Chronic pain-friendly warm winter vacation
December 16, 2021 10:46 AM Subscribe
Help me figure out where I should go for a winter vacation. Looking for a combination of beach/water and city, but they don’t have to be the same place.
This winter I’m going to take my first traveling vacation since being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I’m an avid traveler but I’m not sure how fibromyalgia will affect this.
My dream trip would involve a few nights in a city and a few nights in a beach area, with:
- Warm weather in February
- A direct flight from Seattle (under 6ish hours)
- A walkable city location with plenty of things to do for a solo, visibly queer traveler (ie, safe for the latter).
- Great food
- A nice, relaxing area near some water I can swim in
- Relatively good COVID policies (of course I'll wear a mask, I'm boosted, etc.)
For the city, I’d like it to be relatively flat, and for it to be pretty easy for me to get a cab/uber/lyft when I need to, or maybe have one of those hop-on/hop-off buses I can use for sight-seeing. It’d be great if it were relatively compact so I can get a hotel/airbnb in the city center and go back there when I need to rest.
For the beachy/water area, I’d like to be able to stay on or near the beach without being in an all-inclusive resort or having to walk a mile into town for non-beach things.
I’m open to flying between these two areas if needed, but would prefer a train or bus ride so it doesn’t take up an entire day. Also open to renting a car in the beachy area if it’s not too much of a hassle.
This winter I’m going to take my first traveling vacation since being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I’m an avid traveler but I’m not sure how fibromyalgia will affect this.
My dream trip would involve a few nights in a city and a few nights in a beach area, with:
- Warm weather in February
- A direct flight from Seattle (under 6ish hours)
- A walkable city location with plenty of things to do for a solo, visibly queer traveler (ie, safe for the latter).
- Great food
- A nice, relaxing area near some water I can swim in
- Relatively good COVID policies (of course I'll wear a mask, I'm boosted, etc.)
For the city, I’d like it to be relatively flat, and for it to be pretty easy for me to get a cab/uber/lyft when I need to, or maybe have one of those hop-on/hop-off buses I can use for sight-seeing. It’d be great if it were relatively compact so I can get a hotel/airbnb in the city center and go back there when I need to rest.
For the beachy/water area, I’d like to be able to stay on or near the beach without being in an all-inclusive resort or having to walk a mile into town for non-beach things.
I’m open to flying between these two areas if needed, but would prefer a train or bus ride so it doesn’t take up an entire day. Also open to renting a car in the beachy area if it’s not too much of a hassle.
Old San Juan in Puerto Rico? The good snorkling is a trip, but there's plenty of swimming. Not totally flat, but you don't have to climb the steep parts.
posted by eotvos at 11:55 AM on December 16, 2021
posted by eotvos at 11:55 AM on December 16, 2021
I don’t have a location to recommend but as a person with fibromyalgia, I always allow for a day to rest after the travel day, on the way home too.
posted by ellieBOA at 12:04 PM on December 16, 2021
posted by ellieBOA at 12:04 PM on December 16, 2021
Response by poster: How much do you want to pay? Honolulu would fit most of this, except for "relatively flat", but it's not cheap.
I haven't figured out my budget but I'm flexible on this point, as I've barely traveled the last few years.
I've been to San Juan and loved it, very much in line with the kind of place I'm looking for.
posted by lunasol at 12:06 PM on December 16, 2021
I haven't figured out my budget but I'm flexible on this point, as I've barely traveled the last few years.
I've been to San Juan and loved it, very much in line with the kind of place I'm looking for.
posted by lunasol at 12:06 PM on December 16, 2021
Other random places: San Blas and Santa Rosalia in Mexico if you want a small town. (The first is flat. The second much less so. Both are friendly.) La Paz if you want a big city. Airports might be hard.
posted by eotvos at 12:16 PM on December 16, 2021
posted by eotvos at 12:16 PM on December 16, 2021
I guess actually I should say the first is mostly flat. There's a fort on a hill. The town and beach are flat, I think.
posted by eotvos at 12:28 PM on December 16, 2021
posted by eotvos at 12:28 PM on December 16, 2021
A warm place in February about six hours or less from Seattle by direct flight is so clearly someplace in Hawaii. The trip there is a bit longer, and back a bit shorter. Looks like you can fly direct from Seattle to four airports. I don't know Hawaii well enough to speak to which choice is best, but others can for sure chime in. Also, staying within the US keeps things much simpler.
Other US destinations include Miami, Tampa, and a few other spots in Florida and San Diego and a few other spots in California. Not sure you could really bet on the weather or warm water, though. It'll be warmer than Seattle for sure, but by how much? The flights to California are the shortest; Florida is a bit shorter than Hawaii, but not by much.
You can fly direct to a handful of places in Mexico, including a few cities on the coast, in this time range. Traveling to a different country will sure increase travel hassle, if you're trying to keep things simple.
I've spent a little bit of time in Hawaii and Florida. I've not really been to coastal Mexico in a long time. Given the US choices, I'd go to Hawaii. Or, maybe fly to Tampa and explore St. Pete.
posted by bluedaisy at 12:52 PM on December 16, 2021
Other US destinations include Miami, Tampa, and a few other spots in Florida and San Diego and a few other spots in California. Not sure you could really bet on the weather or warm water, though. It'll be warmer than Seattle for sure, but by how much? The flights to California are the shortest; Florida is a bit shorter than Hawaii, but not by much.
You can fly direct to a handful of places in Mexico, including a few cities on the coast, in this time range. Traveling to a different country will sure increase travel hassle, if you're trying to keep things simple.
I've spent a little bit of time in Hawaii and Florida. I've not really been to coastal Mexico in a long time. Given the US choices, I'd go to Hawaii. Or, maybe fly to Tampa and explore St. Pete.
posted by bluedaisy at 12:52 PM on December 16, 2021
Palm Springs!
Flat, warm(er), queer-friendly, good food, short flight, alas no beach but lots of (heated) pools.
posted by niicholas at 1:22 PM on December 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Flat, warm(er), queer-friendly, good food, short flight, alas no beach but lots of (heated) pools.
posted by niicholas at 1:22 PM on December 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Seconding Palm Springs! That was our last trip anywhere (December 2019). The most visible LGBT population that I saw were white boomer gay men, but maybe I just wasn’t in a spot where I could see more diversity.
posted by matildaben at 1:51 PM on December 16, 2021
posted by matildaben at 1:51 PM on December 16, 2021
Is Palm Springs a walkable city location with a lot of things to do?
posted by DMelanogaster at 2:18 PM on December 16, 2021
posted by DMelanogaster at 2:18 PM on December 16, 2021
Palm Springs has Modernism Week in February, and is flat and very walkable if it's not too hot. But you'd want to stay near the main strip in a place with a good pool. We spent a week there two years ago in February, with great 80 degree weather, and there a museums and things in nature to do (Tramway, Joshua Tree, etc).
posted by ShooBoo at 2:44 PM on December 16, 2021
posted by ShooBoo at 2:44 PM on December 16, 2021
Response by poster: I feel like Palm Springs may be a bit too placid for what I'm seeking, though I'm happy to be told I'm wrong about that!
posted by lunasol at 5:25 PM on December 16, 2021
posted by lunasol at 5:25 PM on December 16, 2021
La Paz in Baja Sur seems to tick all your boxes except possibly #2. Delta has a direct flight to San Jose del Cabo; from there it's a two hour shuttle ride from the airport to downtown La Paz (with wifi, and the Pacific on your left). In February it will be in the 70s, dipping into the low 60s at night.
Everything else you want is right in the central district: Beach? Check. You could stay in a hotel on the malecón and the beach would be right across the street. Or take a bus out to Playa Balandra. Things to do? Museums, farmers' markets, kayaking or paddleboarding, restaurants, taco stands, cafés. February is prime time for whale shark tours and swimming with sea lions. Easily walkable, although there is a small (less than a block), steepish hill to get from the waterfront to the square. Safe and comfortable for solo travelers.
COVID policies are, well, who knows from day to day, but I'd say the people who live here are much more conscientious about masks than people seem to be in the States. The tourists are kind of another story, but La Paz isn't overrun by antivax partiers like the Cabos.
Lastly, "big" is obviously subjective in the term "big city," but I would not describe La Paz that way. It's about the size of Madison, WI, but feels much more relaxed.
posted by bricoleur at 6:29 PM on December 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Everything else you want is right in the central district: Beach? Check. You could stay in a hotel on the malecón and the beach would be right across the street. Or take a bus out to Playa Balandra. Things to do? Museums, farmers' markets, kayaking or paddleboarding, restaurants, taco stands, cafés. February is prime time for whale shark tours and swimming with sea lions. Easily walkable, although there is a small (less than a block), steepish hill to get from the waterfront to the square. Safe and comfortable for solo travelers.
COVID policies are, well, who knows from day to day, but I'd say the people who live here are much more conscientious about masks than people seem to be in the States. The tourists are kind of another story, but La Paz isn't overrun by antivax partiers like the Cabos.
Lastly, "big" is obviously subjective in the term "big city," but I would not describe La Paz that way. It's about the size of Madison, WI, but feels much more relaxed.
posted by bricoleur at 6:29 PM on December 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks again for all the advice! For Reasons, I realized my best bet was actually to go somewhere near Cancun, so I booked 6 nights in Puerto Morelos (thanks to past AskMes putting that on my radar). I won't have the city part, but I may break it up with a few days in Valladolid because I've heard it's nice.
posted by lunasol at 12:34 PM on December 29, 2021
posted by lunasol at 12:34 PM on December 29, 2021
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posted by LadyOscar at 11:02 AM on December 16, 2021 [2 favorites]