We would like to so something special with our family to celebrate our Golden Wedding. Ideally over Christmas/New Year when the younger generations can get away, but we don't want the razzmatazz of a Christmas holiday as such. It needs to be somewhere warm at that time of the year, so a villa in Europe would NOT suit. We would like to be as private as possible without self-catering. Any ideas?

MarinaKnight17:

My first thought is San Diego, CA which is usually quite nice but may depend on where you are coming from.

Repost your question on the United States forum which is a lot more active. If you can add in your nightly budget that would also help.

Welcome to Fodors.

Sandy

Mayan Riviera (Caribbean coast of Mexico)
Hawaii

Your question is pointless unless you say where you are leaving from, what your budget per person is, how long you want the trip to last and what your interests are other than sunshine.

With what you've said, you might as well stick a world map on the wall, throw a dart and go wherever it lands.

Well I wouldn't call it "pointless" exactly but yes having more details make it so people can make more appropriate suggestions.

On what did you base your 2 suggestions suze?

From my perspective, the Mayan Riviera (as they now hilariously call it)was a nice place to visit about 30 years ago. Since then, it has gone the way of all man made Mexican resort areas, downhill.

Hawaii, depending on which island you are talking about is more of the same. Tourism at its worst.

But my perspective is based on my interests and experience as a traveller. For someone who considers major package tourist offerings as being 'travel' destinations, the perspective may be totally different.

What no one knows is what the OPs perspective is and without knowing that, the question is pointless.

I could suggest some places I as in ME would would like to go but I have no idea of the OP would have the same interests or the budget to go to them.

Necker Island is now available again after having been rebuilt after the fire. http://www.neckerisland.virgin.com/

It would certainly fit the bill for a Wedding Anniversary celebration with the family. It also fits "private" as you have the whole island to yourself and you don't need to 'self cater' as staff comes with it.

Farther afield, there are some nice places to visit in the Seychelles or maybe somewhere in the French Polynesian islands.

They say Bora Bora is the most beautiful island in the world. I don't know if it is since I haven't been to every other island in the world and so can't possibly compare it to them all (makes you wonder who 'they' are that have been to every island presumably since they feel they are able to say Bora Bora is the most beautiful island). I can say however that it is the most beautiful island I have ever been to and I have been to quite a few.

Years ago I stayed at the Sofitel in one of their overwater bungalows. That was one of the first overwater bungalow hotels on the island. Now they are breeding like rabbits it seems. http://www.overwaterbungalows.net/ov...s-in-bora-bora

I based my suggestions on the request as written.

Because they are both warm that time of year and they both have options for private accomodations. Which is all the information the OP gave us to work with.

Wow! I'm new to this site, so wasn't sure how to approach a call for help. You've given me some excellent pointers and I'm very grateful for your time and for sharing your knowledge, all of you. Thanks

When you decide on place(s) you are interested in, then post on the various Destination Forums (Caribbean, US, Mexico, etc.) here on Fodor's to get more specific replies and suggestions.

But you still haven't provided any additional info MarinaKnight. Do you no longer want suggestions?

Define "warm".

You might look at a short Caribbean cruise.

It is easy to get to the starting and ending point from anywhere.

You could pick a ship that has something for all ages in your party.

You could almost certainly get a block of cabins or suites where you will be together or not, as you choose. I would think they would be able to seat you together for meals, also.

I've never been on one, but I've known a lot of men who were griping that their wife wanted to go on one, and all of them said, upon return, that they really liked it.

Marie, Pay absolutely no attention to "Sojourntraveler". He's the resident crab who has nothing better to do than be critical. He evidently thrives on being the joke of this forum.

Do post again with a few more details so some who care can offer help.

Thanks so much all of you. Decision made! We are to have a stylish boat all to ourselves on the River Nile (where the weather shd be perfect). Surprisingly reasonable price. Gd mixture of culture & relaxation, I expect, with food of our choice from our own chef. Very happy with this. English owners of dahabiya Nile Delta (www.lovethenile.com) answered all my questions.

Marina, I'm guessing that you are not located in the US, if Egypt is on the radar. It does help to post some basic information about your location, budget, needs when asking for help.

Happy Anniversary!

It's been useful to have informed recommendations in your part of the world. I think Luxor-Aswan would be perfectly safe for Americans too. Safer than my home city, London!

LOL, so now you are saying what I said to begin with TC and for which you called me a critical crab.

Now the final decision is a private boat on the Nile. Clearly all suggestions were pointless. MarinaKnight, you gave no useful criteria, did not respond to a request for more info and have wasted people's time.

Correction, people have wasted their own time responding to a poorly asked request for input. Why am I not surprised.

Quite so, SJT....but I'm so much nicer than you are with my comments. I see no reason to be an a.. when replying. There really are much more sophisticated ways of expressing ones self. And BTW....aren't you one of those people who "wasted their own time" by replying on this post? You could have ignored it altogether instead of being rude.

Cheers