Israel is absolutely amazing, and really means a lot if your kids had any religious education (jewish, christain or muslim). I am not religious at all, but listening to the Beatitudes read on the spot where Jesus actually gave that speech overlooking the Sea of Galilee is pretty memorable.

Also, and I post this everytime anyone asks a similar question: Go to Africa. South Africa, Kenya/Tanzania. Everyone should go on safari once in their lives.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jordan (see Petra, camp in a bedouin tent in Wadi Rum, see where Jesus was baptized, float in the Dead Sea, etc.)

I'm sure it's just me, but I'd prefer to sit at our neighborhood pool.

What a strange response. Jordan is incredibly different than your neighborhood. The Dead Sea is a completely different experience than other bodies of water because of its 33% salinity. Everyone floats!

LOL that you responded to PP.

Egypt - the tombs and temples in Upper Egypt are more amazing than you can even imagine. Could be combined with a trip to Jerusalem - so much history, regardless of your religious leanings.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jordan (see Petra, camp in a bedouin tent in Wadi Rum, see where Jesus was baptized, float in the Dead Sea, etc.)

I'm sure it's just me, but I'd prefer to sit at our neighborhood pool.

What a strange response. Jordan is incredibly different than your neighborhood. The Dead Sea is a completely different experience than other bodies of water because of its 33% salinity. Everyone floats!

Anonymous wrote:Istanbul
Rome
Peru (awesome!!)
Costa Rica
China

I think Istanbul would be amazing...I had a thread on here a few months ago asking for more info on Istanbul....I REALLY wanted to go, but in the end we decided to go to Prague (yeah,I have a thread on the hotels here too)....Dh was pretty against Istanbul for some reason...

China is interesting. I was there about a year ago, visiting my brother. We are American, but he was working in Shanghai. One thing about China--you can't just rent a car and drive to the places you want to see--I didn't know that before visiting my brother. The Chinese want you to hire a Chinese tour company, or private driver to take you places--otherwise, you are taking a job away from a Chinese....so when my brother and I took a side trip to Beijing, and wanted to see the Great Wall, we took a tour arranged through our hotel. Although my brother lived in Shanghai over a year, he wasn't allowed to legally drive a car or a motorcycle--it was expected that he would take the subway or a taxi...I think there were smaller motorbikes he was legally allowed to drive...but not full size motorcycles.

Just thought I'd mention this as we love to rent cars and drive through the countryside of places we visit...won't be possible in China (unless you happen to be a Chinese citizen)

Istanbul
Rome
Peru (awesome!!)
Costa Rica
China

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someplace with interesting history and sights, somewhere where there eyes can be opened to other ways of life and other types of people.
Someplace that sticks with you, someplace that you can learn about before and keep talking about later.

Istanbul. Rome. Southern Spain. Viet Nam. Thailand. Bosnia. Morocco. Chile. Ecuador.
The list could get long!

I fully acknowledge that I'm a problem here. I'm educated but not knowledgable about the world. Always loved math and science and could never keep a historical fact in my brain to save my life. We grew up poor, so had no opportunity to travel, but I also don't have that desire to travel or see the world. So how do I educate myself about the places I should want to see and have the kids see/experience those as well? So I thought I might as well post here, because I know DCUMers travel the world over and have lots of opinions.

Why not ask your kids then? Do they have any interests that naturally lend themselves to a destination?

Are any of your high schoolers taking a language? Go to a country where he or she could speak it!

Anonymous wrote:Jordan (see Petra, camp in a bedouin tent in Wadi Rum, see where Jesus was baptized, float in the Dead Sea, etc.)

I'm sure it's just me, but I'd prefer to sit at our neighborhood pool.

Jordan (see Petra, camp in a bedouin tent in Wadi Rum, see where Jesus was baptized, float in the Dead Sea, etc.)

Anonymous wrote:Someplace with interesting history and sights, somewhere where there eyes can be opened to other ways of life and other types of people.
Someplace that sticks with you, someplace that you can learn about before and keep talking about later.

Istanbul. Rome. Southern Spain. Viet Nam. Thailand. Bosnia. Morocco. Chile. Ecuador.
The list could get long!

I fully acknowledge that I'm a problem here. I'm educated but not knowledgable about the world. Always loved math and science and could never keep a historical fact in my brain to save my life. We grew up poor, so had no opportunity to travel, but I also don't have that desire to travel or see the world. So how do I educate myself about the places I should want to see and have the kids see/experience those as well? So I thought I might as well post here, because I know DCUMers travel the world over and have lots of opinions.

Alaska!!! Absolutely beautiful, especially seeing all the wildlife not behind cages or glass.

Someplace with interesting history and sights, somewhere where there eyes can be opened to other ways of life and other types of people.
Someplace that sticks with you, someplace that you can learn about before and keep talking about later.

Istanbul. Rome. Southern Spain. Viet Nam. Thailand. Bosnia. Morocco. Chile. Ecuador.
The list could get long!

I'd go to some place that might not exist when DC are older. I don't know where exactly but there are some islands that will be completely covered by water in the next decade. Or maybe see the glaciers. Or maybe somewhere with a high altitude where the sun will become increasingly intense due to the hole in the ozone layer that the native people may need to migrate. Or where the coral reefs are dying.

Greece--most people go to the islands, but there is so much history in the mainland--Olympia, Sparta, Delphi...

Kids elementary school to high school age. We finally have the time and money to spend. What places/regions of the world do you think people should see/experience if given the opportunity? I don't necessarily mean exotic or super remote places. We've done lots of beaches (including Hawaii and Puerto Rico), ski resorts, London, Paris and Tokyo. When I grew up, Lake Erie was the fanciest family vacation I ever had.