<p>My H and I have two couples that we have been close with forever. The guys have been friends since childhood and we wives have been friends for over thirty years. When our collective children were in college we promised ourselves that we would go on a trip when we were free from tuition payments. That time came in January with the writing of our last check to University of Maryland!</p>
<p>So now we want to plan a couples get away but don’t know where to go. A few caveats: My H and I are saving Italy for a family trip in a couple of years. One of the other couples is well travelled but open to anything. The other couple are a bit less adventurous but seem flexible. The timing will be the summer of 2015. Some ideas that we have thrown around are a Scotland/England excursion or a River Cruise down the Rhine (hearing that we might be the youngest on the trip though, yikes)</p>
<p>Places we have already been (or some of us anyway). Not that they are excluded entirely.
Mexico
England
Russia
Bermuda
Arizona
California
Virgin Islands</p>
<p>The river cruise and the Scotland trip also sound great. I’ve always thought one of those walking trips through England would be a kick; I think you can arrange for your luggage to be transported for you, and so you just have to walk from one little town to another each day.</p>
<p>I always have to throw in a vote for Northern Michigan in summer. Traverse City or Mackinaw Island can provide beauty, amazing food, waterfront beaches and water sports, outdoor adventures as simple as bide riding, relaxation , fabulous wine, etc. </p>
<p>Montreal and Quebec City
trip up the Maine coast to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park
Toronto and Niagara on the Lake
Vancouver and Victoria
The Canadian Rockies</p>
<p>The year we did the Alaskan cruise it was 80 degrees there. Paris! We did Paris, Barcelona and Madrid once and that was lovely. Ireland is fun too.</p>
<p>We are from New England and have been to Acadia many times, Maine etc. looking for something a little more special. Not that New England isn’t special :). My H and I would probably like to Canadian Rockies but I’m not so sure about the others.
Abasket, I will check out your suggestions. Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>South Africa. Best vacation spot in the whole world. And I get to go again in August. I’m on cloud nine. My parents invited me to go with them. We will spend six days on a safari in Kruger National Park, a few days in Johannesburg, visiting my folks’ friends, a few days in Cape Town, then we’ll get a B&B somewhere along the Garden Route.</p>
<p>A few people have already suggested Barcelona. If it were me, I would go to Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands. Many spots are for touring and some, especially the south of Spain (Spanish Riviera) will be good for beaches. My parents did that trip many years ago and combined it with a trip to Morrocco too. Sounds like a dream vacation to me.</p>
<p>I agree with South Africa. Go to Capetown. Do some research into the Stellenbosch wine area…makes Napa look very tiny, and plain. Go to the Cape of Good Hope, and to the southern most point in Africa. You can combine this with a game park visit as well for a few days. Seeing the animals is amazing.</p>
<p>For lodging in Capetown, I can heartily recommend the Black Heath Bed and breakfast…might be called the Black Heath Inn…I can check. It is in an excellent location, and is absolutely fabulous. </p>
<p>We went at the end of November, and so did other family members another year. </p>
<p>This would be a total no brainer for me. If I actually had some friends that wanted to travel with me (ha!), it would be a Rick Steves tour for sure. Only 20-28 people on a tour, you can select one that isn’t labeled as “family” so you won’t get young kids. They do all of the work and planning for you, yay! They pick the most interesting things to see, get the best local guides, purchase the tickets, know the best times to go to museums and attractions without waiting in line, and make everything incredibly easy for you. Half full tour busses, everyone is friendly. We did the Heart of Italy which was perfect, 9 days…not too long or too short, got to see small and large towns in Italy. Though I know you said you’re saving Italy for later, they go all over Europe. Fairly inexpensive for what you get, most everything is included. I thought, man, if we could stack this trip with lots of friends, it would be even more fun. Probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my adult life. And you don’t have to plan or research anything! Couch potatoes would want to get in better shape, though, there is plenty of walking and stairs. Athletes can do additional things that involve tons of exercise.</p>
<p>In lieu of that, a European cruise, I guess. Stay away from European cruise carriers that allow smoking everywhere, yuck. NCL has great entertainment. I want to go on a river cruise too, but I might have to wait 30 years to be old enough…supposedly.</p>
<p>I’m just going to ask one thing… since you are empty nesters this means you can travel any time of the year. You might want to reconsider ‘summer’ of next year. Every good destination in the world is packed with tourists at high season in the summer. You will get the best deals if you go in November or early December or another off season month. Unless you are going to South Africa, then summer will be winter down there.</p>
<p>Of course Nov/Dec would rule out the Alaska Cruise But many other destinations are lovely that time of the year. My favorite time in Paris is November. If you haven’t been, I can guarantee that is one place that all 3 couples would love to go to. Suggest you look into renting a large apartment or several small ones. You feel so much more like a local with an apartment in Paris. And then finish the trip with one of the lovely Seine River cruises</p>
<p>Paris gives you a chance to do some things together with the group and break off and do some things separate (like a romantic dinner in a bistro !!! ) Paris is just plain romance, a great way to rekindle the marriage after the kids leave the nest. Hubby and I went last fall when our D left for college. It was our first empty nest trip.</p>
<p>it all depends what you are looking to be doing during vacation.
We love to be on a beach and snorkel. For this reason, we have been going to Cozumel, Mexico. If you are not interested in this, you will be very bored. We have gone there for about 15 years, every year, for 2 weeks. We do not like to visit places. We just want to be on a beach, snorkel, walk, eat, drink, paint pottery, play pink pong. There are plenty of other activities there, beach volleyball, some latin dancing classes, nice shows in a evening, but we do not participate, too much already.</p>
<p>Wine tasting/chateau touring in the Loire Valley? If you like theatre, dance or music the month of August in Edinburgh is the Fringe Festival. Thousands of performances to chose from, it’s lots of fun.</p>
<p>A Mediterranean cruise would be fun, and safe for the less adventuresome. As for the river cruise, I’ll tell you in a few weeks, we are doing the Danube with my parents. </p>
And I get to go again in August. I’m on cloud nine. My parents invited me to go with them. We will spend six days on a safari in Kruger National Park, a few days in Johannesburg, visiting my folks’ friends, a few days in Cape Town, then we’ll get a B&B somewhere along the Garden Route.</p>
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