Regarding the recent flooding in the South Island, tourists with travel plans in the near future do not need to panic. The latest information we have is as follows: 1. The water levels in the high-water areas of Lake Wakatipu and Lake Wanaka in Queenstown have reached their peak, and the weather has cleared up. This week is expected to be mostly sunny, with no more rain predicted, so the flood risk has been alleviated. Businesses along the shores of Lake Wanaka have resumed operations. The famous Wanaka Tree will remain partially submerged for a while longer due to the still-high water levels. Queenstown is experiencing clear weather, and recent photos show that while the water levels are high, the risk of flooding has diminished. 2. The South Island highways, which were previously closed, have started to reopen. State Highway 72 has resumed traffic, although there is heavy congestion, so travelers should allow extra time if using this route. 3. There is still flooding at the Rangitata Bridge section of State Highway 1, but once the water recedes, traffic will be able to resume. There is also flooding at the intersection of State Highway 1 and State Highway 79. The Timaru District Council has stated on social media that there is no risk of the recently reopened bridges on State Highway 72 being closed again. 4. The goal is to reopen State Highway 6 on the West Coast before Christmas, but this is entirely dependent on the weather conditions. If the weather remains favorable, the road repair progress will be normal, but if there is another heavy rain, it will affect the repair schedule. Therefore, travelers planning to visit the West Coast of the South Island around Christmas and New Year's need to closely monitor the road repair progress. The New Zealand Transport Agency's update on December 10th at 4pm: SH6 - The past two days have been sunny, and road repair progress has been smooth. The agency has been working to clear the landslide section between Fox and Franz Josef towns, aiming to reopen the Hokitika - Makarora section before Christmas. The Whataroa - Harihari section, which has suffered the most damage, is still closed due to multiple landslides, and the agency is striving to reopen it before Christmas ?
New Zealand Q&A
In summary, the schedule is too tight, I'm not sure how much time I have left to play, but the days are late in Greece, it's not until 8 o'clock at night that it gets dark, and it doesn't matter if you go late to places without tickets, it takes a long time to get to Meteora from there, whether it's from Athens or your itinerary from Meteora to Delphi, your estimated time will definitely be exceeded, considering that you have six people, you must stop in the middle, driving too fast is tiring and unsafe. Mystras needs to be repaired in the castle on the mountain and the monastery below, Monemvasia also has a castle on top of the mountain and a town crossing, they are all not small, they need a lot of time, I think each point a day is very rushed, relatively speaking, Delphi, Olympia and the Theatre are small points (although they are not small), your itinerary on the 14th is really impossible to do, you have to go from Monemvasia to Nafplion to Epidaurus and then go to Cape Colonna and back to the Temple of Poseidon and back to Athens, you basically have no time to shop, just drive. I really suggest you delete some points and enjoy the leisure of Greece～ ?
Greece Q&A
Thank you for the reminder, it's really good advice, thank you! I'm flying in from Oslo and have been traveling in Norway before. I have a 4-night itinerary in Iceland, planning to fly in at noon and stay in Vik that night, then visit the black sand beach in the morning of the second day and go glacier hiking in the afternoon, staying at a hotel near Jokulsarlon glacier that night, visiting the ice lake and ice beach on the third day and driving back, passing through Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss along the way, staying at Selfoss that night, sightseeing in Reykjavik city and visiting the Blue Lagoon on the fourth day, staying near the airport that night, and taking an early morning flight to Stockholm on the fifth day. If I don't have time to see the attractions of the Golden Circle on the first day, is it possible to fit them in on the fourth day, or should I only choose one or two attractions of the Golden Circle, or give them up altogether? Thank you for your guidance, I really appreciate it ?
Iceland Q&A
Hello everyone! I just visited Cinque Terre on July 29th. It was very difficult to find a parking space (I don't know if it's because it's the weekend). I suggest it's more convenient to take a train from La Spezia to visit Cinque Terre. Trains from La Spezia to Levanto run every half an hour and stop at all five villages. We drove to Riomaggiore first and bought tickets there for 16 euros per person, which allowed unlimited rides all day, including buses and restroom fees. Among the five villages, Manarola has the best scenery. It is said that the night view is also special, but we didn't plan our time well and left Cinque Terre before it got dark. We arrived around 10 am and left around 8 pm, spending about ten hours. We visited all five villages, and the scenery was quite similar. Monterosso, the northernmost village, is mainly a beach resort. Vernazza, Manarola, and Riomaggiore are similar, while Corniglia, after getting off the train, requires a bus ride to reach the top of the town. After 8 pm, the train back to La Spezia runs every hour. I hope my experience can be helpful to friends who are planning to visit Cinque Terre. ?
Italy Q&A
The road conditions on Zakynthos are still good, but there are many winding roads. I rented a Peugeot 208, and sometimes it's quite difficult to climb steep slopes. There are many one-way streets in the town. Now, the price for Shipwreck Bay and Blue Caves is 20 euros per person. I first went to the Potamitis place to take a boat. There were hardly any people on Sunday. After waiting for a while, a lady asked us if we were going. I asked about the price, and she said it would be 80 euros for two people because it would be a private charter. If we went with others, it would be 20 euros per person. I thought it was too expensive and there were no other people around, so I went to Agios Nikolaos. There weren't many people there on Sunday either. I asked and was told that if we didn't wait and left immediately, it would be 100 euros for two people. If we waited for others, it would be 20 euros. Luckily, after waiting for about fifteen minutes, a couple arrived, and we went together. It took about an hour and a half. It's best to arrive at the Blue Caves between 12-2 pm. I arrived there at nearly 5 pm, and the sun was shining from behind, so it wasn't very visible. I hope this helps you. ?
Greece Q&A