New answers tagged planning
1
In general, I'd just ask someone who lives there! Especially if it's someone who sells other things in that category. That has worked dozens of times for me in Spain, Turkey, Taiwan, Korea, …
For the specific laptop example, I specifically wanted a MacBook. An employee of K-tuin (Logroño) ordered one with a US keyboard on Friday, and I picked it up at ...
0
Not quite answering my question, but I've just learned that there is a service called Grabr.io, which lets you order items from the US, and matches you with travelers coming to your location, who will deliver the item "in 1-2 weeks".
Yet in the particular example of replacing my stolen X1 Carbon, this would've been the best option: order the thing from ...
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If you want to find out online, try to find an Expat online forum. There usually people have posted these kinds of questions (since they usually have exactly the same problem, trying to find specialized items without really knowing the location)
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A tourist information bureau should be able to tell you the speciality stores in the area. They may offer to call them for you to check if they supply the item(s) you want, which can come in handy if your skills in the local language aren't strong.
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As long as you're in a country where they have a presence, Amazon. (Note: I have no affiliation with Amazon.) Order with one-day shipping and you will have it the next day.
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In many countries there are offices dedicated to travellers. They usually provides infos about the city and nearby sites worth visiting. Their work is to help travellers by answering questions. The sort of questions, you are about to ask, are within their competence. At least they can suggest you some options where to get the final answer.
On the other hand,...
5
Based on my own experience I'll still stick to Google, unless you are willing to pay more or have less of a variety.
I find that different concierge services or asking in groups and forums will be give you answers which are highly biased towards places they have used once, had one good (or bad) experience or get some commission or benefit from
painfully ...
10
Use your credit card's concierge service, if it's available to you.
At higher credit card tiers Visa, MasterCard and American Express all offer concierge services which can help you locate hard to find items, get hard-to-obtain dinner reservations or event tickets, and overall help with many issues you might run across while traveling. Just call or email ...
31
As you've mentioned in your question, online searches work best when you know the name of the store you're looking for, or what kind of store is likely to carry your item. I recommend instead you talk to a person.
If you're staying at or near a hotel, hotel staff are your first choice. The front desk, for example. These people probably live nearby, or are ...
7
This is exactly where a global network of Virtual Assistants come in handy, there are many many of them giving a global reach but local knowledge.
DISCLAIMER: I am the founder of such a company so I dont want to come across as pitching my services here on this site by posting links
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Long queues for tickets are not an issue at most attractions - the main delays can be for security, which you will not be able to skip even with a pass.
The hop-on tourist buses are fine if you want a tour but are not a viable means of transport on their own - they are infrequent and don't go to enough places.
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This is impossible to answer, really, because it depends on what you're interested in. Personally, I wouldn't like the Merlin pass, because I'd have little interest in most of the attractions it gives access to, but your tastes are almost certainly different than mine. I have no idea whether you'd personally enjoy Madame Tussauds or whether you'd have a ...
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