Vacation - Where are you going?

[randomrogue]

Nepal was super cheap since the first couple days of the trek the tea houses were free and after that it was at most $5 a day for food and lodging.

I could travel around South East Asia for half a year, including airfare, for $7,000. Just go in the Winter, fly into Bangkok which is a tax free airport, and don't stay in fancy hotels. I could do it cheaper too since places like Laos cost about $600 per month.

It always surprises me what people spend. I was in Botswana at Chobe National Park and the people in the same Jeep as me spent $4,500 for the 2 day safari. They booked from back home. Now granted the place they slept in was a nice hotel at the edge of the park on the river while I slept in the middle of the park in a tent and shit in a hole, but I spent $280 to see the same animals since I booked at Victoria Falls next door. Probably more animals since we were in the park longer at sunset and sunrise while they were heading out to go to the hotel plus we had lions by our camp at night. Thinking I did well I then met a guy from New York who spent $80 to do the same thing. He showed up in the village a week ahead of time, met the locals, and they charged him the local price.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Threads like this make me wish I were a consultant. I'd be raking in the mile and hotel points like crazy

 

[Loop2kil]

Saint George Island, FL....we've gone every year since '93

https://www.google.com/search?q=st+...o9gSOl4DYBA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1075

 

[Dr. Detroit]

April - Cancun & Puerto Morelos
July - Camping for a week in the Redwoods
October - Cabos or Cancun

We throw in a bunch of weekend trips during the year too but those don't qualify as vacations.

 

[raasco]

Late August or early September: Two weeks of fly fishing and camping Wyoming/Idaho/Montana. Staying with a friend in Jackson for a few of the days. Roughly $1500.

Late December: One week of skiing at Jackson Hole MR $1500.
I need my mountain fix. I haven't been back since I was a ski bum nearly ten years ago.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Any seasoned European travelers have suggestions on which cities to visit if you only have 3 days each, you've never been to Europe, and you only speak English? It seems like I can get a pretty good deal through EuropeanDestinations.com to a bunch of city combinations:
- London/Dublin
- London/Paris
- Paris/Rome
- Rome/Athens
- London/Rome
- Barcelona/Rome
- etc.

I am a fairly inexperienced traveler - I've only been out of the country to Mexico for a single day and Grand Cayman for a week. My wife and I are into history, culture, and natural beauty. Not into partying.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Random side note since you will be staying next door a couple of days after we are there but supposedly there is a really good food market called The Real Food Market just past the Jubilee Gardens before you get to Waterloo Bridge (so really close to where you are staying) if you happen to be there Friday - Sunday

http://www.realfoodfestival.co.uk/market/producers/

Awesome thanks for the heads up.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Any seasoned European travelers have suggestions on which cities to visit if you only have 3 days each, you've never been to Europe, and you only speak English? It seems like I can get a pretty good deal through EuropeanDestinations.com to a bunch of city combinations:
- London/Dublin
- London/Paris
- Paris/Rome
- Rome/Athens
- London/Rome
- Barcelona/Rome
- etc.

I am a fairly inexperienced traveler - I've only been out of the country to Mexico for a single day and Grand Cayman for a week. My wife and I are into history, culture, and natural beauty. Not into partying.

3 days for those cities seems pretty minimal. I assume some of that time will be spent traveling as well? I'd just pick a city you want to go to and stay there for a week if that's all the time you have. Edinburgh or London perhaps? Or just spend 6 days in Scotland hiking around and staying the night in hostels. If it were just me that's exactly what I'd do. Think that would be amazing.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Any seasoned European travelers have suggestions on which cities to visit if you only have 3 days each, you've never been to Europe, and you only speak English? It seems like I can get a pretty good deal through EuropeanDestinations.com to a bunch of city combinations:
- London/Dublin
- London/Paris
- Paris/Rome
- Rome/Athens
- London/Rome
- Barcelona/Rome
- etc.

I am a fairly inexperienced traveler - I've only been out of the country to Mexico for a single day and Grand Cayman for a week. My wife and I are into history, culture, and natural beauty. Not into partying.

You'd be fine in Paris, Rome, Dublin, and London. Never been to Athens and while I was in Barcelona, it was only for a couple of days and I didn't get a feel for how widespread English was. Barcelona is HUGE so you would probably be fine there too.

For a first-time traveler, I'd highly recommend you pick one city and stick with it with maybe a brief excursion to another place in the same country to get your feet wet (Rome to Florence, Paris to Normandy, etc). Feel free to PM me on specifics on Rome and Paris.

 

[xSauronx]

i dont have money to spend on a big trip, gf and i just took her camper down to rodanthe for a weekend a couple of weeks ago. we will probably do a couple more long weekend excursions somewhere over the summer. beach again, maybe the mountains, dunno

 

[rh71]

Disney this year with the 5 year olds... first time for them. Gonna be fun.

 

[Charlie98]

Back out to Laughlin, NV. Video poker, guns and dirt bikes... what's not to like?

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Where are you going for vacation this year and what's the ballpark amount you're willing to spend?

Going to try to spend 2 solid weeks + weekends at our seasonal camp in Bridgton Maine this year. Annual cost is $2800. Not bad for what amounts to poor mans lake front property. Thought about buying a lake house, but the cost is too much. What I pay for the campsite amounts to about 1 mortgage payment for a lake house, and the lake house doesn't come with the built in drinking buddies.

Wife and I celebrated our tenth anniversary this year, and are looking to take a kidless vacation somewhere warm in the winter. Current options on the table are Sedona Arizona, the Seychelles (yes, the islands off Africa), or someplace in the Caribbean. I've got a buddy in the Bahamas so we might go to Nassau for a few days and enjoy the local food his mom cooks up before heading further south to St. Lucia.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Any seasoned European travelers have suggestions on which cities to visit if you only have 3 days each, you've never been to Europe, and you only speak English? It seems like I can get a pretty good deal through EuropeanDestinations.com to a bunch of city combinations:
- London/Dublin
- London/Paris
- Paris/Rome
- Rome/Athens
- London/Rome
- Barcelona/Rome
- etc.
I am a fairly inexperienced traveler - I've only been out of the country to Mexico for a single day and Grand Cayman for a week. My wife and I are into history, culture, and
natural beauty. Not into partying.

Seriously consider Prague, CZ. Everyone speaks English, the food/beer is CHEAP and GOOD, and you could spend months there and not see everything. Oodles and oodles of history and culture. PM me if you want travel tips etc. My dad lives in the Czech republic and I have been all over that country many times.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

i dont have money to spend on a big trip, gf and i just took her camper down to rodanthe for a weekend a couple of weeks ago. we will probably do a couple more long weekend excursions somewhere over the summer. beach again, maybe the mountains, dunno

Nothing wrong with camping on the OBX. Where do you park the camper when you go?

 

[RossMAN]

Las Vegas for a few different reasons:

1) Cheap, sometimes Southwest/Alaska have $600 packages with airfare/hotel for 2 adults 4 nights.
2) Quick 2 hour non-stop flight.
3) Sunny, lots to do, support the economy!
4) My wife wants to go (OK that's the real actual reason).
5) Did I mention it's cheap? Depending on how much we "invest" into the local economy.

Another option is going up north to Kanuckistan.

 

[KMFJD]

Jamaica in November for a friends wedding, New Zealand in December if all goes well

 

[sjwaste]

i dont have money to spend on a big trip, gf and i just took her camper down to rodanthe for a weekend a couple of weeks ago. we will probably do a couple more long weekend excursions somewhere over the summer. beach again, maybe the mountains, dunno

Vacations aren't about money, they're about time - with good company and to do the things you feel like doing. I assure you, a good vacation is not proportional to the dollars spent. Shit, my enjoyment goes up when I score a deal

That's the nice thing about living in the US. You don't have to go very far to find yourself in a completely different setting than where you live. Hell, even for a few hundred bucks a piece, you can find yourself in San Diego - one of the nicest climates in the world, if not the best.

Just don't come to Maine right now unless you speak French.

 

[sjwaste]

Las Vegas for a few different reasons:

1) Cheap, sometimes Southwest/Alaska have $600 packages with airfare/hotel for 2 adults 4 nights.
2) Quick 2 hour non-stop flight.
3) Sunny, lots to do, support the economy!
4) My wife wants to go (OK that's the real actual reason).
5) Did I mention it's cheap? Depending on how much we "invest" into the local economy.

Another option is going up north to Kanuckistan.

Are you driving to Canada? Flights are always ridiculous, and I live a few hrs from the border. I'm looking forward to Montreal this summer though. 5 hr drive.

 

[Exterous]

Any seasoned European travelers have suggestions on which cities to visit if you only have 3 days each, you've never been to Europe, and you only speak English? It seems like I can get a pretty good deal through EuropeanDestinations.com to a bunch of city combinations:
- London/Dublin
- London/Paris
- Paris/Rome
- Rome/Athens
- London/Rome
- Barcelona/Rome
- etc.

I am a fairly inexperienced traveler - I've only been out of the country to Mexico for a single day and Grand Cayman for a week. My wife and I are into history, culture, and natural beauty. Not into partying.

I haven't been to Athens or Rome and only traveled through London (but give me 3 weeks and I'll know a lot more ) but I have visited Paris, Dublin and Barcelona. They are going to give very different experiences. I'll admit a personal bias upfront on Ireland in general - its our favorite country out of the 9 or so we've been to. Great mix of history, culture, friendliness and urban vs rural mix. Dublin was the friendliest of the three, is the smallest and very doable in 3 days. If you go get the Green Bus pass thingie. You can get multiple days and they stop every 30 min at all the major attractions. Great for general bus service as well as sightseeing. That said we experienced the best Irish culture (and scenery) outside of the city. Oh - and they love Americans there. Tourism is their major industry and a big chunk of that comes from the US (2nd most after the British)

One thing to check out is Aer Lingus. They have flights from NY, Boston and Chicago to Dublin and are generally pretty cheap compared to other, larger airlines. We passed through Dublin and stayed a night there a couple of times because we love it and its a somewhat convenient gateway esp considering the massive fees Heathrow (London) charges for international flights. (Whatever you do DON"T FLY BACK TO THE US THROUGH HEATHROW unless you have an extra $500 you want to burn on fees). Big plus is that they have an in airport US customs station so no pesky customs lines at major hubs when arriving back in the US.

Paris is going to have many more Sites and Museums to visit. Too many good options to list them all. 3 days is probably isn't enough for Paris but you won't be bored. I've done 2 days already and we plan to go back for at least 3 more next year and we typically don't stay more than 2 nights in a city. You'll do just fine with English although they won't be as excited to see and American or want to know all about the city you came from like the Irish.

Barcelona has the added benefit of beaches if thats your thing. You can also see the church that will never be finished (Sacred Family). Kinda interesting that it was under construction 12 years ago (!) when I went and was still under construction when my wife went 6 years ago and will be for some time yet. There are some genuinely impressive and unique architectural sites (Gaudi) but you'll find less 'indoor' attractions like museums, art galleries or beer/whisky tours.

Of the three I'd say Barcelona would be the least interesting if you make infrequent trips unless you'd really like to go to the beach or you have a crush on Gaudi.

 

[RossMAN]

Are you driving to Canada? Flights are always ridiculous, and I live a few hrs from the border. I'm looking forward to Montreal this summer though. 5 hr drive.

Either BoltBus, AmTrak or driving each has their advantages. It would be nice to have wheels in Canada but we're fine with taking mass transit.

If we can find a good deal on a Vancouver hotel (Groupon/Livingsocial?) we might go to Kanuckistan.

 

[edro]

London! (Scotland and Ireland)

Airfare was $1000ea.
We will probably spend $2500+ while we are there for 10 days.

 

[chelhxi]

Black Hills area of South Dakota - leaving in 3 days - hooray. In 7 days we'll probably spend around $1500 - don't know for sure. Whatever it takes.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Now I need to re-evaluate if I want to cash in a majority of my airline miles to go to FL (for 3 people) or use all of my wife's to cover 2 and pay one airfare. I can get a United cc and the 40,000 bonus miles and then have enough miles to cover 2 flights to Europe next year (or 3 roundtrip to the carribean next year).

Choices choices.

 

[RossMAN]

Now I need to re-evaluate if I want to cash in a majority of my airline miles to go to FL (for 3 people) or use all of my wife's to cover 2 and pay one airfare. I can get a United cc and the 40,000 bonus miles and then have enough miles to cover 2 flights to Europe next year (or 3 roundtrip to the carribean next year).

Choices choices.

We flew round trip to FLL last year and my wife's 50,000 miles saved us $$$, we only had to buy 2 one way tickets.