January traveling-where would you go with 21 year old daughter?
 

My 21 year old daughter is in her final year of college and will have the whole month of January off(as she chose to do a senior thesis as opposed to "comps"). We would like to do some traveling before she joins the workforce in June so where are some interesting places that you have gone with your older kids that have been memorable? (Western Europe/Turkey have been well traveled.)Thanks for any suggestions!

We spent time in Mexico and Argentina with our college aged daughter. She was studying Spanish so that was partly the reason but we all had a great time. On the other hand, Italy is so fabulous and all those handsome young men.....LOL

I agree about Italy (our favorite) but she just spent last semester in Sicily so wants to hit some places that are truly different. Argentina has been talked about but neither of us speak Spanish.Had also thought about going to Lima and doing Macha Picchu(sp?). Any other thoughts? Thanks!

I just want to say that you might be overthinking language difficulties. South America is really no worse than Western Europe/Turkey.

The reason I would reconsider is the pleasant January weather. This would also apply to Mexico City.

Worth looking into at any rate.

(Keeping in mind my hot flashes?) I was looking in Lonely Planet and they mentioned that Buenos Aires was close to a 100F in January-is that true? Where else in South America would anyone recommend going for sightseeing,shopping,eating and basic "mother-daughter bonding". Thanks for any help!

Hi dutyfree, have you two thought about New Zealand and/or Australia?

January is a great time to visit India. Often overlooked by Americans, this country will amaze you. A typical tour would include the Taj Mahal in Agra, and then some cities in Rajasthan, including Jaipur, Udaipur, and Jodhpur. Imagine staying in maharajah's palaces and riding up to Amber Fort on an elephant! I have done that, and it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

How about Oman? We had a great holiday there last spring. The temperatures would be pleasant, there are some interesting historical sites (and history most of us are not very familiar with), an opportunity to explore a relatively conservative muslim society (but not one that imposes its values on others). There is good infrastructure (lots of modern, well-maintained roads). The Omanis seem to be doing a good job of welcoming tourists but without letting touristic development swallow their culture or damage the environment. It felt like the safest place I've ever been to (and I grew up in a small town in Canada) - so safe that we actually picked up a few hitchhikers on some routes (they were very interesting and curious to get to know us). The people we met were friendly, polite and helpful (generally not bubbly/gregarious, but very nice). If either of you likes scuba diving, there is good diving near the capital city (Muscat) and also at a resort north of Muscat.

I've heard that if you don't do Southeast Asia in the next five years, it will be so westernized that you'll have missed your chance.
On a different tack, you could do New Mexico, California, Arizona. US has loads to offer.
Have a good time. My daughter graduates in June from college and we're glad we traveled with her quite a bit in past years. Harder and harder to squeeze into her schedule.

We traveled all over Japan this past March with our 21 (well he was 20 at the time) year old son.

That was because his interests lie in Japan. Is there somewhere that holds special interest for your daughter.

We're looking at Australia and January would be VERY hot. We were looking at April or May. If she's interested in that part of the world, perhaps New Zealand would be a better choice.

Why not let her decide. We always give a R/T plane ticket to our nieces & nephews when they graduate from HS & college knowing that they will probably be traveling w/us. You might be surprised what she comes up with.

Northern hemisphere/warm - India, Middle East - Israel? - Eilat is warm and sunny, the rest of the country temperate; Caribbean; Yucatan; Pacific Mexico; SE Asia/Hong King/Singapore; Florida/California/Hawaii, etc.

Northern hemisphere/moderate/cold - sales in London, Paris, NYC, Italy; shop/ski Vancouver; snowy areas in Europe or N. America.

Southern hemisphere/warm-to-hot - South Africa (Cape Town like SF); Buenos Aires/Peru/most of Chile; most of Australia;

Southern hemisphere/temperate - New Zealand, Patagonia/So. Chile... probably I'm forgetting some.

What about a cruise around Cape Horn - start in Buenos Aires and end in Santiago or v.v. - Chilean Fjords, penguins, unpack once, etc. - followed by a second destination for shopping etc.? 12 or 14 days on the ship, then some land time for a contrasting activity? Add Iguacu Falls onto the BA end of the trip, Machu Picchu on the other; or skip the heat/altitude issues by adding LA or San Diego on one end or the other.

New Zealand is the other option. After the Christmas/New Year period, things quieten down a little (still summer holidays there) so airfare prices come down some.

Where does your daughter want to go?

I went to Russia with my dad on a business trip when I was in my early twenties in the early 90s. It was his 7th or 8th trip to Russia, and my first trip outside North America. I remember how he proposed the trip: "Would you like to come to Russia for free with me? The only trade-off is that we have to share a hotel room." (I had to think for a minute - he snores so loudly I think my mom and sister and I could hear him even when he was on the other side of the world :))

It was an amazing trip. I got fly business class for the first time (:)). We spent about 3 weeks in St Petersburg, in the city but also visiting mill sites in the surrounding area. I spent about half the time sharing a 5* hotel room with him, and the other half staying in the apartment belonging to one of the translators (a woman) who was working with us, so I got to see a little of what a real Russian's life (albeit the life of someone paid in US dollars) was like. She had good connections and at one time been a tour guide, so we got to skip some lines and she knew a lot about the sites we were visiting. My dad and I both got terribly sick at one point - you just get to know your dad on a whole different level when you need to share a toilet under such circumstances and take care of each other. An interesting way to forge a father-daughter bond.

Then there were the mobsters, one of whom sent a watermelon on a very expensive taxi ride to the dacha we were visiting. (And another who almost ended up in a photograph I was taking in a restaurant - while they were brandishing guns and counting large stacks of US currency.)


On the way home, I was able to stop over in London on my own for about 2 weeks to visit friends and sightsee on my own.

The best part of the trip was travelling with my dad in a challenging and exotic environment. I knew something about his business (because I had worked for him part-time) and had travelled with him on a few short business trips before. But I learned a lot from his intrepid, curious travel style on this trip - and it was wonderful to be treated as an equal adult travelling partner on this adventure.