Favorite international trip/country that "has it all"?

2,873 Views | 28 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by cs69ag
12thAngryMan
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Background: My wife and I are trying to plan a 9-10 day international trip for later this year (most likely late summer/early fall time frame), but we are having a very hard time narrowing down the options. it will be our first trip overseas together so anything is on the table.

For reference, she has only been to Kenya, and I have only been to London/Paris/Rome (whirlwind tour that spent 2-3 days in each place). Ideally, we would like to go to a place that has a good mix of everything (hence the topic name): history, beautiful scenery/outdoors stuff, typical touristy stuff, great food and drink options (wine country or breweries are not required but a plus), etc. We would prefer to go to one country (maybe two if it makes sense logistically) and see it more in-depth, rather than go to several and only scratch the surface. Also, I would say our budget is middle of the road. I don't want to break the bank, but we won't be staying in hostels and eating ramen noodles either.

So given the above, what would you recommend for a country or trip that has a good variety of things to do/"has it all"? Any and all input is much appreciated because we are currently in information overload trying to look at all the options...
Potcake
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Wife and I went to Bali several years back and loved it. The biggest part of budget is getting there. We rented a small spa villa, one of four connected. Each had private pool but also shared a lap pool. Came with driver (8 hrs/day), butler, houseboy, and cook. Bali has temples, great beaches, day trips to different parts of island, scenery (rice terraces), and the people were very friendly.

We also did a Moorings catamaran trip in French Polynesia. That was a great way to see multiple islands but you need to find two other couples unless you're adventurous enough to take your chances or foot the entire cost.
Matsui
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Italy
Premium
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We did Madrid and Grenada in Spain and then took short flight to Rome... and ended up in Cinque Terre. Flew out of Pisa on the way back.

May be too much for 9-10 days... but maybe you skip Spain and just do Italy? Rome, Cinque Terre and Venice?
HollywoodBQ
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12thAngryMan said:

Ideally, we would like to go to a place that has a good mix of everything (hence the topic name): history, beautiful scenery/outdoors stuff, typical touristy stuff, great food and drink options (wine country or breweries are not required but a plus), etc. We would prefer to go to one country
Sounds like a great description of Northern California
12thAngryMan
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HollywoodBQ said:

12thAngryMan said:

Ideally, we would like to go to a place that has a good mix of everything (hence the topic name): history, beautiful scenery/outdoors stuff, typical touristy stuff, great food and drink options (wine country or breweries are not required but a plus), etc. We would prefer to go to one country
Sounds like a great description of Northern California
Funny you should say that...we were actually just there last May. We visited San Francisco, Napa, and Yosemite, and it was awesome.
Spore Ag
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Might have been posted before as Americans do vacations like hitting Nomady Beach while Europeans sit back and do total relaxation. So it is hard to pick the perfect vacation. I find every trip I take the best and have been to about 100 countries.
That said under your idioms think Chile particularly Cheloe area.
Ogre09
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Tuscany
Thunder18
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Vancouver,BC. Stay downtown at the Georgia Rosewood and you can walk to a ton of cool places and neighborhoods, short taxi ride to Stanley Park or the Capilano suspension bridge. You can also do whale watching or drive up to Whistler for skiing. Lots of cool bars, shops, museums all within walking distance of downtown. Wife and I went for 5 days in April last year while she was 6 months pregnant and saw/did everything above except travelling to Whistler. It's a fantastic city
Wicked Good Ag
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Thunder. Not to hijack thread but can you tell me more about Vancover ?
We are thinking of going as a couple in mid may for a few days or as a family in july
Thunder18
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What would you like to know? I am happy to pass along info about our trip and experiences.
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Furlock Bones
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Italy or Spain is the easy answer here.
Wicked Good Ag
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Thunder. We love to sightsee architectural buildings (the bridge is definate on the list)

How is the culinary atmosphere? Might look into a day cruise as well.

The trip has been a major thought over the last couple of weeks since U2 schedule tour dates came out as a reason for making the trip

Family trip would likely include Portland and oregon coast and Seattle

Any and all feedback of your trip would be great, especially food. Camping likely not as much as couple but would as family but either way a great hike would be welcomed
Thunder18
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You can expect great seafood and a big Asian influence in many of the restaurants, but it's pretty diverse overall. Had some good poutine at the Granville Island brewery...good italian food and french cuisine. You can pretty much find anything you are looking for there. We enjoyed walking through the market at Granville Island and trying all sorts of ethnic foods. As far as sightseeing- Stanley Park is a must, the Capilano bridge and cliff- walk are pretty fun and naturally gorgeous, whale watching was awesome, but prepare to spend the entire day at sea...we missed the Orcas but saw a Humpback, tons of Bald Eagles, Sea Lions, Seals, sea-birds...we also went to a Vancouver Whitecaps game and got great seats in the lower bowl for $11 each. They have a bunch of museums for both art and science/natural history as well as a great aquarium located in Stanley Park
Thunder18
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Lots of micro breweries and brewpubs as well, we were able to walk to quite a few from our hotel, which let us get to experience seeing a lot of the little unique neighborhoods in Vancouver
Hub05
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Argentina has a very diverse area. Buenos Aires is often nicknamed the Paris of the South (never been so I can't compare it). Lots of history, architecture, and nightlife. You can catch a flight to Iguazu Falls for outdoors/hiking in the rain forest. Then a flight to Mendoza to do wine country. Steak and Wine for days!
fwag04
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Prague/Budapest/Vienna.

Lots and lots of history and beautiful architecture, Hungary has some pretty decent wine. Only spent a day in Vienna, but absolutely loved Budapest and Prague.
An Ag in CO
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Split time between Tokyo and Hakone. Gives you an opportunity to experience Tokyo and the unwind with some onsen time. It's definitely an interesting experience.
HollywoodBQ
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Spore Ag said:

Might have been posted before as Americans do vacations like hitting Nomady Beach while Europeans sit back and do total relaxation. So it is hard to pick the perfect vacation. I find every trip I take the best and have been to about 100 countries.
That said under your idioms think Chile particularly Cheloe area.
Out of curiosity, what do you do that has taken you to 100+ countries?
I've been traveling internationally for 45+ years and I've only been to about 35 countries.
Spore Ag
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Started travelling 50 years ago while living in Perth Australia. That on the other side enabled one to see a lot with parents that encouraged travel. Try to hit new countries every year. 2 weeks going to Tunisia and Algeria. Not a show off as I love talking and sharing tips and ideas such as your own posts.
HollywoodBQ
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Thanks for the follow-up. During the past 30 years, most of my travel has been for work so, I wind up going to the same places all the time - Japan 6x, China 4x, India 4x, Singapore at least 8-10x, etc.

I like your strategy of trying to add 2 new countries per year.
RangerRick9211
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fwag04 said:

Prague/Budapest/Vienna.

Lots and lots of history and beautiful architecture, Hungary has some pretty decent wine. Only spent a day in Vienna, but absolutely loved Budapest and Prague.
This was our last trip with some additional cities on the front side. The Prague to Budapest overnight train operated by Czech Rail was the worst I've ever experienced: 6-sleeper couchette, no AC or fan, no window and the wouldn't let us leave the door open. It's warm in May, a metal train and six people in a closet - it was so f'ing hot.

It's schedule is great though: leave at midnight and arrive in Budapest at 8AM. Likewise for Budapest to Vienna - 2 hr. train ride. With short duration trips, minimize or be efficient, i.e. overnight trains, with the travel between cities.
fwag04
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RangerRick9211 said:

fwag04 said:

Prague/Budapest/Vienna.

Lots and lots of history and beautiful architecture, Hungary has some pretty decent wine. Only spent a day in Vienna, but absolutely loved Budapest and Prague.
This was our last trip with some additional cities on the front side. The Prague to Budapest overnight train operated by Czech Rail was the worst I've ever experienced: 6-sleeper couchette, no AC or fan, no window and the wouldn't let us leave the door open. It's warm in May, a metal train and six people in a closet - it was so f'ing hot.

It's schedule is great though: leave at midnight and arrive in Budapest at 8AM. Likewise for Budapest to Vienna - 2 hr. train ride. With short duration trips, minimize or be efficient, i.e. overnight trains, with the travel between cities.

We did an overnight from Cologne, Germany to Prague on that trip. We had a private cabin with bunk beds and a bathroom. The train was about an hour late departing, but it got to Prague within 20 minutes of when it was supposed to. My wife booked it, so I can't remember if it was a first class ticket or what exactly, but it went pretty well for us.
MAGA
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Grand Cayman or Nuevo Laredo
BackwardsInBoots
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Japan! Tokyo, Kyoto/Nara, Hiroshima/Miyajima. Food, nature, history, and you can train (almost) anywhere.
notheranymore
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I'm in the Italy or Spain camp. I like Spain a bit more because it's cheaper. You still have the Roman architecture, great food, culture, food, etc.

That said, you won't be disappointed with Italy.
Pelayo
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Favorite place to visit and stay for weeks

Admittedly biased
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TheFirebird
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My vote: Croatia.

The Dalmatian Coast is heartbreakingly beautiful. Dubrovnik is basically a movie set, that's why they filmed GoT there. The interior is also lively. The food is amazing and combines Mediterranean influences with Balkan heartiness. Wine is wonderful. History from the Romans to Vienietans to Habsburgs to Yugoslavia.

Plus, your photos will be diffenerent from all your friends who went to Italy or Spain.
cs69ag
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In Europe, some really great areas are not that far apart...I like the combo of the Lake District outside Salzburg,
Northern Italy, Switzerland and Southern France
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