Need some help planning a trip.

I turn the big 50 next July and my wife told me to pick the place and we'll make it happen. We each have about 75,000 or so sky miles to use. Give me some ideas. I've considered visiting wineries in France or Napa, distilleries in Scotland, Germany, S. Korea where she has family, Hawaii (never been), etc. but I just can't make up my mind. Any ideas?

Tags:
travel

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It was my first time trying Airbnb this summer and I have to say it worked out great. It's something to consider for your travels if you want to save a little money (or get a little more space for your money).

Our guideline was to rent only from highly-rated and frequently-reviewed hosts (targeting "superhosts" if possible). We needed some decent space since we were 2 adults, 2 kids, and we definitely wanted kitchen & laundry at each stop. What we ended up with:

* Salzburg: rented a 2-BR garden/basement apartment that was a 15-minute walk from the city center for about $120/night. It had some ant issues stemming from a heavy rain, but the owner showed up right away, cleaned it up, and put in some ant traps. Would rent there again.

* Grindelwald: rented a 2BR chalet in the hills above Grindelwald, part of a duplex with the host family living above. A bit of an airbnb splurge for us at $200/night. Big dining room, living room, and a wonderful patio deck with a gorgeous view. I mean, check this out:

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* Loire valley, town called Chailles outside Blois. This was a cottage on a larger estate where the owner, Yves, and his wife Paulette (both probably pushing 80 years old) invited us in with a glass of champagne and a bundle of travel guides and discount coupons for the area. After visiting for a while he walked us over to the cottage, which had 1 BR on the first floor and a loft with two twin beds. There was an English-style forest behind the cottage with pathways and hidden picnic areas. The estate went back to the 1600s, and our cottage, Yves said, had some documents going back to 1779, "but it was definitely older than that". $85/night.

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* Paris. We were here almost four weeks. 3 BR apartment in the northern Marais district (3rd), right near Temple Square and Republique. 18th century building, creaky floors, but updated with cable TV, high speed internet, elevator (was on the 3rd floor). Two metro stations just around the corner, cafes and supermarket just below. Came out to about $170/night all told (equivalent space in a Paris hotel would have been triple that). Owner lived in Corsica but she had a cleaning lady who handled the pickup & dropoff without any issues. If we do this trip again (hopefully), we will try to target the same property. It was just about perfect.

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Long story short, I don't think this trip (with the little people in tow) would have been possible without the space and affordability of these airbnb properties.

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--For 1-2 nights, hotels are often competitive pricewise because of the cleaning fees that most airbnbs charge, and at similar prices I tend to prefer a hotel.

--Sometimes it's just nicer to be at a hotel. The bathroom/shower can be better, room gets cleaned every day, the bed can be more comfortable, chance of breakfast, no worries about meeting up with someone in a foreign country, cabs know where it is, easy/quick contact if something goes wrong or need of medical care, etc.

I mix it up a bit between airbnb and hotel, depending on length of stay, desired location, and trip goals.

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Would you consider adopting me?

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The 2007 ND-UCLA game was a once in a lifetime experience, I hope

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The B&B aspect seems to suggest that you are staying in someone's home while they are there. Is that the case or is it functionally the same as VRBO and sites of that ilk, where you have the place to yourself? Jay's post seems to suggest there may be a mix.

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There are search filters on airbnb for "shared space" or "whole apartment/house" that help you narrow it down.

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We actually didn't see her a whole lot, because she's trying to break into the real estate business AND driving for Uber, so she was basically never around.

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With four kids it's pretty much a necessity; obviously you get much more space for your money. I also like that in cities, you have many more options outside of the business districts where hotels are concentrated.

We have never had a problem or found a place to be very different than represented. If anything, many times we were impressed by how much more a place had to offer than we gathered from the posting/ photos.

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I did my first airbnb stay in Las Vegas this summer and would totally recommend. It ended up cheaper than any of the strip hotels, and that is even with some of the big discounts.

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In our Bentley.

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is a Chevy Nova.

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with my double-double from In-n-Out

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At night, the ice weasels come.

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Of the 10 or so major European cities I've been to, Rome and Barcelona are the only ones I really fell in love with. You could spend a whole week wandering the Gothic Quarter.

Take a 40 minute train to this place when you go:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dtmckenna/14276685230/in/album-72157645265594575/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dtmckenna/14276846467/in/album-72157645265594575/

Barcelona is second to no one in church architecture.

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and the 18-55 is also a good companion walk-around city lens. Personally I like something at the wider end (12-24 DX) for city shots and interiors but as I said 18mm DX (= 27mm FX) is pretty much the sweet spot.

Pretty clean shot for 2800 ISO in the Montserrat Basilica.

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Though I have no idea what any of it means. I'm strictly an "auto" guy. I will occasionally throw on the 55-200 because I like it when the background looks fuzzy (tech speak).

I am trying to find the time to actually learn how the thing works.

Which shot do you mean?

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Which shot do you mean?

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Your personal flickr settings are public and that allows for the uploading of the EXIF info (embeded metadata). That's good. That allows viewers, like me, who look at your images to see the exact camera settings that you used to produce the shot. That's how I knew your ISO speed. 2800 is pretty fast for a low light indoor shot. Yet despite fast speed there was no under-exposure in the image.

I like it when the background looks fuzzy (tech speak).

That's called 'bokeh' (Its the Japanese word for blur) and its a product of the quality of your lens and your depth of field (DOF). You generally want to use bokeh when you want to draw focus to a certain part of an image. Say the wife is standing in front of some roses. To make her stand out from the roses you'd use a shallow depth of field (DOF) and focus on your wife. The result of the shallow DOF would be your wife in focus while the background (roses) would be blurred.

I am trying to find the time to actually learn how the thing works.

As a long time photographer the best advise that I can give you is get out of P(rogram) mode and use M(anual). You're not learning anything in P mode. In P you're basically telling the camera to do everything. Take the step and go to Manual mode. You'll be lost at first but take a shot then look at the image. Then, change a setting, say ISO speed. Move it up or down. Notice how it effects your meter (exposure level) then look at the shot and see the relation between ISO and exposure. Just keep doing that for about 500 shots across different settings (ISO, F stop, under/over exposure) and I guarantee you'll pretty much understand your camera and NEVER use P mode again.

Honestly, its not hard and doesn't take a long time to learn. You can learn a lot by just sitting in your back yard and shooting a table, a fence, or a tree while playing with your settings.

Once your understand your camera you can then become creative and get the image that YOU want as opposed to the image that the camera thinks is best (P mode).

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than Barcelona. And I had high expectations, but it was even more beautiful than I expected, the food was phenomenal, the people were terrific, it was everything I could have hoped for.

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Spain, Portugal, and Germany are the only W. European countries I have not visited. My favorite city is probably Prague. My wife and I like to eat and drink well when on vacation. Maybe I can get tickets to el Clasico...yeah right.

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Dylan's pictures if you hadn't seen them before.

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What do you really like out of a vacation? What do you really like to do to relax?

Take that concept and turn it up to 11.

If you like going to the beach and doing nothing, find the greatest beach you can afford, in a place that you normally would not spend the money to go, and make that your trip. If you like seeing sights, pick sights you'd never see otherwise (a safari, something like Joe's cave trip) and have an experience that you'll remember. If you want to incorporate history, even though that might make it a work trip for you, pick something you've always wanted to see/visit but haven't had the time to due to life and go there. No matter what you do, make it the top notch version of what you'd normally do on a budget and in a more restrained way.

I've done that on two different occasions in life -- one very long trip and one short trip -- and both have been exactly right. Rather than trying to go somewhere or do something different, I just went with the awesome version of our normal.

--
The 2007 ND-UCLA game was a once in a lifetime experience, I hope

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or at least he provides good advice. The world is a big place with some amazing stuff. Santorini is awesome. So is Paris, Barcelona, Machu Picchu, jungles, safari, Thailand, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Barcelona (yes, mentioned twice), Buenos Aires, Petra, each in its own way. There's so much more, and they can all be made into amazing trips.

So you have a trip of a lifetime. Screw our ideas. What have you always wanted to do or see?

My own small tip: go diving. I saw a quote a few months ago, people who have always wondered what it would be like to travel to an alien world should try scuba diving.

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There are cruises or you can just rent a car and roam, but spend more time in Croatia. Beaches and island crawls as you go are vastly under rated.

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http://www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/en/

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Sort of between Trieste and Split. Very easy to get to if you're doing the Croatian coast down to Dubrovnik, but for some reason a lot of people skip it. When we were there it seemed like a lot of locals.

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http://www.visit-hvar.com/machiedo-house/11372

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It was at the start of our trip and we skipped right past it. If I had done a little research on the place there would have been no way I would have missed it. Gotta go back.

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The Croatian coast is definitely on my short list.

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Supposed to be one of the most amazing and beautiful spots on earth.

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We spent a half day there but felt like we should have camped overnight. It's really amazing. So many pools and waterfalls.

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My family is from that area, olive and olive oil farms, so we did our exploring there and the rest of the time along the coast and some of the many little islands off the coast. The country is amazing. My wife and I would like to go back next year for our 50th Bdays and 25yr anniversary.

Hey, I have an idea for a new thread.

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Go to Hawaii. If going to multiple islands, block out the largest amount of time to Maui.

And I love every one of those places you mentioned, but everyone should go to Hawaii at least once.

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* Yosemite

* Greece

* Yucatan peninsula, Mexico (Playa del Carmen and south of that: cenote caves, fishing charters, [s]Aztec[/s] Mayan ruins, cheap lodging, even golf)

* Tahiti (like Hawaii, but more expensive and nobody speaks English)

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Depends on what you're looking for, but 1-2 nights in Athens (max) to see the Acropolis and soak up the history combined with a few days out on the Greek Isles isn't a bad way to celebrate.

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from Robert Preston in "The Music Man."

Seriously, New Zealand is a pretty amazing place.

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Quito? I'm heading there in Oct. Things to do, places to see?

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There is a ton of variety to be had in terms of activity. You can go balls to the wall sightseeing in Rome and then go somewhere more low-key to get some relaxation in too.

I think we did like 4 days in Rome. Then train to Florence. 3 days in Florence, one of which was spent on a day trip to Siena. 3 days in Venice. IMO, Rome, Florence, and Siena were amazing. Venice ... meh. I'm glad I saw it before it inevitably sinks into the sea, which you can all but watch in real time. But I didn't click with it as much as the others. I would have rather seen Assisi or spent more time outside of Rome or done Cinque Terra.

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I adore Italy, and in fact am going there for too short a time in 3 weeks, but Venice is about at the bottom of places I want to go to there.

Some people absolutely love it, and maybe I would, too, but it just doesn't seem from descriptions like a living, breathing city, but more of a big outdoor museum.

Am I wrong?

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But out of everyone I talk to, it seems that most folks view it as you do. It does at times feel like a giant outdoor museum until you get away from some of the well-traveled areas. I thought the food was fantastic (and different enough from the fare in other regions of Italy). Tons to see - both touristy and not. Interesting history. Nice vibe.

That said, 3 days is probably the maximum amount of time I'd spend there. It's just not a big place.

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Is that it's quiet, because there are no roads, and especially considering it's Italy, that means no Vespas.

That itself is one thing I would like to experience.

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San Marco at night. There are 4 or 5 restaurants around the perimeter and each of them has its own small orchestra -- piano, few strings, and a few winds. They would kind of take turns playing familiar songs, some classical and other more like American standards, and for those of us in the middle, it was like a real throwback "battle of the bands" in an insanely beautiful setting. I didn't care for Venice, but that evening is one heck of a good memory.

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We stayed here but we had 11 people:

http://www.myprivatevillas.com/luxury/italy/tuscany/siena-surroundings/19327/villa-torr...

We could see Siena from the balcony. It was incredible.

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Is that the thing that puts it over the top as a bucket list destination or other special trip is the Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. Plan the trip around the ability to see surface lava out there and it's one of the most amazing things a person can possibly do. The experience of standing like 5 feet from creeping oozing lava is totally indescribable. The sound of it might be the coolest part.

Maui is totally cool and Kauai looks awesome. And I highly recommend one night in Honolulu on the way in or out to make sure you see Pearl Harbor and the USS Missouri. I have no use for Honolulu otherwise, but it's a necessary evil to see one of the most important historical sites in the US.

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Go for the historical sites in Pearl Harbor, get a nice picture of Diamond Head, but then get on a plane to the other islands.

Basically Honolulu is a smog-free mini-Los Angeles. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I like LA, but that's not the reason to go to Hawaii.

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city. You might as well be anywhere.

The only other thing I used to like about Honolulu was a restaurant called John Dominis. Just a fantastic fish restaurant right on the water. But it closed a while back.

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It is long beach (not very deep) with way too many people.

The big island doesn't get the credit it deserves (and only gets a small fraction of the tourism). The only climate zones that don't exist on that one island are arctic and sub-arctic. You will find it lacking if you are looking for a beach vacation, but otherwise there is a lot to see and do there.

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slightly redeeming thing about Honolulu -- or at least the only thing to distinguish Honolulu from a dozen other American cities. If you are going to Hawaii for the beaches, Waikiki obviously isn't the way to go.

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Both I'd highly recommend.

For Hawaii, we did 2 of the islands (Maui & Kauai). They are very different places. Kauai is much more rustic with tons of great hiking. Very undeveloped compared to Maui but development is starting to pick-up. Maui is just awesome. It has beaches, volcanoes, hiking everythign + delicious food. We had blast on both but they are very different islands.

For Costa Rica, we stopped in 3 locations.
We did 1 night in the capital. Wouldn't recommend staying any longer than that. We booked a guided tour through the food markets and loved that. Other than that, it's mainly just a city.
We then did a couple nights down on the pacific coast near Manuel Antonio national park. That was fun with great beaches, and some hiking/tours within the park. We also visited a spice farm which was something unique. Finally, we went up and stayed near Arenal Volcano. There we went ziplining, hiking, walked along hanging bridges in a luxury resort.

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African safari, river cruise through somewhere in Europe, Alaskan tour, Rome/Italy, take some funky luxury train trips (http://www.irtsociety.com/). I'll probably need to win the lottery to do these (and others), though.

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but if I did it would be a European river cruise.

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Great food, great wine, tons of history. Porto and Lisbon are lovely cities to wander around. The Alentejo is a solid wine region with some gorgeous resorts and beautiful old towns. We didn't have time for the beaches but I'd love to go back. If you're comfortable driving (highways are great, cities seem hellish) you can pack a lot into a week.

Morocco was amazing although we were lame and did a lot of guided tours. Added a few days in Barcelona which was a great way to kick off the trip--surprisingly few direct NYC-Marrakesh flights.

Is a safari too cliche for a milestone birthday trip? (We decided to start saving for Antarctica for our 50th birthdays so I am obviously a huge cliche). We did Tanzania/Kenya/Seychelles but I'd love to do Capetown and combine Kruger with wine, penguins, and great white shark diving--much less travel time between activities.

Top of my list right now is Aus/NZ, Savannah, San Sebastian, desert in Utah, Amalfi coast, hiking in Maine, Torres del Paine, Oregon wine country, West Coast of Ireland, Blackberry Farm in TN, and the ice hotel in Sweden. Some of these are more realistic for my current lifestyle than others but I personally believe in always being prepared to win the Powerball.

Honestly, I find the most stressful part of a trip picking the destination. So many variables! It can be paralyzing.

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They went there on Amazing Race like a decade ago and it always stuck with me.

I can recommend your idea of Capetown/South Africa. Starting in Capetown, you can get penguins, great whites, good food, beaches, wineries, botanical garden and awesome sightseeing with very limited driving. (Did door-to-door service for both sharks and wine, well worth it.) From there you, it's not a bad drive to get out by Kruger, the Garden Route is awesome and has a lot of cool nature preserves/beach towns along the way. It's PCH-adjace.

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(I've never been to the Caribbean/Mexico and it's obviously not on my list of high priority places!) but it was like being in one of those old MS Office screensavers, in a good way. It was a huge pain to get to, so I'm not sure I would really recommend it over Zanzibar or something else in the Indian Ocean that didn't require basically 2 extra days of travel, but it was our honeymoon and I figured our only chance to go there. The capital city was fascinating (but tiny) and all of the nature was just unbelievable. Now I have to get to the Maldives to compare...

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but from what I have heard, you need a significant portion of time to do either properly, let alone both.

Hawaii is great and offers plenty of different things depending on your interest. I've been to the four major islands and they all have something different to offer.

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I think you're back, right?

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The hiking was strenuous but manageable for the decently fit, up until the last day (climb out), which killed me.

The cave was so large it's hard to comprehend, 200m tall (~660 feet) and hundreds of feet wide, at it's largest. So many wild things to see, including cave pearls, the world's largest stalagmite, several newly discovered species (white minnow, white spider, white millipede), two dolines (roof cave-ins) which allow a jungle to grow on the cave floor, the cave's own weather system, including clouds, and swimming holes inside tiny crevices in the cave.

This is not a trip for the faint of heart, but what an amazing experience. We had several couples on the trip, and thankfully our own Victoria's Secret angel to pose for photos. There is a lot of chatter about the Vietnamese province running a cable car to the cave, along with elevators. So sad, as it's all about lining politician's pockets, and little care about saving such a precious resource. This is something beyond a bucket list item, as the wait list is currently about 2 years long, and the experience is incomparable. Note, these pictures below can't even do the scale of this cave justice.

Below, campsite on night #1 & #4. This is inside the world's third largest cave, maybe 1/3 as large as Hang Son Doong:
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Below, you can barely make out the person at the top of the tall cave formation:
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Below, there's an even tinier person at the top of the stalagmite:
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Below, campsite on night #2:
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Below, a small collection of cave pearls:
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Below, campsite on night #3, way, way down:
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Below, climbing back out past doline #2. Scale note, it's over 1 mile to the top of the hill underneate the doling opening:
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The 2007 ND-UCLA game was a once in a lifetime experience, I hope

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It looks like the perfect environment to induce a numinous experience.

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Something with Google Drive, even though I made the images public.

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Can I give one alteration to your thought process?

Consider Sonoma county instead of Napa. It's a big birthday bash trip, so you could stay up in Healdsburg or down in Sonoma in the Fairmont or the adults-only (not like that, I'm told) Kenwood Inn. Most of the wineries are not as well known and/or are smaller than those in Napa, but will treat you great (friends particularly recommend Fogline and Benziger for good experiences and tasty wine), and Uber/Lyft are all over both the valley areas and the more-urban Santa Rosa area. We have clients in Napa county and it's great. It really is. I could go off and sound like Donald Trump talking about how great it is. But I think the Sonoma vibe -- more low-key, not as commercialized/big-timey, and practically libertarian -- makes it more fun.

Don't trust me. Google it all and see what you think for yourself. But it's worth researching if you want to do northern California wine country as a big trip.

--
The 2007 ND-UCLA game was a once in a lifetime experience, I hope

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Do Santa Barbara up to Monterey, hitting the central coast wineries.

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Don't share that. Too many people know already.

He's right Bryan.

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The 2007 ND-UCLA game was a once in a lifetime experience, I hope

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Dublin is the closest to my heart, but the history-beer combo of Berlin was amazing (granted, the history is not uplifting).

Apparently the green shoots of bohemianism and redevelopment I saw in 2003 have really taken off and the place is just a great city to visit.

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I am aching to get to Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Berlin.

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Portugal

http://randomstreetview.com/#of6v2_-5151f_6r_a_5

(find your own random location: http://randomstreetview.com/ )

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Porto is a lovely city, even if, like me, you don't like port.

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http://randomstreetview.com/#i4xf2_-1mak59_2f_a_-6

Or a deserted road in Bulgaria: http://randomstreetview.com/#pp5wp_eeoxo_-2g_a_-8

Or a deserted road (?) in Thailand: http://randomstreetview.com/#pp5wp_eeoxo_-2g_a_-8

Hey, this is fun! Where else can we send Bryan?

--
"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy." - Yeats

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just outside Springfield, IL

http://randomstreetview.com/#nn3es_-1hpw30_87_a_5

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Sometimes I rhyme slow sometimes I rhyme quick.

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However you feel, I guarantee better than Võhmasaare-Jälevere, 71407 Viljandi County, Estonia.

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I've never been to Germany...I like your Berlin idea.

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I would highly recommend visiting the Rhine/Mosel area as well as Bavaria (Munich, but also the smaller towns around and especially the mountains). And due respect to Hullies but I would slot those ahead of Berlin if you are on a limited schedule.

Salzburg is a quick jaunt from Munich and it is perhaps the most picturesque town in Europe. We just spent three days there and it is simply wonderful (as usual). Perfect mix of old world charm, music, beautiful landscape and beer.

Here's our view from the Salzburg festung after our dinner at Stieglkeller:

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In fact now that I'm thinking about it, you should probably do some combo of Bavara, Austria, and Switzerland.

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Time/money/student traveler logistics kept me in a Hamburg ---> Berlin ---> Frankfurt triangle.

I didn't like Frankfurt, although it was funny one night there drinking in an Irish pub and talking to an American bartender. The potemkin city center was off putting, although in fairness, the whole thing was bombed out of existence.

Hamburg was really damn gritty. My three most vivid memories are 1) accidentally walking into the red light Reeperbahn district at like 10 in the morning; 2) Having a discussion about the impending Iraq War with a German navy vet who served in WWII; and 3) this lunatic celebration to Bismarck:

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These threads always remind me how much of the world I haven't seen. I hope one day to be able to see some more, even in our own country.

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1. Bavaria & surroundings (including Salzburg but also possibly Nuremburg, Regensburg, etc)

2. add Rhine valley

3. add Mosel valley

4. add Berlin

5. add Baden-Baden / Schwarzwald towns (Freiburg)

6. add Hamburg / northern towns (Bremen, etc)

no need to add: Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Cologne

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apt description. Like most people, we were there because that's where the airport is.

Except some of the buildings are really weird, like they were designed by the set designer in the Batman movies.

The cities that were rebuilt after the war as "modern" cities pretty much took the starch out of why you'd want to visit. I have a tour book from 1936, the first Fodor's edition, and the author raves about "Frankfort", which had one of the best old towns in Europe. Well, that great old town is under glass office buildings now.

It's amazing in Germany, where it was local option on how to rebuild. The vote by the city council or whatever organization it was in Munich to rebuild old vs modern passed by something like 2 votes. Munich would have been like Frankfurt, and what a shame that would have been.

You mentioned Freiburg, and I was there on the same trip. It was a lovely city - that was basically bombed flat in the war except for the Basilica. But they rebuilt it like it was before the war and it's a great place to visit. Same with Würzberg. But then there were formerly beautiful cities like Braunschweig and Pforzheim that are now pretty nondescript.

And it's not just Germany. Rheims in France is now the beautiful cathedral and pretty much nothing else interesting. That was from the first world war, not the second, but same effect. Same with Caen and Rotterdam after WWII. Whereas a place like Liege in Belgium, which was destroyed in WWI, was built back up largely like it was before and is a pretty interesting city with, among other things, a beautiful opera house.

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Granted, we have friends in Munich and family history there, so I may have been swayed by that.

We did about 4-5 days in true Bavaria (Munich plus side trips to Rothenburg, Nuremberg, and Neuschwanstein), then traveled via train to Salzburg and Vienna. Vienna was nice but could have easily been left off for more time in Bavaria or trips further north.

There's something for just about anyone in Bavaria. Generally nice people. Good culture. Food and beer. History. Soccer (if that's your thing). We chose to stay pretty busy but enjoyed the heck out of that trip.

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the continent of Europe, and it is still one of the bast vacations I ever had. We went every place you mentioned except Vienna, where I still haven't been to.

I didn't get back until 2007 when I took the family to many of the same places, and it was just as good as I remembered it.

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I think you're right, it's a little far afield from Bavaria but it's definitely worth exploring all on its own, or as part of a Vienna / Budapest / Prague / Krakow trip.

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when I was studying in Dublin. Being young, stupid, and broke at the time, I probably didn't do any of the cities justice, but Vienna was my favorite by far.

I did like Budapest a lot, but everything I've read about Hungary in the past few years has scared the shit out of me, so I might table that one for a while.

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It's got a very low crime rate, even in central Budapest.

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Jobbik, their far-right party, did too well in the last election for my comfort.

Edit: per the ADL,40% of Hungary's population harbors some anti-Semitic sentiment. While I can't speak to their methodology, those numbers scare me.

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Greece is at 63%.

Hey, there are parts of this country that scare me, too. Especially this year. Did you know the President founded ISIS?

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Around 10 am from some guy on the side of the street. Like from a NYC vendor, but it was in a lovingly baked, hard roll. That thing was fking delicious.

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the Polo Grounds

Need some help planning a trip.

Airbnb (long)

A bit of pushback on airbnb:

Question about all this

Actual question about airbnb...

both types of listings

Thanks.

I think it's a mix. In my case, the homeowner was there.

We use Airbnb or HomeAway for all trips

Totally agree.

I second the advice; worked out great for us last year.

We generally just travel domestically.

My other car

I drink only '61 Cheval blanc

Would you happen to have any Grey Poupon?

Put in my $.02 for Barcelona

That D5100 is a nice (light) travel camera

Thanks!

Dylan, this is the picture I was speaking about

Agree. Just went a few weeks ago. Great city.

Seconded. Few places have exceeded my expectations more

This is good to know.

On top of everything else, it has this

And Sagrada Familia. Bryan, scroll back a screen or 2 for

Different thought

This Greg from Pasadena is smart...

Venice to Split to Dubrovnik

have you been to this place

Whoa! Where the hey is that?

Plitvice Natl Park, Croatia

Well worth the drive

Check this place out

That is essentially what happened to us.

I will note that for future refence, thanks

No, it is on my bucket list though.

only about an hour from the coast

I went inland in Split.

If you've never been to Hawaii

other ideas not mentioned yet (I don't think)

I was going to suggest Greece as well

I've heard good things about Gary, Indiana

While I have your attention on trips, has anyone been to

I think Italy was pretty great...

Interesting about Venice

Agree.

I enjoyed Venice.

One thing I also have heard about Venice that would be cool

Actually, one cool thing about Venice was Piazza

I vote Italy.

My personal opinion on Hawaii...

Agreed on Honolulu

When you aren't on Waikiki, Honolulu is just a generic

I think Waikiki is overrated as well

There are many better beaches just on Oahu alone

Yup, just head to the North Shore

Totally agree on Waikiki. I'm just saying it's the one

Wife and I did Hawaii for honeymoon & Costa Rica in January

Ha, that's the exact same honeymoon I did

Some trips on my bucket list...

I've never done a cruise,

I was pleasantly surprised by Portugal (mentioned below)

How were the Seychelles?

Amazing. I'm not a beach vacation person

#1 on my list is Australia/New Zealand...

hey beachrat, tell us about the Hang Son Doong caves

Whoa. What a massive, massive cave.

Wow

Awesome

Wild -- thanks for sharing.

Other worldly.

incredible

Jesus Christ

pics aren't coming through, but that sounds amazing

Yeah, let me get that figured out.

OK, pictures fixed in above post!

You seem like a normal guy

to hell with Napa and Sonoma

Lodging is cheap at Chez Dylan

Shut up