Update in OP: Vacation Ideas

[just]

Update:

We are doing Portugal: Lisbon, Sintra, Porto.
And now that I remembered how easy this actually is, we're also close to booking a belgium trip!

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Y'all have helped me to have some of my best vacations so I'm back again. We haven't gone on vacation since September 2019 (Mexico City, San Miguel De Allende, Guanajuato) after going 2-3 times a year before hand. I have a little bit of anxiety/paralysis now, and need an easy vacation to get back in the groove. I had been planning Hawaii all along, but got such sticker shock when I started to actually plan.

So here I am!

Who: DH and I, we're DINKS
When: Late Feb, Early March (but actually pretty flexible)
For How Long: 1 week, 10ish days
From Where: NE - can fly from BOS, PVD, BDL
Budget: Despite sticker shock, our travel budget hasn't been touched in 3 years, so could be very high, though we tend not to go very lux (economy seats, nicer 3/4* hotels, airbnbs, spend money on food)

Where (have we been):
I'm originally from Ireland, so not interested in Ireland, UK, France. Likely I'll be doing Barcelona with my family in April, so maybe not Spain. 
We lived in Japan, and I lived in India, but don't want to go that far. In Asia have been to Korea, Malaysia and Thailand (loved!)
In US, we've been to many of the big foodie cities - NOLA, Miami, Austin, San Antonio, Chicago, Vegas, San Francisco, Puerto Rico (just me)

Started researching the following: Costa Rica, Mexico Gulf Coast (but spring break is a concern), Puerto Rico, Portugal, Maui and Kauai (sticker shock)

What we love:
We love food and drink - it's one of our main reasons for travelling
I like cities, he likes a couple of stops - one city and then one quieter area
Hiking, or lots of walking
Warmish or hot weather - not cold
Not into super touristy areas, with only all-inclusive.
Not a location that I'll feel I need to do a lot of research for. I spent so long researching Thailand, and Vietnam, and those places. I think I need somewhere easier for this trip - similar or easier than the Mexico trip in 2019.

Thoughts?


ETA: Also, to make this less selfish - if anyone has questions for me about any of the places I've been - let me know, happy to give back with my 5-25 year old advice

[snapoutofit]

My friends are in Ecuador right now and then heading to the Galapagos. It looks fabulous. We’re going to Aruba for the second time in April. We do family vacations but I’m sure there are lots of adult only resorts. While we were there we rented jeeps and drive around the islands to some beautiful sights. Plenty of relaxing too. My dream vacation (right now) is Croatia.

[goldengirlz]

I’d add Colombia (and specifically Cartagena and Medellin) to the list.

[aspentosh]

What about (British) Virgin Islands? We did Jost van Dyke for our honeymoon and it was the opposite of touristy. We did a day trip to Virgin Gorda and it was gorgeous. I think Tortola or St. Thomas or St. John might have more to do though.

Or Turks and Caicos. My god, it was amazing.

[notsopicky]

I've been to both Hawaii (Big Island & Kauai, Lanai & Maui; 2 different trips) and Costa Rica. Both are beautiful places. Hawaii is a legit long haul. It's so far away. So if you have 10+ days, I might go that route; it's a once-in-a-lifetime bucket list type of place, IMO. We went in February both times (2013 and 2015) and we saw so many whales (that's the month to go to see them, the guides all called it Whale Soup). We did horseback riding on Lanai, we saw Tom Brady and his family at the pool lol (we stayed at the Four Seasons). We did a tour up to the top of Mauna Kea (OMG, amazing). We went to a luau on Maui, and a Jeep tour through Kauai. H and our son just went again this past May (Oahu, Big Island and Maui); they did the Road to Hana and many of the same things that H & I did in our past trips (I didn't go, I had to work).

Costa Rica is much closer, so if you didn't want to be gone as long, maybe go there. We stayed in the Guanacaste area; beautiful resort (a Marriott property), we went to a rainforest, we saw monkeys and sloths, it was amazing. H did a day trip deep sea fishing.

Both trips were courtesy of H's work (top performer club). Both destinations are amazing--you can't go wrong with either place.

Another suggestion--if you have a hankering for Hawaii, but don't want to go so far, what about St. Lucia? I've been there too and when I was there, plus when I see it on TV or during my runs on iFit, it reminds me so much of Hawaii.

[TR]

We LOVED Slovenia. I did some research, but not an insane amount. I can PM you my Instagram handle if you want to see pictures. The country is beautiful and there are rural areas and cities and it’s small so you can easily do multiple stops.

ETA: I missed the time frame, March would probably be pretty chilly, but we went in October and it was ok so maybe not.

[isabel]

Iceland was amazing. It doesn't really have big cities, but you can drive the Ring Road and stop in the small towns along the way. Lots of amazing hiking and sites to see. If you end up doing that, let me know and I'll give you must-see details.

The flight would be pretty easy/short and costs should be pretty reasonable. It won't be warm that time of year though.

[isabel]

notsopicky , what resort did you stay at in Costa Rica? My mom really wants to go this summer and for us to go with her.

[notsopicky]

Dec 29, 2022 19:14:49 GMT -5 isabel said:

notsopicky , what resort did you stay at in Costa Rica? My mom really wants to go this summer and for us to go with her.

J W Marriott Guanacaste. We had a (the?) top tier room and it was the nicest place I had ever stayed. It had 2 bathrooms and a private plunge pool!

[mofongo]

We have a big anniversary next year and are thinking about Argentina.

[gardengal]

Argentina? You could do half Buenos Aires & half wine area? Our winter is their summer.

I’ve only been to BA but the food was awesome

eta: I’d also get a travel agent. No planning for you!

[wildrice]

We went to Costa Rica in March and it was great - warm but not oppressively so. I think February would probably be nice too. We flew into San Jose and then went to La Fortuna/Arenal, then headed to the Caribbean coast in Puerto Viejo. We did not stay at an AI or even spend much time at the beach, so for us it was a nice combo of city, nature, and beach. We did a whitewater rafting trip, lots of hiking, horseback riding, and saw a ton of animals. It was really wonderful! The food was good though not really the focus of our trip so IDK if it really checks that box for you or not.

Italy is another one I'll throw out there - we were there in January and the weather was pleasant, so later would be even better. The best part was that it wasn't crammed with tourists. And it's Italy, so obviously amazing and great food any time of year.

We have been eying Colombia and my friend who is from there said February is a fantastic time to go. IDK when we're going to make it there but I'd definitely take a look, especially if you can get decent flight prices.

[waverly]

I haven’t been to any of the places but I’m most interested in Portugal and Puerto Rico from your list. Suggesting Greece as a Southern Europe option. I would suggest Italy but I think it is more similar to Spain than Greece is. I have a lot of Northern Europe countries and Iceland on my list but they would be chilly in March.

[konapoppy]

From your list, I would do Portugal, hands down.

[moreace01]

In regards to Hawaii, we also had sticker shock, but ended up going with VRBO last December instead of a resort and it cut our costs way, way down. (I don't know what the deal is with hotels there, but I'm not spending over $500/night for a Sheraton. Another hotel I stayed at years ago is now $800/night. That is...not happening).

So anyway, maybe look at going the VRBO/Airbnb route if it's somewhere you are still interested in. We had a great time - one of our greatest trips ever, tbh. We did a ton of hiking and made it all the way to Hana (finally!).


----

ETA: Costa Rica is also lovely. I've been to the Arenal area, Manuel Antonio (lots of hiking and taking in nature) and on a separate trip, did Santa Teresa (surfing). All in boutique hotels. Highly recommend those areas as well. 

[mambo123]

Anguilla and St Maarten or Anguilla and St Barths (we just got back and with Airbnb etc it is not as pricey as one would think)

I also came to rec BVI

St John

Antigua

[Jalapeñomel]

Peru! So much good food

Easily the best food in South America, great weather, lots of places to see, you can go to the jungle, the ocean, the desert!

Did I mention the food? Because the food is amazing.

[rupertpenny]

Go to Vietnam but don’t drown in research. In a week I’d do Hoi An/Da Nang/Hue. It you have more time add on Hanoi. If you want the best trip go to Luang Prabang, Laos.

[Velar Fricative]

Morocco? Never been but definitely a bucket list destination and seems to check the boxes for you. ETA: Well, it’s also near Spain so not sure if you intended to travel to Morocco from there.

[erbear]

I will always recommend Portugal. Perfect for your situation, super fun, not that expensive, food and drink are awesome. We recently did Lisbon, Duoro and Porto and it was amazing.

[sdlaura]

Sounds like we have similar travel preferences - we fly economy and typically don’t stay at the ritz, but are willing to spend on food and activities, and like to hike. Croatia was a great trip - I know there was a thread about that recently. This doesn’t fit your city criteria, but our trip to Fiji in December 2019 was awesome. It did have fabulous food and drink. We stayed at a place called The Remote Resort that had about 10 individual oceanfront villas, and the incredible Fijian staff cooked phenomenal food and sets up and serves you dinner in different locations around the resort every night. If you’re out on a snorkel or other trip during the day, they send you with an incredible lunch in a cooler.

For our honeymoon, we went to Australia and that was a great mix of city and rural. We went to three places - Port Douglas, near Cairns/great barrier reef, a small private island resort in rhe Whitsunday islands (much like the Fiji resort), and then Sydney and some of the beach towns nearby.

Another great food trip was the north west coast of France. The town from the book ‘All the Light we Cannot See’ - if you read that - was amazing (Saint-Malo), and nearby Cancale is known for oysters. I had one of the best meals of my life at Les Maisons de Bricourt.

Kauai is my favorite Hawaiian island and I really don’t find it to be that expensive. Our kids have a fall break in late October and it can be a lot cheaper to go off peak. Look into condo rentals in addition to resorts.

[treschic]

Dec 29, 2022 21:17:03 GMT -5 mambo123 said:

Anguilla and St Maarten or Anguilla and St Barths (we just got back and with Airbnb etc it is not as pricey as one would think)

I also came to rec BVI

St John

Antigua

We did St Martin and took day trip catamarans to Anguilla one day and St Barts another. It was awesome and there’s great food on the French side. That is the side we stayed on, in a VRBO as well.

[jwright]

A few suggestions-

- we did Croatia this Labor Day and loved it; we did do a lot of boating and water activities so I don’t know if March would be the same but Dubrovnik is worth it by itself. I posted our itinerary in the recent Croatia post.

- we went to the Azores end of 2017 and NYE into 2018 and loved it! Super economical a lot more so than mainland Portugal. We did 3 islands and each had different sites and things to do. Awesome local food and wine. Direct flights from Boston when we went and they may have added a direct from NY

- we are also east coast and have tried a few places in the Caribbean and keep returning to St Martin; we’ve stayed on both Dutch and French sides and decided we like to stay on the French (Orient Bay) with a day trip to Mullet and Maho Bay on the Dutch side. Very easy to get too and relatively inexpensive.

- as for Hawaii, it’s a trek but I still think Maui is so special; you e gotten a lot of advice on that

[redheadk]

Hawaii has increased dramatically in price in the last year but I second the recommendation to stay in a rental vs a hotel. I don't have any recommendations for Maui but I have a few rental agencies we like on Kauai if you want to explore that option. I strongly prefer a house or condo when in Hawaii; we like the extra space and we are out and about too much to use a lot of resort amenities. 

I've been considering Costa Rica again lately. We went long before we had DD so it's been quite a while. I think I've settled on a few nights in Arenal at the volcano and the rest in the Guanacaste region. Lots of resorts and upscale rentals in Guanacaste, with smaller, local resorts in a rainforest setting near Arenal. We love the contrast on trips! Fly into/out of the Liberia airport if you do this, not San Jose.

[slbride2003]

We loved Anguilla when we went. Much preferred over Hawaii for the cost.

[gretchenindisguise]

For Maui - my parents rent their condo through www.myperfectstays.com/ . Theirs is only a studio but their company lists many different sizes. They are a great company to rent through.

[sonrisa]

Go to Machu Pichu or Egypt. (because I really want to go to both, and got close to pulling the trigger on each recently but they don't fit with our group right now).

[babsbunny]

I second Italy (Rome, Cinque Terre) and Greece (Athens, Santorini). So much walking and seeing stuff, amazing food, and Rick Steves' books do all the research and planning for you. Great US-Euro exchange rate now too. I'll give you our itineries too if you want.

I'm sorry for the Hawaii sticker shock. We loved the Big Island the most even though there is more driving to do stuff.

[just]

update in op

[basilosaurus]

Your plan sounds great.

For future, friends of mine, also dinks, just retired to cuenca Ecuador are are absolutely loving it. The food looks absolutely amazing, and they know food! One went to culinary school and has lived all over the world. All kinds of food, too.

I've also lived in Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia. They've made me put that next in my long list of places that I'd previously never considered. Right after Oman. Portugal is at the top of places I've considered for years but have never actually made it to. I'll be jealous of your future travels!