My family and I are hoping to take a vacation together in August, but are not sure where - help us out.
May 13, 2011 7:47 PM Subscribe
My family and I are hoping to take a vacation together in August, but are not sure where - help us out.
My brother is flying over from Israel and we are going to go the four of us. We want something that has at least some anthropological interest (so, as cool as Costa Rica would be, we would want a week somewhere nearby with interesting human history to supplement, for example). We want somewhere where it makes sense for my brother (so, for example, it doesn't make sense for him to fly from Israel to the US only to fly back with us to Africa - this might mean Central and South America or parts of Asia make the most sense). We've already been to Thailand and Peru, so that's out. And we'd like somewhere that's not in the peak of a cold winter (So no Chile, though I wonder about Northern Argentina weather in August? Anyone?) My parents have been to parts of Brasil, so unfortunately no Rio or Sao Paolo. I've been to Guatemala, but I'd go back for a week, I suppose, if we go for somewhere else too for another week?
Has anyone been to Cuba? Is it an interesting experience? Tell me about it.
Where else have you been that's awesome and not too cold or too hot (I hear China is sweltering in August) that we should consider and why?
Sorry so jumbled - appreciate your travel advice!
My brother is flying over from Israel and we are going to go the four of us. We want something that has at least some anthropological interest (so, as cool as Costa Rica would be, we would want a week somewhere nearby with interesting human history to supplement, for example). We want somewhere where it makes sense for my brother (so, for example, it doesn't make sense for him to fly from Israel to the US only to fly back with us to Africa - this might mean Central and South America or parts of Asia make the most sense). We've already been to Thailand and Peru, so that's out. And we'd like somewhere that's not in the peak of a cold winter (So no Chile, though I wonder about Northern Argentina weather in August? Anyone?) My parents have been to parts of Brasil, so unfortunately no Rio or Sao Paolo. I've been to Guatemala, but I'd go back for a week, I suppose, if we go for somewhere else too for another week?
Has anyone been to Cuba? Is it an interesting experience? Tell me about it.
Where else have you been that's awesome and not too cold or too hot (I hear China is sweltering in August) that we should consider and why?
Sorry so jumbled - appreciate your travel advice!
What about southern Mexico - Oaxaca or Chiapas (or maybe a part of the Yucatan that isn't Cancun?), with visits to all the really fascinating archaeological sites around there? There's also Tikal in Honduras, though I'm not sure Honduras is worth a whole vacation just for that one site. It might be crazy hot there in August, though, I suppose.
Maybe somewhere else in the Caribbean? A friend of mine just got back from Martinique and said the culture was fascinating.
Assuming this isn't home turf*, what about Montreal and/or Quebec city or the Canadian maritimes?
*asterisk because you mention potentially looking at Cuba, which implies that you're Canadian or that Canada is so close as to not really constitute a vacation.
posted by Sara C. at 9:59 PM on May 13, 2011
Maybe somewhere else in the Caribbean? A friend of mine just got back from Martinique and said the culture was fascinating.
Assuming this isn't home turf*, what about Montreal and/or Quebec city or the Canadian maritimes?
*asterisk because you mention potentially looking at Cuba, which implies that you're Canadian or that Canada is so close as to not really constitute a vacation.
posted by Sara C. at 9:59 PM on May 13, 2011
I really recommend Mexico. It's so diverse. There's the Mayan Riviera, Tulum, Teotihuacan, Copper Canyon. I visited Mexico in August a few years ago and it was warm but not crazy hot. I was in Mexico City and we took a day trip to Teotihuacan. What about Puerto Rico? The New York Times travel section has had great articles about it.
For what it's worth, my husband and I went to Costa Rica in March and we planned our trip with the website latindestinations.com. We probably could have planned the trip cheaper ourselves but they were really good in Costa Rica. They picked us up at the airport, called us when we got to the hotel to be sure we didn't have any issues checking in, called before picking us up, were early to pick us up for everything, etc. When we went on our honeymoon in Italy, we planned it ourselves and spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B and the trip with latindestinations.com was such a breeze in comparison.
posted by kat518 at 1:34 PM on May 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
For what it's worth, my husband and I went to Costa Rica in March and we planned our trip with the website latindestinations.com. We probably could have planned the trip cheaper ourselves but they were really good in Costa Rica. They picked us up at the airport, called us when we got to the hotel to be sure we didn't have any issues checking in, called before picking us up, were early to pick us up for everything, etc. When we went on our honeymoon in Italy, we planned it ourselves and spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B and the trip with latindestinations.com was such a breeze in comparison.
posted by kat518 at 1:34 PM on May 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Cuba's pretty fascinating, as long as you wind up outside of the resorts. The same is true of the Yucatan in Mexico.
Argentina depends on what you consider "northern". Buenos Aires is cool; wear long pants and a light jacket, you can spend all day wandering the streets no problem. Iguazu was rainy and hot when I was there in August; I wouldn't want to be there much outside the winter season.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 3:09 PM on May 14, 2011
Argentina depends on what you consider "northern". Buenos Aires is cool; wear long pants and a light jacket, you can spend all day wandering the streets no problem. Iguazu was rainy and hot when I was there in August; I wouldn't want to be there much outside the winter season.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 3:09 PM on May 14, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by LarryC at 9:23 PM on May 13, 2011