vacation ideas in July?

[jhale]

hey all,

I have ten days in July I set aside to travel with.
I know a lot of people here are big travelers and wanted to see what ideas and advice I could get.

My choices so far were somewhere in Asia, or South America.
I was not looking for a resort or cruise, and I'd like to keep the cost
below 3K so no crazy guided luxury tours either :-/

thanks for any help.

- J

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Hershey PA!!

 

[inkblue]

undeR 3k for 10 dayS ??? for 2 people? :lol2: ...and peopLe caLL me cheap

 

[JHOV2324]

Go to good ole Puerto Rico!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jhale]

undeR 3k for 10 dayS ??? for 2 people? :lol2: ...and peopLe caLL me cheap

3K per person, :tired: try to be helpful.

 

[inkblue]

:theyareon

 

[danelam]

For 3k per person, you could have an awesome vacation in Bali!! It's incredibly cheap. That's where I'll be.

Also, Thailand is wonderful too. Not quite as cheap as Bali though but compared to US prices, you still get bang for your buck!

 

[jhale]

I actually have a place to stay in Bali, so it would be even cheaper.
I was concerned about the travel time though. that would be about 4 days in total
for traveling right?

 

[inkblue]

http://www.mountairycasino.com/

 

[nikkibabee]

Go to Alaska...or Dubai!

 

[sporty]

An all inclusive to Jamaica for 2 and probably still have some left over.Localy you could go to Key Largo -"the dive capitol of the world"-very relaxing and very quiet if thats what your looking for.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Hedonism would be good for you. Try that, it's all inclusive and in Jamaica, but I still say Hershey is the best place to go.

 

[danelam]

I actually have a place to stay in Bali, so it would be even cheaper.
I was concerned about the travel time though. that would be about 4 days in total
for traveling right?

It can take a long time but if you plan your flights correctly then it could be less than 24 hrs each way. Still a long time I know but it's a real experience. Singapore Airlines now flies direct from Newark to Singapore, and Bali is very close. You could even use Singapore to break up the trip a little. Only problem is I think they've just made that flight an all business class one! It's an interesting place to visit, and great food.

Also, Thai Airways flies from New York to Bangkok in about 17hrs, so it's not too bad (at least compared with flying to Australia!) From there you can holiday around Thailand or even aroudn South East Asia as Air Asia and Tiger Airways all have dirt cheap flights.

If you want to maximize your time on the ground though, perhaps Jamaica isn't such a bad idea.

 

[inkblue]

:shhh: Bali news...

http://www.fugly-bali.org/crime.html

 

[danelam]

:shhh: Bali news...

http://www.fugly-bali.org/crime.html

So what? The same could be said for many less developed Asian countries as well as several less developed countries in the Americas.

It's a completely different way of life, which makes it interesting. And you would have to be very unlucky to be murdered/kidnapped etc. There's alot of scaremongering when it comes to Asian countries I think.

 

[ellebelle]

You're going to eat up a lot of time AND money travelling anywhere in Asia. You are going to be hard pressed for a flight that is less than $1200. When I flew to China, it was $950, but that was 8 years ago.

You're better off in Central/South America if you don't want insane travel times. I always recommend Costa Rica. I have had a GREAT time there and it is still pretty inexpensive if you don't do an all inclusive tour. The Caribbean coast is less touristed and cheaper. The Osa peninsula is GORGEOUS, but you have to fly into it with a local flight. You can't drive in. The best Costa Rica trip I took, I went to Monteverde, Arenal and then the North Pacific coast. All different and all gorgeous. The most expensive place I stayed was $40/night and that was in Arenal.

I've heard that Belize is really nice as well, and you could get something all inclusive quite cheaply. I'm going to Venezuela in two weeks (Mochima National Park and Isla de Margarita), and I'll let you know how that is.

Here is Costa Rica:

Ahem, why Asia and not Africa, hmmmmmmmmmm? But I bet you knew I was going to say that. I firmly believe that if you really want to visit paradise and you don't want to spend a lot of money once you are there and you don't mind flying a long ways, Lamu in Kenya or Zanzibar in Tanzania is really the way to go. Cheap, cheap, cheap, delicious food, gorgeous scenery, great diving, and some of the nicest people I have ever met. It's about $1600 to Dar es Salaam, plus another $100 round trip to Zanzibar but once you are there the cost in minimal. The place I stayed in Zanzibar was $60/night, only 5km from Stone Town (the main port) with a 5 star restaurant and private beach. If you wanted something more isolated, you could get local transport further away from the port and the prices actually go DOWN.

Here is Zanzibar:

If you wanted to go to Africa but the idea of Tanzania scares you, you could try Cape Town, which is also beautiful and it's what I like to call "Africa Lite". And you've seen my pictures of Cape Town, I think, so I'll spare you the eye candy.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

http://www.superclubs.com/brand_hedonism/

 

[ellebelle]

It's a completely different way of life, which makes it interesting. And you would have to be very unlucky to be murdered/kidnapped etc. There's alot of scaremongering when it comes to Asian countries I think.

There is scare mongering when it comes to traveling in any "third world" country. I've traveled plenty of "dangerous" places and I've never experienced any violent crime. It's all about being safe and sensible.

 

[danelam]

Your Zanzibar pictures look amazing Ellebelle. Now, that's one place I really want to go!

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

http://www.hedonism1.com/