Here's the details:

- 30, good-looking serial dater (not skanky)
- Professional
- Straight
- 1 week solo vacation
- North America
- A bit budget minded, maybe 3000.00
- Never really been outside of Canada
- Vegas is not his bag, baby...
- Not truly an outdoor type, even though he would like to think he is. He does a little biking, a little ice skating.
- Not the 'girls gone wild' destination type
- He has spent most every free minute of the last few years restoring his old house... that's the type of guy he is.

He wants to take the first real vacation of his life and has asked me where he should go.

I have no idea!
I thought I would see if there are any guys out there that had a good vacation when they were single.
If that is you, can you share?

I went on my first real vacation, at 28, to Waikiki. It was just the ticket. Lots to see, lots to do, and lots of beatiful, friendly, young women. Sooo much different from Pittsburgh where I grew up, or Penn State, or D.C. where I lived at the time.

Careful there TxTravel your post sounds a bit like Harmony.com ad. Are you really looking for a lovely traveling companion??? Mmmmm...alas I am old enough to know better and saddened by my own knowledge. Not to mention the whole marriage and family complications. I think mrwunfl is on the right track...somewhere with friendly people and opportunities to interact. What about New Orleans, as long as the weather is improving??? Fun atmosphere, neat old houses and bars.

When my husband wants to go on vacation with a friend, they choose Canandaigua NY for the big antique tractor events, preferably John Deere. They have also gone to the Meeting of the Green at the John Deere factory headquarters (and loved the tour). Sometimes, people enjoy vacations when it's really more of the same of what really interests them. Since your brother is restoring an old house perhaps a major old house show with seminars. There are small shows in New England. Or maybe some kind of building class held in Maine. Perhaps he would like to learn a new skill, such as stained glass, by taking a summer craft school vacation at a place like Fletcher Farm in VT. He would also have time to do a little biking, visit Shelburne Museum, and enjoy other VT activities. A craft school event would help him meet people with similar interests.

When does he plan on traveling? Soon? Winter? Next spring?

That can make a big difference in suggestions.

DC/Annapolis

A bit budget minded, maybe 3000.00

???

That's a lot of money for a 1-week vacation!

My mom and I just returned from a 6-day trip to San Francisco. We spent a total of about $2000 for BOTH of us! ($540 for lodging, $400 for rental car/gas, $700 for plane tickets, the rest for food, transport & admission fees).

Anyway, my vote would be Manhattan, if he can find affordable lodging. There will be plenty of restos he can eat at the bar, and plenty of nightlife to keep him occupied.

Within the next few months.
I am thinking possibly he could do a drive down the Pacific Coast.
NYC is cool and all, but I'm thinking he needs something a little more active than NYC.
I have been to many cities along the PC, but never a vc driving down the coast.
Maybe he could stay in great beach hotels all the way down and do some fun excursion stuff along the way.
I could help him with the hotel reservations and he could wing it all the way down.
Or maybe fly into Farmington and drive up through Colorado, cutting to the West and ending up in Arches.
He could hike and stay in hip, fun hotels all the way through. It would be cheap enough to allow for some 'adventure' stuff like rafting or something.
Thoughts?

How about the Florida Keys? There's lots to do and see in Key West.

Honolulu/Waikiki

I'm not 30 or male but I do often vacation solo & driving alone down the Pacific Coast Highway doesn't appeal to me at all!

I like the Florida Keys idea, or Hawaii. Somewhere sunny beachy and staying in one place so he'll have a chance to meet people easier.

San Francisco or Seattle might be OK if a city if what he's after.

1) HE needs to think about what HE wants to do--explore a city, do a beach vacation- or a combination of both--chill on his own or go some place specifically to meet people. What else does he like?

2) $3,000 is a lot of money for a week's trip in North America. If he really wants to spend that much, maybe Hawaii is a good idea now.

Some other thoughts

Alaskan Cruise
San Francisco and wine country
San Diego
Lake Tahoe
Santa Fe/Taos
Nantucket/Martha's Vineyard (lots of old houses to check out)
Miami
Club Med
Fall Foliage cruise

When I was single I took my first cruise thinking it would be something like the Love Boat. Instead my Carnival cruise had a few older folks, some honeymoon couples and TONS of single women!! The ratio was at least 10/1 of women/men. As a woman I didn't care for these odds, but I always thought this would be the perfect vacation for a single guy.

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.

I would go to South Beach and book a room on or near the ocean... you can grab all of you meals on the SOBE strip, do some walking, people watching, clubbing, or just hanging by the pool... theres always something going on in Miami

OR

Take a tour of some famous houses... perhaps Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water in PA or Hearst Castle in CA.... not a lot of chicks there, but you said no Girls Gone Wild!

Fly to Miami & meander out the Keys. Or the SW, Az or NM for hiking & such.

Also, NYC comes to mind.

What's VC? Thanks.

TxTravelPro already said above
<<NYC is cool and all, but I'm thinking he needs something a little more active than NYC.>>

I second the nomination of Playa del Carmen (or Puerto Vallarta) Mexico.

I keep picturing a place where he has a chance to actually meet some people his own age to socialize...
that's why Honolulu/Waikiki was my suggestion above on this thread.

If a major urban area, or moving around on a road trip, socializing is not likely going to happen.

“What's VC?”

Could be
venture capitalist
vice chancellor
vice consul
Victoria Cross
Vietcong

or just an extremely cool way of saying vacation.