Tell me about an expensive vacation experience that was worth every penny!

[Anonymous]

Gorrilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda

Galápagos

Safari, and also the Skeleton Coast (luxury version not camping)

Bhutan

Mozambique

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disney VIP private tour where they take you on all the rides with almost no waiting and drive you around between the parks — crazy expensive but you can do in one day what you would otherwise do in three so if you factor in savings on park tickets and hotel, it is more justifiable.

this is awesome, I love this, and now I want to book it for our family!

[Anonymous]

For anyone reading this who doesn’t have the funds for these experiences on this scale, we went to Jasper, Canada. It’s one if the most beautiful places I have ever, ever seen, worth the hassle of getting there, and there are a range if price points so it is surprisingly accessible.

[Anonymous]

We booked a an ungodly expensive over the water bungalow for a week. Flew halfway around the world with everything I needed fit in my purse. Best, most relaxing I ever had.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trying to convince myself to spend a lot of cash on a vacation experience but worry I’ll regret it once the bill comes.

Tell me about an experience where you spend entirely too much money, but it was worth every penny!

prepay

[Anonymous]

Moving overseas was the best choice. It's not that expensive as long as your job is flexible, and it's much less expensive to travel in Europe to almost anywhere vs USA to anywhere.

[Anonymous]

I never go in to debt - but I never regret money I spend on travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For anyone reading this who doesn’t have the funds for these experiences on this scale, we went to Jasper, Canada. It’s one if the most beautiful places I have ever, ever seen, worth the hassle of getting there, and there are a range if price points so it is surprisingly accessible.

thank you! I have been reading this tread with pointless lust since I can’t afford any of these trips. Jasper is doable and good to know it is great- Lake Louise is already on my bucket list, if I can figure out how to go there when the parking lot isn’t full by 6am …

[Anonymous]

Disney/Universal VIP. Worth every dime to avoid those lines!

Using a travel agent to arrange private transfers, private tours, amazing hotels or villas, chartering a boat for a day on trips to Greece, Costa Rica and Croatia. It is so great to land and have someone meet you, get you to the hotel and then just have an itinerary and show up where you need to be for custom private tours or to travel between islands, etc. This made the trips much more enjoyable. This is how I would choose to spend money every time, with no regrets.

[Anonymous]

We managed to get tickets to the quarter finals for the Championship League game while in Madrid - saw Real Madrid play Man City, if I remember correctly. It remains a priceless memory for our sons, who still talk about it and reference it as 'the time mom got us tickets to the game and made our dreams come true'. I definitely had reservations about spending that amount of money on tickets (via Stubhub in a foreign country no less) but I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was worth every penny experiencing that with our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Moving overseas was the best choice. It's not that expensive as long as your job is flexible, and it's much less expensive to travel in Europe to almost anywhere vs USA to anywhere.

We are buying a house in Europe now and are seriously thinking about moving there sooner than later

[Anonymous]

The &beyond Sossusvlei desert lodge in Namibia was incredible. Very fun activities, including ATVs and climbing up a giant dune. We paired it with a private helicopter tour over the coast and dunes - stunning.

Gorilla trekking in Uganda paired with some time on safari. Probably my top travel experience ever.

And echoing someone else - the Nour el Nil Nile cruise was amazing, though that was in part because the other passengers on the boat were very enjoyable too. The boats are small so you’re not crammed on with a ton of people. Spring for the bigger cabin at the back of the boat if you can. Pair with some private tours before and after the cruise to experience more of Egypt. I found the context provided by our guides really enhanced our understanding.

[Anonymous]

Machu Picchu with Mt Sobek. Amazing trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did a luxury private tour in Peru - They handled everything. Hotels, flights, trains, drivers, drivers, and most meals. We did the Amazon, Machu Pichu, Cusco, and Lima.

The Galapagos

Private charters with captains in the Virgin Islands and in the Bahamas.

Only luxury vacation I have regretted is with Inspirato.

Not the point of this thread, but I’ve been wondering about Inspirato so would love to hear more about why you regretted it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People will call me super basic but here is my list —

Helicopter tour of kaui

Glacier dog sledding in Alaska

Getting the suite at el Tovar with the enormous patio looking over the south rim

Disney VIP private tour where they take you on all the rides with almost no waiting and drive you around between the parks — crazy expensive but you can do in one day what you would otherwise do in three so if you factor in savings on park tickets and hotel, it is more justifiable. I’m always embarrassed to tell people we did this though.

Oh and I don’t know if this was crazy expensive but chartering a boat for day snorkel trip for family — we’ve done that a couple times when we vacationed with my siblings and it is totally worth it to have the boat to yourself.

Snorkeling is so bad compared with diving. My 10 yo was eye to eye with a sea turtle today. I would never go back and neither would my kids.

Teaching her kid to be a disgusting snob. PP, do you know what is going to happen to your kid when they sneer at a friend's snorkeling trip? They might get their @$$ kicked. Or they might get ... no more friends.

This and PP hating on snorkeling is one of those annoying black and white people. I’m pretty sure both snorkeling and diving are great. I mountain bike and don’t like road biking, doesn’t mean I’m going to crap on the millions that love something that I don’t.