Looking for suggestions for a week-long solo trip.

August 28, 2010 2:39 PM

Asking for a friend : Lots of airline/hotel points & a week's worth of time. He's looking for suggestions on what he might do.

I'm a married guy, 32 years old, living in New Orleans. I just wrapped up a job yesterday where I traveled basically non-stop for five years, and so I have a very, very deep pool of frequent flyer miles. I start my next job the day after Labor Day.

Where would be a good place to take a short, solo "man"-cation? I need to decompress and get mentally ready for my new job, and I know myself well enough to know that this will require a "cultural" destination. I want to travel beyond the US and Canada, and probably beyond Mexico. However, since my new job is going to take me to London in 2011 and 2012, I don't want to go to Europe, since there will be plenty of opportunity to see that part of the world next year.

I also have quite a few hotel points, and beyond airfare and lodging, can spend maybe $1000 or so. I tend to like urban settings, and don't really want to travel anywhere cold. I speak English and French but don't mind fumbling my way through with other languages as long as the locals would be patient with me. I try to stay off the beaten tourist track as much as I can, and have previously thoroughly enjoyed seeking out the "real" Mexico, Transylvania, Nicaragua, Netherlands, etc..

I had previously thought about going to Tokyo for five days - and I'm still considering it, never having been there - but it seems like an awfully long way to travel and it crosses a lot time zones, meaning I would likely be screwed up jetlag-wise for the entire trip, as well as the first couple days of the new job.

So - what did *you* as a single traveler like the best, or regret the most, about your one week trip somewhere in the world?

posted by jpziller to Travel & Transportation (5 answers total)

Without knowing exactly what the points situation is and exactly how much of a trip could be paid for that way, it is really hard to give advice in this situation.

The only place I can think of that is close enough to the USA to make a week's trip worth doing, and yet not in N. America or Europe, would be Central or South America. You mention visiting Nicaragua, so you've already been to Central America - maybe Guatemala or Costa Rica? I've heard wonderful things about Colombia, which is apparently very safe nowadays and would be a good fit for your "I travel off the beaten track" thing. Any further south and you're going to start hitting cold weather.

Central and South American destinations also tend to be cheaper, via NOLA, than Asian destinations. So that's good. I'm not sure how hotel points factor in to all this, since I'm not really the resort type. For South America off the beaten track, hotel points are probably going to be useless. If you want to take advantage of hotel points you should probably go to Dubai or Tokyo or somewhere lodging is a significant expense - you can get a good hotel room in most off-the-beaten-path Latin American destinations for like $20-50 a night. Less, if you're willing to negotiate on what "good hotel" means to you.

For a week, to me there is not "what did you like best or regret most" about a solo trip. I mean, it's a week. Being on your own is not going to factor in much.
posted by Sara C. at 3:47 PM on August 28, 2010

I'm the friend for whom the question was initially asked.

The airline points can pay for airfare to anywhere in the world, as long as Continental Airlines or another Star Alliance partner flies there (although Star Alliance partner availability can sometime be slightly tricky). http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/travel/routes/co-world_201007.pdf shows both the Continental and the partner destinations.

Hotel points, if I use them, would pay for anywhere at a Starwood, Hyatt, or Hilton property. If I stayed in Tokyo, absolutely, I'd use my hotel chain points (not at a touristy resort, but at a nicer urban hotel). But if I'm off the beaten path in Latin America, yes, I'd rather just pay the $20-50 for a cheap room at a non-corporate hotel. And speaking of Latin America, I did think of both Panama and Colombia, neither of which I've been to. Colombia interests the hell out of me, but as a non-Spanish-speaking gringo traveling solo, I wonder if I'm looking for trouble.
posted by PeaSouper at 5:35 PM on August 28, 2010

Aside from the biggest cities and tourist centers, in South America you are not going to find Hiltons or Hyatts or whatever in out of the way places. You are going to find Hospedaje San Cristobal, run by Cristobal y la familia, with abuelo napping in the empty room that never seems to get rented.

Re Colombia - as a young woman traveling alone, I looked into going. The only reason I went with Peru instead was that the mere idea of their daughter traveling in Colombia alone freaked my parents the fuck out. There are apparently a lot of very safe and tourist-friendly parts of Colombia. Everyone I know who's been there has nothing but wonderful things to say. You would need a little Spanish, I guess, but probably no more than you needed in Nicaragua. Any good travel guide will tell you what parts of the country to avoid.

There is a No Reservations episode about Colombia - available on Netflix instant view, no less. If you're curious, I highly recommend starting there.
posted by Sara C. at 6:20 PM on August 28, 2010

Okay - I'd been considering Colombia, and now I'm convinced. I just cashed in some miles and I'll be flying from New Orleans to Cartagena this week. Thanks for the advice.
posted by PeaSouper at 6:11 AM on August 29, 2010

Mexico City is great, urban, not too far, and there are very nice chain hotels there to use your points. I used my Starwood Points to stay at a great place right off the main park.
posted by smackfu at 1:27 PM on August 29, 2010