Need help. Can my last vacation be beat
 

My wife and I are trying to decide what to do for our next vacation, but we dont know if its possible to outdo California. We went to monteray,san simeon,san fransisco,napa valley, and yosemite. We love staying at very nice hotels love very nice restaurants. What other destination in the u.s.a. would be similar or can top northern california. northern california had such a variety.

You are asking the impossible. There is no other destination in the world let alone the USA that can top or even come close to Northern California. <BR>

Agree with Cal. You won't top northern CA in the US for variety/culture/luxury options. <BR>Best bet to challenge for second best is Hawaii. You can arrange some very nice combinations of hotels/dining and touring in New England, which is great in the fall if you've not been there or don't live there. <BR>For smaller scale trips, Santa Fe has some nice upsides (scenery, low stress, a couple good hotels, great restaurants). <BR>Alaska is tough to beat for scenery/hiking, but lacks luxury accommodations

Maybe New Orleans? They've certainly got the food thing down (and I'm a Northern California native).

I don't think you can beat your last vacation. <BR> <BR>However, the coast of Maine was WONDERFUL -- many nice smaller inns and B&Bs, lovely scenery, and good food (especially if you like lobster!). I highly recommend Camden and Bar Harbor. www.visit-maine.com <BR> <BR>You specified U.S. destinations but the only other destination I'd recommend is in the Canadian Rockies, particularly around Banff and Lake Louise. There are some fantastic places to stay in that region, and we found some very good restaurants too. More on all that in the Canadian forum.

Thanks for your responses. <BR> <BR> I am very tempted to go right back to California this year. We spent 12 days last year and it went by so fast. I will look into the east coast and Hawaii as possibilities, but I will not count out northern California quite yet. <BR> <BR>I thought it would be hard to compete with northern California, but having only been to florida on prior vacations, I didnt know if there was something else I was missing. <BR> <BR>I think I know where I am going to retire in 30 years

I'm a native of the SF Bay Area, so I am spoiled for life, but I'll nominate my current home, New York City, as a possibility. Of course, if the natural beauty of northern California is what you're trying to recapture, then a big-city setting won't be right. But NY has outstanding museums and theater, if you're into either or both, and of course it has terrific luxury hotels and incredible restaurants, and is extremely diverse. <BR> <BR>If outdoor beauty is a must, then I'd say New England in the autumn, during leaf peeping season, is your best bet on the East Coast. <BR> <BR>On the other hand, if you elect to head back west, consider traveling north of SF the second time around. You could drive up through Sonoma County and the Russian River area and then up the coast toward Mendocino. There are a ton of lovely inns and some very good restaurants, plus more wineries and of course, more of that stunning scenery. <BR> <BR>Good luck with that retirement, Dan, but start saving now! Property values and cost of living in no. CA are very high and just keep going up and up.

We took our (adult 18+21) kids to Montreal and Quebec City for Christmas. It was an outstanding trip. I know they'd like to go back when it isn't 15 below (Farenheit), and the countryside was as beautiful and natural as the cities were cosmopolitan and historic. Your US dollar buys a lot of luxury these days in our neighbor to the north. Visit the Canada forum for some ideas...

Dan, <BR> <BR>I know exactly what you mean. You did a fabulous trip. I have to agree with a previous post, I would imagine that if you loved the scenery in Northern California, you'd probably love Banff/Calgary. In addition, I'd have to recommend Alaska! Granted, the hotels are not going to be 5 star but the scenary is at least a 10star and it highly makes up for the fancy hotels. Hey, if you go to Alaska, you won't be spending much time in your hotel room anyway! <BR> <BR>Robin

Hi, Dan, <BR>It's not clear where home is, so don't know what may be near you (if I say Chicago and you live in Joliet that's not much of a holiday, although Chicago can be a great vacation destination.) <BR> <BR>You might consider the Pacific NW combined with Vancouver BC and/or a cruise or ferry trip to Alaska. The variety of landscapes, cultures, fine accommodation and food, nature and scenery, open roads, and all the rest IMO are the equal or superior to N. California, and I've lived for years in each area. <BR> <BR>There are great national parks, red rocks and Indian country, wild coastlines, fabulous vineyards and orchards, salmon, crab and geoducks, dormant and not-so-dormant volcanoes, cricket at Stanley Park and flying fish at the Pike Place Market, the Columbia Gorge, opera, Frank Gehry blobs, Moshe Safdie libraries, fake Bavarian villages, ferries and islands and skyscrapers...sheesh, it's all here. <BR> <BR>Then again there's Manhattan in October. Tough call.

Although it doesn't have the greatest restaurants or hotels, and is quite expensive; Alaska has far and away the most beautiful wilderness scenery in the US. You won't drive five minutes without seeing either (1) truly wild animals or (2) breath taking scenery. <BR> <BR>I'll admit it doesn't TOP northern California, but the Denver/ Colorado Springs /Rocky Mountain NP area has all the things you enjoyed about northern Cal.

New England based out of Boston. <BR> <BR>I'm not sure if it tops Northern California, or merely equals it. And I love Northern California and spend a lot <BR>of time there. The only thing that is clear is that the New England sea coast is MUCH better than the Monterrey area. On the other hand, no good wine country in New England, and I love good wine.. if only healdsburg were in Massachusetts. <BR> <BR>And for the flames I may get - yes I know the bay area very well - I spend several weeks a year there.

Charles, <BR> <BR>There's no reason to fear a flame. Your post was thoughtful and polite, you expressed your opinion respectfully, and I appreciated it.

John, I am about 2 hours north of Chicago in wisconsin, and I agree it wouldn't be much of a getaway (at least distance wise.) <BR>Although the scenery in Chicago is nice I was looking for something more awe inspiring. I think I would lean towards 5 star scenery over a 5 star hotel, which is good because its cheaper that way. <BR> <BR>Alaska sounds very interesting. If anyone has been there can they let me know how they saw it? cruise ship,rail,car? and exactly how are the hotels and food?

Hi, Dan, <BR>Alaska is too big a place to generalize. There are fine hotels in Anchorage (Captain Cook, Sheraton, Hilton etc.) as well as other towns, and a number of good restaurants in several cities. But the real attraction is the outdoors, and unless you go to some very expensive fishing resorts the quality of lodging and food will tend to the acceptable, not remarkable. (But there's nothing like fresh salmon cooked on alder planks or fresh halibut out of Kachemak Bay.) <BR> <BR>Obviously the cruise lines make a (good) living out of deluxe accommodation and non-stop food. The cruise ships tend to limit your exposure to Alaska to the southeastern "panhandle" part of the State, including Glacier Bay, Juneau and several of the other communities, as well as the scenic "inside passage." But the rest of Alaska, like Denali Park, the Kenai Peninsula, and other areas are accessible only by car or light plane. <BR> <BR>There are tons of cruise line reviews on the "cruise" forum, and several threads on Alaska on this one. You can certainly have a memorable vacation in Alaska, but if luxury hotels and gourmet restaurants are your priorities your choices will be somewhat limited. Others may want to give you their spin on this. Best wishes.

I'm sure you can't top it, but I wouldn't approach it with the attitude that you have to top things every year, it's not realistic as many places have their own qualities which make them enjoyable and fascinating but not necessarily superior to others, just different. I'm surprised no one mentioned the Southwest, I think that's the closest to what you want (AZ, NM and CO). You definitely have the beautiful scenery with much more variety than in Alaska, for example--desert vs mountains, northern NM is beautiful but very different from the forests, Grand Canyon, etc. It is an interesting area for the most part historically and culturally. And there are a few cities or towns with fine restaurants and hotels: Santa Fe, haven't been there but probably Tucson or some trendy place in AZ, Denver has some good ones, of course, as well as Aspen, but that's a little farther north in the itinerary I was thinking of, unless you have tons of time.

I did mention Santa Fe, Christina, second response, so be surprised no longer. <BR>Tucson is OK for hiking and golfing, and the resorts are nice, but the town itself isn't much to write home about. <BR>

I live in Santa Fe, and would recommend it, but what are your interests? There are nice resturaunts and hotels, culltural sites, nature, history, etc. I would recommend to anyone who likes the outdoors a loop tour. Start at Albuquerque, go to Santa Fe, Taos, Durango, Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon and then back to Albuquerque. Bring hiking boots, sunscreen and bottles of Northern California wine. <BR>

Why not consider Oregon? Portland offers wonderful restaurants and the Heathman Hotel will not disappoint. Then drive east along the Columbia River Highway (waterfalls en route) and south through the Hood River Valley (fruit orchards framed by Mt. Hood), overnighting at the Lodge. Then south to Bend (Cascade Mountains, forests, Smith Rock State Park) and on to Crater Lake National Park (the Lodge in the park offers a fantastic view of the aquamarine lake in the caldera). Finally, drive up the Pacific Coast, stopping at Salishan Lodge for its very good restaurant and then driving through Oregon's "wine country" (Napa/Sonoma without the crowds) back to Portland. Great natural wonders, easy driving, some very good food and comfortable accomodations. I did this route 3 years ago and still cherish the memories.

Hey dont forget about San Diego. To many things to mension but you can start with La Jolla. <BR>I would also consider Hawaii, I have <BR>been their 4 times and always find some <BR>new things to do every time.