RobC on Viator.com

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Oct242011

Tour/Activity

San Francisco Supersaver: Muir Woods and Wine Country Tour

San Francisco, California

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Oct242011

Tour/Activity

Niagara Falls Day Trip from New York by Air

New York City, New York

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Aug092011

Tour/Activity

San Francisco Hop-on Hop-off Ticket and Alcatraz Tour

San Francisco, California

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Jan062011

Travel Recommendation

Markets of Byron Bay and Surrounds

New South Wales

My Recommendation Tip

If you aren't at the beach (why not?) then you should be at the market, at the pub, or sleeping...the markets in and around Byron are pretty amazing, but you need to check the local paper for times and places. My favourites are the Thursday produce market in Byron -- get there before 9am or you'll hear "sold out, Mate" too often -- and the Bangalow Market, which is held the 4th Sunday of each month. Bangalow is a cool little town a few miles inland from Byron and well worth the drive. The markets are big and the range of offerings stretches from produce to fashion to natural remedies to a whole range of other stuff. The setting, under the trees, attracts a real hippie crowd as well as locals, and you'll see plenty of good performers, busing or just holding court for the crowd. If you come to Byron, try to time it for this market, it's a beauty!

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Jan062011

Travel Recommendation

Beaches of Byron Bay and Surrounds

New South Wales

My Recommendation Tip

Beach lovers never want to leave the Byron area... there are dozens of gorgeous beaches: long ones, short ones, beaches with tons of people, beaches with not a soul around. My favourites are Belongil, just north of the town (catch the early morning yoga enthusiasts around 6am in Summer); Wategos, just under the lighthouse (check out the beautiful houses here, and enjoy long rides on your malibu) and Boulder Beach, just south of Lennox Heads, a half hour drive south of Byron. But there's so many you'll find your own faves pretty fast, and like I said, probably never want to leave!

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Dec212010

Travel Recommendation

Island trips from Phuket

Phuket

My Recommendation Tip

A lot of people are down on Phuket because it's a little sleazy at night; and that's fair enough, but it's also a fabulous jumping off place for the islands of the Andaman Sea. I've been on islands all over the place but there's nothing quite like these little dots -- well, some are quite big, with villages and whatnot -- that jut out of the sea like spikes. The tour I took went to a few islands, including the one they call "James Bond Island" because of the movie. Don't miss this tour! I don't think I've ever taken more photos in my entire life than on this day, it was all so beautiful.

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Dec212010

Travel Recommendation

Tasmania's West Coast

Tasmania

My Recommendation Tip

You could argue that it makes no sense to fly all the way to Australia, then fly another hour to get to an even more remote island, but it really is worth it. And when you get there, drive for another couple of hours to the west coast, it's completely remote, no-one will find you! My favourite tour there was the Gordon River cruise. It's a world heritage area, tons of natural beauty, lots of wildlife and the history is amazing. Hearing the story about the last boat built on Sarah Island is worth the trip! The other bit I liked was watching the salmon being fed. You don't see that every day.

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Dec182010

Travel Recommendation

Europe Photo Contest

Europe

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Nov152010

Travel Recommendation

Bondi Beach, Photographer's Delight

Sydney

My Recommendation Tip

If you like beaches and you like taking photographs, there's something about Bondi Beach that makes it a great destination. First of all there's the amazing mix of people: more than other beach in Australia, Bondi is home to people from all over. You're as likely to run into a bunch of Brazilian drummers -- doing their thing on the sand -- as a tight-knit group of old Russian ladies, taking their daily exercise along the promenade, ignoring the drum beat as they go. Get there early in the morning and you'll catch excellent sunrises over the "Ben Buckler" end of the beach; if you're there on a Sunday you may see one of the surf club competitions that are held regularly. There's always something happening; if you take the Hop-On Hop-Off you'd be mad not to hop-off here and spend a few hours. Make sure your camera battery is charged...

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Oct042010

Travel Recommendation

Kangaroo Island

Adelaide

My Recommendation Tip

There are no good nightclubs or even vaguely trendy bars here. Too bad, because there isn't much to do at night time, though I didn't find that a problem! This place has the greatest concentration of animal life and plants and trees and coastline and birds and just everything you can think of when you think of Australia. Loads of kangaroos, for a start! And the sea lions are so beautiful, they run a close race with the koalas for "cutest animal" on the island. The place I stayed had amazing food. All local. What did we expect?

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Oct042010

Travel Recommendation

Kakadu National Park

Northern Territory

My Recommendation Tip

I spent a week here last year and still can't get it out of my mind. Besides the heat (it's HOT) and the distances (it's Australia, everything is far away!) you will love seeing the birds and other wildlife in their natural environment, and the old, old, old rock paintings. The food out here is good too, lots of barramundi (local fish) and a good chance to try kangaroo as well!

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Oct042010

Travel Recommendation

Hobart's Waterfront

Hobart

My Recommendation Tip

Hobart's waterfront area, including Constitution Dock and Salamanca Place, is easily the most tranquil and beautiful I've seen anywhere. The fact that the heart of the city is right at the water's edge is really surprising: you can throw a rock from the steps of the State Parliament into the water! Salamanca is just gorgeous, and if you are there on a Saturday, the market is world class. There are cute little boats doing tours of the river but for my money just wandering around the various docks, stopping in bars and cafes, looking at boats or eating the scrumptious fish and chips from the floating shops makes it a unique place. There's a few hotels on the docks themselves and if you can stay here, even better!

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Oct042010

Travel Recommendation

Alcatraz

San Francisco

My Recommendation Tip

I've been to Alcatraz three times now and it gets better each time. The new audio tour is real good, the quality is amazing because the voices are real former prisoners and guards, and the Parks Service, who run the island, have somehow improved the atmosphere so that even though you feel welcome as a visitor, you also feel what a horrible place it must have been for the inmates.

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Oct042010

Travel Recommendation

SF's North Beach Area

San Francisco

My Recommendation Tip

I've heard people say that North Beach, in San Francisco, is too "touristy." Well, the reason there's a lot of tourists is that it's a fabulous place to walk around, so many great bars and cafes and restaurants, one of the most famous bookstores in the country, a whole lot of history and always super-interesting people. OK, you'll rub shoulders with lots of other tourists, there's no denying it. But the attractions more than make up for that... and besides, aren't we all tourists at some stage?

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Oct012010

Travel Recommendation

3 things you should do in NYC

New York City

My Rating
4 star rating: Recommended

My Review

I'm all for any suggestion that gets people away from Times Square and all that shopping mayhem in Midtown. It's hard to believe but loads of people never go below 34th Street! Crazy. I haven't done the Tenement Museaum, but all your other suggestions are spot-on.

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Sep172010

Travel Recommendation

Street Art in Barcelona

Barcelona

My Recommendation Tip

I love street art, even if some people hate it, and don't know the difference between some stupid tags, meaningless graffiti and the beautiful pieces you can see on walls all over Europe. And Barcelona has a really liberal attitude towards this kind of art, so it's a great place to walk around and enjoy the work at no cost! I mentioned this to one of the guides on the bike tour I did and he told me some great places, but really you just have to walk around and keep your eyes out to see fabulous pieces everywhere. There may be cities where there's more street art than Barcelona, but I haven't found them yet. I've attached a few pics of some favourite pieces; I don't know if they'll still be there, but if they aren't there's probably something new and cool in their place. Most of the best stuff I saw was in the Born, but that's also where the clean-up crews are hardest at work. It seems like they leave all the best pieces though; I know for a fact that some of the Miss Van stuff I saw in 2005 are still there in 2010.

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Sep172010

Travel Recommendation

Walk & Bike in Barcelona

Barcelona

My Recommendation Tip

More than any city I've been to in Europe, Barcelona is best enjoyed on foot and on a bike. It's small, but not so small that you can walk around it; it's mostly flat; there's something to see every step of the way; and there's a million bars and cafes to stop as you get tired. I did a Tapas Walking Tour and a half-day Bike Tour, and gave them both five star reviews. Barcelona is really deep from a cultural viewpoint, it's one of those places where you won't know what you missed unless you did the tours and heard the guide. Music, art, history, wine, food, religion... the Catalan region is a real surprise for first-time visitors. While I was there I also did a day tour to Montserrat, way up on a mountain an hour or so out of town; that was cool too, but I liked being in the city better, on foot and close-up to the people. The bike tour was especially fun; there were a few older people who were a little concerned that they would fall behind the younger set, but we stopped every few minutes and nobody got too tired. We did see a lot of the city we would not have seen on foot, though. And the guide was hilarious. A real bonus.

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Sep152010

Travel Recommendation

Photography tours in New York

New York City

My Recommendation Tip

New York City is so full of great photo opportunities it's almost overwhelming. I've struggled to find ways to get myself in the frame, and I've found photography walking tours are a good option. I've done these in a few places now. Good way to learn about the city, find locations for photos, and be in every photo. The New York tour is especially good because NYC is really a pretty complex place, and the guide helps you learn to navigate the subway, explains how the street grid works, the best food to buy from vendors and all sorts of other useful advice. He also snaps incessantly, so by the end of the day you have hundreds, I'm not kidding, of photos. And he's probably a better photographer than you are, anyway. I enjoyed some other walking tours in NYC, but looking back this is the one with the best memories: all because of those photos. It's strange to think there's a tour that's all about taking pictures, but believe me, it works!

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RobC

My Profile

RobC

San Francisco Supersaver: Muir Woods and Wine Country Tour

Niagara Falls Day Trip from New York by Air

San Francisco Hop-on Hop-off Ticket and Alcatraz Tour

Markets of Byron Bay and Surrounds

Beaches of Byron Bay and Surrounds

Island trips from Phuket

Tasmania's West Coast

Europe Photo Contest

Bondi Beach, Photographer's Delight

Kangaroo Island

Kakadu National Park

Hobart's Waterfront

Alcatraz

SF's North Beach Area

3 things you should do in NYC

Street Art in Barcelona

Walk & Bike in Barcelona

Photography tours in New York

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