I love anything natural - mountains, oceans, lakes, rivers, deserts, islands, critters, etc. My list of Top X things every kid should see includes those and real snow, palm trees, forests, prairies, and similar.
I may not want to live every place we travel, but I love to see all this planet has to offer us. Anything man-made, not so much, unless there’s a lot of history to it like the ruins at Petra where it’s simply stunning what ancient man did without electricity or computers, etc.
I suspect this is why I’m drawn to state and national parks and consider a vacation “perfect” if we can skirt around the cities entirely or close to it. We like aquariums, but scuba diving in nature’s own aquarium is better.
If we had the funds to be able to do it, we’d be backpacking (more or less) 24/7 just continuing to explore. There are plenty of places left to see before we die and many I wouldn’t mind returning to for the sheer stunning-ness of them.
This morning we were walking along the shore of the St Lawrence River. I’ve done this way too many times to count, but I never tire of it on a sunny day when the water is as blue as any child would color it on paper. It’s the prettiest river in the world if you catch it on a sunny day.
I liked kayaking in the everglades ducking mangroves if you like that. I also liked Glacier NP. If big mountains are your thing, Colorado San Juan range is great with meadows. Not as rugged ad the capital range but prettier meadows. Or Sierra. It is lovely at Banff, too. Moraine Lake area. People love Canyonland and Arches.
Florida, mostly the entire state (including Disney)
Southern California (except San Diego)
Most beaches (I hate the feel of fine sand on my body). Coarser sand isn’t bad.
A place I used to love but no longer do is New Orleans. It was always gritty with a kind of “I survived wars, poverty, weather and floods and still kept my character” kind of feel. Last two times I visited it felt different. More beggars, more dirt and less soul. Unless I have a reason I have to go I won’t be back. It’s a shame because I love the food and the history.
I too really like many of these places: Yosemite, Disney, San Francisco (ocean beach, the Marin headlands, north beach), NYC (best museums , central park, theater, dining, music, galleries) and Cape Cod. Yes, the Cape is crowded on summer weekends but so are most places on the East Coast near water. The bay beaches are beautiful and warm while the Ocean is wilder. Walking out into the Bay at low tide is spectacular. Kayaking, biking the rail trail, swimming in some of the lakes, some art galleries and even non-touristy shops. We tend to go to the mid-Cape area (Dennis, Brewster, Orleans). Yes, the traffic can be brutal. I like Maine too, but it is a really long drive for us and that much colder (and we had some bad luck with weather).
LA to me is just OK., primarily because the traffic makes it difficult to get around. There are few museums and things and the beach, but I don’t know what else to see beyond that. The beach towns south of LA are much nicer and fun to bike along the beach.
I have come to love visiting Florida in the late winter as just the fact of getting out of the plane and shedding my coat is a wonder in itself. I stay with a friend so not so much a touristy thing, but we have found enough to do between beaches, walks, art, and dining (outdoors in February!)
Maybe because I live in the suburbs of NYC, crowds don’t bother me that much as anything I want to do around here, many other people will want to as well. That is especially true if you work and have to do fun stuff on the weekends. Public transit is very helpful. It is worth it to me, however.
I think that New Orleans is one of those places everyone should visit once. It’s the most unique, almost European city I’ve been to, so different than most of the USA.
I did different things there and wasn’t out too late. I ate at great amazing restaurants. I met the best people on a plantation tour. I took the trolley to the garden district and just walked around. I went to the WWII museum. I drank coffee and ate beignets and people watched. I went to mass at the cathedral.
I didn’t get drunk, I didn’t gamble, and I had the best time. It was perfect for me to experience a different side of the city.
I dislike hot, especially humid-hot, and crowded. I don’t think I’ve really hated anywhere I’ve gone but some places are much nicer at some times of the year than others, and if we go during the busy summer season we’ll try to avoid the most popular sites. I really hate things like parades where you have to wait hours in the sun for it to start or 4th of July fireworks if there’s a traffic jam getting there and back. Right now our family is dealing with the Euro heat wave but away from the busiest tourist attractions - we are in Freiburg, Germany (cute city!), planning to see more of the Black Forest today and then across the border into Colmar, France tomorrow.
Of places others in this thread have mentioned I wouldn’t take my family to Orlando (but we live driving distance to Anaheim) - too hot/humid/crowded to enjoy the Disney experience there. I can do that in Anaheim without the humidity (and would still try to go in February so it isn’t hot or quite as crowded). I liked Paris but we skipped going up the Eiffel tower most of the times we went, and applied liberal amounts of ice cream on hot days. One of our favorite cities is Sydney and I think the reason we all like it so much is that we are always there in their winter (hubby is Australian so we’ll go see his family during the kids’ summer breaks).
Key West is on the list for me. We have several friends who LOVE going there. DH and I have been there twice now and I really didn’t enjoy it. It was hot and crowded both times I was there. I enjoyed seeing Hemingway’s house, but that was about it.
I wish more people would do what you did and venture out of the French Quarter. New Orleans is not Bourbon Street just like New York City is not Times Square, nor is San Francisco Haight-Ashbury. I know it’s difficult when visiting for a professional meeting or convention because those are typically focused on the downtown area. But the real joy in New Orleans is found in the many unique neighborhoods, each with its own vibe but all containing the zest for life that permeates every corner of the city.
If anyone here has a visit upcoming (business, pleasure or otherwise) please feel free to DM me to discuss options off the beaten path. I have helped plan many trips for first time visitors, for those going back but who wanted a different experience than the usual suspects, and played tour guide/concierge/personal driver for friends and family. Every time I visit I find something new and love sharing those finds with anyone interested.
A factor in enjoying a city or having different expectations might be how invested $$ I was into a trip. If I’m visiting a city for work (conference or otherwise) and NOT using my personal $ for it I might be more open to not having to love it to “like” it. Or if I’m in a city for a wedding or other event as opposed to choosing and planning a trip to a location simply by choice.
So for instance while I probably won’t choose to go to New Orleans or Las Vegas on my own dime, if the tap was covered in some other way…sure I’d go check it out - and probably not have as high expectations.
Old Faithful. Other aspects of Yellowstone were amazing – the great falls, the wildlife, the lake – but I thought seeing Old Faithful in person was hardly any different from seeing it on TV. Water shoots up. OK. Everybody has to see it, so there are acres of crowded parking lots and enough tourists to fill 50 malls. To me, the dullest of the 938453598 hiking trails is more interesting than Old Faithful.
Austin gets a lot of buzz. I don’t get it. It struck me as just another run-of-the-mill overgrown sprawling American city with some pretty serious traffic problems. Their unofficial motto is “Keep Austin Weird,” but it’s not all that weird apart from a handful of places where the weirdness seemed a little forced and just not that interesting. I did like the breakfast tacos, though.
Disneyland, for sure. I went a couple of times with our kids and I’m glad I’ll never have to go again. I look forward to having grandkids but I’m not taking them there.
The one I feel kind of bad about not liking is Maui. Yes, it can be beautiful and it’s nice to go for a swim, but I don’t really like it and then I always feel like a spoiled brat for not loving it when family members host family vacations there.
“Their unofficial motto is “Keep Austin Weird,” but it’s not all that weird apart from a handful of places where the weirdness seemed a little forced and just not that interesting.”
In the context of the rest of Texas (where in many, many places women won’t leave the house without a ton of makeup on for example), it is “weird”. It’s all relative.
Austin got that reputation decades ago, and it was well founded at the time. Since I went to school there, it has changed immensely, losing a good degree of it’s former “weird” charm. It can still be found in pockets, though.
We liked San Antonio…but we were very underwhelmed with the Alamo. I’m not sure what I was expecting…but I was underwhelmed. Oh…and one and done. I don’t need to go back to San Antonio.
