Wife and I have spent the last few weeks trying to decide where to go for vacation this coming summer. Non-car related. Up to 2 weeks. Cap $4500 with airfare. Been looking at europe, cruises, alaska and big island hawaii.
and..... go!
Wife and I have spent the last few weeks trying to decide where to go for vacation this coming summer. Non-car related. Up to 2 weeks. Cap $4500 with airfare. Been looking at europe, cruises, alaska and big island hawaii.
and..... go!
Take the Rhine Getaway cruise...but add extra days before in Belgium and after in Amsterdam. You will be pampered, coddled, fed and see some amazing stuff along the way.
Any of their offerings are pretty awesome in fact.
Turks and Caicos Islands. We spent a week there a couple of years ago. We rented Mother's House with the rest of my family. It was awesome!!
It's a beautiful place.
We do all inclusive vacations to Mexico. I think I've been on about 15 now. My dad prefers Punta Cana; sisters prefer Jamaica; and we prefer Mexico. We have been to the Grand Palladium (Riviera Maya) 5 times.
The GP is a huge resort consisting of 6 sub-resorts at different price points. We have gone with "Royal" the past few times. It gets you better booze, golf cart service and a more boutique lobby and bar. It also has a fantastic restaurant, beach and pool exclusive to Royal guests. We go to relax, but there are lots of activities throughout the day if you don't like falling asleep in a cabana with a book and a glass of scotch while watching the waves. Before you even ask: Resort Mexico is SAFE. We even leave the resort without a guide (to visit other resort/tourist places). PM me if you want more info.
pinchvalve wrote: Viking River Cruises
Wife did the Budapest to Amsterdam cruise, stayed a week on either end, and said it was her best trip ever - and she's a traveler. We'll probably do it again next year, she enjoyed it so much. $4500 doesn't go too far with Viking, though.
If summer wasn't a requirement, a Europe cruise departing Venice can be done for $4500 with air. We did it for $5k five years ago, when the Euro was $1.30. I bet you could get a lot closer now that the Euro is darned close to parity. October sailings are nice and cheap. We went through Norwegian - which was cool then because everything on board is charged in USD, but that's less of an advantage with the exchange rate where it is now.
Depends on what you like to do. I'd start there then narrow down choices. If you want to go tropical relaxing type stuff, check out Atlantis. It's on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
My MIL did a Viking cruise this fall. She had a great time and raved about the food and service, but be forewarned: Although Viking's ships are made for shallow rivers, at certain times of the year they can still end up being dock bound due to low water conditions.
If there's not enough water to cruise, Viking gives you the option of rescheduling, but not until the week before so most folks are already locked in. You still see most of the same places, but sleep on the ship and get bused back and forth to the sights each day.
My MIL did this and still had high praise, but something to keep in mind.
Margie
Need more background information!
Hobbies, interests, age, tourist vs adventurer, food interests...
We're early 40's. Like to see and do new things. Not the adventurous/daring type. Been on multiple cruises through the Carib, Alaska, been to all 50 US states, did Jamaica (not doing that again), Bermuda etc. Wife has been to Europe, but I have not. Neither of us speak anything but American (I do speak 'tard and redneck). $4500 cap is the upfront amount. We do expect to spend more while there etc.
Well.... apparently Viking River cruises are doing free airfare until Thurs. This may have just answered our question.
I just found the cruise we did in Europe, in case Viking doesn't work out: https://www.costcotravel.com/Cruises/Norwegian-Cruise-Line/Norwegian-Jade/Offers/NCLJADEUR20150502#cruiseOfferLeadinPrices
$1k or so per person in the summer sailings, should be able to get that and air to Venice under your $4500 cap.
Came in here to recommend Jamaica--well, not Jamaica, but a resort group in Jamaica that was outstanding--Couples.
The only reason we won't be returning for the next 20 years is that there are a lot of other islands to see in the Caribbean, not to mention Europe, Asia, Australia...
The Viking cruises have been on our want to do list for quite a while, so that is probably the next "big one" in a few years.
In reply to Toyman01:
Dammm!
Windjammer cruise?
I like Europe and all, but there are things in this country to see first.
<$1500/week.
http://www.sailmainecoast.com/pick-a-ship/our-vessels/
For a first trip to Europe, I recommend Britain, though I'm a big Anglophile and go there all the time. Although you can get by easily on the Continent speaking English, it is a bit less intimidating for the newbie. Lots and lots to see, of course. You can easily spend a week in London, though it would be a shame to miss some of the stuff out of London. On a couple of trips, we have stayed in London and then taken train trips out to Dover, Coventry, etc. You can even take the Chunnel train for a day trip to Paris. We did one with a package that included a guided bus trip on the Paris end that included Versailles and some of the main tourist attractions.
You can also rent these in Britain, France and Holland.
http://www.bowcrest.com/dutch-barge-specialists/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/0200489.pdf
You know before the refugee crisis Greece was the ticket. Down economy meant you could go and see everything on the cheap.
How about the Maldives? Rare, unique, from a quick and dirty search, so I know you can do better, you can fly $1k per person RT and a room for 2 weeks is $1k. So $3k for transportation and lodging, leaves you $1,500 for the rest.
That is looking about 5 minutes so being GRM, you can do better. I bet you get it down to $2500 with $2k in the pocket for food and entertainment.
In reply to 914Driver:
I've been in every state this country has as well as Canada and Mexico. So NA is pretty much covered. Now to fill my passport with stamps.
914Driver wrote: You can also rent these in Britain, France and Holland. http://www.bowcrest.com/dutch-barge-specialists/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/0200489.pdf
We rented a canal boat in England with another couple for a week. An amazing experience-- a lot of fun. However, you're generally limited to seeing places that are right on the canal and it takes forever to travel any distance due to all the locks. Not a real efficient way to see bucket-list type stuff, but if you like a relaxing tour through the countryside and lots of quaint small villages (with great pubs!) it is a great way to go. Not to mention you know where you're sleeping every night...
New Zealand. Do it!
I would take a look at air inclusive trips over on Groupon. They have some pretty reasonable ones. Istanbul, Costa Rica, Ecuador look cool.
914Driver wrote: You can also rent these in Britain, France and Holland. http://www.bowcrest.com/dutch-barge-specialists/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/0200489.pdf
I had no idea those were rentable...
yupididit wrote: New Zealand. Do it!
Australia and NZ are on the list, but will cost a bit more than we're ready to spend. We're figuring 2 years.
Take a nice, week long vacation to Lincoln Nebraska in September. I hear that's a good time to check out the place. 
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