Back story: due to California vacation day accrual laws, company policy, and the fact that I rarely take time off, I have accumulated an insane amount of vacation time. I think I should take a vacation for 1-2 weeks. Where is the best vacation place? Preferably:
Nice beaches or nature stuff
Can get around speaking English
Not South East Asia, as I am from around there and it will not seem very exotic
All suggestions welcome. Thanks.
I was down in Costa Rica a few months ago and it was incredible. It definitely qualifies for #1 & #2. I would definitely check out Quepos/Manuel Antonio and Arenal in Costa Rica. Amazing places.
South Africa? You could see the beaches, visit the culture of cape town and Johannesburg and also see the incredible wildlife national parks. Maybe Australia / New Zealand if you’re doing 2-2.5 weeks? (it’s near SE Asia though) Otherwise most anyplace in coastal Europe, you can still get around on English. There’s also Dollywood, the world famous Dolly Parton themed amusement park located in Tennessee next to the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame!
How about Turkey. Sounds like an interesting place.
Israel, Jamaica, South of france, Barbados, Egypt, Australia
Chuck, were you the one that started the thread on the topic? If so, did you hit up any of the recommended spots? Sounds like you might of…how was it?
Come out to NYC and I’ll show you a vacation. We’ll hit up Harlem and rock models and bottles at Cain. What it is son!
Yeah man. Got engaged while I was down there. It was pretty awesome. We did end up doing some surfing at the Manuel Antonio beach. We surfed with a guy named Dante and his two instructors. One of the guys surfed on the CR national team so that was cool. I’m pretty sure we ate at the Mango Moon one night and got pretty bombed. Definitely good recommendations. One of my buddies just went down there and I told him to do those two things. We stayed at the GAIA which is right between Quepos and Manuel Antonio. It was a great place and had some spectacular views of the Pacific. We did some of the normal touristy stuff, but I think my favorite part was just hanging out on the beach knocking back some Imperials. Pura Vida indeed.
Awesome man, congrats
Punta del Este, Uruguay Puerto Escondido, Mexico This reminded me of a former boss who was a partner at a strategy consulting firm and had two months of unused vacations. HR forced him to take some time off, but he’d rather just show up at the office. He used to say with a smile: “I’m on vacations. My vacations are with you guys”. Weird.
I don’t get to as many spots as I would like, but I can give a solid recommendation to St. Johns in the US Virgin Islands. It hits all of your points, has perfect weather, and is absolutely gorgeous. However, it’s a very small island and there is not a lot to do there outside of relaxing on the beach. You actually can only get to the island by ferry. So as long as you don’t mind kicking back in the sand, and checking out the local wildlife (not a euphemism for chicks), it’s a perfect place.
Check out Ecuador – you got the beach, amazon rain forest, snow caped mountains, and the Galapagoes Islands. It’s a great trip and not too expensive. Plus you can combine and check out Peru (which i haven’t but plan to) and vist Machu Pichu.
Can’t beat NZ or Australia this time of year.
Some good trips listed in here.
While I’ve never been there myself you can check out Malta. It hits all the points on your list, and according to Bloomberg bunch of hedge funds are moving over there. Maybe you’ll find a new place to work and never come back. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-05/malta-lures-connecticut-hedge-funds-with-300-days-of-sun-aided-by-eu-rules.html
I just did my second vacation to Cape Town in two years and I have to say the place rocks. It’s a good mixture of adventure and decent infrastructure. It’s stunningly beautiful and the wine and food rocks.