Anonymous wrote:So what is really unique about Hawaii as a destination is that it is not just a beach. You can take advantage of hiking and ziplining and the water activities is not just about being on a beach in FL sunbathing. You go surfing and you go scuba.

It's just a beautiful place. It's not unlike Costa Rica for example where it's a country that you can take advantage of seeing different environments and have various activities to choose from.

Mexico City is really amazing. In the US, I think people really don't realize how great a city Chicago and NYC are. In the Spring, I really enjoy the SW - New Mexico is great for white water rafting, hiking, a lot of historical outdoors to see and shopping. New Mexico is both full of poverty and wealth depending on where you go. I've very well travelled and consider it quite the hidden gem - very much a best kept secret.

I wouldn't go too far depending on how much time you have for Spring Break - I would not go to Maldives with a kid in the span of 8 days for example.

For what it's worth, I also don't think you realize that beaches come in different flavors. My honeymoon was in Tahiti and I've also been to the world's most beautiful beaches like Grace Bay Turks, Sugar Beach St. Lucia and Flamenco in PR. Also Normandy and Marseille sea side towns, but also unfamous ones in FL and CR - the point is - it's not like you've been to one beach and have seen them all. The context matters and I assure you that not all beaches are created equal. The environment where the beach is will give it a totally different feel.

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Anonymous wrote:Can I just clarify? You’ve been to all those places, but you’ve never been to Hawaii?

And is the beach town you live in in the east or the west USA?

Op here. Never been to Hawaii. It’s just never appealed. Dh has been almost everywhere on earth (but for a lot of countries in Africa that just aren’t on the work or pleasure list) and we’ve just never felt the urge. We are on a beach in Florida. It’s always felt silly to fly so far to go to …… a beach. But this is where I’m seeking input about if it really is that special. More amazing than taking ds to Vietnam, or Bhutan, or Morocco? (Just naming some random places that we’ve been or have heard good things about).

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Anonymous wrote:Since covid, we've been living large on travel. Doing 2 or 3 international trips each year, to pretty cool locations. We're in the whole "life is short, we both work insane hours, DS is going to college soon and is the kind of kid who is never coming home again, so why not just have fun" stage. DH and I did a lot of travel before DS was born, and now we're enjoying showing him the world. It's by far my favorite thing we do.

Spring break is in mid-march. DS is 14 and loves travel, loves to eat new food, has unending energy to walk, and is just generally a good sport about whatever we're doing.

We live in a beach town, so aren't interested in a beach or "relaxing" trip. We've been to Europe several times with DS, and Europe weather is not great during March. So I think Europe is mostly off the table for this particular trip. South America is also off the table for us. And I think Oceania is too far for just a week (though Australia is one of my favorite places ever).

We've done a bunch of big cities in Europe. We did South Africa (safari and Cape Town - my favorite trip). We've done a bunch in Canada, and taken him to Japan - which he adored. Just to give a flavor of how and where we like to travel.

We've had a bunch of friends rave about their trips to Hawaii. A few years ago, Hawaii was on DS's short list for a long time. So I was assuming we'd go to Hawaii this year. But it feels like none of us are super excited about it now. It seems very expensive, far to get to, and maybe pretty touristy? But I just don't know that much about it. I've been assured that the best parts are not a beach/relaxing place, but are active and outdoorsy.

I should add that DH travels so much for work, that we can typically get upgraded to first class - which makes a lot of these distant locations more viable (and a lot cheaper!!)

So where else should we go that's not continental US, probably not Europe (unless somewhere with good weather), not South America? Or is Hawaii really that amazing that we should do it?

First world problems, I know!

Yeah, COVID has definitely made exotic and international travel significantly more affordable and attainable to the middle class. Glad you’ve been able to finally taste a flavor of the finer life, OP, though everything in travel has been substantially downgraded as a result of COVID. Today’s Four Seasons is like yesterday’s Holiday Inn. It’s a wonderfully delicious parallel to the COVID-induced degradation of the stock market. Reddit-reading, robinhood-wielding retail investors that have dirtied the entire investment landscape.

In any case, I digress; if you cannot afford to make it all the way to Australia or New Zealand for spring break (fantastic fall weather there, so you’re really missing out), Hawaii is a great compromise. DH and I have been 40+ times and to every island. Would recommend the Big Island right now, especially with an adventurous teen. Incidentally, we took our DS to Morocco last spring break and it was very well received. Spent time in Marrakech, Casablanca, Fez, and Rabat. Weather was lovely. If beaches are a must, consider Tenerife or Seychelles.

This is a weird comment. I did not get the impression that OP was "middle class". They were traveling a lot before their DS was born, and doing 2-3 international trips a year now. That doesn't sound MC.

OP seems like a quantity over quality personality. Married to a road warrior FF miler who probably books countless trips and unnecessary flight connections to maintain elite status in order to fuel seemingly luxurious personal travel. Been to Europe (probably backpacking it), Canada, Japan and other easy destinations where it is very possible to experience on a shoestring budget but nowhere to any place that is consistently expensive (e.g., Hawaii, Bora Bora, Antarctica, Maldives, etc….). Plus, nowhere on the planet is too far to travel for just one week. That’s MC thinking for sure…flying coach, lots of connections, checking bags, dirtbag hotels, can’t overcome language barriers.

DH and I are flying business class to Singapore in January from D.C. Leave D.C. on a Tuesday morning, arriving in SIN on Thursday evening (25 hour flight / 1 stop). We stay for 5 nights and leave Tuesday morning, arriving at IAD on Tuesday evening (22 hour flight / 1 stop). How is five nights anywhere somehow too short? Jet lag isn’t even a thing when you have a lie flat seat for 16 hours and arrive in the evening and can go right to the hotel and sleep. Then we still have four full days for plenty of fun.

OP isn’t the jet-setter she makes herself out to be.

This is op and I don’t know why I’m even engaging in this ridiculous poster, but yeah this does not describe us at all. I make well over seven figures. Dh makes close to that. We’re definitely not middle class and we’re definitely not doing travel on a shoe string budget. We work a ton, have high incomes and want to spend it on quality travel before ds leaves us. I don’t know why or where you were reading into my posts that we are doing stuff on the cheap. I mentioned us using miles for air travel just to convey that no flight is too long because we’ll be able to fly first class. Those first class flights would otherwise be $25k each to Asia, and I’m not stupid with my money that I’m spending $75k on flights alone. And I didn’t say we couldn’t afford to go to Australia, I said we didn’t have the time with only one week. Ive been before, and that’s a two week trip for sure. So yeah, can we get back to the topic at hand and thanks to the many people posting good things!!

I know I said no SA, but Galapagos is intriguing. I will look into that. I talked to Dh last night about this thread and Hawaii and I think we both agree we’re not that excited by it. Iceland is on our list, but we want to go in summer, not cold season same with the ideas for places like Norway. Portugal and Spain could be okay, though they have not been our favorite places to travel, but maybe they need another look from us. Not Mexico - have been to a lot of Mexico and do not enjoy. I’m interested by Morocco. Dh has been a couple times but I’ve never been.

This is always so hard every year!

Oh, OP. You rose to the bait. This entire thread is a dumpster fire. I can’t decide who’s the most loathsome.

Loathsome and insecure. OP-seems highly offended that anyone would think she’s middle class (gasp!). And that other PP-where do I even start with that response?? All this traveling and still some much ignorance and utter disconnect from how most people live.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since covid, we've been living large on travel. Doing 2 or 3 international trips each year, to pretty cool locations. We're in the whole "life is short, we both work insane hours, DS is going to college soon and is the kind of kid who is never coming home again, so why not just have fun" stage. DH and I did a lot of travel before DS was born, and now we're enjoying showing him the world. It's by far my favorite thing we do.

Spring break is in mid-march. DS is 14 and loves travel, loves to eat new food, has unending energy to walk, and is just generally a good sport about whatever we're doing.

We live in a beach town, so aren't interested in a beach or "relaxing" trip. We've been to Europe several times with DS, and Europe weather is not great during March. So I think Europe is mostly off the table for this particular trip. South America is also off the table for us. And I think Oceania is too far for just a week (though Australia is one of my favorite places ever).

We've done a bunch of big cities in Europe. We did South Africa (safari and Cape Town - my favorite trip). We've done a bunch in Canada, and taken him to Japan - which he adored. Just to give a flavor of how and where we like to travel.

We've had a bunch of friends rave about their trips to Hawaii. A few years ago, Hawaii was on DS's short list for a long time. So I was assuming we'd go to Hawaii this year. But it feels like none of us are super excited about it now. It seems very expensive, far to get to, and maybe pretty touristy? But I just don't know that much about it. I've been assured that the best parts are not a beach/relaxing place, but are active and outdoorsy.

I should add that DH travels so much for work, that we can typically get upgraded to first class - which makes a lot of these distant locations more viable (and a lot cheaper!!)

So where else should we go that's not continental US, probably not Europe (unless somewhere with good weather), not South America? Or is Hawaii really that amazing that we should do it?

First world problems, I know!

Yeah, COVID has definitely made exotic and international travel significantly more affordable and attainable to the middle class. Glad you’ve been able to finally taste a flavor of the finer life, OP, though everything in travel has been substantially downgraded as a result of COVID. Today’s Four Seasons is like yesterday’s Holiday Inn. It’s a wonderfully delicious parallel to the COVID-induced degradation of the stock market. Reddit-reading, robinhood-wielding retail investors that have dirtied the entire investment landscape.

In any case, I digress; if you cannot afford to make it all the way to Australia or New Zealand for spring break (fantastic fall weather there, so you’re really missing out), Hawaii is a great compromise. DH and I have been 40+ times and to every island. Would recommend the Big Island right now, especially with an adventurous teen. Incidentally, we took our DS to Morocco last spring break and it was very well received. Spent time in Marrakech, Casablanca, Fez, and Rabat. Weather was lovely. If beaches are a must, consider Tenerife or Seychelles.

This is a weird comment. I did not get the impression that OP was "middle class". They were traveling a lot before their DS was born, and doing 2-3 international trips a year now. That doesn't sound MC.

OP seems like a quantity over quality personality. Married to a road warrior FF miler who probably books countless trips and unnecessary flight connections to maintain elite status in order to fuel seemingly luxurious personal travel. Been to Europe (probably backpacking it), Canada, Japan and other easy destinations where it is very possible to experience on a shoestring budget but nowhere to any place that is consistently expensive (e.g., Hawaii, Bora Bora, Antarctica, Maldives, etc….). Plus, nowhere on the planet is too far to travel for just one week. That’s MC thinking for sure…flying coach, lots of connections, checking bags, dirtbag hotels, can’t overcome language barriers.

DH and I are flying business class to Singapore in January from D.C. Leave D.C. on a Tuesday morning, arriving in SIN on Thursday evening (25 hour flight / 1 stop). We stay for 5 nights and leave Tuesday morning, arriving at IAD on Tuesday evening (22 hour flight / 1 stop). How is five nights anywhere somehow too short? Jet lag isn’t even a thing when you have a lie flat seat for 16 hours and arrive in the evening and can go right to the hotel and sleep. Then we still have four full days for plenty of fun.

OP isn’t the jet-setter she makes herself out to be.

This is op and I don’t know why I’m even engaging in this ridiculous poster, but yeah this does not describe us at all. I make well over seven figures. Dh makes close to that. We’re definitely not middle class and we’re definitely not doing travel on a shoe string budget. We work a ton, have high incomes and want to spend it on quality travel before ds leaves us. I don’t know why or where you were reading into my posts that we are doing stuff on the cheap. I mentioned us using miles for air travel just to convey that no flight is too long because we’ll be able to fly first class. Those first class flights would otherwise be $25k each to Asia, and I’m not stupid with my money that I’m spending $75k on flights alone. And I didn’t say we couldn’t afford to go to Australia, I said we didn’t have the time with only one week. Ive been before, and that’s a two week trip for sure. So yeah, can we get back to the topic at hand and thanks to the many people posting good things!!

I know I said no SA, but Galapagos is intriguing. I will look into that. I talked to Dh last night about this thread and Hawaii and I think we both agree we’re not that excited by it. Iceland is on our list, but we want to go in summer, not cold season same with the ideas for places like Norway. Portugal and Spain could be okay, though they have not been our favorite places to travel, but maybe they need another look from us. Not Mexico - have been to a lot of Mexico and do not enjoy. I’m interested by Morocco. Dh has been a couple times but I’ve never been.

This is always so hard every year!

Oh, OP. You rose to the bait. This entire thread is a dumpster fire. I can’t decide who’s the most loathsome.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since covid, we've been living large on travel. Doing 2 or 3 international trips each year, to pretty cool locations. We're in the whole "life is short, we both work insane hours, DS is going to college soon and is the kind of kid who is never coming home again, so why not just have fun" stage. DH and I did a lot of travel before DS was born, and now we're enjoying showing him the world. It's by far my favorite thing we do.

Spring break is in mid-march. DS is 14 and loves travel, loves to eat new food, has unending energy to walk, and is just generally a good sport about whatever we're doing.

We live in a beach town, so aren't interested in a beach or "relaxing" trip. We've been to Europe several times with DS, and Europe weather is not great during March. So I think Europe is mostly off the table for this particular trip. South America is also off the table for us. And I think Oceania is too far for just a week (though Australia is one of my favorite places ever).

We've done a bunch of big cities in Europe. We did South Africa (safari and Cape Town - my favorite trip). We've done a bunch in Canada, and taken him to Japan - which he adored. Just to give a flavor of how and where we like to travel.

We've had a bunch of friends rave about their trips to Hawaii. A few years ago, Hawaii was on DS's short list for a long time. So I was assuming we'd go to Hawaii this year. But it feels like none of us are super excited about it now. It seems very expensive, far to get to, and maybe pretty touristy? But I just don't know that much about it. I've been assured that the best parts are not a beach/relaxing place, but are active and outdoorsy.

I should add that DH travels so much for work, that we can typically get upgraded to first class - which makes a lot of these distant locations more viable (and a lot cheaper!!)

So where else should we go that's not continental US, probably not Europe (unless somewhere with good weather), not South America? Or is Hawaii really that amazing that we should do it?

First world problems, I know!

Yeah, COVID has definitely made exotic and international travel significantly more affordable and attainable to the middle class. Glad you’ve been able to finally taste a flavor of the finer life, OP, though everything in travel has been substantially downgraded as a result of COVID. Today’s Four Seasons is like yesterday’s Holiday Inn. It’s a wonderfully delicious parallel to the COVID-induced degradation of the stock market. Reddit-reading, robinhood-wielding retail investors that have dirtied the entire investment landscape.

In any case, I digress; if you cannot afford to make it all the way to Australia or New Zealand for spring break (fantastic fall weather there, so you’re really missing out), Hawaii is a great compromise. DH and I have been 40+ times and to every island. Would recommend the Big Island right now, especially with an adventurous teen. Incidentally, we took our DS to Morocco last spring break and it was very well received. Spent time in Marrakech, Casablanca, Fez, and Rabat. Weather was lovely. If beaches are a must, consider Tenerife or Seychelles.

This is a weird comment. I did not get the impression that OP was "middle class". They were traveling a lot before their DS was born, and doing 2-3 international trips a year now. That doesn't sound MC.

OP seems like a quantity over quality personality. Married to a road warrior FF miler who probably books countless trips and unnecessary flight connections to maintain elite status in order to fuel seemingly luxurious personal travel. Been to Europe (probably backpacking it), Canada, Japan and other easy destinations where it is very possible to experience on a shoestring budget but nowhere to any place that is consistently expensive (e.g., Hawaii, Bora Bora, Antarctica, Maldives, etc….). Plus, nowhere on the planet is too far to travel for just one week. That’s MC thinking for sure…flying coach, lots of connections, checking bags, dirtbag hotels, can’t overcome language barriers.

DH and I are flying business class to Singapore in January from D.C. Leave D.C. on a Tuesday morning, arriving in SIN on Thursday evening (25 hour flight / 1 stop). We stay for 5 nights and leave Tuesday morning, arriving at IAD on Tuesday evening (22 hour flight / 1 stop). How is five nights anywhere somehow too short? Jet lag isn’t even a thing when you have a lie flat seat for 16 hours and arrive in the evening and can go right to the hotel and sleep. Then we still have four full days for plenty of fun.

OP isn’t the jet-setter she makes herself out to be.

Anonymous wrote:I was really underwhelmed by Hawaii both times I went. The first time, Oahu and the Big Island. The Big Island was much more interesting than Oahu the volcano and black sand beaches. We stayed at the Mauna Kea. The beach was close and snorkeling just off the hotel and beautiful, but I was used to Caribbean beaches, blue water, white sand, and it felt disappointing. The second trip was to Maui, and I was very disappointed. Lots of families who’s saved up their whole lives from all over America poolside playing loud music from whatever speaker they’d brought not caring about disrupting others, because “vacation.” The water was a lovely blue with bits of purple, but I prefer turquoise.

I think the European beaches have slightly less natural beauty, but have incredible culture to make up for it. I would look at beaches in Turkey, Italy and France for a different experience from Florida. Or if you really want a beautiful beach, Maldives or Fiji.