mind-blowing multi-city trips
July 4, 2012 2:38 PM Subscribe
MeFi travelers, please give me excellent ideas for an adventurous and memorable multi-city trip!
My mother and I (based in NYC) would like to take a 9-10 day trip in September. Ideally, this trip would consist of stopping in 2-3 cities connected by train, bus, or a flight on a non-sketchy airline. We are experienced travelers and in good health.
We are interested in visiting places that will allow us to:
My mother and I (based in NYC) would like to take a 9-10 day trip in September. Ideally, this trip would consist of stopping in 2-3 cities connected by train, bus, or a flight on a non-sketchy airline. We are experienced travelers and in good health.
We are interested in visiting places that will allow us to:
- visit fascinating historical and architectural sites
- eat delicious food
- navigate our surroundings in English + rudimentary native language phrases
- locations currently in the throes of serious political upheaval
- beachy/outdoorsy/nature oriented destinations
- cruises. ever.
- All of North America and Wastern Europe
- Morocco/Egypt
- safari-style trips in Southern Africa
- Japan
Response by poster: I should have added that part of my problem is that I've considered regions like India, China, South America, Russia and the former SSRs - they're all such huge places that I'm having a hard time narrowing down a couple cities that would work for one trip.
posted by socks are for puppets at 3:12 PM on July 4, 2012
posted by socks are for puppets at 3:12 PM on July 4, 2012
Despite the impression easily garnered from the newspapers, Israel is very safe, contains some of the most fascinating historical sites in the world, and they are quite serious about tasty food. English is spoken everywhere. It's very small, so you can cover most of the major spots of the country easily in the time you've described. Jerusalem ~3 days, a day for Caesarea, a day for the Dead Sea, a few days for the Christian spots in the Galilee and the major historical digs like Sepphoris... maybe take an overnight on a kibbutz if you're interested in cultural tourism.
You do risk extraordinary heat in September in Israel, though, I'll admit.
Oh, what about Turkey? Turkey is amazing and September is temperate. Istanbul is the shizz. Then south to Hieropolis and a historical site like Ephesus or Afrodisias...
You might also consider some of the major southeast Asian sites like Bali or Thailand. Thailand has fabulous food of course, and some great architectural sites, but it's terribly hot and muggy, and Bangkok is not easy to navigate by yourself.
I've heard Buenos Aires is fantastic, cheap and cosmopolitan, but have not been myself.
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:12 PM on July 4, 2012
You do risk extraordinary heat in September in Israel, though, I'll admit.
Oh, what about Turkey? Turkey is amazing and September is temperate. Istanbul is the shizz. Then south to Hieropolis and a historical site like Ephesus or Afrodisias...
You might also consider some of the major southeast Asian sites like Bali or Thailand. Thailand has fabulous food of course, and some great architectural sites, but it's terribly hot and muggy, and Bangkok is not easy to navigate by yourself.
I've heard Buenos Aires is fantastic, cheap and cosmopolitan, but have not been myself.
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:12 PM on July 4, 2012
Siem Reap is well worth visiting, and you could combine with Thailand to make an excellent nine or ten day trip.
You could also easily spend that time in Viet Nam alone- fly into Hanoi, spend a few days there, then Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An and then fly out of Ho Chi Minh City.
posted by ambrosia at 3:52 PM on July 4, 2012
You could also easily spend that time in Viet Nam alone- fly into Hanoi, spend a few days there, then Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An and then fly out of Ho Chi Minh City.
posted by ambrosia at 3:52 PM on July 4, 2012
Yeah, you could spend a whole year in Vietnam and see something awesome every day. You'd prolly eat yourself into a food coma and die happily long before it stopped being fantastic.
posted by elizardbits at 3:56 PM on July 4, 2012
posted by elizardbits at 3:56 PM on July 4, 2012
Do include Singapore if you go to SE Asia, it meets all your requirements.
posted by Rash at 8:00 PM on July 4, 2012
posted by Rash at 8:00 PM on July 4, 2012
Rajasthan in India would be good, especially if you can go in the later half of September when the monsoon season should be completely over. It'll be warm - it's still a desert, after all - but it shouldn't be shockingly hot.
You could have a really fantastic trip by flying into Delhi, and then renting a car (with driver) or traveling by train (always a fun experience in India!) to the different cities of Rajasthan. A good loop (by car) would be Delhi - Bikaner - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - Udaipur - Chittogarth or Bundi - Jaipur - Agra (in UP, not Rajasthan) - Delhi.
Another option would be flying into Jaisalmer and then working your way back towards Delhi via car or train (say Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - Jaipur - Agra - Delhi) - but you don't want to miss Jaisalmer, since it's the most magnificent city of the bunch. Each city has its own distinctive feel, though they're all part of the large Rajput culture.
Great food, friendly people (and you can always find someone who speaks English), amazing heritage hotels, and tons of culture and colors in the desert.
posted by Gori Girl at 10:22 PM on July 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
You could have a really fantastic trip by flying into Delhi, and then renting a car (with driver) or traveling by train (always a fun experience in India!) to the different cities of Rajasthan. A good loop (by car) would be Delhi - Bikaner - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - Udaipur - Chittogarth or Bundi - Jaipur - Agra (in UP, not Rajasthan) - Delhi.
Another option would be flying into Jaisalmer and then working your way back towards Delhi via car or train (say Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - Jaipur - Agra - Delhi) - but you don't want to miss Jaisalmer, since it's the most magnificent city of the bunch. Each city has its own distinctive feel, though they're all part of the large Rajput culture.
Great food, friendly people (and you can always find someone who speaks English), amazing heritage hotels, and tons of culture and colors in the desert.
posted by Gori Girl at 10:22 PM on July 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Buenos Aires, then take the fast ferry to Montevideo (go one way via Colonia del Sacramento as a day trip). The best eating is beef (OMG the beef) and Italian.
BsAs actually reminded me of New York a little in some ways, which may be a pro or a con, depending. The two cities were both primary recipients of the Italian emigration wave from 1880-1920, (they were two of the wealthiest cities in the world at that time) so they share some of the same DNA. The difference is that BsAs never recovered from the Depression the same way, and is a little more of a faded flower. But still wonderful. And cheap and cosmopolitan.
And I know you said not nature, but Iguazu is a hell of a sight if you want to do it as a side trip; there are flights but overnight Argentine buses are very good.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 6:49 PM on July 6, 2012
BsAs actually reminded me of New York a little in some ways, which may be a pro or a con, depending. The two cities were both primary recipients of the Italian emigration wave from 1880-1920, (they were two of the wealthiest cities in the world at that time) so they share some of the same DNA. The difference is that BsAs never recovered from the Depression the same way, and is a little more of a faded flower. But still wonderful. And cheap and cosmopolitan.
And I know you said not nature, but Iguazu is a hell of a sight if you want to do it as a side trip; there are flights but overnight Argentine buses are very good.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 6:49 PM on July 6, 2012
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posted by backwards guitar at 3:04 PM on July 4, 2012 [1 favorite]