Vacations You Enjoyed?

[Deleted]

Where have you been on vacation that you have truly enjoyed the experience, sites, relaxation?

I can only think of one vacation I took that fits the bill & that was to Maui. The balcony hotel room, singing birds, fragrant flowers, and sun made it fantastic. Wandering around various locales to see sights was fun too. MaiTai's in the baking sun were pretty awesome.

I took a vacation to a Caribbean Island and that should have been fun, but the person I went with was such a whiner it really downgraded the enjoyment factor. I liked the times I went off on my own, but then more whining, of course, over me doing that. Never knew a grown man could be such a pissy baby over everything. He was ejected shortly thereafter. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Depends on what I wanted...

I adored Turkey, but we were always on the move.  It wasn't a relaxing vacation, but a fun one.

TD and I have gone to a resort in Playa del Carmen a couple of times where it is a nice, relaxing vacation where all we do is eat, drink, swim and read.  One night, left the resort and went into town for dinner, but it is definitely the best way I've found of recharging batteries.  Unfortunately, this resort has become fairly popular and it's gotten a lot more expensive but the first time we went, it was under $900 each for the 2 of us, including airfare, for 9 days.  Second time, I think it was $1200 for the same length of time.  I recently priced it out and it was pushing $2000.

[mmhmm]

Oh, gosh! There are so many places I loved seeing. I don't know where to start.  Like you, I adored Maui and also enjoyed Kauai. Had a wonderful time in Kenya and literally drooled over New Zealand. Switzerland, Austria, Russia, Sri Lanka, Monaco ... Heck, I could go on and on and never pick a favorite!

[zibazinski]

My first trip to Estero Island in Ft. Myers. Always Key West or the Keys especially Hawks Cay Resort on Duck Key. Just about any trip or place in Florida now that I think on it. 

[siralynn]

I don't know that any of my vacations have been perfect, but I pretty much always enjoy them. If I had to pick a favorite - Italy is AMAZING. I also loved Germany. All-inclusive resorts in Jamaica were pretty awesome too.

Domestically, Alaska hands-down. Hawaii was fun (big island), but really expensive, sub-optimal weather, and A LOT of time driving in order to see both sides of the island. (Plus the volcano erupted for a couple of weeks before we got there, stopped for a week or two that covered our visit, and then started up again a week or two after we left.)

[Happy prose]

Bermuda was amazing.

[Peace Of Mind]

La Jolla, Los Angeles and Carmel, CA  Always had a great time and loved their restaurants and night life.  That would be the only other place I think I could live if we left Florida. 

Bahamas/Caribbean Islands - Flew on a private plane with ex and friends to gamble and hang out and took a 7 day cruise with ex.    Both were awesome.

Mexico - We were in CA already and crossed the border from there and had a wonderful time.

New Mexico - Loved Santa Fe but we drove there from Albuquerque where we lived at the time. 

Everywhere here in Florida. 

As a kid:

Taiwan
Guam
Manila (lived in Subic Bay for 2 years but vacationed in Manila) That's the Philippines for those that aren't familiar.
Hong Kong
Tokyo
Hawaii (twice)

[obelisk]

Switzerland (my home), Southern France, both Northern and Southern Italy, Norway, Germany, China especially China with many more scheduled trips to come.  4 weeks in China scheduled for this July.  Can't wait to immerse myself in the culture/food outside the main cities.
Just enjoying life in knowing I still have 20 years to retirement.  Sometimes you have to pull back in your savings and enjoy your family life while time passes by.  I will never forget the pics and special times.  These are the best memories so far and they are sacred to my sanity so far in life.  Enjoy your family with special occasions wherever they may take you.

[Cookies Galore]

We went to Aruba last March and it was pretty freaking amazing. My dad gifted us his Marriott timeshare and we got an oceanfront one-bedroom villa that had to have been 300 square feet larger than our apartment. It sucked going home, Lol. We kayaked, snorkeled, went on a jeep tour around the island, and took a sunset sail on a small catamaran. It was such a fun and relaxing trip. We went three weeks after my FIL died and I was so happy hubs was able to finally relax and not worry.

[Deleted]

May 31, 2015 17:06:55 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Oh, gosh! There are so many places I loved seeing. I don't know where to start.  Like you, I adored Maui and also enjoyed Kauai. Had a wonderful time in Kenya and literally drooled over New Zealand. Switzerland, Austria, Russia, Sri Lanka, Monaco ... Heck, I could go on and on and never pick a favorite!

Where did you go in NZ and what was it you loved? scenery, people, bars?
Monaco was somewhere I thought I would like to go a very long time ago, but I never did follow up.

siralynn I enjoy Europe, but have only been on business, so a little quick sight-seeing, but no down time. Our hosts in Germany were exceptionally gracious and kind.

[Deleted]

The Walk of the Penguin Mich my DD wants to take me to Queretaro Mexico where she taught for a summer. Its not a tourist area (and not beaches) so I think that will be fun. She still talks about the street food and her host mother with much fondness! I'm hoping host mother will let us check into her place for the stay 

[Deleted]

zibazinski - I am chuckling. I don't get to vacation when I go to Florida since family is there. It is definitely not a relaxing place for me to go 

[Deleted]

Peace Of Mind you and mmhmmm have been everywhere!! You reminded me, Carmel-CA is another area I visited and just loved. The poppy fields were incredible. And the sun-sun-sun was awesome. 

Happy prose what were you loving about Bermuda? which area were you in? I have not been there, but I bet it is beautiful

Cookies Galore my brother is in Aruba and looks so happy, it is what got me thinking about vacations that have been superb 


obelisk where in Southern France would you suggest visiting? I'm pretty sure I just drove from Calais to Belgium for a meeting, so saw nothing of France at all. Stupid business trips & people that freak out if you even suggest taking an extra day in the lovely european countries. 

[mmhmm]

May 31, 2015 18:53:07 GMT -5 @rockit said:

May 31, 2015 17:06:55 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Oh, gosh! There are so many places I loved seeing. I don't know where to start.  Like you, I adored Maui and also enjoyed Kauai. Had a wonderful time in Kenya and literally drooled over New Zealand. Switzerland, Austria, Russia, Sri Lanka, Monaco ... Heck, I could go on and on and never pick a favorite!

Where did you go in NZ and what was it you loved? scenery, people, bars?
Monaco was somewhere I thought I would like to go a very long time ago, but I never did follow up.

siralynn I enjoy Europe, but have only been on business, so a little quick sight-seeing, but no down time. Our hosts in Germany were exceptionally gracious and kind.

We spent three weeks in New Zealand and wandered over both islands. The people were absolutely lovely! All were patient and kind and just naturally friendly. Cities are cities,  for the most part, but we found Wellington endearing. Something special about it. Christchurch was a wonderfully English bit of a town we just loved.

Enjoyed learning that "geezers" aren't little old men sitting in front of the country store but actually what we in the US call geysers (pronounced guy sir). The scenery on both islands was spectacular, just in different ways. Hubs and I both remarked that New Zealand reminded us of the US shrunken to a more easily traveled size.

[Cookies Galore]

@rockit It really is One Happy Island, as they call it!

[obelisk]

obelisk where in Southern France would you suggest visiting? I'm pretty sure I just drove from Calais to Belgium for a meeting, so saw nothing of France at all. Stupid business trips & people that freak out if you even suggest taking an extra day in the lovely european countries.

Provence

[truthbound]

May 31, 2015 16:51:41 GMT -5 @rockit said:

Where have you been on vacation that you have truly enjoyed the experience, sites, relaxation?

I can only think of one vacation I took that fits the bill & that was to Maui. The balcony hotel room, singing birds, fragrant flowers, and sun made it fantastic. Wandering around various locales to see sights was fun too. MaiTai's in the baking sun were pretty awesome.

I took a vacation to a Caribbean Island and that should have been fun, but the person I went with was such a whiner it really downgraded the enjoyment factor. I liked the times I went off on my own, but then more whining, of course, over me doing that. Never knew a grown man could be such a pissy baby over everything. He was ejected shortly thereafter. 

I would like to hear the responses as well. If I am ever able to afford one I would like to know the best places to go.

[Shooby]

We really enjoy the Outer Banks, NC. Have been there multiple times.

[cael]

We really enjoyed our cruise to Bermuda... DH loved the service you get on the ship, that everything is included, and Bermuda itself is beautiful. We plan to go back next year or the year after depending on finances, you can get some pretty cheap off-season fares from Boston.

We also loved San Diego while we were there for 3 days, want to go back and spend more time.

[billisonboard]

Stock picture but been there done this:

Broken Island Group, Vancouver Island, Canada

[billisonboard]

Goat Rocks Wilderness, Washington

[NancysSummerSip]

I don't do what you'd call "relaxing" vacations. At least, not the sit-around-by-the-pool-with-girlie-drinks kind of relaxing. I've always got lists of things to do, places to go, and sites to see.

We were in Portland, Maine about 20 years ago, and just loved it. Ditto for Portland, Oregon. I could live in the PNW, I think.

I really enjoyed Toronto, and would like to spend a lot more time exploring Canada. And Chicago absolutely rocked.

Unplugging with absolutely nothing to do would be my idea of a vacation in hell. Yeah, I know. "Relax" is just a four-letter word to me.

[Deleted]

Jun 1, 2015 9:17:21 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

I don't do what you'd call "relaxing" vacations. At least, not the sit-around-by-the-pool-with-girlie-drinks kind of relaxing. I've always got lists of things to do, places to go, and sites to see.
<snip>
Unplugging with absolutely nothing to do would be my idea of a vacation in hell. Yeah, I know. "Relax" is just a four-letter word to me.

I'm that way, too! No beaches for us. I was about to mention that our Vacation from Hell might be your dream vacation, and vice versa. DH and I had a wonderful honeymoon in St. Petersburg, Russia even though it was October and the weather was iffy.  We were there for the history and we got plenty of it.  I'm hoping to do an expedition on our trip to Iceland that involves taking a hydraulic lift 250 meters down into the magma chamber of an inactive volcano and exploring the lava tubes.  We've loved our two cruises in Alaska on UnCruise- ships carry 75 passengers and are up close and personal with nature but no night club, casino, rock-climbing wall, etc. 

Dubrovnik would have to be one of our favorites.  Rarely do we get the combination of fascinating history and natural beauty, but we sure did there.  We stayed at the Hilton Dubrovnik on Hilton points.  It was close to, and facing, the Aegean.

I always suggest that you get a pile of guidebooks for potential destinations out of the library and read them to get an idea of whether you might want to go there.  I especially like Lonely Planet because they're so down-to-earth about the good, the bad and the ugly.

[MJ2.0]

to this day the best "vacation" I think I've ever had was when I took the week between Christmas and New Years off (single, pre-kid) and just relaxed and did whatever I felt like it. Good times.

X and I took DS to Myrtle Beach 2 years ago. We stayed at a condo with my mom and her friend. My mom got the condo for basically nothing because it's owned by one of the managers at her company, so that saved us a good chunk of money. The weather was beautiful, the people were nice, food was great (I OD'ed on sweet tea), and the beach was gorgeous. The only thing that sucked was the drive... 12 hours! I would love to go again, but I really don't want to drive.

[Deleted]

Jun 1, 2015 9:17:21 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

Unplugging with absolutely nothing to do would be my idea of a vacation in hell. Yeah, I know. "Relax" is just a four-letter word to me.

Relaxing has a different meaning for each person. It is more about disconnecting from day to day responsibilities and being able to 'live in the moment' in a different place 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

My trip to Borneo back in college. I've wanted to see the great apes in person ever since I was a child.  Getting to go to an orangutan reserve was one of the highlights of my life.   The people I met were lovely from locals to British to quite a few Australians (its a cheap vacay destination for them).    I also got to snokel with tropical fish, some of which haven't been scientifically named yet, walked down a boardwalk with a water monitor (got his photograph), got covered in bat poo while touring a cave and got to pretend I was in Fern Gully while we toured the jungle.

 I got to spend three weeks there and loved it.  I will be spending the rest of my life longing to go back.  It's going to be awhile before I have 3 weeks and an extra $5k+ lying around.

[shanendoah]

Pre-kids, most of my vacations were fabulous

The best was probably England. We saw Stonehenge, Bath, Tintagel, Avesbury, West Kennet Longbarrow, and the Uffington Horse as big name tourist stops. But we also saw a couple little places - Carn Euny, Grimspound, and Weyland's Smithy (a barrow) where we were the only people there (okay, there were some locals walking their dogs through Carn Euny) and those places were amazing.

And then a couple of weekends ago, C and I went to Portland, OR for Cousin K's college graduation. We left kids with friends. We stayed at the Great-Aunt's house. We got to sleep in, read our books, play some board games with K and her friends, and even ended up with an evening free where we got to go see an R rated movie in the theater. That might have been the most relaxing vacation I've had in years.

[HoneyBBQ]

All of them.

Like others have said, I'm not a sit-around-the-beach vacationer. Usually we are hiking, camping, backpacking, site seeing. I like to get away from people and see natural beauty, mountains, etc.

While Europe has lots of mountains I'd like to see, for the most part I have skipped it due to population density, and the fact I sort of rationalize that I can see the Louvre when I'm older.

My favorite places I've been are Banff/Jasper CA, New Zealand (twice), and Patagonia (Chile/Argentina). I really liked the Big Island, and Kauai also.

On my hit list:
Maui
Alaska
Bolivia
Nepal
Yukon

[Cookies Galore]

Jun 1, 2015 9:39:02 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

to this day the best "vacation" I think I've ever had was when I took the week between Christmas and New Years off (single, pre-kid) and just relaxed and did whatever I felt like it. Good times.

I do that every year. I used to work for a university and always had that week off, so I got used to having that time to myself. Since I have more vacation time than hubs it's easy to hold onto days for the end of the year. I love my me week (plus)!

[tskeeter]

Seems like the vacations I've enjoyed the most are the ones where I've learned something.

Ireland, trip 1 - learned how much better we in the US live than folks in even other first world countries.  Also saw some beautiful scenery while driving the Ring of Kerry in a downpour.  National Geographic photo moments around every corner.  If your ancestors were Irish, walking out of customs at the Dublin airport can feel like coming home after spending a long time away.  The residence of the Taoiseach, Ireland's Prime Minister, keeps a light burning in the window 24 hours a day seven days a week, so that the 70 million people of Irish ancestry around the world might find their way home.  Most Irishman have Scandinavian genes.  The legacy of Viking raiders who settled towns such as Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Belfast, and Limrick.  They came for the riches of the monasteries, and stayed for the girls, I guess. 

Ireland, trip 2 - there was gold in Ireland.  Quite a bit of gold.  That was made into jewlery.  Also got a first hand look the the UK national medical care system when Mom took a tumble.  Hubert, the President of the local historical society, is a distant relative.  A Tskeeter married into his family about ten generations back.  The Irish will offer guests the hospitality of Irish whiskey at 10 AM.  

Ireland, trip 3 - Aunt Jeanette is really funny.  With a whacky sense of humor.  Guess what, if you stack flatish rocks just right, you can build a building that sheds the rain and doesn't allow the wind in, even when you don't use mortar or anything else to fill the joints.  In ancient times on the burren, your neighbor would steal your dirt before he stole your wife or daughter away.  Many headstones contain a list of names.  Because it's so wet, they can bury another person in the same plot about every 10 years.

Ireland, trip 4 - do you think I'll finally make it to New Grange?  Or to see a play written by one of Ireland's playwrites?


France, trip 1 - explored ancient chateau ruins high above the Rhone river.  You can really see the triple wall defensive system designed into these sites.  And tiny doors in the outer wall, so you'd have to duck and turn sideways to enter.  Not a good position to attack the defenders from.  And it looked like they built cisterns to collect rain water for their water supply.  What else would you use those thermos bottle shaped stone structures buried in the ground and lined with plaster for?  Did you know that there are 6 Lady and the Unicorn tapestrys, not just one?  Never really entered my thoughts that Paris was once a Roman outpost.  Guess that explains the ruins of the Roman baths at the Cluny.  Each gargoyle on Notre Dame is different from all the others.  Some are pretty freaky looking.  Human torso with a duck like bill on the face.  If you're walking along the building during a rain, many of the gargoyles will spit on you, because a hole through the gargoyles are often used a downspouts, to get rain water off the roof and away from the foundation of the building.  The Mona Lisa really isn't very big.  By our standards, Asian tourists are pretty rude.  (I was tempted to beat up the 14th little Aisian lady tour guide who pushed in front of me while I was patiently waiting for my turn to get a good view of an exhibit.)  Versailles is really big and really ornate.  When the Emperor is taxing citizens to build a mile long lake so he can take gondola rides, you can understand why folks got upset about not having enough to eat.  Old, old pictures were painted with really bright colors.  Impressively bright colors.  I'm not as impressed with many French wines as I thought I would be.  I liked the red table wines the best.

France, trip 2 -  the Normandy beaches are really wide at low tide.  It'd be a long run on wet sand when you're heavily loaded and half drowned, to get to some kind of protection.  A machine gun a mile down the beach is probably more dangerous than a four inch artillery piece in a gun emplacement 50 yards away.  German soldiers were issued smoked cheese and cherry flavored smoking tobacco as part of their rations.  Allied soliders could smell the cheese and tobacco even though the Germans were hidden on the other side of the hedge row.  Many Parisians don't really cook their dinner.  On their way home from work, they buy parts of their dinner at different restaurants along the way and warm up a takeout dinner when they get home.  There is a Domino's Pizza on Rue de Grenelle anda McDonalds on the Champs-Elysees.