Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with travel and vacation

How to entertain parents you don't get along with?

thegreatcokeolympics — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:29:58 -0800

Activities to do in San Francisco for mellow people... My parents and I will be visiting SF for christmas and staying a few days after. This is the first time in a while we are spending time together due to the inevitable drama and negativity that comes when we get together. I really want this trip to go well! I need some suggestions for activities that will keep us preoccupied (so we don't have the chance to argue or complain), but not annoy us, and by us, I mean my mother. This means nothing too loud or that has that "young person" vibe. I'm 28 and my parents are in their mid 50s, so I'm aiming for something age neutral.

I ask for suggestions because I seem to either find young person hot spots or family oriented spots (which inevitably means directed at kids), but nothing in between. Please point me in the right direction!

Also, nothing too expensive.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Arty, smarty, but with a party?

JoanArkham — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:52:00 -0800

Mr. Arkham and I want to take a long weekend-type mini vacation in early February, somewhere either driveable or a cheap flight from DC. Our usual M.O. for picking places is to find a cool event, then plan a trip around it. He summed up what we're looking for as "arty, smarty, but with a party." We love museum events like the Late Fridays at the V&A or Hirshhorn After Dark but we're also film and book nerds who go to horror and comic conventions.

We're mostly looking to stay within the U.S. but willing to venture farther if we can find an inexpensive flight. Walkable, arty cities like Portland (OR) and Toronto are ideal, but we don't want to go somewhere and then get stuck in a hotel due to bad weather.

Austin was a possibility, but I understand the bats aren't around that time of year so we'll probably save that for another trip.

So...anything cool and fun going on in your town in early February?

Off to Tulum We Are, Are We

DuckGirl — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:29:19 -0800

Suggestions for must see/do/experience in Tulum? Mr. Duck and I are going to Tulum for the Christmas week, and are looking for suggestions on what to do and see while there. I have reviewed some of the other threads, but as most are a few years old I thought I'd revisit the topic and learn if there are any new thoughts.

We are flying into Cancun, staying at Cabanas Copal in Tulum and will likely rent a car to get to and from all points. I'm interested in good food; he's interested in snorkeling/scuba diving; we're both interested in ruins and artwork and generally neat stuff. Any advice is appreciated!

Hotel Luz En Yucatan

uans — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:18:26 -0800

Hotel Luz En Yucatan , Mexico, sounds too good to be true. Is it? I would like to hear from anyone who has been there before. Thinking of going in January. Thanks.

How to split 7-8 nights between Seattle and Vancouver?

greendress — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 14:24:01 -0800

With 7 or 8 nights to spend in Seattle and Vancouver, how should we divide our time? My husband and I, along with my in-laws, may be going to Seattle/Vancouver next June. The total trip will likely be either 7 or 8 nights. None of us have never been to either city and I haven't done much research on either yet. I'll buy some Eyewitness guides, but it's sometimes hard to get a good feel from guidebooks for how much time you'll need/want in an area. But in the interest of possibly trying to firm up vacation rentals further in advance than my in-laws usually do (we try to rent houses/apartments most of the time rather than stay in hotels), I'm wondering how to split our time.

So, for those who are familiar with both cities, how would you suggest splitting the time? Half the time in each city? The bulk in one with only a couple of days in the other?

We typically would visit most or all of any given city's major tourist destinations -- e.g., most of the stuff you'd see in an Eyewitness Top 10 guide. Other than that, when we visit a city, we tend to just spend a lot of time walking around, eating and drinking, and sometimes even catching a movie. None of us are outdoorsy -- no hiking or bike-riding will be on the agenda. If one city is vastly more expensive than the other, that could make a difference.

Please plan my trip.

halogen — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:06:14 -0800

We (two Seattleites in their mid-twenties) just booked plane tickets to Cancun over New Year's. I'm not interested in all-inclusive resorts or clubbing or vegetating at the same stretch of beach for an entire week. Now what? We will be renting a car, but there are no plans as to where to drive outside of Cancun (maybe attempt a trip like this one?). We're also pretty well-equipped backpackers--I've been thinking about driving down the shore and sleeping at whatever camping grounds/beaches we find along the way. Is that a terrible idea? Do you have any specific recommendations as to places to stay/see?

How hot will it be at night? Neither of us speaks much Spanish, but that shouldn't be a problem, right? Will I need to have any reservations? Anything else I should be aware of? Thanks.

Where can we go before we go to Birmingham?

k8t — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:58:33 -0800

VacationFilter. I have a conference in late March in Birmingham, UK. My travel is covered and it is the day after my spring break from university ends. So I figure why not leave a week earlier and have a vacation? But where to go? Issue 1: We (will) have a 16-month-old baby. Issue 2: We want to be somewhere warmish, especially so we don't have to bring a bunch of winter gear. Issue 3: I need to keep it pretty cheap. Issue 4: We've done Paris, Brussels, Rome and Majorca lately and I recently lived in London, so those are all out.

We like: culture and beaches and stuff that baby likes. Greece, Italy and Spain seem attractive.

Any suggestions for a place in Europe that we can fly to (cheaply) from LAX, stay for a week, and then hop into Birmingham (or Manchester?) cheaply?

When solo road-trips get old...

forallmankind — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:35:19 -0800

I have a week vacation for Thanksgiving. Usually I take off for a road-trip, but last year - British Columbia - I found for the first time the thrill of the open road being overtaken by a sense of loneliness and (somewhat) isolation. I'm single and have travelled a lot on my own, but now I kinda don't wanna, but I would like to have an experience with my week off. And it's been a pretty tough year (right?) and I could use a break. How do single people navigate this? Additional info:

a) I live in LA & all my friends live in LA, so the option of visiting a distant friend is not available.
b) No, I don't have a friend I can take with me - everyone's working and/ or has family commitments.
c) I'm European, so I have no relatives in this country to visit, and also don't have Thanksgiving commitments.
d) For visa reasons I can't leave the US (don't ask).
e) I've already road-tripped to the following states: AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, FL, GA, ID, KY,LA, MS, MT, NE, NV, NM, NY, NC, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WY
f) I could drop $1-1.5K
g) I'm 37
h) I know - I should check into a hotel on the Vegas strip for a week. Does it make any difference that I don't drink or gamble?

God only knows what I'll do for Xmas!

Forget about a vacation, I want to challenge my worldview!

hasna — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:09:03 -0800

Help me spend 5 non-traditional days in Egypt! I'm going to Egypt for 5 (3 full, plus 2 mostly full) days at the end of next week. I have no idea what to spend my time doing.

I'm a 24yo single female, well traveled (but don't speak Arabic), and currently living in Istanbul. I have no intentions of visiting the pyramids (et al.) beyond a quick drive-by photo. I don't like most museums, either. Tour groups (unless to some uber-dangerous, hecka cool part of middle earth) are out the question. And I do not want to pay to see anything. What do I like, you ask? Well, a lot. I'd be happy to sit journalling in a small tea shop in some back alley somewhere. Or to while away an afternoon praying in a mosque. Or play football with kids on the street. Or help some women prepare meals for a few days. Or visit a refugee camp. Or...

I'm open to (and would maybe prefer?) getting away from Cairo, although I understand this might be difficult in such a short time. I will not be packing luggage, but carrying everything in a day-pack type backpack, so I'll be fully mobile. I have a specific interest in (semi-professional) photography, but for the right experience/opportunity, I'd leave my camera gear home. I'm willing to get dirty, and I'm not afraid of much. (I'm full of common sense and travel sense, but I've been to some shady places, and I know where my "line" is). I have (almost) zero interest in anything archeology/ruins related. I'm much more interested in experiencing life and culture as lived by lower class Egypt.

I'm also strongly considering heading up to Al 'Arish, and edging as close as possible to the Gaza border, to see how life is lived there, and what impacts the closed border have on life there. I'd also love to volunteer someplace (not one of those "pay to volunteer" scams), maybe the Egyptian equivalent of a soup kitchen.

Finance-wise, I'm not too concerned, mostly because the things that usually cost the most money (hotels, entry fees, guides...) aren't the kind of things I want to spend my time on. In any case, I'd rather spend less money, than more.

As you can see, there's a lot I could do, I just haven't quite gathered my thoughts on this enough yet. Before you mention it, I have been checking out CouchSurfing, but I'd rather have some sort of a plan before I contact anyone.

Any thoughts, advice, personal experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

We need a destination!

Zaximus — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:57:38 -0800

Help us pick a destination for a two week winter getaway! So since my girlfriend and I have successfully survived the latest round of layoffs (knock on wood), it's time to blow some of those vacation hours we've been hoarding. We'd like to take a trip for about two weeks, leaving shortly after Christmas and coming back sometime in January. So far, we have been tossing around ideas about heading to Europe but we are having a hard time deciding where specifically. I've only been to Paris before so it's all new to me, but she has studied abroad for a year and has more European traveling under her belt. We are still trying to decide on a country but locations that keep coming up in conversation are Barcelona, Venice, or Prague. Seeing as how we are terribly indecisive, I turn to you, AskMe, for recommendations.

Some things to consider:

- We're in San Jose, CA so we'll probably be starting out at the San Francisco airport.
- We're not afraid of cold weather but we don't want to be stuck indoors for two weeks.
- Wherever we end up, we'll be there for New Year's! We like fun but we'd also like to avoid NYC Times Square type events.
- We don't speak any other languages, although I can struggle my way through French if needed.

That's it! We'd love to hear your recommendations on where to go, and why. Any place you've been dying to get back to? Places you've always wanted to check out? Big cities? Small towns? Let us have it.

Thanks!

What to do in Cape Code when its dismal out?

miasma — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:46:16 -0800

I've been living in Boston for the last 7 years and I still haven't made it down to the Cape! I'm headed down there this weekend with a few friends, staying in West Yarmouth not far from Hyannis. It's going to be quite a rainy weekend. Anyone have any suggestions of what we should do? What's not-to-miss even when the weather is crappy? All suggestions welcome, especially those awesomely random. We're geeky people in our late-20s who enjoy random adventure.

Presidential time-usage in pictures

paisley — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:28:02 -0800

Who spent more of their Presidency on vacation, Dubya or Bush, Sr.? Who travelled more, Clinton or Reagan? It seems to me, there's got to be some organization somewhere that tracks this kind of Presidential time-utilization info, and organizes it into pretty charts and graphs. Help me find the information visualization I seek!

Suggestions for a house rental for Mexico?

k8t — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:57:23 -0800

House rental for a group in Mexico? Babyfriendly a must. ~5 couples and 3 babies (around a year) want to go to the beach for a week(ish). Most are on the east coast (NYC/Vermont), so somewhere JetBlue flies would be nice. We've thought that renting a house would be easiest, so we could cook.

Cheap is good, of course.

Any suggestions? TIA!

Work from vacation?

smackfu — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:13:18 -0800

For people who work-from-home, have you ever tried to work-from-vacation? Was it worth it? Any pitfalls or tips/tricks? Any particularly apt destinations?

Good beach vacation for early October?

blueplasticfish — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:30:50 -0800

Good beach vacation for early October? My wife and I are looking for a relaxing beach vacation. Our main requirements are that we can get there easily (1 or less layovers from Salt Lake City), not break the bank, and get out of the US. With that said, we are willing to spend ~$300 a night to get a decent place. The plan is to spend a lot of time in and around our room decompressing from our busy lives. Reading, relaxing, bathing, massaging... you get the idea.

We have about 10 days or less that we can spend, so I think trips to Maldives, etc are probably out of the picture. But if you have good recommends, send them anyway!

Have you used the Canrailpass?

skwt — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:36:46 -0800

Have you used the Canrailpass? Or traveled across Canada in a similar way, by train or bus? I'm thinking about doing a last-minute 3 or 4-week Canrailpass trip around Canada. Anyone have any pointers/stories?

In particular:

1. I'd like to travel through the northern provinces if possible. Does the Canrailpass cover that? I'm finding it hard to find coverage. 'Anywhere VIA Rail goes', it says, but I don't know where that is.

2. I'd like to zig-zag all around, and it's not like I know which towns to stop in, other than a few of the major cities. How do I decide where to book my destinations, such as my first one out of Toronto? Has anyone done this? Can anyone offer an example itinerary? Even a few stops would be useful. Basically I want to cover as much of the country as possible in let's say 30 days. How do I even begin to plan this.

3. I guess I'll be staying in hostels mostly, when I'm not sleeping on the train. By the way, if you've used the Canrailpass, is it practical to sleep in 'Comfort class' (the lowest/worst class)?

4. Doing this all last-minute, will I have problems with everything being booked?

And whatever else you think I should know...

Thanks very much.

Where should we go on vacation?

defreckled — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:54:12 -0800

Where should we go on vacation next week? We were planning on the Caribbean, but tropical storms have rained on those plans (sorry!). We're open to anything in the US or Canada with just a few restrictions. The storms will be moving up the entire East Coast, so that's also out of the question which makes things a little more inconvenient since we're in NYC. We're looking for something fun and relaxing, preferably near a nice body of water, and good food is always a plus. Also, I'm pregnant so I won't be doing any drinking, super strenuous exercise, etc. We'd like to stay in a hotel or resort rather than camping or a b&b, and we have a decent budget to work with.

Thanks for saving me from another 24 hours of google hell!

Winter beach vacations in the USA

nanojath — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:48:03 -0800

Closer USA beach destinations for a winter getaway. Desires: nature, water, good food, kid friendly. I'm looking over the many beach vacation and traveling with children questions of the past, but I haven't seen quite this angle.

My wife and I are pining for fondly remembered beach vacations of our past (particularly to Mexico and Hawaii). But we're thinking about a shorter (and less expensive) flight from our home base in Minnesota and generally easier destination for our first major vacation with our child (will be 5 by that time).

We are looking at sometime in January/February. Things we'd like to have: in the continental USA, close to a decent beach and water, natural features (nature hiking, national park, or the like), good food (a few options for higher end restaurant cuisine would be nice), and generally a good destination for a family vacation with a young child.

I realize there is an inherent conflict between "beach destination" and "shorter flight," (Key West and San Diego aren't all that much closer than Cancun, for example) so I'm trying to figure out the best compromise. I don't know if we need to actually lie on a beach in bathing suits but being able to wear shorts and be in the water would be nice. The only coastal area I have much direct experience with is Los Angeles to San Diego. I know very little about but am intrigued by the Gulf of Mexico and the East coast (I'm leery of the overly touristy destinations in Florida however). Direct personal experiences preferred. Thank you!

I heard something about typhoons, too!

schmoo — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:47:56 -0800

What will the weather be like in Japan at the beginning of September? I have googled and got an idea – warm and rainy! – but have a few specific questions and would welcome personal experience! A few sites have suggested that the temperatures in September will be around 22-26 degrees celsius – is this about right? Will t-shirts be enough in the day times? How cool does it get at night?

How sunny is it? Is it generally warm but overcast or is it sunny enough that I will need to bring sunscreen? Is it generally dreary and cloudy or can we expect some clear skies at least?

How rainy is it usually at the beginning of September? Will I need to carry an umbrella and mac with me at all times, or will the heavy rains of the high summer have let off a bit?

Bonus, slightly unrelated question: I will probably wear pumps or sandals while I am there. I don’t wear socks underneath these, will this be a problem when we go places where you have to take your shoes off? Is it normal to take your shoes off and be barefoot?

I will be in Japan from 1st-14th September and we will be staying in Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto.

Thanks for any help!

I miss recess

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:29:08 -0800

I'm fresh out of college, I have a job I love, and everything's going great. But it would be awesome if I could have more time off, because of a few reasons, and I can afford it... but does anyone do that? I'm making 'A' a month and spending almost a thousand bucks less than that paycheck. As odd as it is, at this point I could afford to support myself for a few months, maybe a year even, with savings, since I rarely spend and always work.

Everything's great, except I'm in a long-distance relationship (about 100 mile distance, with bus/car/train transportation in between) with an amazing girl who is leaving the country for three months, and then going to be in school for a year. So, going down for weekends is great, and I will do that as much as humanly possible, but I'd like weeks. I get 15 days of vacation time (how does that compare to other jobs in the web-field?), which I'm going to split between a few days before and a week or two during her trip to the other side of the world, in which I'm going to fly there too.

So, my situation is: I'd like to just say, could I take, say, another 10 days off of work, unpaid? I know this is a personal thing, but I'm wondering if it's so nonstandard and possibly annoying for the company that I shouldn't even bring it up? Has anyone does this and how does it work out?

More time would be so great, if I could take off fall/spring break or something, that would be so incredibly golden, and seriously, I could do it financially.

I guess this is related to the question 'why don't people work less when they earn more?,' which I also wonder about...

Need advice on WV New River/Gauley trip on a budget

caroljean63 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:05:19 -0800

We would like to plan a family trip (myself, husband, 15 & 18 yo athletic teens) to the New River/Gauley in WV & would like some recommendations about which river, which outfitter, and lodging recommendations. My husband and I did the lower New a few years ago and my husband did the Gauley a couple years ago in the Fall, so we somewhat know what to expect. Our kids have never done any WW rafting, but they're adventurous and athletic and would likely be bored meandering down a slow river. We're planning on the week of August 16th. Recommendations on which river we should go with?

We're on a tight budget, so bonus points for money saving ideas. I'm NOT a camping kind of person, but I'm willing to suffer for a couple days in one of those tents-on-a-platform and hiking to a shower house. I can't do more primitive than that. However, I'm kind of surprised to find the price (for a family of 4) is upward of $75 for those! I can stay at a Holiday Inn Express with breakfast included for that price! But alas, no where near where we need to be.

We'd also like to include a Canopy Tour. I've looked at a whole bunch of sites, and I'm starting to think that there are only a couple different places that actually run the tours, but different outfitters (i.e. Class VI) will arrange them for you? Is that correct?

If that's the case, am I better off arranging everything separately (canopy tour, rafting, tent lodging, or whatever) or trying to find a package deal?

Again, we're on a tight budget, so any money-saving ideas would be appreciated!

Cheap, but fun Europe!

lattiboy — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:19:10 -0800

Help me plan an October European vacation (starting/ending in Madrid) on the cheap! Since AskMe was SO helpful last time, I thought I'd try a bigger project:

I picked up a pair of airline tickets to Madrid for an incredible price about a month ago and now I'm freaking out about 10 days in Europe and the costs associated with that. I'll be traveling with my fiance and we're open to just about anything (we would like to avoid non-private hostel rooms). The travel dates are from October 1st until the 10th.

We'd like to see as much as possible (Paris and London especially) for as little as possible.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

PS The conversion rate being what it is, if EASTERN EUROPE is realistic, I'm all over that!

Where to go in Southern Spain?

curious zoe — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:45:27 -0800

I'm going on holiday to Spain with my mother. We're flying into Barcelona in August (bad time, I know!) for four days and then have 12 days to make our way to Casablanca before she starts a tour of Morocco. So I need to plan our time in Spain. I thought five days or so in Menorca, but it seems difficult to get to cheaply. I thought about catching a train to Valencia for a few days, then heading to Seville/Grenada/Cordoba before Morocco- what must we see or avoid? Further points to make: We don't have a car, so we need to go places we can get around on foot or by public transport and the odd taxi.

My mother is 60, super fit, but not a fan of crowds. I am a little worried about the heat in Spain in August, hence trying to stick to the coast where (I hope) its a bit cooler.

We want to see Spain (first time for both of us) but also relax and have a holiday - and avoid 'lager lout' resorts!

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

Help me refine my trip to SE Asia.

hazyspring — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:54:16 -0800

I'm planning a trip to SE Asia for one month. When is the best time to go? How much is it realistic for me to do? Definitely would like to go to Laos and Cambodia. Possibly Vietnam. I just got back from Thailand, and would like to plan a trip to some other countries for next year. I've read some of the other threads, and talked to some backpackers on my trip, and everyone seems to say Laos and Cambodia.

I enjoyed travelling in Thailand during June because it was off-peak, tourist places weren't packed full, and prices were slightly cheaper. It was very hot, and it did rain for about an hour a day, but it didn't bother me too much.

Also, would it be reasonable for me to add Vietnam to this, or is that pushing it? I would like to be able to travel at a moderate place, not moving too quickly from one place to the next.

Help me beat perspiration on vacation

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:10:17 -0800

How can I beat perspiration while I'm on vacation? I'm a fairly sweaty person and will be doing significant traveling in Europe in July. What tips do you have to keep me looking good without showering three times a day? I have a problem with perspiration, especially in my underarm and nether regions. Currently I use a strong deodorant/anti-perspirant and Gold Bond powder, but I still have to change my shirt when I get home from work in order to feel comfortable.

With this vacation upcoming, I'm concerned about all the time I'll be spending outdoors and in non-air-conditioned places. I'm planning on involving a significant amount of biking and walking in my sightseeing but I sometimes have issues with sweat visible on my clothing, especially in hot weather or when being physically active. I don't want to look like every other tourist in cargo shorts. I've also heard that many cathedrals frown upon wearing shorts, plus I would rather not have to spend time going back to the hotel before a nice dinner or cultural experience.

Any tips on clothing (especially a decent pair of pants), products, medication, or other strategies would be much appreciated. Anonymous comments can be directed to sweatytraveler@gmail.com.