Last Minute Vacation ...HELP!
 

My girlfriend and myself are trying to decide where we should go on our one week vacation at the end of September. We have narrowed it down to the following:

--Spain/S. France/N. Italy

--Athens, Greece and the Greek Isles

--San Jose, Costa Rica

--Switzerland/S. Germany/N. Italy

The following items are important to us:

--Impressive topography
--Interesting culture
--Not too incredibly expensive

Thoughts? Has anyone been to any of these places?

Thanks!
Bryan

Hi roadwarrior, for what it's worth, I think you need to narrow this down further. If you only have one week and if that includes the day you arrive and day you leave, then with any of your suggestions you will be doing too much. Having said that if you decide on Greece, then one week in Athens and the Greek mainland would be wonderful. You don't really have time to explore the islands as well.

Have fun with the research!

I agree - if you truly mean 1 week in total, there is not enough time fore these multiple destination itineraries.

Costa Rica is probably the only one that fits into a 1 week window.

Hello roadwarrior, are you talking about THIS September? And will the week of your vacation include the time you will spend flying? If so you will have for example, flying to Europe, leaving from the US on Saturday (assuming you are in the US) arriving Sunday so you will have after arriving, getting to your hotel etc., a half of day.

You would than have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and assume you will have to fly home Sunday. And with the time change you will arrive back in the US on Sunday.

So besides the part of the day Sunday (with a bit of jetlag no doubt) you will have six full days in Europe.

Europe is expensive due to the strong Euro versus our weak US Dollar.

I would strongly suggest that you only visit one European country if you do go to Europe. If you are planning your trip for this month you don't have much time to make arrangements.

I haven't been to Costa Rica but perhaps that would be the best place to visit at this point in time. Or Greece? Wishing you a fun trip!

Thanks "Cathies", Janisj", and "LoveItaly" for your replies.

I think you are correct. I typically try to schedule too much during a vacation and then get stressed because I dont build in time to relax.

Yup, I am going in late September.... in a few weeks. I will traveling from the states (Florida, actually).

Okay, if I reduce the possibilities to:

--Spain
--Costa Rica
--Greece
--Switzerland.

Is that more reasonable?

Any thoughts on which vacation destination would be the most rewarding??

Cheers,
Bryan

Only you have a clue what would be "most rewarding" for you.

But since you mentioned expense, you might drop Switzerland from your list, as IME it's quite an expensive destination. Costa Rica would likely be the least expensive of all the destinations you mention. Spain and Greece would likely be about equal. Personally, I would choose Greece over Spain any day, but having no idea what your travel style is, I can't speak for you.

I would drop Switzerland as it was one of the most expensive places I've seen. Since it's just in a couple weeks, would it maybe make sense to just see where you can get good airfare and go from there? Honestly, I only travel super budget and we usually start with finding the airfare. Everything else can be dealt with but if you can't find an affordable flight there's not much point doing tons of research. Spain, Greece and Costa Rica are all gorgeous so it's not like you can go wrong!

Hi R,

Let me get this straight. You're leaving in a couple of weeks, don't know where you're going so no airline tickets yet.

Two words, GOOD LUCK !!!!

Airfare is one of the most expensive parts of the trip, so I would start by looking at airfares and go to whichever destination has the most advantageous price and available flights.

Valid points about the flights....they can get pricey ... especially with only a few weeks before we depart.

We are actually planning to use Delta Buddy Passes. Right now flights look lovely into London, but I think we should be able to make it to just about any other location also.

So, I guess I just need to decide where and then go ahead and book the hotel and other travel arrangements. Thanks for the suggestions!

--Bryan

Although this is the Europe forum, I'd like to comment on the Latin American destination you're considering -- Costa Rica. And yes, I have been there.

First of all, San Jose is an eminently forgettable city and most visitors spend majority of their time visiting the more scenic regions of the country (i.e. the beaches, the volcanoes). For your timeframe (end of September), you also need to factor in the time of year, and September is rainy season in much of CR. If you haven't already done so, review or post a separate thread in the Latin America forum to get further feedback on aspects of a Costa Rica trip.