Vacation Spot/Activity that was even BETTER than you imagined.

[Anonymous]

Black Hills area of South Dakota — Mt Rushmore, Badlands, Wind/Jewel Cave, Custer SP, lots more. There is SO much to do. I had no idea. We loved it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bryce Canyon. I had been to the Grand Canyon several times before, and while it was beautiful, I didn't have that "WOW" feeling that other people talk about. So when we got to Bryce I was surprised that it just took my breath away. Hands down one of the coolest places I've ever been.

Similar, for us it was Zion. The hike up Angels Landing. The food in this little restaurant just outside the park with a view of the cliffs. Amazing.

Kyoto in Japan. Harder to navigate than Tokyo but the smaller feel of the city was nice.

Chiang Mai in Thailand. Small, friendly, inexpensive, lovely little place. Our favorite part of Thailand.

There are places like that in southern Thailand, too. Incredible country all around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maine. We went because I didn't want to schlep internationally with a 5 year old. I was kind of resigned to it being a "back up vacation".

I LOVED it. More than I've loved most of Europe, actually. It was just the quaintest, most relaxing place, with the friendliest people. July had absolutely gorgeous weather for outdoor activities, everything was dog friendly (we had brought our little dog), and my son had a blast. I'd go back every year if I could.

Before becoming parents, we did Peru. I was nervous about the food/culture/etc as we hadn't traveled much, but oh my gosh, what an awesome country. We ate the best food we've ever had in our lives in Cusco, and everyone was amazingly friendly.

Where in Maine did you visit? I'm scared to go because I have heard summer is insane with tourists.

Cusco is on my list!

We flew into Portland, rented a car, and drove up the coast to Bar Harbor. Much of the trip is a 2 lane road with adorable little towns along the way. For parts of the drive we couldn’t see another car. Maine’s definition of crowded has nothing on a normal day in the DC metro!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Black Hills area of South Dakota — Mt Rushmore, Badlands, Wind/Jewel Cave, Custer SP, lots more. There is SO much to do. I had no idea. We loved it!

Yes, agree with South Dakota. Such an underrated place. I've been to almost all the beautiful places out west and South Dakota is right up there with the best of them. It's on a little smaller scale (i.e. no 14,000 foot mountains), but it's a breathtaking place. And the best part, doesn't get too crowded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Black Hills area of South Dakota — Mt Rushmore, Badlands, Wind/Jewel Cave, Custer SP, lots more. There is SO much to do. I had no idea. We loved it!

Yes, agree with South Dakota. Such an underrated place. I've been to almost all the beautiful places out west and South Dakota is right up there with the best of them. It's on a little smaller scale (i.e. no 14,000 foot mountains), but it's a breathtaking place. And the best part, doesn't get too crowded.

Agree. We were just discussing our favorite trips last night and this one came up over and over. Badlands is something out of another world. It’s amazing.

[Anonymous]

Krakow , such a storied city and you learn about so much about so many different eras of History. Good food, amazing art. And also the nearby Zakopane mountains - like the Alps but smaller and wayyyyy less crowded and less expensive.

[Anonymous]

Berlin.

[Anonymous]

Slovenia was amazing.
Ljubljana can compete with any of the great European cities for vibe, just on a much smaller scale. And Lake Bled was so beautiful and relaxing. The food everywhere was delicious and the people were so friendly and welcoming.
We didn’t really know what to expect when planning a trip but it was absolutely perfect.

[Anonymous]

Ottowa.

I was prepared to love Montreal and Quebec City, but initially thought Ottowa was just an add-on. It was a highlight of the trip! Awesome museums, beautiful buildings, and a fun vibe. We loved it! I felt like I could live there.

[Anonymous]

Maine in the early fall is still warm for Maine and a lot less crowded. Agree it is beautiful.

Pebble Beach is so much prettier in person than in the photos (which are fabulous). Carmel is a great town.

Munich - what a great city.

Nevis - what a great island.

Grand Canyon rafting trip - 10 days long - most amazing experience.

Capetown and Botswana.

Cuba - so gritty but wonderful, and the people are wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maine. We went because I didn't want to schlep internationally with a 5 year old. I was kind of resigned to it being a "back up vacation".

I LOVED it. More than I've loved most of Europe, actually. It was just the quaintest, most relaxing place, with the friendliest people. July had absolutely gorgeous weather for outdoor activities, everything was dog friendly (we had brought our little dog), and my son had a blast. I'd go back every year if I could.

Before becoming parents, we did Peru. I was nervous about the food/culture/etc as we hadn't traveled much, but oh my gosh, what an awesome country. We ate the best food we've ever had in our lives in Cusco, and everyone was amazingly friendly.

Where in Maine did you visit? I'm scared to go because I have heard summer is insane with tourists.

Cusco is on my list!

We flew into Portland, rented a car, and drove up the coast to Bar Harbor. Much of the trip is a 2 lane road with adorable little towns along the way. For parts of the drive we couldn’t see another car. Maine’s definition of crowded has nothing on a normal day in the DC metro!

NP, this is what we did, too. I loved Maine. Everything was just so relaxed. We were visiting a friend and at a 4-way stop, there was one other car waiting, and he said “This is what we call a Maine traffic jam!” It’s so true.

Tip for Acadia - we went in June the week before the shuttle bus starts running. Go early and it’s practically empty.

[Anonymous]

We loved Maine, too. We went to Portland, Bar Harbor and Boothbay Harbor in August a few years ago. I do want to say that Bar Harbor was a zoo, though, overrun with tourists. We stayed at a hotel in town and we learned the hard way to make dinner reservations or else there were 2 hour waits for dinner wach night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Black Hills area of South Dakota — Mt Rushmore, Badlands, Wind/Jewel Cave, Custer SP, lots more. There is SO much to do. I had no idea. We loved it!

Yes, agree with South Dakota. Such an underrated place. I've been to almost all the beautiful places out west and South Dakota is right up there with the best of them. It's on a little smaller scale (i.e. no 14,000 foot mountains), but it's a breathtaking place. And the best part, doesn't get too crowded.

I went here three times as a kid/teen. Can't wait to take my kiddos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maine. We went because I didn't want to schlep internationally with a 5 year old. I was kind of resigned to it being a "back up vacation".

I LOVED it. More than I've loved most of Europe, actually. It was just the quaintest, most relaxing place, with the friendliest people. July had absolutely gorgeous weather for outdoor activities, everything was dog friendly (we had brought our little dog), and my son had a blast. I'd go back every year if I could.

Before becoming parents, we did Peru. I was nervous about the food/culture/etc as we hadn't traveled much, but oh my gosh, what an awesome country. We ate the best food we've ever had in our lives in Cusco, and everyone was amazingly friendly.

Where in Maine did you visit? I'm scared to go because I have heard summer is insane with tourists.

Cusco is on my list!

We flew into Portland, rented a car, and drove up the coast to Bar Harbor. Much of the trip is a 2 lane road with adorable little towns along the way. For parts of the drive we couldn’t see another car. Maine’s definition of crowded has nothing on a normal day in the DC metro!

NP, this is what we did, too. I loved Maine. Everything was just so relaxed. We were visiting a friend and at a 4-way stop, there was one other car waiting, and he said “This is what we call a Maine traffic jam!” It’s so true.

Tip for Acadia - we went in June the week before the shuttle bus starts running. Go early and it’s practically empty.

Can y'all stop all this New England talk right now? Y'all are going to destroy it. This is why we can't have nice things, seriously.

[Anonymous]

Normandy region, France.

I knew that it would be nice, of course, but we were going there solely because of DH's interest in seeing all the D-Day sites. I absolutely did not expect to be so enamored by the quaint villages, seaside towns, sunsets over the ocean, delightful dinners, etc. Just true relaxation. We went to Paris afterwards and yearned to go back to Normandy.