ADVERTISEMENT

Ideas- Summer Vacation for the Adults

Head to a greek isles, the south of spain, or croatia.

Rent a boat for a day, go to a day club for a day, go kayaking for a day... life doesn't get better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Imtotallynottribe
Honestly there’s only a few greater metro areas that really has everything you could look for in a vacation (outdoor activities whether beach, fishing or hiking; high quality museums, gambling options; zoos/aquariums and other cultural places to visit; a large number of elite quality wineries/distilleries/breweries/bars; musicals/plays/cirques/theme parks/sporting events/comedy clubs/other entertainment; quality dining options; etc...). And a lot of options I would include in that “has everything” category would be MISERABLE to go to in August like Vegas, LA and Phoenix/Tucson. The only places I would want to go to in NA in August that really has everything is: 1) Toronto/Niagara which really does have everything at 5 star levels except the gambling which is decent but I’d only give it a 4 star, 2) Vancouver/Richmond/Seattle which is only 3 or 4 stars when it comes to the museums and cultural entertainment and only a 2 or 3 star in gambling but everything else is 5 stars; 3) New York City but its missing the outdoor component and the gambling even if you include the Mohegan Sun in nearby Connecticut is awful; 4) Chicago which has only mediocre outdoor options (but better than NYC) and the gambling is the same; and 5) New England which is lacklustre in gambling and entertainment options (ie no theme parks worth mentioning, subpar comedy clubs/plays/cultural events). Anywhere other than those five options and you’re going to have only a “one sided” vacation where something is great but you’re missing out and over a 7-10 day period would get bored (kind of like when I went to Wales, where by the third day of looking at castles and old cathedrals and drinking old scrumpy I was done and looking to get back to London).
 
Last edited:
Have you looked into Black Mountain in NC. Not too hot and lots of fun things to do. Laid back and very nice.
 
My guess is if you plan a trip based on a message board recommendation, she will not be happy with you. No matter which place you choose it will be the wrong one.
 
Northern Cali - San Fran/Napa/Sonoma/San Jose
Maine - Portland/Bar Harbor
Boston - Boston/Cape Cod/Martha's Vineyard
Denver - Denver/Vail/Breckenridge
San Diego
Asheville (not 7 to 10 days though, at max 5)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Imtotallynottribe
@DanC78 you've gotten A LOT of suggestions...

  • Are you leaning toward any of them?
  • When do you feel like you need to make your decision?

Wifey is wanting to do a cruise. The only week it appears we can do is Aug 11. Couldn’t find any good ones leaving out of the NE. So it looks like Western Caribbean. I’ve done Caribbean in Aug before, not the best time to go IMO, but it would still be great!

I’ll check on the Mediterranean ones again, Would be awesone if we could make that work.
 
Anyone have a great travel agent they could recommend?
 
How hot can it be in the Caribbean? Average temp for St Thomas in August is 90.

I realize you’re used to the Western temperatures being above that, but there’s a big difference between your dry heat and the Cayman’s 90 degrees at 90% humidity. 90 degrees at 90% humidity “feels like” 122 degrees due to the dew point. Meanwhile 104 degrees at 40% humidity “only” feels like 118.

When it was 90 in Phoenix when I was there last I was walking around enjoying life like it was high 70s, low 80s in Tally. But I will say when it was 118 in Vegas it felt like I was literally in an oven so the feels like thing only works a little bit.
 
We don't have "dry" heat in DFW.
Somebody suggested Boston. How hot do you think it is in Boston in August?
 
Sounds horrible.

I will go on record to say if someone offered me $5k to go on a Caribbean cruise (all expenses paid, including airfare) in August for a week, I would turn it down.

Yet, you live in Atlanta for less. Fascinatingly ironic
 
NONE of the ideas posted sounded good? Hell, I wanna go to about 40% of them. Whats your major malfunction Private Pile? :)


Oh, I see the problem. You aren't in charge of anything, only grunt work. Enjoy the cruise.

They sound great, getting it set up is different.

I called 3 agency today and only one contacted me back. They wanted $50 just to talk. Thought it was strange.

I’m really jonesing to go on the Mediterranean cruise. Flight are insane though.
 
We are leaving tomorrow for Vienna Austria and Croatia. Split, Hvar, and Dubrovnik. Looking forward to seeing some new places.

I'd highly recommend going Mediterranean versus Caribbean if possible. The Amalfi Coast is amazing. It will be hot over there as well but who cares.

We planned our trip ourselves but there are plenty of online places that will help you book a trip. Last time we went to Italy we used Europeandestinations.com
 
They sound great, getting it set up is different.

I called 3 agency today and only one contacted me back. They wanted $50 just to talk. Thought it was strange.

I’m really jonesing to go on the Mediterranean cruise. Flight are insane though.
Go to Expedia and look at flights bundled with a hotel. Even if you only need a hotel for one night on the trip - It cuts the cost of the flight at least in half...sometimes even more than that. You can also do this on www.DeltaVacations.com (or AA.com for American Airlines) but you'll ultimately have to call them to get the deal. Their online portal can't do partial hotels...Expedia's does though. Just depends if you want Delta Skymiles or Expedia Rewards points.

Here's a sample I just ran:
  • $791 per person. August 11-18, Atlanta to Rome, Nonstop flight on Delta, with a hotel just on August 12th. (even if you don't use the hotel and hop straight onto a cruise, the hotel makes the flight super inexpensive.)....on Expedia
  • $2,152 per person, August 11-18, Atlanta to Rome, Same Nonstop flight on Delta, w/no hotel at all...on Google Flights
 
Go to Expedia and look at flights bundled with a hotel. Even if you only need a hotel for one night on the trip - It cuts the cost of the flight at least in half...sometimes even more than that. You can also do this on www.DeltaVacations.com (or AA.com for American Airlines) but you'll ultimately have to call them to get the deal. Their online portal can't do partial hotels...Expedia's does though. Just depends if you want Delta Skymiles or Expedia Rewards points.

Here's a sample I just ran:
  • $791 per person. August 11-18, Atlanta to Rome, Nonstop flight on Delta, with a hotel just on August 12th. (even if you don't use the hotel and hop straight onto a cruise, the hotel makes the flight super inexpensive.)....on Expedia
  • $2,152 per person, August 11-18, Atlanta to Rome, Same Nonstop flight on Delta, w/no hotel at all...on Google Flights

Holy crap dude, that is about $1000 cheaper than what I can find on Delta. Nice thanks man
 
Hit the Caribbean, just got back from 8 nights in Barbados at Sandals newest property, our third trip, amazing time without the kid. Decent food, some great food, and drinks aplenty.
 
Holy crap dude, that is about $1000 cheaper than what I can find on Delta. Nice thanks man
Yeah, I'm looking at taking a trip to London in the Fall to catch a couple of soccer matches, and the flight by itself (depending on a couple of variables) is between $1250-$1500, flying out of Tallahassee.

Then I run it bundled w/a hotel for 6 nights, still flying out of Tallahassee (which to me is the really incredible part) and the whole trip is only $1250-$1300, and that's staying at a 4* hotel.

I don't understand how/why it works that way, but for some reason if you bundle your hotel and flights together it effectively makes the flight super cheap.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Imtotallynottribe
Yet, you live in Atlanta for less. Fascinatingly ironic

Eh. This fell flat for me. Feels like you've been working on the perfect moment for your Atlanta jab, but this just wasn't it. But feel free to join my fan club of really poorly executed ITP jokes every time I post.
 
Yeah, I'm looking at taking a trip to London in the Fall to catch a couple of soccer matches, and the flight by itself (depending on a couple of variables) is between $1250-$1500, flying out of Tallahassee.

Then I run it bundled w/a hotel for 6 nights, still flying out of Tallahassee (which to me is the really incredible part) and the whole trip is only $1250-$1300, and that's staying at a 4* hotel.

I don't understand how/why it works that way, but for some reason if you bundle your hotel and flights together it effectively makes the flight super cheap.

Just a quick suggestion, but think about adding a trip up to Edinburgh for your London trip by taking the “Flying Scotsman”. While I really enjoy the West End performances (the acting is noticeably better than on Broadway for the most part, especially in the lesser roles) and the museums, Edinburgh is a more interesting looking and more photogenic city with much better food and drink. The ride is a pleasant 4 hour ride which you can schedule to do after you’ve run around and done something like a museum in the morning, grab a late lunch in the train station (which has some great food options especially a large number of Cornish pastie places and other English and Welsh meat pies) and then be in Edinburgh in time for the ghost tour and dinner.

My wife and I did a mainly London, Paris and Edinburgh trip (with some car rides to the countryside) about four years ago and we’re eager to go back....to Edinburgh. We’re probably going to do an Edinburgh + Iceland vacation later this year or next year as our schedule allows.
 
Just a quick suggestion, but think about adding a trip up to Edinburgh for your London trip by taking the “Flying Scotsman”. While I really enjoy the West End performances (the acting is noticeably better than on Broadway for the most part, especially in the lesser roles) and the museums, Edinburgh is a more interesting looking and more photogenic city with much better food and drink. The ride is a pleasant 4 hour ride which you can schedule to do after you’ve run around and done something like a museum in the morning, grab a late lunch in the train station (which has some great food options especially a large number of Cornish pastie places and other English and Welsh meat pies) and then be in Edinburgh in time for the ghost tour and dinner.

My wife and I did a mainly London, Paris and Edinburgh trip (with some car rides to the countryside) about four years ago and we’re eager to go back....to Edinburgh. We’re probably going to do an Edinburgh + Iceland vacation later this year or next year as our schedule allows.
Thanks. We're definitely going to add something to the London trip. Just not sure what yet. Though the main purpose of this trip is soccer matches, we definitely want to include somewhere that we can take a bullet train to...Edinburgh, Brussels, (which would really mean Bruges and Ghent) and/or Amsterdam (as of very recently now goes direct from St. Pancras on the Eurostar) are all on the docket.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Imtotallynottribe
We’re probably going to do an Edinburgh + Iceland vacation later this year or next year as our schedule allows.
Also, on this topic, you're probably already up to speed on this, but just in case you didn't know, you can fly Iceland Air out of Tampa or Orlando, and do a free stopover in Iceland, en route to Glasgow (I'm not sure but I think Iceland Air only flies to Glasgow, not Edinburgh, in Scotland)...but obviously the distance from Glasgow to Edinburgh is not prohibitive anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Imtotallynottribe
Also, on this topic, you're probably already up to speed on this, but just in case you didn't know, you can fly Iceland Air out of Tampa or Orlando, and do a free stopover in Iceland, en route to Glasgow (I'm not sure but I think Iceland Air only flies to Glasgow, not Edinburgh, in Scotland)...but obviously the distance from Glasgow to Edinburgh is not prohibitive anyway.

Yeah, we’re planning on doing that exact trip. We want to spend at least three days in Iceland and four in Edinburgh. We definitely want to go back to “our” castle in Bonnyrigg just outside of Edinburgh, called Dalhousie Castle. I’ve talked about Dalhousie plenty here in the past so I’ll just summarize it by saying 1) absolutely amazing food, 2) falconry lessons and/or hunts on site, 3) ghosts, 4) amazing customer service to the point you feel like royalty, 5) “secret” bar hidden in the library and 6) “secret” restaurant hidden in the dungeon.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LesClaypool
Wifey is wanting to do a cruise. The only week it appears we can do is Aug 11. Couldn’t find any good ones leaving out of the NE. So it looks like Western Caribbean. I’ve done Caribbean in Aug before, not the best time to go IMO, but it would still be great!

I’ll check on the Mediterranean ones again, Would be awesone if we could make that work.

Def different strokes for different folks. Some great ideas thrown out on this thread. (Can't say the cruise idea is in the top 1000 for me). We always look to get away and take the path less traveled. (Way less traveled). Regardless, enjoy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: funksouljon
Girl who cuts my hair sent me this. Looks legit.

Hopefully I have this bad boy booked by no later than this time next week.

“Train from Vancouver to Jasper (a day and a night) with beautiful scenery.
Rent a car and drive down Glacier Highway to Calgary/Banff/Lake Louise.
Stay at Chateau Lake Louise and or Banff Springs Hotel.
Canoe Lake Louise.
Ride horses on trails in the Canadian Rockies.
Go check out the glaciers (which won’t be there for much longer).
Nice spas.
Beautiful hiking trails.
Lots of wildlife.
We went in July so August would be perfect!”
 
Girl who cuts my hair sent me this. Looks legit.

Hopefully I have this bad boy booked by no later than this time next week.

“Train from Vancouver to Jasper (a day and a night) with beautiful scenery.
Rent a car and drive down Glacier Highway to Calgary/Banff/Lake Louise.
Stay at Chateau Lake Louise and or Banff Springs Hotel.
Canoe Lake Louise.
Ride horses on trails in the Canadian Rockies.
Go check out the glaciers (which won’t be there for much longer).
Nice spas.
Beautiful hiking trails.
Lots of wildlife.
We went in July so August would be perfect!”

I did a similar trip by flying into Calgary and renting a car and driving through Banff and Jasper with stops in Lakes Moraine, Maligne and Louise and a trip out to the Columbia Iceshield (the glacier she referenced), then on to Vancouver (doing a whale watching your) and Seattle. We flew back out of Seattle.

It was a great 7 day trip, BUT honestly I think your wife would like Toronto/Niagara better. Mainly because the Calgary to Vancouver/Seattle trip is focused mainly on outdoor sights, hikes, and photography with only a little bit of “more girly” cultural stuff mixed in. Meanwhile in Toronto/Niagara you’ve got two days of great outdoor stuff but with comedians, plays, wineries, distilleries, casinos, and 5 star museums mixed in.
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT