Need 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration Ideas

[settam]

Looking for 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration Ideas
Probably opening up for more ideas than I can imagine, but here goes:
-Travel can be in the US or International (We reside in Pennsylvania)
-Budget $5 to $10K
-Duration of celebrating can be one week, max of two weeks
-Cruise on a small ship ok, large ship no
-Not too interested in beaches or islands unless not too hot, and unique
-We just turned 70, health is good, her walking distances is somewhat limited
-I'm looking to surprise her with some unique ideas for celebrating
Anniversary is July 8th. Celebrating can be any time from then into the fall
Hope I put this info request in the right forum

Thanks in advance for ideas

 

[MBAustin]

Congratulations to you and your DW!

If it's just the 2 of you then you really have a lot of options even making plans this late. I think you might get better help if you give us a few ideas about things you like to do.

How about a New England/Canada cruise - Celebrity has a good reputation: https://www.celebritycruises.com/spa/#/itinerary-search?destinations=ATLCO

Or a Mississippi River cruise: Mississippi River Cruises | American Cruise Lines

Totally different idea - book a luxury hotel room in your favorite big city, splurge on show tickets and top notch restaurants, etc.

 

[Beldar]

Congratulations on your 50th, what an accomplishment!

There are so many things you could do with that time and money budget. Just one POV here...DW & I spent a week in Bermuda. The impression we got was that it is the UK's Hawaii, very subdued/non-touristy yet top drawer. No rental cars, just biking, walking , or an excellent public bus and taxi system. You could easily spend a week or more, lounging around, renting a small boat for tours, fishing, etc. It's in the Gulf Stream but not very hot (just tropical). We rented a cottage but there are high end hotels and resorts if that's your flavor. Nice people, no bums or sloppily dressed tourists allowed.

Loads of cruise ships visit (we flew in). You might be able to combine a cruise departure from the east coast with a week long layover in Bermuda.

I bet you get alot of good ideas here.

_B

 

[bbbamI]

The first thing that popped in my mind was the Golden Gate Bridge. Ok...I know it's not exactly golden...

Even though I've been to San Fran a couple of times, I'm not sure if there are any hotels with a view of the bridge. However there are many restaurants.

Congratulations....may you have many more.

 

[Avalon]

"Unique" would be here according to my son. He tends to seek out unique places to visit.

Go Haida Gwaii

Congratulations on your 50th!

 

[Scuba]

Congratulations on 50 years together! Nice that you're wanting to surprise your wife with ideas.

I don't know if you enjoy wine, but if so what about a river cruise in Europe? There are some that are not wine-focused also (Danube).

Paris is a romantic destination that would be nice for a 50th anniversary.

Or how about a trip to Montreal? I've not been there but have heard it's lovely.

 

[target2019]

Looking for 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration Ideas

Vienna, if you haven't been there.
(Try to skip flying through Paris airport.)

Since you're in Pennsy, a more local idea would be to drive west a bit, and down the Appalachians. Stay at Charlottesville or similar. Wine country, Monticello, etc.

If heat is not to your liking, drive north to NY State wine country. B&B's, lazy days drinking wine, etc.

 

[socaldonnan]

How about the Canadian Rockies by train?

 

[Rambler]

We did London for our 25th and Paris and Greece for our 20th in 2004. But, we were pretty blessed as I had a spouse invited executive committee meeting scheduled around the Athens Olympics in 2004. So the Paris part of the trip was the only part that cost anything. For our 25th, I had a meeting scheduled in Frankfurt about 8 days after our daughter needed to be dropped in Hawaii for university. And due to the nature of the job, I had a family travel allowance for home leaves, but that I could use for her to travel with me when I had overseas meetings. So, between the drop off and the meeting, we stopped in London for 5 nights. That was the best anniversary celebration we ever had. We cried a little over losing our beloved daughter to adulthood, and laughed a lot at the prospect of enjoying our newfound freedom, along with enjoying the sights in London. We walked everywhere but you can take cabs or the tube just about anywhere. I highly recommend it. I'm guessing you'd spend close to 10k on a 7-8 day trip. We usually drop about 6k on a Hawaii trip of about the same length incl flights, hotels, rental cars, parking, meals, and boarding the dogs. I'm thinking London would be a bit more.

Congrats on the 50 years.

Oh, BTW, we skipped a big celebration for our 30th, as our son had his wedding that year.

 

[settam]

Thanks for all the great ideas and keep them coming while I try to narrow down your ideas. I think she would like a river cruise so there is one choice. Anyone have experience to share?

 

[Meadbh]

Thanks for all the great ideas and keep them coming while I try to narrow down your ideas. I think she would like a river cruise so there is one choice. Anyone have experience to share?

I have taken one river cruise and enjoyed it thoroughly. It was a 12-day itinerary, starting with two days in Budapest (staying in a lovely hotel), 7 days cruising up the Danube to Nurnberg, then a coach to Prague, where we spent three nights. The cruise line was Avalon Waterways and I cannot say enough about the lovely cabins, food and service. With a river cruise, there is no danger of seasickness, and very often, you will dock in the centre of town, and can walk to all the attractions (e.g. Budapest, Regensburg). for me, one of the highlights of this cruise was having two amazing classical musicians from the Bratislava State Orchestra cone on board while we were docked in Vienna, and giving a superb concert just 1 metre from me.

Be aware that if mobility is a problem, it may interfere with your ability to enjoy some of the locations, which often have a multitude of steps. Another potential risk is water levels that are too high or too low, both of which can prevent your cruise ship from sailing. This can turn a river cruise into a bus trip and it is totally outside your control.

 

[Koolau]

We're pushing 50 years and this year we're doing Branson. For 50th, I'd be tempted to do Vegas. We don't care about gambling, but the shows and hotels could be a lot of fun and you don't really need a car. Summer isn't the best time for Vegas, so we'd likely wait until early fall. YMMV

 

[Newventurer]

Rent an antique car like the one you dated in and return to the 'scene of the crime' for a weekend of rememberance. Find a drive in movie along the way, malt shop...all the things that take you back to the thrill of the moment. Congratulations, few of us can hope to reach that milestone on the second time around.

 

[Scuba]

OP, please update us - have you decided what you'll be doing?

 

[Sunset]

Thanks for all the great ideas and keep them coming while I try to narrow down your ideas. I think she would like a river cruise so there is one choice. Anyone have experience to share?

We just got back from a 14 day Viking river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. It was very very nice, much nicer than Carnival cruise the Caribbean.
(River cruises go in either direction).

We picked the 14 day one, as the flight over and back is the same, so it seemed a better way to maximize our travel to Europe.
We didn't get a drink package as Viking has free wine/beer/soft drinks at lunch and supper, with refills, so basically that was more than I normally drink wine.

Right now the river level is perfect, not too high or low.

No chance of sea sickness on a river, luxury treatment and dining. Tour buses when used were like brand new deluxe big buses you would see on cross country tours, even if we were only going 10 miles.

It included tours at every stop, and there were a few stops where if you were not mobile, it would be an issue to do the walking tour. But if you can walk around a few blocks of your neighborhood, you are probably ok.

Cobblestone roads are not as smooth as pavement, so a wheelchair/walker would not work well.

 

[ivinsfan]

We just got back from a 14 day Viking river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. It was very very nice, much nicer than Carnival cruise the Caribbean.
(River cruises go in either direction).

We picked the 14 day one, as the flight over and back is the same, so it seemed a better way to maximize our travel to Europe.
We didn't get a drink package as Viking has free wine/beer/soft drinks at lunch and supper, with refills, so basically that was more than I normally drink wine.

Right now the river level is perfect, not too high or low.

No chance of sea sickness on a river, luxury treatment and dining. Tour buses when used were like brand new deluxe big buses you would see on cross country tours, even if we were only going 10 miles.

It included tours at every stop, and there were a few stops where if you were not mobile, it would be an issue to do the walking tour. But if you can walk around a few blocks of your neighborhood, you are probably ok.

Cobblestone roads are not as smooth as pavement, so a wheelchair/walker would not work well.

Can you do this entire trip within the OP's max number of 10K or would you need to do a shorter cruise?

 

[Sunset]

When we signed up it included free air, and free gratuities (we chose this), for a cost of $9,798.

That leaves $200 USD for fridge magnets, and ice-cream, and admission to museums, subway fare, etc.

In reality we spent $292 USD on those types of things, but it's only $92 over his budget.

 

[settam]

OP, please update us - have you decided what you'll be doing?

I've let her know what I am researching. She's quite interested in a river cruise, maybe even a Mississippi river cruise. I need to look into that cruise. Anyone do that cruise? So we are still researching. Whatever we do, it will be in September or early October. Will keep you posted as we research. Still open for ideas.