maryann ns

They will possibly be over the harbour but I don'the know for sure. You can check closers to July.

For Nova Scotia the leaves peak the second week of October (usually) and should be good into the third week. September is too soon for sure.

You want as many days as you can get in Siem Reap. We had four and were able to see many of the temples, tour Tonle Sap and see a couple museums, etc. I highly recommend to Rose Apple boutique hotel which has a lovely pool, great breakfasts (and dinners if you wish) and very friendly owners and staff.

Did you do any landings in Antarctica?

We were in the park a couple hours and took two short hikes in addition to driving around. Then we drove east of Ushuaia into the mountains to a lookoff point. It made for an easy and scenic day.

Quebec City would top my list. Perhaps fly to Toronto, then visit Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. The Charlevoix area north of Quebec City is scenic and interesting. Check out Baie St. Paul.

I am sure this has been done. Ask on the Trip Advisor forums for Chile and Argentina. I have rented a car in Chile and driven to Argentina and back but this was in the Lake District. You need to prearrange the paperwork to do this and it is over $100 dollars. However if I were there with the time in summer and was used to mountain passes with hairpin turns then I would do it.

My experience on G Adventure's Expedition was the same. I think you would find what you describe to be the case on most of the expedition ships.

If you do a search here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5 you will find several posts. Look for "Search here" and put "Halifax Taxi Tours" in quotations.

I would not risk this without a couple days in between. Punta Arenas is frequently windy.

Yes, but it was many years ago. The company, Accidental Tourist, is still in operation. We had a great day and I still make fresh pasta.

You will be fine walking. July 1 is Canada Day, our national holiday and this year our 150th birthday, so it may be crowded.

It is not far but it is uphill. If you are not able to handle that I would suggest a taxi. https://goo.gl/maps/qnWYaP9rt7R2

Are you going to be in port long enough to see the Tattoo?

If you are taking a private tour to Peggy's Cove you could visit the graveyard on the way there or back.

I think the tuk tuks add to the experience. We had a wonderful driver (Savuth) for four days. He always had good advice and lots of cold water. When you are moving you get a breeze. You can find Savuth here: https://angkortuktuk.wordpress.com/tag/siem-reap/page/2/

We stayed at the Rose Apple, a wonderful boutique hotel with owners who speak English. They have a lovely pool, great breakfasts and are walking distance to central places in Siem Reap.

I think your best value would be a land tour. That part of the world is very easy to travel on your own and the prices are low. You will pay more for the cruise and see less.

We had no survival suits to my knowledge on our Antarctic trip last February. The life boats were enclosed and had rations, tents, etc. A person on the crew checked their motors every day as part of his job.

When we went ashore the crew went ahead with a load of tents, rations, etc. It was all very reassuring but we were never even close to needing this.

Where survival suits can be useful are on small fishing boats.

You do not need to take ship's excursions. You will find in many places you can tour on your own and in others you can take private excursions. These cost less, especially if you meet up with others going on your cruise (in the Roll Call section here on Cruise Critic) so that the cost is spread out over more people.

As for on board spending: none of it is compulsary. If you want to have a drink though you will pay. If you book certain cruises at certain times you can be given an onboard credit which would help cover these expenses.

Our last cruise (Azamara) we drank the included wine, had a few beers and went to the specialty restaurant. Our onboard credit covered it all.

I was in Buenos Aires last Feb. It was hot but I noticed no mosquitoes. We walked in the parks so they had their chance. Ushuaia and Punta Arenas were cool and there were no mosquitoes. In Patagonia there were none. We were in Santiago and Valparaiso in mid March and there were none there either.

It may be a bit warmer when you go so I would ask on the Trip Advisor boards to be sure.

There will likely be fireworks in Halifax and you would see them easily from the ship I would think. Check out www.novascotia.com later in the spring to see what may be going on.

If you went to Bai Tu Long Bay then you would have been with Indochina Junk as they are the only company who go there. We went with them on a two night trip which was fantastic.

We enjoyed Hanoi but I think your time would be better spent on a junk in Halong Bay. Reserve ahead, and consider Indochina Junks which go into a secluded bay off Halong Bay.

The zodiac rides can be as little a a few minutes to get from the boat to shore, or they could be full zodiac cruises of an hour or more.

When you go to the Trip Advisor Antarctic Adventures FAQ site referenced above by PerfectlyPerth, be sure to check out the Trip Research site which compares various operators, seasons, destinations and so on. There are many more choices for trips with landings than National Geographic.

Superhosts earn that qualification and I would not hesitate booking with them. If for some reason they cancel, there is always Mestre which is not as inconvenient as many people imply.

I would rather spend my money on food and experiences.

I have stayed in airbnb places in Canada, Argentina and Chile with no serious problems. I am using them this spring in Italy in several places, but we are not going to Venice this time.

That never happened to us!