quote:

Originally posted by SIGfourme:
I would look at South Africa. The dollar to the Rand is 1:13. Your buying power for the dollar is greater. African Travel booked everything from Winery tours to Shark Cage diving.
Do the math....2.100 Rand Shark dive - boat, breakfast and transfer ( 1.5 hr ride) is $160 US.
Average cost for dinner for 2 including bottle of wine is $25 US.
I did an African Safari 3 days— think Animal Kingdom with 5 star food and accommodations. 2 days in Durban- coastal Florida on the India ocean. 4 days in Cape Town— NYC 5 star Hotel at reasonable rates— 3 course meal for 2 include wine for $25 US.
African Travel arranges everything from greeter at the gate , transfers, side trips.
A lot to do in South Africa...your dollar goes 3-4 times further in 4-5 star hotel.
DVC member for 25 years now.
Do South Africa.

The State Dept. has issued a 'cautionary alert' against travel to SA due to an increase in crime and the drought. I don't think that would be a good choice at this time.

Jim

When my wife retires, we're planning on a 4-6 week trip to Australia. Arrive in Sydney or Melbourne, rent an RV, explore the country. I'm also looking at something like this as an alternative to the "booze & buffet" factory cruise ships:
https://www.starclippers.com/us-dom

Fly to Europe and skip the tour companies. Buy a Michelin Guide and/or Rick Steves and plan your own tour. Tale the trains where practical but don't be afraid to rent a car and drive through the countryside stopping wherever you want.

We've done this three times in France and Italy. I drive and my wife navigates. We have a general itinerary but stop when we see something interesting or when we are hungry. Don't worry about language difficulties. I am amazed at how many people speak English these days. And, if they don't know English, just smile and be polite. Carry a pocket dictionary with common words. There are also plenty of translation apps you can load on your phone.

quote:

Consider one of the 4 all-inclusive resorts in Punta Cana DR.

My daughter had her wedding at one of these resorts. It was quite nice.

You mentioned language barrier re Europe. Reminds me of a funny story (True Story!)

1977 & 1978, Mr. & Mrs. V-Tail were living in Barcelona. I was working at an automobile factory, tailoring a production control computer system for them.

The factory closed for three weeks in August, everybody got vacation at the same time.

My Spanish co-workers, engineers, asked me where we were going for vacation. I asked them what they would recommend.

They said that Greece was beautiful and very affordable.

I replied that I could barely communicate in Spain, struggling with the language there; how in the world would I communicate in Greece?

The reply: "The same way we Spaniards do when we go to Greece. Speak English!"

Even if you just learned a simple phrase per week, that's still more than 50-100 phrases you'll have in your pocket by the time you leave. I wouldn't consider language a huge barrier for the trip, especially one based on the western alphabet.

On my list are things specific to experiences, not necessarily destinations. Yes, someday I may make it to Europe, the Louvre, and many historic places.

But I also want to do things like:
1) swim with dolphins
2) walk with the rays
3) dive in the Great Barrier Reef (or other such spots)
4) see the Northern Lights
5) fish for wild salmon (ie - the wild stuff I like that I buy in stores like Copper River, Stikine River and such).
6) enjoy king crab pulled fresh from the sea
7) relax and eat lobster from a lounge chair in the water next to my over the sea hut in Bora Bora.
8) visit each prefecture in Japan and enjoy the food (seafood, meat, veggie, fruit, sake) it is most famous for.

Helped a buddy sail an old schooner from Ketchican, down through the inner passage to Seattle several yrs back. One of my top five lifetime adventures.

Even on a Cruise ship, I recommend an AK trip.

A +1 for Fiji. I've spent a week at Coconut Beach Resort. It's a pretty easy getaway. You get yourself to LA and then it's an 11 hour flight to Nadi. There you get a transfer to the port where you take a 5 hour ferry to your resort. The resort is nice.

If you do go to Fiji make sure you explore the main island just a bit while you're there. I enjoyed Suva. We stayed in the Grand Pacific Hotel and man is it nice. Just go look at some pictures. While in Suva check out the Colo-i-Suva Forest Reserve. It's beautiful!

CROATIA!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am not kidding. Split, Croatia is amazing.

My trip of a lifetime was to Italy, Croatia, and Bosnia.
Language barrier was not a big deal. Only issue we had was at one border crossing from Croatia into Bosnia. We got sent to the side and detained. That was quickly rememdied with 25 Euro.

In Italy especially the big areas you can get along with English just fine. Smaller towns aren’t too bad only issue I had was when it came to numbers for money owed.

The wife and I spent 2 weeks in Ireland. Wonderfull, great people.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
CROATIA!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am not kidding. Split, Croatia is amazing.

My trip of a lifetime was to Italy, Croatia, and Bosnia.
Language barrier was not a big deal. Only issue we had was at one border crossing from Croatia into Bosnia. We got sent to the side and detained. That was quickly rememdied with 25 Euro.

In Italy especially the big areas you can get along with English just fine. Smaller towns aren’t too bad only issue I had was when it came to numbers for money owed.

My daughter has vacationed in the last couple of years in Malta, Sicily, Central Italy and Croatia. She liked Malta and Croatia the best.

Alaska

We've done 2 cruises up there now. Start south and go north. The further north you go the more incredible the scenery gets. Do the one way cruises that start in Seattle or Vancouver and go north to Anchorage. The round trip cruises don't go as far north and you'll miss some of the bigger glaciers. Take a land extension. We made it up to Denali on the last cruise and were really kicking ourselves for not going up there the first time.

Hawaii

The big island absolutely rocks. Been there 3 times now and I've enjoyed every single trip. It may be a little more dicey now that Madam Pele is pissed. Volcanos National Park really is one of my favorite places, nature in the raw. I know there have been closures there with the recent eruption, it would definitely be worth waiting for things to calm down a little and the park is reopened.

The Mediterranean

Do not worry about language issues. I enjoyed the more historical sites; Pompeii, Delos, Rhodes, Malta and the Acropolis. The shopping and touristy towns, not so much. In Mykonos after having my ass grabbed 3 times I told my wife and daughter I was going back to the boat and if they wanted to wander around, have fun without me. Rhodes in Greece was absolutely amazing I had no idea until we planned our trip. Medieval walled cities and palaces are not what comes to mind when one thinks of Greece. The Acropolis I really wish we had more time at same with Pompeii. If I ever decide to say screw it and become an expat, I'm headed for Malta.

Travel is a big deal for my wife so we've taken some great vacations. Problem is her idea of a great vacation and mine are two separate things. She wants to go to the urban centers and the culture, I want to get the hell away from everything and enjoy nature. We usually find a balance by alternating every other vacation. Three years ago we did Alaska, last year we did the Mediterranean.

Have fun and let us know what you decide.

Maldives or Galapagos

Look into Regent Cruise lines. Pick any itinerary.

All the other ideas above sound great to me as well.

My wife and I still talk about our Regent cruise above all other vacations!

I took the family to Thailand last year. We toured many areas of Thailand and found it fabulous.
Very friendly people who like Americans.

i have been to aruba twice and love it
https://www.aruba.com/us?gclid...W5hEEMRoCTv8QAvD_BwE
we stayed at the Tamarijn its not fancy but if you get a first floor the ocean is a few steps away and they have casinos

Another recommendation for Ireland. It's easy to get around with a rental car. No tour company is needed. There are many great guest houses and B&Bs through out the country. The people are very friendly. The scenery, particularly in the west is stunning.

I've been many times and there is still a lot I haven't seen. I spent three weeks in the Sunny Southeast two years ago. It was fantastic.

I've never done an Alaska cruise but have had several friends and family members that have and everyone loved it.

rent a camper rig cross country/Far North & spend a few weeks on the trail;

Ayers Rock is still open for walk-about but closing to non-natives soon;

there's a LOT of lightly traveled roads/parks/fascinating country just in US borders to see, if you like going your own routes;

30 day unlimited rail pass with sleeper will show you a lot of country not on the Disney tours;

there's motor-cycle tours that caters to inexperience riders I've heard;

River of No Return central Idaho raft trip will give you something to talk about;

Thank you for all of the suggestions.
It looks like I have some more research to do.
My wife leans toward the idea of Alaska. Princes cruise lines does a land/sea tour we are looking at.