2014 a year of travel in review

[Deleted]

I always love seeing where everyone has been, so tell me where did you go in 2014?

Highlights of events or favorite places?

Things that surprised you?

Places that didn't live up to your expectations?

Tell us what you did this year!

[Deleted]

2014 was an amazing travel year for us. My New Years resolution was to go to 12 new countries this year and we did it.

I was lucky that most of these were long weekends, but I still had an awesome time seeing everything!

Edinburgh
Budapest/Vienna/Prague
Slovenia
Dublin
Stockholm
Monaco/Nice/Antibes
Valencia (with kooshball!)
Bucharest
Copenhagen
Helsinki
Bergen
Luxembourg
Lisbon
Jamaica
Basel
Amsterdam

I really, really loved Slovenia. H booked it and I didn't really know much about it going there, but the whole city was charming. And Lake Bled was absolutely stunning. It was also great returning to Lisbon. It's one of my most favorite places in the world.

We went to the Monaco Grand Prix for H's birthday and I thought I was going to be bored the whole weekend, but watching the races and walking the pit lanes was really exhilarating. I'm not a huge F1 fan now or anything, but it was so interesting to see in person. I don't think I need to do this again, but I'm really glad we did this.

I really wanted to like Jamaica, but it just wasn't as great as I was hoping for. Had it not been going for a friend's wedding I think I would have felt more let down. The beaches were lovely, but (besides seeing friends get married) that was probably the best thing. I definitely won't be going back without a reason.

[iammalcolmx]

I always love seeing where everyone has been, so tell me where did you go in 2014? Brasil Rio and Vitoria, Paris, Frankfurt

Highlights of events or favorite places? Vitoria was like a smaller more peaceful Rio.

Things that surprised you? We had kick ass food in Germany

Places that didn't live up to your expectations? N/A

[mdgirl]

Where did you go in 2014?
Cabo
Vegas
Italy (Rome, Venice, Lake Como/Milan)
Walla Walla
Kayaking trip in the San Juan Islands
Big Island/Oahu
Portland
Miami
Dubai/India

Highlights of events or favorite places?
The kayaking trip was fantastic. The weather was beautiful and we saw tons of seals and porpoises. I'd honestly do one of these every year if it didn't involve camping.

The Big Island was amazing as always! And Italy was a good trip despite arriving on Easter morning and packing a lot into it.

Things that surprised you?
I didn't like Miami the first time I went, but I thought it wasn't so bad this time.

I really liked Milan. You don't usually hear people saying good things about it, but I love cities and it's a cool one. Maybe not a must for everyone going to Italy, but I'd move there!

I'd been to Portland a couple times before, but I came away from this trip really liking it a lot. We've lived in Seattle for 5 years and had only been there before we moved here, but I think we'll definitely try to go more.

Places that didn't live up to your expectations?
Cabo certainly wasn't terrible, but I don't feel the need to go back.

[Deleted]

Dec 5, 2014 12:51:36 GMT -5 @uwhuskygirl said:

I always love seeing where everyone has been, so tell me where did you go in 2014?  Rang in 2014 in Guatemala, ski trip in West Virginia, camping in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia wine country, New Mexico

Highlights of events or favorite places? Guatemala was all-around amazing, we loved every minute. Tikal, Lake Atitlan, and Antigua were all wonderful.

Things that surprised you? My husband and I loved camping! We had never been together, and we took the dog and had an awesome weekend.

Places that didn't live up to your expectations? New Mexico, specifically Santa Fe.  We had an ok time, but so many people LOVE Santa Fe, and it didn't live up to my expectations.

We are leaving for our final trip of the year next week - ending 2014 and beginning 2015 in Thailand! I can't wait!

[GilliC]

Where did you go in 2014?
- Norway: Stavanger
- Sweden: Jukkasjärvi (IceHotel), Strömstad, Stockholm
- Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima
- Brazil: Fortaleza, Canoa Quebrada
- US & Mexico: California coast (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Ensenada)

Highlights of events or favorite places?
- Spending a night in an ice room at the IceHotel was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
- Attending a World Cup match! I definitely want to go again in four years!

Things that surprised you?
- The immigration officials handling foreign visitors in Fortaleza right before the World Cup had questions about my visa but didn't speak English!
- Robot Restaurant in Tokyo was so over-the-top ridiculous! I loved it! It was the highlight of our "WTF, Japan?" tour!

Places that didn't live up to your expectations?
- The ring of aurora activity. We've spent two clear nights out in the cold on dedicated Northern Lights expeditions with very minimal success. Luckily we have seen them, but whenever we spend a night on it, it just doesn't pan out.
- Uobei sushi in Shibuya. We stumbled on a much better "chute" sushi option in Nakano, so Uobei was pretty disappointing.
- Centro de Turismo do Ceará in Fortaleza. It sounds interesting on paper, but it's all the same stuff they sell at the central market, and the small museum was closed off.

[rikki]

@sfgal530 I am so glad you loved the Gora Kadan. I'd go back in a heartbeat, too. I am sad that you did not love Japan as a whole though, since I am one of those "very favorite place" people.

Internationally this year I went to:
Thailand- Chaing Mai, Chaing Rai, Phuket, Bangkok
Japan- Just Tokyo this trip
Israel- Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Tzfat
France- Paris and Lyon
Switzerland- Geneva

Domestic we went to:
Grand Canyon and Sedona
Vegas
Los Angeles
Chicago about 15 times (does it even count anymore?)
Miami
New York a bunch of times

Highlights of events or favorite places? Definitely the Four Seasons Golden Triangle in Thailand. The hotel was perfect. Seriously, one of the most peaceful places on earth. Another hotel we stayed at in Thailand, Pillars 137, was also amazing. It was a trip with my best friend and I treasure the time we spent together.

My husband and I went to eat at Pierre Gagnaire in Paris. Yumm. One of my top 5 meals.

Things that surprised you? Even though I had lived there, I forgot how much I love Israel. I hadn't been since 2008 and it seemed so different. I can't decide if it is because I am an "adult" now, or if it has changed.

Places that didn't live up to your expectations? The rest of Thailand. I really didn't like it at all. Also, first class international on Thai Air was bad.

[v]

Where did you go in 2014?
New Orleans
DC (to visit a friend who was moving from DC to Europe)
Spain (Madrid, Granada, Seville)
London (to visit my best friend and my godson)
Montreal
Miami (next week, for a wedding)

Highlights of events or favorite places?
Granada was far more interesting and lovely than I though it would be.  


Things that surprised you?
That Dunkin Donuts in Spain had cornets months before the US locations did.


Places that didn't live up to your expectations?
I was very meh on Montreal... glad I've seen it, I guess, but I won't go back.  I was expecting there to be more to it than there was.

Also not a huge fan of Seville, which I thought would be our favorite city of the three we went to in Spain but it was our least favorite.

I HATED Bourbon Street -- HAAAAAATED -- but I expected that

[riverpestie]

Wow. I haven't done near as much traveling as you ladies have!

This year my international trips included:
Costa Rica, Greece, Turkey, and in 9 days we're going to Belize and Guatemala.

Didn't take many national trips this year, I have been busy with school.

I loves Oia in Santorini. It was amazing. Food was great, too.
Costa Rica was fun, especially since FI proposed to me there. <3

Turkey surprised me! I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did.

Madrid (I went there a few years ago). I was a bit disappointed with Madrid. I am not sure what I was expecting, though.

[marytini]

This was not an exciting year of travel for me. The poor passport didn't see any use.
Cocoa Beach FL with the in laws
Bethany Beach DE with my family
Stone Harbor NJ for a girls weekend
St Louis for a nerd conference

pretty sure that's it.
DH went to Poland with his moms family for a sort of family history trip, side trips to Prague and Berlin. I'm not jealous or anything ;-)

heres hoping for a more exciting 2015.

[frlcb]

Domestic:

Cincinnati
Nashville
Destin (several times)
NYC
San Diego
NYC
Charleston
Jackson Hole

International:
Ireland
UK
Scotland
Heading to Prague in less than 2 weeks

Even though I have been before we just loved Jackson Hole so much. We were there for 2 weeks and never got bored. Also loved San Diego

Not a fan of Cincinnati

[scout8]

I always love seeing where everyone has been, so tell me where did you go in 2014?
Austin (girls trip)
Middle of nowhere coastal Maine (different girls trip)
Chile: Santiago, Valparaiso, Puerto Varas, Chiole, Punta Arenas, Puerto Natales, Torres del Paine

Highlights of events or favorite places? Chile exceeded my expectations. It was incredibly beautiful everywhere we went. 

Things that surprised you? Can't really think of anything that was a surprise. 

Places that didn't live up to your expectations? I liked Austin, but didn't love it as much as I thought I would. 

[erbear]

Our big trip this year was Turkey and Greece. I loved it so much. 

Highlights were definitely the old buildings: Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, Parthenon, Agora. So so cool! I loved the Greek Isles too. We went to Santorini and Naxos and I would move to Naxos in a heartbeat.

Things that surprised me: how crowded and huge Istanbul was. I was expecting it be crowded but not like this.

I was surprised to discover that I didn't didn't like Istanbul as much as I thought I would, and I loved Athens (and I was not expecting that at all).

We also went to Denver, New York, Washington, and Connecticut.

[mx27]

Not a lot of travel this year b/c we moved and started new jobs (quite the whirlwind!).


Cabo (fucking humid in august)
Portland/Eugene (beautiful fall weather and scenery!)

[alleinesein]

I always love seeing where everyone has been, so tell me where did you go in 2014? India, Croatia, Slovenia, UK

Highlights of events or favorite places? Diwali in Jaipur-loved seeing the city lit up at night.  Fav place- Bison Valley (near Munnar), Kerala, India.  Peaceful, gorgeous and away from civilization.  Tower Poppies- I flew into London on Armistice Day when they placed the last poppy at the Tower.  Went to see the Tower at night- stunning yet saddening site to see.

Things that surprised you? Ljubljana- such a cool little city.  I need to go back!

Places that didn't live up to your expectations? New Delhi.  I HATED New Delhi and have no desire to ever go back.  It felt too sterile (lacked character in a good portion of the city) and it was so boring.  Aside from the old part of the city nothing really felt like India; it lacked the chaos of Mumbai and it just felt like a generic city.

[RoxMonster]

The only two places we went were Chicago and the Smoky Mtns.

Highlights? Driving part of the BRP and hiking to the top of Clingman's Dome with no one else around at 8 AM on a clear, sunny day.

Things that surprised me? The massiveness of the park.

Nothing disappointed me or let me down.

[wanderlustfoodie]

Where did you go in 2014?

Domestic:
Seattle
SoCal
Minneapolis
Princeton
DC
Shenandoah Valley (Inn at Little Washington)
Vermont
New Hampshire
Hamptons

International:
Morocco
Turks & Caicos
Rwanda
Tanzania
Italy (in a few weeks)

Highlights of events or favorite places?
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda was an incredible and unforgettable experience.
Rome is my second favorite city in the world so I can't wait to experience it with my husband.
Our camel trek experience over the Moroccan sand dunes and spending a night camping in a tent was one of the most memorable days.
Chartering a private boat in the T&C for a day of snorkeling and exploring along with a picnic lunch on a deserted beach.

Things that surprised you?
How modern-thinking so many Moroccans were.
How pristinely clean Rwanda was.
That I could be capable of spending an entire day at a resort without leaving (Parrot Cay in T&C).

Places that didn't live up to your expectations?
We spent a little time in Charlottesville, VA during a weekend in the Shenandoah Valley. We love college towns and were expecting to love it but it felt really dicey and not at all charming and quaint.

[G22]

I don't get to travel internationally as much as I'd like, but we try to get around the US as much as possible.

International:

Waterton NP in Alberta, Canada

Domestic:

Flathead Lake, Montana
Glacier NP, Montana
Seattle
Tacoma
Olympia
Mount Rainer NP
Portland
Yellowstone NP

I loved Flathead Lake. Its beautiful and relaxing and I wished we'd spent longer there. My sister, mom and I rented stand up paddle-boards and spent the day on the lake.

I always love Glacier. We go up a couple times a year. We did the Grinnell Glacier hike this summer and it did not disappoint!

Waterton was cool too. We saw so many bears and the lodge there is pretty stunning.

I fell in love with Mount Rainier. I went in the fall by myself, so I didn't do any hiking. But its still such a neat place!

Things that surprised you? I really enjoyed the Seattle/Tacoma area. I'm not a big fan of high traffic, but I didn't mind it much. I spent 3 weeks hanging out there and was kind of sad to come home.

Places that didn't live up to your expectations? Nothing this year.

I'm super excited to go to Spain next year and add that to my list of places visited! I'm hoping for lots of traveling next year, as we'll be moving in a few months.

[rupertpenny]

Dec 5, 2014 12:51:36 GMT -5 @uwhuskygirl said:

I always love seeing where everyone has been, so tell me where did you go in 2014?

Well, we moved to Hong Kong in March so I guess that counts? We also went to Macau and Singapore as a family. I went to Barcelona and Girona for work. 

Highlights of events or favorite places?

I LOVED Barcelona. I expected to like it, but I really, really loved it. I also enjoyed Singapore a lot. I don't think it is necessarily worth traveling half way around the world for, but since I live close I think I will continue to visit for layovers and long weekends. 

Things that surprised you?

I'm not sure I have a good answer for this. I guess Hong Kong continues to surprise me, mostly in good ways. I think everyone should come here. It is a much more interesting and diverse place than what I think the common conception is. 

Places that didn't live up to your expectations?

I kind of hated Macau. I wanted to like it because it's close, but I was disappointed. It was mostly a huge tourist trap and I think it would be hard to do Macau off the beaten path because it is so small. 

I am excited for 2015 travel because I think we will go a lot more new places! Japan and Vietnam are almost for sure, and I think we will also finally make the arrangements to go to Mainland China. 

[osumelissa]

Domestic:

1. NYC
2. Philadelphia
3. New Orleans
4. Williamsburg/Virginia Beach (friend's wedding)
5. Columbus, Ohio (went to an Ohio State football game)
6. Dayton, Ohio (friend's wedding)
7. Ocean City, Maryland (girls trip)

International:

1. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (girls trip)
2. United Kingdom (Edinburgh, Oban, Glasgow, York, London - solo trip)

I really liked Oban in Scotland! It was absolutely gorgeous and peaceful. I did a great day trip to some of the nearby islands that was awesome. York was also a great city that had a great vibe - plus I met a ton of people in York that were so friendly. Definitely the friendliest city during my UK adventure.

I was happy with everywhere I went, so no disappointments or anything like that.

I'm looking forward to a fun year of travel in 2015.

[Wanderista]

This year I really only did some local traveling. This year I had some big personal and professional changes (all positive!) so I just had other priorities. I've also spent the last two years catching up on some domestic US travel after having spent extensive time traveling abroad before that.

This year I traveled a lot around the Mid-Atlantic both to new and old places. I've spent a lot of time exploring different parts of Virginia but this year I got to see more of the Mid-Atlantic. I explored various parks in Western Maryland. I did not realize how many nature parks Maryland has. I also went to Harpers Ferry, WV during the fall foliage time. It was nice, I would go back to explore the town more extensively. I went to the Delaware Beaches in the summer. I also went to Philadelphia for a rock concert and visited part of New Jersey. It looks like I will be going to part of North Carolina around Christmas that I've never visited before. I nearly forgot to mention that I visited Lancaster, PA in January.

So, I've done a lot of regional traveling this year.

Highlights of events or favorite places? The rock concert in Philly was great. I loved the Delaware Beaches such as around Rehoboth and Bethany Beach. I thought they were really nice and unspoiled. I ate at a really awesome Jewish deli in New Jersey that used really fresh ingredients and made its condiments in house. I ate a really fantastic traditional Southern Thanksgiving at a colonial inn near Richmond. I tried some local specialities that I've never encountered before.

Things that surprised you? The American Swedish Historical Museum in South Philly is a gem and the park in which you find it is really lovely. It was unexpected to find such an extensive garden there. Also as I mentioned, I've been surprised by the sheer number of and variety of parks in Western Maryland.

Places that didn't live up to your expectations? Err, I wasn't completely wild about Philly. I would go back but a lot of the city was a little bit gritty for my taste. Also, I was not blown away by the Philly cheesesteak. I carefully researched where to go and I went to a place with a lot of awards (not Pat's or Geno's) but it was just kind of meh IMO. 

I also visited Ocean City, MD for the first time and honestly once was enough. My traveling companion and I were in complete agreement about that. I liked Delaware way better for beaches than Ocean City. 

[MNH2013]

We had a baby early this year (well I did). Travel was light. I should go back and look at my old posts I think we went to San Antonio end of last year or beginning of this year.

Galveston on the beach for a weekend.
3 seperate small getaways all within an hour of us.

I hope next year will be better. We have 2 planned already.

[phillyrunner]

I always love seeing where everyone has been, so tell me where did you go in 2014?
-Big Island (traveled all around it)
-Cancun (for a wedding)
-Peru (Lima, Urubamba, Cusco)
-Spain (San Sebastian, Barcelona, Bilbao, Elciego)
-Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Nikko, Nara)
-Scottsdale
-Virginia Beach
-Outer Banks
-Portland, Maine
-Miami
-Houston for a conference
-and we always go to NYC, Charlottesville, and Minneapolis a few times a year

Highlights of events or favorite places?
-Pintxos bar hopping in San Sebastian
-Fall Foliage in Kyoto
-Machu Picchu

Things that surprised you?
-All the people we encountered spoke very very little English in Japan. Not that I expect other people to speak my language at all when I am visiting their country, but I was just surprised!
-The amount of masks I saw people wearing in Japan.
-How clean Tokyo was, even though it was almost impossible to find a trash can!
-I always though Japan would be very expensive, but it was actually really cheap.
-Getting altitude sickness in Cusco. It was pretty miserable and definitely unexpected, since I am very active and fairly healthy!
-I was always so against going to an all inclusive, and we went to one in Cancun for a friend's wedding. We were only there for 2 nights, but I actually enjoyed it.

Places that didn't live up to your expectations?
-Barcelona. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it. But I think I enjoyed visiting San Sebastian and Bilbao so much in that same trip, that I just didn't enjoy the bigger city vibe of Barcelona.

[udscoobychick]

Where did you go in 2014?
Pittsburgh, PA
Rochester, NY
Tampa, FL
Fakarava, Moorea, Tahiti, and Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Kathmandu, Nepal
Saint John, NB, Canada

Highlights of events or favorite places?
Fakarava has to be my favorite. We stayed at a tiny pension, and the staff was absolutely wonderful. We got to dive with hundreds of sharks, too, which was an incredible experience. Seeing Mt. Everest in Nepal was pretty awesome, too, though!

Things that surprised you?
How much I enjoy having curry for breakfast!

Places that didn't live up to your expectations?
Kathmanu was just really crowded and dirty. It wasn't my favorite.

[kirstinb]

Wow. You girls travel a lot. I went to NYC, Turks and Caicos, and Puerto Rico….and that was a busy year, lol. PR surprised me the most. I loved it there so much more than I thought. But. We stayed in at Ritz Carlton Reserve Dorado Beach and that made all the difference. Parrot Cay was our second trip and it is spectacular. But my favorite 2014 experience was NYC. We always stay at the Greenwich hotel which is a harbor for celebs, even just those hiding out from photogs all day. We saw Kiefer Sutherland, Dave Matthews, Bradley Cooper, Gina Gershon. Very cool to sip a glass of wine and attempt to eavesdrop:)

[Brit]

After spending New Year's in Romania and Bulgaria, the beginning of the year was mainly smaller local trips: Surfing trips to Oman, camping in the giant sand dunes in Liwa, Abu Dhabi, etc.

In May we visited Thailand and Malaysia. July, Mauritius and Seychelles. October, China and Mongolia. And next week we will head to Lake Tahoe for Christmas.

I also had work trips to Qatar and Jordan, but I don't really count them since it was work.

[sporky]

We spent three weeks traveling around England and Scotland in the summer. That was a mega $$ trip for us, so really the only other traveling we did was a long weekend in Charleston, SC. I did love it though. I had been to London before but not the rest of England and Scotland was totally new to both of us. Personally, I can't wait to get back to the Highlands.

[mdgirl]

Dec 9, 2014 11:07:47 GMT -5 udscoobychick said:

Fakarava has to be my favorite. We stayed at a tiny pension, and the staff was absolutely wonderful.

I'd love to hear more about the pension. I've heard that they're a cheaper and more low-key option than the big resorts, but you need decent French for them.

[udscoobychick]

Dec 11, 2014 12:42:45 GMT -5 mdgirl said:

Dec 9, 2014 11:07:47 GMT -5 udscoobychick said:

Fakarava has to be my favorite. We stayed at a tiny pension, and the staff was absolutely wonderful.

I'd love to hear more about the pension. I've heard that they're a cheaper and more low-key option than the big resorts, but you need decent French for them.

We stayed at Raimiti.  I don't speak any French, and DH only has a little bit of high school Canadian French, and we got along fine--most of the staff spoke at least basic English.  Our travel agent handled the booking, so I'm not sure whether French would have come in handy while making reservations.  I felt like we got a more authentic feeling of the South Pacific at Raimiti than from the big resorts that we were at on the other islands, and we loved how private and personal it was.  There were about 10 cabins, I think, and only 2-3 of them were occupied while we were there, so it really felt like we had the place to ourselves.  We had some of the best food of the entire trip there.  We did the all-inclusive option, by necessity--there's nothing nearby except beaches!  All food was included (3 hearty meals a day, packed to go if you were going out on an excursion), and they'd happily drive you by boat (no roads) to some of the other beaches around if you got tired of the beach there or take you on little excursions (snorkeling the South Pass, etc.), again, for no extra cost.  That was in huge contrast to the resorts on other islands that wanted to charge $25 pp to take you out on a boat for snorkeling with your own gear!  I think the only thing we had to pay for was drinks, and even they were significantly cheaper (half the price!) than the drinks on Bora Bora at our resort.  I have heard that Raimiti is one of the pricier pensions, but we still felt it was an excellent deal compared to the resorts on other islands.  Raimiti is on the southern end of Fakarava, which is the more isolated end--there are a few other pensions and some cafes at the northern end by the airport.

I guess the biggest thing about it is that you need to know what you're getting yourself into.  If you want a butler bringing your drinks and 1600-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets, it's not going to be the right fit for you.  The place was nice, but not luxurious.  The bathroom was clean, and it was decorated with fresh flowers and shells daily, but there's no giant soaking tub with jets, KWIM?  No A/C, and the beds were not the most comfortable thing in the world, but we absolutely loved the experience.  We'd have the beach to ourselves for miles.  No need to lock anything up because there was no one else around.  There's no nightlife, no shopping, but there is some of the most amazing diving and snorkeling in the world right there.  It was absolutely incredible.  If/when DH and I go back to the South Pacific, we will definitely stay in pensions again and check out some more of the more remote islands.  The big resorts, while they had more amenities, couldn't hold a candle to the experience we had at Raimiti.

[Deleted]

I am so jealous! My year was pretty boring compared to most of these responses, though that's not really unusual for me (no money).

where did you go in 2014?
Cancun
Orlando
Washington DC
Chicago about a million times (ok, maybe more like 7 times)

Highlights of events or favorite places?
I really enjoyed the day we spent on Isla Mujeres on the Cancun trip. Tulum was also cool but a really long day and we got rained out. I think my favorite thing in DC was the Spy Museum.

Things that surprised you?
The weather wasn't as great in Cancun as I expected, I don't think we went in the rainy season but we had rain every day, some days we had a LOT of rain.

Places that didn't live up to your expectations?
This could have gone under "things that surprised me" but I kind of hated Orlando. I've been there several times before, and I was there for a conference and visited Epcot in some of my free time. I didn't really enjoy Epcot at all, I was interested in visiting the counties there but it all seemed very fake and very set up just so people will buy things (i.e. many of the countries didn't have much to see, just shops where you could buy stuff). I didn't have a car since I was there for a conference, and felt Orlando was way too spread out and not set up at all for someone who wants to have fun without theme parks.