Falls was the highlight. Total rip off from start to finish. A bunch of scammers at the top of the falls not allowing you to take your camera and then charging you to get it back at the bottom. We did not feel safe in Jamaica Man!!
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St. Thomas
Gorgeous entry into the port. Recently devastated by a hurricane. Boats and yachts strewn everywhere on the beaches and shores.
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Very impoverished especially now after the hurricane. People are great but very much in need of help.
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Grand Cayman
Stunningly beautiful and spotless. The best scuba diving I have ever done, even off shore. Water is crystal clear.
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Extremely expensive and strict dress code when walking the streets of Georgetown. They tend to get quite beat up during hurricane season so make sure you time it right.
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St. Martins
Beautiful beaches, port and town.
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All these Caribbean Islands start to look the same after a while.
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Martinique
Lush, beautiful island.
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All the islands begin to look the same after a while. Very expensive and not much bang for your buck!
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Cuba
Step back into the 50's. A very cool place, old cars, fashion and wonderful, friendly people. Beaches are beautiful.
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Extreme
poverty and severe oppression. Government
dictates everyone's daily lives and people are terrified to speak out. Store shelves are basically empty and tough to buy
anything.
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Dominican Republic
Playa Dorada
Not Much!
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Beaches are scruffy and not well maintained. You want to be careful when leaving the resort areas as there has been incidents of violent crime over the years. I got extremely sick with a bug that lasted close to 2 months. I thought I had contracted hepatitis from the unsanitary conditions at the resort we stayed at. I would never go back!
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Punta Cana
Beautiful! Like night and day compared to Playa Dorada. The beaches are amazing with silty white sand and spotlessly clean. We felt much safer in this region.
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Once again, you should be very careful when traveling outside the resort area. Crime is quite wide spread and extreme poverty prevails throughout the island.
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Phoenix
Great weather & cheap
Phoenix is one of our favourite spots! Reliable weather, cheap booze & food, lots of fellow snowbirds and great accommodations make it one of the most popular winter destinations in North America. I think we can safely say we have as many friends in Phoenix as we do back home. The road systems in Phoenix are second to none. If your looking for something to do, you will never be bored. Great hiking, professional sports, lots of shopping and restaurants should keep you very entertained.
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Valley Fever & Big City Crime
Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) is the best kept secret in this area for obvious reasons. This is a very serious ailment with deadly consequences if not properly treated. We have had a tragic, first hand experience with this deadly disease with Leslie's father dying from Valley Fever in 1992.
People like their firearms in this area so keep your road rage in tact! http://www.valleyfeversurvivor.com/index.html http://blog.sfgate.com/chronrx/2013/03/31/valley-fever-on-the-rise |
Australia
Fabulous Beaches...Wonderful People!
Australia has to be one of the most beautiful countries on earth. If the place was not so far out of the way, I am convinced there would be over a billion inhabitants. The residents are among the most friendly we have ever encountered. The climate is incredible when it is not raining and the beaches are among the best in the world. Australia is rich in natural resources and the country appears to be on the right track to maintain it's beauty. They have big government, but this government is doing many things right. National & state parks are beautiful with stainless steel gas BBQ's at even the most remote locations. If they tried this in North America or most other parts of the world, they would be trashed in less than 5 minutes. The beaches are absolutely stunning and never crowded. The tropical scenery along the east coast is lush with plenty of hiking trails.
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EXPENSIVE!!! Sale Price...$28 for a case of 24! WHAT???
A very long and expensive airfare. Accommodations and restaurant dining is also very pricy but groceries for the most part are similar in pricing to North America, with a couple of exceptions. A case of 12 cans of Coke can range from $18 to $20.00 THEY DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!! If your into technology, they are about 10-15 years behind North America. Their television programming is BRUTAL!! There are 12-14 channels of crap. They try to emulate North American programming but do a very poor job! I think that is a major part of the problem. The big difference is, we have 200 plus channels of crap and they only have a dozen! There can be lots of flooding across various parts of the country and you have to be extremely careful to plan your trips accordingly. The road systems have not kept up with the growth and many of the highways are in pretty poor condition. For example, the drive to Cairns north of Brisbane is basally 2 lanes. We got two flat tires on the route due to some pretty major pot holes.
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New Zealand
North Island
Naturistic scenery & people are friendly
Lovely landscape and wonderful people, much like Canada.
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Over Valued & Over Rated $90.00 a night for this S.H.
Accommodations are overpriced and shabby. Many of the business owners have a "take it or leave it" attitude. Everything is very expensive and overvalued. The best thing about New Zealand is Air New Zealand to Australia!
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South Island
Christchurch was a beautiful city This newer hotel is scheduled for demolition
The South Island is much more scenic than the north. Christchurch looks like a war zone and I have no idea how they can ever rebuild this place. The massive earthquake has left the country in ruins.
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Still Over priced & Over Valued! More typical shabby accommodations
A little better than the north but still not impressed. Still over priced and over valued!
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Hot, Cheap & Friendly Locals
We have been regular visitors to Mexico beginning 1978 when we made our first trip to Mazatlan. This is our least favourite city of all our Mexican trips...the beaches are fair, town is shady and overall the place is a bit of a dump. That didn't stop us from exploring further and our next trip was the following year when we travelled to Manzanillo. Again, the beaches were not great and the resort, Club Maeva, was the worst hole we have ever stayed at to date! The place has changed hands a number of times but the reports I read and the friends that have had the misfortune of staying there say nothing much has changed in the past 35 years...STILL A DUMP! The one constant in Mexico is the weather. It is simply hard to beat. We have stayed at all inclusive resorts since our disaster experience and for the price, they are pretty hard to beat. The convenience of having everything you need right at the resort makes life pretty easy. Although the food is sometimes average at best, if you drink enough alcohol, the people you meet plus the amenities offered make the holiday pretty hard to beat.
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Becoming A Dangerous Place!
Drug cartels are rapidly making Mexico a dangerous place for tourists. Murders, extortion, kidnapping are rapidly becoming part of the landscape. Juárez, Mexico has the distinction of being the murder capital of the world, with people being decapitated in broad daylight in the middle of the street. Nobody see's anything, the locals live a terrified existance and it gets worse day by day. Mexico is no longer the inexpensive holiday it once was and when you weigh the risk factor to your personal safety, we decided to strike it from our list of desirable destinations. This is particularly sad when you consider the proximately and all the other good things Mexico has to offer. I sincerely hope they can bring law and order back to this country. Until that happens, we will be heading elsewhere. Although you are always exposed to certain risks when travelling abroad, the risk/reward of Mexico is to great in my opinion.
http://www.castanet.net/news/Canada/78848/Canadian-stabbed-23-times-in-Mexico |
Europe
We LOVE This Place!
What can I say except, I LOVE THIS PLACE! In 2007, Leslie and I embarked on a 8 month tour of Europe, starting in the U.K. and returning from Madrid, Spain. I must be honest, prior to embarking on this adventure, I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined how this trip would have captivated me with a longing to return time and time again. Although 8 months may seem like a long time, we only began to scratch the surface, visiting 19 countries and getting only a small smattering of each. We established friendships in various countries that will be cherished for a lifetime. Aad & Annalies from the Netherlands, Walter & Karina from Germany, Monica, Mario & Roberta from Italy, Martin & Sue from England ...you will remain in our hearts forever. The history places you in a dreamworld you never want to wake up from. We cannot wait to return to this magestic place!
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I Honestly Can't Think of One!
I am racking my brains to think of some things that annoyed us while travelling and cannot honestly think of one! Strangers we met at a B&B in France took us into their home and treated us like royalty for a week! We love you Walter & Karina!
Monica & Family
Monica made us feel like family during our 5 week stay in Tuscany. We had the good fortune to meet her entire family and long for the day when we can re-unite! Thank you Monica for making Italy one of our fondest memories.
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England
BRILLIANT! Amazing history. Gorgeous countryside.
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Extremely expensive, narrow roads and they drive on the wrong side of the road!!
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Scotland
Lush green landscape. Beautiful countryside.
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Rains a lot, thus the lush green landscape. Expensive.
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Ireland
Beautiful countryside, lush and green. Once again, lots of rain. The Coastal Causeway was amazing.
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People didn't appear overly friendly. Keep your hands on your wallet because things can be a bit of a rip off. Not too many good B&B's like the rest of Europe.
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France
Exceedingly beautiful! There is a real pride of ownership among the French and their properties are impeccable. The best chateaux's and castles are located in France.
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Very few English speaking residents especially in the rural areas.
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Belgium
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Netherlands
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Denmark
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Sweden
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Norway
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Germany
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Austria
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Poland
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Hungary
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Czech Republic
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Slovakia
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Slovenia
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Romania
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Serbia
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Bosnia & Herzegovina
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Croatia
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Montenegro
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Switzerland
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Greece
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Italy
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Monaco
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Spain
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Portugal
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Thailand
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Hong Kong
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"The New Gineration"
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The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by www.glenandleslie.com and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of www.glenandleslie.com. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, www.glenandleslie.com takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
