Early 30's Solo Woman Looking for Winter Travel
 

I'd like a 5-6 day vacation in January and don't know where to go. I'm not really interested in going to an island for a beachy getaway and would love some suggestions for a single gal of moderate budget.

I went on my first ever vacation last early March to Paris and am looking forward to another awesome vacation of eating, sight-seeing and taking it easy. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

If you enjoyed Paris, how about another European city? Amsterdam? Venice?

I did think about going to Europe again, but I thought it might be a bit too cold to walk around. Have you gone to Europe in the dead of winter? If so, what was it like for you?

one or two of the Mexican colonial cities? Assuming you live in the US, not much travel time would be required.

Nope I haven't. I always go to Mexico or Hawaii in the wintertime but you specifically said you weren't interested in a beachy getaway, so I didn't mention my usual spots (Puerto Vallarta and Waikiki).

I used to live in the UK. Winter was seriously depressing - cold, damp, dark - it gets light late and dark early. However, if you just wanted museums and theatres, the time of year wouldn't matter. Further south, Europe could be better. Having said that, I'm starting to plan a Budapest-Vienna-Venice trip, but for Oct-Nov, not January.

For a January trip I'd head to SE Asia or India, but it's rather a long way to go for just 5-6 days. Would agree that it might be a good time to do colonial cities in Mexico.

Depending on where in the U.S. you are, Asia may not be too bad. I went to Hong Kong a couple years ago for a 4 day trip. Flew non-stop from Vancouver B.C. Long flight, but without connections it wasn't too terrible.

I went in early March, weather was cool but not too cold. Light fleece jacket was good. Not sure how January in the area compares.

Another though...South America, for their summer. 4 or 5 day cruise in the Galapagos Islands.

Guess if you don't want the cold of northern Europe, then going to northern Sweden to see the Ice Hotel is out of the question. ;-)

have you been to las vegas before?i been there last march and loved it!

I visited Rome in February a few years ago. The weather was in the 50's and 60's F and sunny during the day but a little chilly in the mornings and at night. It was warm enough to sit outside and eat at restaurants. The area from Rome to the south generally does not get very cold. You might also try Naples and Pompeii.

Thank you guys for your great suggestions. I forgot to post, but I live in the U.S.A. and although I've been thinking about some places in the States I'd love to take my second trip abroad.

On a side note I did actually think about the ice hotel. I though it'd be kind of fun, but I don't think I want to do that one solo.

Go to Spain! I've been in the winter and found Madrid, Barcelona and Granada completely comfortable in January (wearing mainly jeans and a light leather jacket)...and found Sevilla (in the south) completely perfect, temperature-wise.

Spain is so beautiful...go anytime of year you can!

Hello there,

Why not try the first country in the glob that recognized the american independance in 1778? Morocco, the land of wander, as close as Europe, cheap, exotic, the most hospitable and friendly people, the gate between Europe and Africa. It's the country where the west and east, Islam and Christianity, Atlantic and the mediterranean meet. Rich culture, great food, nice weather (more than 300 sunny days a year) and totally safe!

Have a great time!
Abdou from Morocco.

www.khattabi.c.la

If you live on the west coast, Sydney is not that far, you can get direct flights or go via Honolulu. January is the middle of summer in Australia, should be beautiful weather.

Or what about Malta or Sicily - quite a long way south so maybe not that cold. You can check historical weather data on www.wunderground.com
Kay

Well, I would suggest someplace closer to home since you only have 5-6 days.

I would not fly to Australia, Europe, etc. for such a short time. The greatest expense is the plane ticket, and hardly seems worth it (to me) when it is such a short trip. I'd save those for when you have at least 10+ days.

I go to Italy almost every January. Rome temps were almost balmy this year, in the 50s and 60s during the day. It is a very easy city to wander around in alone. That is my recommendation!

It's a small world...not hard to do the Polynesian islands esp Easter Island (belonging to Chile) with those amazing historical statues that no one can ans as to where/how they originated.

There's Tahiti...New Caledonia...

Regarding the post that it's not worth the cost of the airfare to Europe for only 5-6 days, that's true in the summer but in the winter you can get GREAT deals! I did a long weekend in London a few years ago (MLK weekend + 1 vacation day for 4 days in Jan). While it rained about 50% of the time, given that it was 21 degrees Farenheit here, anyplace where it was warm enough to rain sounded great to me! Much of Europe has a much more temperate climate than parts of the US with less extreme temperature changes so that it's actually warmer in the winter! I have since decided that London is best in winter: of a choice of 70 in summer or 50 in the winter, the summer temp is miserable for me but the winter temp is great! Plus outside of the Caribbean/Mexico, it is one of the shorter international flights and so perfect for a shorter international trip.

Buenos Aires is another place that is great but hard to get a good fare in Jan. However the flights in both directions are overnight so, unlike Europe where your return uses up a day, you will get your full 5-6 days in country. Plus you have minimal jet lag so you can hit the ground running and again, make good use of 5-6 days.

I second the vote for Argentina. Buenos Aires is a large and beautiful city... very European. It is summer in South America in January, so a perfect time to visit. You might even be able to squeeze in a visit to Iguazu Falls (absolutely amazing!), Uruguay, or a stay on an estancia.

I jsut thought of another idea... you may want to consider someplace in central America such as Costa Rica, Belize, or Guatemala. They are relatively close to home and you are guaranteed warm weather.

There are alot of great adventure activities in these locations. It would certainly be a different type of vacation than touring the museums of Europe, but if your interested in such things as rainforest hikes, ziplines, Mayan ruins, cave tubing, volcanoes, etc. then Central America might be for you. Of course, there are great beaches too, but even those can include alot of fun activities like snorkeling, scuba, dolphin watching, etc. Belize has the particular advantage of being English-speaking; Costa Rica is Spanish-speaking, though it has such a large tourist infrastructure that using English is not a problem at all. Guatemala would probably require some knowledge of Spanish.

Good luck with your decision... planning the trip is half of the fun!

Is it that you're not interested in going to an island or is it that you're not interested in going to an island for a beachy getaway?
There are several Caribbean islands that you could easily spend 4-5 days on solo without ever once setting foot on a beach.

St. Lucia & Dominica come to mind.