I would be happy spending MUCH less than that too. Our second “contender” right now is doing a driving/biking trip through Oregon, and third is a trip to Canada which would both be much cheaper.
3 Likes
Can’t help you with Oregon but Canadian Rockies is a fantastic destination.
Near Banff (for example)-- five star, white tablecloth restaurants or cute ethnic places with a wide range of pricetags. Stay in one of the famous hotels or resorts- or stay in an unoccupied ski chalet (if you aren’t there during ski season) which are usually lovely and well appointed but not expensive. Many of these complexes have pools, gyms, and hot tubs. The parks themselves have fantastic admissions passes either one day or multi-day.
So glorious but not expensive if you want gorgeous scenery, beautiful hiking for all levels of fitness, etc. We flew into Calgary which is the perfect Canadian airport- clean, well managed, efficient!!!
3 Likes
We love the Canadian Rockies, but we have been there twice. Once we did a hike, bike and helicopter trip, with a couple of days on our own, and the other we just stayed at a lovely place right outside of Banff (the RimRock resort), and did hiking/drove up to the ice field, etc.
I think Jasper got burned in wildfires a couple of years ago.
But Vancouver, Victoria and the Gulf Islands could be fun.
1 Like
With that budget you can easily do Galapagos with the private tour option. It can be pretty active - biking, snorkeling , hiking etc. in surroundings you won’t find anywhere else. Highly recommended. Lmk if you want a recommendation- our guides were amazing.
2 Likes
The Galapagos and Machu Picchu are definitely on MY bucket list. They weren’t high on my husband’s list, but seem to be getting higher.
I would really like to get there!
2 Likes
Culebra, a tiny island off the east coast of Puerto Rico. We spend 6 days/5 nights there for about $2500 all-in. It offers:
- Beautiful beaches. Flamenco and Zoni usually have plenty of revelers, but at the smaller ones you’ll often have the beach to yourself, or nearly so.
- Great snorkeling. Carlos Rosario, Melones, and Tamarindo all have outstanding snorkeling… and those are three of the less-busy beaches, so feel free to make a spectacle of yourself.
- Reasonable food prices. Two can easily eat for $50 with tip, as long as you don’t pile on the drinks. There are several burger/steak/seafood places, a couple creole places, and Zaco’s Tacos for quick Tex-Mex and Heather’s for pizza/Italian.
- Pretty good roads and easy driving for a caribbean island. You can rent a Wrangler for about $100 per day or (recommended) a golf cart for about half that. This is not the white-knuckle driving of St. John or St. Maarten.
- A laid-back, less touristy vibe.
- The chance to do a day trip to Culebrita, which is just incredible. (about $100 – call German)
- Chickens have the run of the place, and there is no need to set an alarm: you will wake up around sunrise. hehe. But that cacophony doesn’t last too long, so it is possible to get back to sleep.
What to do:
- Fly into San Juan. You then either take an Uber/Taxi/Bus to Ceiba and catch the $2 ferry to Culebra, or fly directly to Culebra for around $150-$200.
- Rent your golf cart at Carlos Jeep.
- Affordable accommodations are available. We’ve stayed at Mamacita’s and Palmetto Guest House.
Culebra is awesome – almost as pretty as St. John, but with a more laid-back vibe and easier driving… and a fair bit less expensive.
6 Likes
The company we used are experts in both (you can do both in one trip too) but we didn’t have time to add Macchu Picchu on sadly.
1 Like
Hawaii was beautiful too (Maui and Kauai)
East coast— loved Aruba
2 Likes
Ahh – sorry for the double-post.
If you are foodies and up for a beach vacation, the best (by far) we’ve had in the Caribbean is on St. Maarten/St. Martin. That comprised among the best weeks of eating in my life. It’s just awesome for food. The locals think of their home as the Friendly Island; I think of it as the Food Island. lol
2 Likes
Agree!!! but we added wine country in ours and crater lake.
My in-laws took us on the Queen Mary from New York to Southampton, UK to celebrate a milestone birthday. I was dreading it because I’m prone to motion sickness, and I thought I would be bored. It was fabulous!
I’m not a cruise person, but I loved the activities on board. My daughter and I took an acting class with members of RADA; we played quoits and shuffleboard; the whole family met up for the daily pub quiz; and I discovered that I’m not bad at darts. There were three optional black-tie dinners, which were terrific. Is there anything better than seeing men in Scottish formalwear? Nae!
The Queen Mary has more stabilizers than most ships, and we had calm seas, so I didn’t feel sick at all. An unexpected bonus was that you don’t have jet lag when you arrive in the UK because you’ve been crossing time zones almost every day. There’s an announcement at noon to remind passengers to set their watches back one hour.
I’m still not interested in taking a cruise on a megaship to the Caribbean and the like, but I would do another crossing in a heartbeat.
6 Likes
I am really intrigued by doing an ocean crossing on the QM2. We live near Long Beach and frequently stay at the original Queen Mary , which is docked in long beach and functions as a historic hotel .
So happy to hear your had a wonderful trip!
2 Likes
(Interjecting) glad to hear that - we’re going there for thanksgiving break!
1 Like
So here’s where we ate on SXM, and all were great:
- Bistronome SXM (French)
- Little Jerusalem SXM (now Little J’s Shawarma)
- Spices of India
- Roma Cucina Italiana
- Chez Yvette (Creole)
- Lazy Lizard (variety)
If you’re into snorkeling, there is a sunken WWII-era troop transport ship out to the left on Indigo Bay. It’s a swim, but worth it – in my case, I wasn’t expecting it, and it scared the cr@p out of me. There was nothing … and then all of a sudden, my face was two feet from the tip of a ship’s mast. lol
1 Like
We love Maui and Kauai, and need to get to the island of Hawaii at some point, to see the nat’l park there. But we keep going back to Maui and Kauai instead :).
1 Like
Thanks - we are staying away from the Caribbean for this trip (we are going to GC in January) but fine if people post to places there or anywhere.
Have you been to Grand Cayman or Turks and Caicos? We love both of them. We haven’t been to St. Martin though.
1 Like
I think big island is my favorite. The volcanos and the black sand beaches …
1 Like
So many places to choose from : Quebec City, New Brunswick, Prince Edward’s Island and Nova Scotia, Custer State Park in the Black Hills of SD, Northern Wisconsin…it just depends what you are looking for.
1 Like
How about a Paul Gaugan cruise around the Polynesian islands? I think two people could do that for $40,000.
It’s something I’d love to do, and friends who have done it raved about it.
4 Likes
I went to dinner on the original Queen Mary in Long Beach many years ago. It was terrific!
I recommend signing up for Cunard’s email newsletter and/or their regular mailing list. They have frequent deals. We had an outside cabin (no balcony), but if budget is an issue, the inside cabins are fine. My daughter had one and since she hardly spent any time there except to sleep, it worked well.
1 Like