Vacation ideas for a couple

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Yefuy.Goje
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Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2021 3:29 pm

Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by Yefuy.Goje »

Parameters:
- 2 weeks in the second half of December
- warm weather
- within a 10 hour flight from Midwest of United States
- a mix of culture and leisure, some activities e.g. hiking, but we are not that into water sports
- budget is reasonably flexible
- 32/40 years old (no kids)
- we will have to take covid restrictions into consideration when we're making a decision

Exclusions (because we visited them before):
- San Juan Puerto Rico
- Yucatan peninsula of Mexico
- Costa Rica
- Hawaii
- Bahamas
- Jamaica
- some of the major cities in Europe (but they are cold now so it doesn't matter)
- several cities in the US

Places under consideration:
- Southern Europe such as Portugal and Spain. What do you think about the weather in Lisbon etc? We don't mind wearing a light jacket but we don't want to be wearing a big jacket and feeling cold.
- Turkey. Again what do you guys think of the weather? Any stories that you want to share about your visit to Turkey?
- Drive around Florida (from Fort Myers to The Keys and back to Miami). This is probably least exciting but at the same time flexible and it could be fun. We could stay about 3 days at any of the places we visit. One of us has visited this part of the country before but one of us have not.
- please suggest any other places
THY4373
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Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:17 pm

Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by THY4373 »

I have been to southern Europe (Portugal, southern France, Italy, Greece) in winter and I actually like it. A light-ish winter jacket kept me warm and the lack of tourists was great. The only caveats in normal years is the daylight hours can be limited and a lot of the sights might also have more limited hours. The other caveat right now is the COVID numbers in Europe are rising so the chance of lockdowns impacting your trip is growing. I have a trip to Spain at the end of January so keeping an eye on things there and so far they seem to be ok.

I am going to French Polynesia next week though that probably doesn't fit your 10 hour rule, their COVID numbers are quite low (after an awful few months earlier this year). The negative here is it is their summer so more humid, more rain and more mosquitos than their winter (which is our summer). Still prices are decent (for FP anyway) and other than filling out a form, paying a $50 health surveillance fee and taking a COVID test before departure and on arrival to too crazy COVID-wise. It will me my first time there.
neilpilot
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Location: Memphis area

Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by neilpilot »

Lisbon might be a bit chilly. Consider the Algarve or Costa del Sol. We've been sever times in the winter, and it's been nice.
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Watty
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Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by Watty »

Yefuy.Goje wrote: Fri Nov 26, 2021 8:47 am - 2 weeks in the second half of December
You are really late to be planning a trip over Christmas and New Years. It may be more of a question of where you can actually get good flights and reservations than selecting the ideal destination.

Even for Florida you may have a hard time finding good accommodations over Christmas week but that is probably your best bet.

If you go Mexico be sure to read up on the current safety concerns and take that into consideration.
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Sandtrap
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Location: Hawaii No Ka Oi - white sandy beaches, N. Arizona 1 mile high.

Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by Sandtrap »

Road trip across the USA

Use the money you save by staying on the continent for:

Renting a cool car
Staying at resorts
etc.

Road trip tips:

Great photography
Huge cooler in the car with great snacks and munchies
Great music on a USB stick (don't leave it in the car when you return the car)
Have a great route planned and places to see and visit but. . . . make it loose and explore.
Don't stay on the interstates.

j :D
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BionicBillWalsh
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Location: Sandwich Islands

Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by BionicBillWalsh »

Road trip!

Arches. Grand Canyon. Enjoy!
Jerry Garcia: If I knew the way...I would take you home.
Cigarman
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Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by Cigarman »

Fly to San Francisco

Do 17 mile drive in Pebble Beach

Spend a day in Carmel and stay at The Highlands

Pacific Coast Highway to LA

Drive to Vegas. Stay at Wynn, Palazzo or Bellagio

See Hoover Dam

Grand Canyon and Skywalk

That would cover the first 8 days
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quantAndHold
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Location: West Coast

Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by quantAndHold »

I think you might have to go wherever you can get reservations on short notice.

In principle, Southern Europe sounds good, but Europe is having COVID issues right now, so you might find things more restrictive there than you would like.

I would do Southern California. The weather is nice this time of year (light jacket at night in LA and San Diego, perfect in the desert), and between LA, San Diego, and Palm Springs, there’s plenty to do for 2 weeks. Maybe rent a car and spend 4-5 nights in each location.
dknightd
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Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by dknightd »

Yefuy.Goje wrote: Fri Nov 26, 2021 8:47 am
- please suggest any other places
Raft trip down the Grand Canion.
Retired 2019. So far, so good. I want to wake up every morning. But I want to die in my sleep. Just another conundrum. I think the solution might be afternoon naps ;)
DoubleComma
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Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2020 2:23 pm

Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by DoubleComma »

Belize is on our short list of upcoming trips. Seems to fit your criteria. If you liked Costa Rica, I’m told Belize is even better.
Jeepergeo
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Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by Jeepergeo »

There are thousands of great places right here in the USA. If can't understand why anyone would want to put themself in a cigar tube for several hours or more rebreathing the exhaust of others, masked up the entire way, only to land in a country with who knows what levels of COVID.

Yellowstone in winter...beautiful, though you are likely too late to get in on this. Ride in by trac-van and try out cross country skiing or snowmobiles.

Palm Springs, CA...warm and vibrant. Shop and eat at fine establisments, get a massage, and enjoy the art muesum and airplane museum.

Monument Valley, UT...desert splender at its finest. Rent a 4x4 and see nature's monuments.

Bar 10 Ranch, AZ, and go for a horseback ride, watch amazing sunsets, drive sude by side off road vehicles to the Colorado River, and shoot some clays.

Death Valley, CA, and enjoy the stars and silence of nature.

Huntington Beach, CA, and walk the beach at night.

El Paso, TX and get some custom boots made.

...and many more for the adventurous patriot.
DoubleComma
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Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by DoubleComma »

Jeepergeo wrote: Sat Nov 27, 2021 11:32 am
Bar 10 Ranch, AZ, and go for a horseback ride, watch amazing sunsets, drive sude by side off road vehicles to the Colorado River, and shoot some clays
Bar 10 is amazing. I was able to spend a week on an executive strategy retreat there. From landing in the dirt land strip to full power shut down at bed time Bar 10 was an amazing experience. The are in fantastic but so is the family who runs this as well as a working grass fed cattle ranch.
THY4373
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Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by THY4373 »

Jeepergeo wrote: Sat Nov 27, 2021 11:32 am There are thousands of great places right here in the USA. If can't understand why anyone would want to put themself in a cigar tube for several hours or more rebreathing the exhaust of others, masked up the entire way, only to land in a country with who knows what levels of COVID.
All depends on what you are looking for as there are many great experiences in the US but there are many great experiences outside the US many of which you cannot get here. Also it is easy to get COVID statistics for many countries and the US is hardly the paragon of COVID handling. When I went to Greece in September their numbers were below most of the US. Honestly, I don't find wearing an N95 mask all that uncomfortable. Sure it isn't fun but it is tolerable. I am off to French Polynesia next week and cannot wait. COVID has also opened up opportunities that aren't there in normal times. This summer I landed the nearly unobtanium business class seats to Tahiti on Air France. Then a month or two later I got the even more unobtanium five nights at the Conrad Bora Bora ($900/night room) on points. Since I would never pay cash this was my one time to knock out Bora Bora. I might as well take advantage of the silver lining in an otherwise dark cloud while I can.
Cruise
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Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by Cruise »

You said you did Hawaii before, but have you been to island of Lanai? Check out the two Four Seasons hotels there, or the Hotel Lanai.

There are oodles of activities and non-activities to keep you busy and relaxed.
Tribonian
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Re: Vacation ideas for a couple

Post by Tribonian »

Machu Picchu for a day, elsewhere in the Inca trail- esp. Ollantaytambo & Pisac for longer.
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