Where should we vacation next?
 

We had a great vacation this summer in Croatia, which was suggested to my husband in a chat room.Although I laughed at him when he suggested it, it turned out to be one of our best vacations. Now it's time to start thinking about what travel books I need to be reading to plan our next summer trip. We find Europe our favored destination, just love the culture, history and food. (although I would love to go to Egypt some day) Here's where we've been: England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Prague, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Norway, Sweden, Greece (and the islands of Crete, Rhodes, Santorini, and a couple other little ones), Turkey and of course Croatia. Are there anymore jewels out there like Croatia? We found Turkey to be a jewel several years ago. We are thinking of Portugal. Any suggestions?

What, no Italy?!?

As a still relatively undiscovered jewel of Italy, I would recommend Sicily.

hmmm. Last year about this time we started to plan a trip to Egypt, and ended up planning a trip to South Africa and Botswana. (We went in May.) I can't get motivated to start planning another trip anywhere...it was that extraordinary and amazing.

I think we're just going to wait until we see some fantastic deal for someplace we've not yet visited, and decide on a much more spontaneous basis for our next trip.

How about Morocco? It's beautiful and inexpensive and gorgeous.

You've been to all those places and not Italy?

Iceland!!!

If you would love to go to Egypt then why don't you?I'd bet if you do you will discover what a real "jewel" is.

I suggest you go to Egypt, also. And please don't be put off by all the shocked "You've NEVER been to Italy??????" answers to your post. Simply respond, "You've NEVER been to Croatia????????"

Egypt is wonderful if you can deal with the dirt and sand in Cairo; trips up and down the Nile can be unforgettable; Abu Simbel..worth every minute. And yes, riding a camel IS "worth it."

Enjoy your planning and youtr trip wherever it turns out to be.

I have heard from acquaintances interesting things about the Baltic states .

You find Europe to be your favoured destination. Does this mean you have tried other continents and disliked? or not tried?

Egypt and Morocco, of course, are not Europe. Both great destinations. As are Kenya, India, Thailand, Australia, etc, etc, etc, etc,

Why still cling to "Europe" when there is so much else out there?

Italy is an absolute must - or how about Poland, Hungary.

Thanks everyone for all the input. I don't know how I didn't include Italy because we've been there twice and it was one of our favorites. Missed Germany too which we really liked. I don't think Americans are too popular in Muslim countries right now. My husband was talking to a Coptic Christian Egyptian (he was impressed my husband knew of Coptic Christians.) and he told us to wait a few years. Haven't been to Sicily but with the hurricanes messing with our school year I may not be done with work until middle June and I bet it's really hot then.
Uh oh busted... When did you do your South African trip. What was your itinerary like? Same question for StCirq. I have read that Iceland and Greenland should switch their names and have an article on it somewhere that I cut out of the paper.
Top Man... riding a camel is not worth it! My husband insisted I ride one in Turkey and it spat the most obnoxious substance on my Florida Gators shirt and I had to wear it on the bus for the rest of the day. Of course my husband had to sit next to me and smell it for the rest of the day!
I'll have to look into the Baltic states. I need three weeks worth of trip,wonder how long they would take.
Tried to fit Hungrey into our last trip but found we needed all our time for Croatia. Have Polish Great Grandparents so that might be interesting. Thanks for all the input!

Have you considered Molvanîa? It's becoming a popular off-beat destination. Its capital Lutenblag is a vibrant city, and Svetranj in the Molvanian Alps is a newly discovered gem. Now is a good time to go, a the Molvanian strubl is at an all-time low against the euro and US dollar.

Laverendrye, what are the must not sees in Molvanîa? Is it true that woman don't wear pants in Lutenblag? Will jeans be okay? Is it okay to ask for a doggie pack in Molvanîa? Please help, I'm so confused.

Teresa:If you don't want to go to Egypt that's fine but not going for the reason you stated is nonsense.

Customs are changing in Molvanîa as it opens to the West, so most women now in Lutenblag are wearing pants although this trend has not generally reached the countryside. As for doggie packs, dog has pretty well disappeared from the menu in most restaurants, although if you are fortunate enough to be invited to a Molvanîan home, you might well be served some, along with the traditional horsflab. First time visitors should go easy on the zeerstum liqueur.

For sights, Lutenblag has the Royal Palace, St. Simeons church, the Museum of Science and Technology and so forth. But to see the real Molvanîa, you must get out into the countryside. The Vzintga Gorge and Bzenjenko Lec in the Postenwalj ranges of the Movanîan alps are nature at its best. In the Eastern Steppes, the old town of Lublova, unchanged for centuries, should not be missed.

Great info, laverendrye, thank you! :-) You have been very helpful to make a rainy day look brighter.

Can't wait to get there. Perhaps we can arrange a Fodorites' GTG in Lutenblag?

Great idea! Vlad O'Reilljys Irish pub in Lutenblag would be a perfect venue.

Shut. Moved to Dayton, where there's a surprisingly large (dozen or so) community of Molvanîan-Irish (or MoKells as they prefer.)

You've covered most of Europe... my suggestion would be Africa... South Africa is a great destination... very European but still the ability to go on Safari.

My other choices would be Kenya or Botswana.

Oh, I thought you were avoiding Italy for some reason. But since that's not the case at all, since you haven't been to Sicily, then that's my suggestion. Given your other apparent preferences, I think you're someone who might appreciate the Basilicata region. I've never been to Puglia or le Marche, but if you haven't yet been to those regions of Italy, maybe they would appeal to you. But I most strongly recommend SICILY. Or how about going to Karpathos, Greece, and then coming back and telling me about it.

Poland. The Heart of Europe. Forget Warszawa. Outdoors..Zakopane or the Northeast. History, tour the Death Camps. Driving? Anywhere in Poland. Polish family, find their city or village. Best choice..Wroclaw.

Wroclaw is very nice indeed, but for something a bit more off the beaten track, the western Molvanîan city of Sjerezo is a real gem!

Hey everyone, You're doing really good. I'm going to have to get out a map to find some of these places. In response to why Europe I guess because we really enjoy history, especially Roman and Greek. Of course European history is what we are most familiar with and we find we learn so much every trip. It amazes us how many places we've been where the Romans beat us there! I'm glad to hear that Egypt is a possibility from a safety standpoint. The other thing holding us back is that my vacation time is during the summer and living in Florida, I don't need to go from hot to hotter. I have toyed with a Christmas vacation visit and taking our two children, 19, 22. If that's not a good time it will have to wait a good number of years until I retire!
Sicily has been on my list, very interested but again isn't it really hot in June? Australia and especially New Zealand are places I'd like to go but am waiting until we can go longer than 3 weeks since it's such a long flight might as well stay a good while. Have really enjoyed the Australians we've met on our trips. Having to do some convincing of the hubby though. He really is the Europe addict, I'll go anywhere. Saw a show on the travel channet last night that had the 50 best vacation destinations which was interesting and gave me a couple of ideas. The Barrier Reef was number 1.
South Africa was one of the places and it looked pretty neat.
How long to do Poland?
No one has mentioned China.
Enjoying all the chat!

Teresa -- we went to South Africa and Botswana in May 2004 (just last spring!) It was autumn there and the weather was extraordinary. We booked the safari in Botswana and then found airfare around it -- should have consolidated the Cape Town portion to either all before or all after, but we didn't. I actually kind of liked that the trip wasn't over when the safari was. We were in Cape Town for 4 days/3 nights (after an overnight in London before we flew to Cape Town), then flew to Maun via Johannesburg and did a week-long safari with 2 nights each in three different camps. Then we flew back to Cape Town and "did" the wine lands and the coast for another 5 days/4 nights. (see the Africa/Middle east forum here, or www.virtualtourist.com/radiomom and you can see my trip reports with photos there) We did a full day trip with some Fodorites in Cape Town and had a blast.

Hi
I'm glad you had a great vacation in Croatia. We were there last year and loved it. This year we just came back from Poland, where we cut our vacation short because of the rain and cool weather. Never left Warsaw as we planned. I think that we were spoiled last year in Croatia by the warm weather and sun. We were spoiled and next year we may go to a warm, sunny place like Sicily, Crete. You get a bit spoiled when you go to a country that is having good weather.
Think about that for next year.
Enjoy
Alan

Stop postponing Australia!
Just come a couple of times - that's what we do with Europe!

Thanks for the help! Lots of places to read up on the board about.

i've said it before, and i'll say it again: SLOVENIA! talk about a gem. from the day we returned back to london, my boyfriend and i kept saying, "when are we going back to slovenia again?!?"

Victoria, I bought the Lonely Planet Guide for Slovenia last year but we decided Croatia would be enough to cover in our 18 days. How long did you stay there? How long would a vacation there need to be done right?