WWYD

[Lemonade]

Sort of in response to brett's comment on the trip length/budget thread, I propose a travel game...

Simple rules: 2 people, one week, $5k. Where do you go, what do you do?

I'll go first: Estes Park, Creekside Suites, one week: $2k
Gas and one night stop to and from: $500
Groceries and restaurants: $500 (more than enough)
Hiking and nature photography: free
$2k left over towards next adventure

Who's next?

(Or, what's your favorite destination with $5k and one week?)

 

[marko]

I guess....I could drive up from Boston to Vermont for a ski week if I had to. But if we're spending money, we much prefer Utah or the Alps. A trip to NYC could eat up $5k quickly in less than a week, but it's becoming less and less attractive of late. Montreal?

We don't fly coach, so $5k wouldn't cover our airfare anywhere, summer or winter.

 

[Car-Guy]

5k a week wouldn't work for me the places I'd go.

 

[DrRoy]

Most of the trips that we do call for going far enough from home that we want to stay longer than a week. That being said, given that we have been on many trips already, one thing that would fit the scenario is to fly to Vegas, spend a couple days in the city, then rent a car and visit a couple state and national parks in Nevada.

 

[marko]

Most of the trips that we do call for going far enough from home that we want to stay longer than a week..

+1. "A week" is a working based construct IMO. Retired people shouldn't have to think in terms of a "week's vacation". Even in my working days, we always felt that 10 or 12 days provided a better, more relaxed time off.

 

[Gumby]

Private flight from New Haven to Block Island. Stay in one of the old inns on the island. Rent bicycles and ride around every day. Eat well at the various restaurants. Private flight back home.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I guess....I could drive up from Boston to Vermont for a ski week if I had to. But if we're spending money, we much prefer Utah or the Alps. A trip to NYC could eat up $5k quickly in less than a week, but it's becoming less and less attractive of late. Montreal?

I've got a room in Flushing Queens, near a lot of my old friends, and a block from a ton of great restaurants, for $2.1K all in for 10 nights for an upcoming trip. (Just me, but it's a king room.) Unless I splurge every night I'll probably spend about half that on food (breakfast with excellent congee is included). If I wanted to stay in Manhattan and money was tight, the Pod hotels are affordable and in the middle of midtown, plus they're nice (if small) rooms, and the rooftop tiki bar at 42nd street hotel is really nice.

But to answer the original question, we rented a house once out by Georgetown/Five Islands, ME once, and I'd rent that again and have fresh lobster on the waterfront every night!

 

[brett]

I would fly down to Mexico, Costa Rica, or perhaps Panama for a week-10 days. Or longer. By the ocean.

I would wait until the the weather was turning where I live.

Or, I could go to Portugal for a week. Perhaps the islands...Madeira or the Azores. Air 800 pp economy, hotel 2100, meals/misc 1300. Or another city in Europe.

Lots of great hiking in Madeira or the Azores.

Lots and lots of options depending on your personal preferences and whether you are willing to fly , your personal travel preferences, if you can snag good airfare, and when you plan to go, etc. You could easily extend that week in Portugal to ten days depending on your choice of accommodation etc. We spend a week in an apartment on Madeira last June. $5K would have easily stretched to 10 days.

Or a 7 day cruise...Alaska, East Coast, Caribbean, or Mexican Riviera? Or an all inclusive somewhere nice.

The options are endless.

 

[pacergal]

We fly FC due to DH back issues, so $5k would need to be a drivable vacation.
VRBO rental for a week would work, mountains, coast or desert all within reasonable driving distances.

 

[brett]

Can't help.

Last driving trip in the US, or for that matter anything other than changing planes, was 12 years ago.

Might depend then on where you live, how much driving per day or in total that you want.

We spent lots of time on the Washington/Oregon coast, Hilton Head, and lots of Florida/California.

 

[Trailwalker]

I'd put that 5k into small fiberglass trailer improvements: batteries, solar panels, inverter, fan and go up to the U.P. and stay on Lake Superior for a week. Then I would head west to the Rockies for a couple of more months (I'm retired).

 

[wearefinishedworking]

Flights for 2 from BWI to SEA, car rental, and eating very well while visiting our son!

 

[MC Rider]

$1,000 for the trip, $4,000 on red at the roulette wheel.


OK, not really I do not care for Vegas or gambling. Not sure how I would burn $5k in 1 week.

 

[bada bing]

I would fly down to Mexico, Costa Rica, or perhaps Panama for a week-10 days. Or longer. By the ocean.

Panama for 15 days. 3 days in El Valle, 7 days in Boquete, 5 days in Bocas del Toro. Take shuttle bus between. Eat a combination of local and slightly upscale restaurants. Adjust/extend to taste. If you have another $4K and 15 days, throw in a bus to Costa Rica and/or a ferry to Columbia. That is actually my go-to winter get away now. I hope for 1 month in central America and 1 month someplace new per year for the next 10 years.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

$1,000 for the trip, $4,000 on red at the roulette wheel.


OK, not really I do not care for Vegas or gambling. Not sure how I would burn $5k in 1 week.

That’s what I was going to say!

Except I don’t gamble either and in reality I would go to Disneyland for the week.

 

[Drake3287]

We accidentally did this exact thing last September. Had hoped to visit Hawaii for the millionth time but I refused to spend $6,000 on a trip that should have only cost $4,000. plus the fact I've been there so many times.

We ended up flying to Italy from SFO and spent a week in a private villa w/pool outside of Florence with a rental car plus another week split between Rome and Milan. All for less than what a trip to Hawaii would have cost. Not counting meals it cost us $5,000.

Already set to return again this September. Unfortunately airfares a little more this year.

 

[brett]

Ditto. We do exactly the same.

We do not even consider Hawaii, Florida, Arizona for a much longer snow bird trip any more.

The closest we come to Hawaii is spending a day in HNL in between a o/w Jetstar/Qantas flight from Australia and our domestic flight the rest of the way home.

 

[Andre1969]

It's been a few years now, but I used to go to Aruba pretty regularly. A friend's Mom has a timeshare there, and she could get us good deals on resort stays. It was always three of us who went, and we'd usually stay for a week, although twice we stayed for two weeks.

I seem to recall those trips came out to around $4500-5500 total. And oddly, adding a second week really didn't add much to the cost. One year we were there, we did a lot of local excursion type stuff, and that added up kinda quickly. The cost of the plane tickets, car rental, and resort all varied enough from year to year, and on those two-week stays, we got lucky I guess. One area where we saved money was food. Instead of eating out, we'd go to the grocery store and do our own cooking.

 

[Drake3287]

Ditto. We do exactly the same.

We do not even consider Hawaii, Florida, Arizona for a much longer snow bird trip any more.

The closest we come to Hawaii is spending a day in HNL in between a o/w Jetstar/Qantas flight from Australia and our domestic flight the rest of the way home.

Yep, with the exception of maybe someone who may only have the financial means to go to Hawaii once in a life time, you'll get more bang for your travel buck by going on international trips. As much as I enjoy Hawaii, it's just a tropical version of the US not to mention it has all the same crime and social issues as here in California.

 

[Montecfo]

Yep, with the exception of maybe someone who may only have the financial means to go to Hawaii once in a life time, you'll get more bang for your travel buck by going on international trips. As much as I enjoy Hawaii, it's just a tropical version of the US not to mention it has all the same crime and social issues as here in California.

That may describe Oahu to some extent but not the other islands.

We found Oahu and Kauai to be expensive in terms of lodging but not prohibitive when we went earlier this year for 3rd time. I never once felt like I was in California on either island.

Our usual island destinations are in the Caribbean which is a good bit less expensive and closer too.

 

[W2R]

Simple rules: 2 people, one week, $5k. Where do you go, what do you do?[...]
(Or, what's your favorite destination with $5k and one week?)

I'd make a brief trip to the bank, deposit the $5K in my checking account, and sit on it. Frankly there's no place that I want to go to, enough to spend $5K on it.

But gee, something might come up that I want to buy or experience for $5K, and if/when that happens, I'll be ready! Look out, world! Meanwhile it will be nice to know that I have that flexibility.

*********************************
OK, OK, OK.... if I simply HAVE to choose a destination other than the bank, then I'd choose the British Museum in London. I thought that was amazing beyond belief when I saw it in 1972 (51 years ago), and I only got to spend a day there, mostly with my jaw dropped and whispering "OMG" to myself over and over. Hopefully it is just as amazing now, or better, but then who knows. Anyway I'd love to spend a week re-exploring the British Museum as it was in 1972. Don't think that trip would cost $5K (assuming the necessary time travel is free ), but then who knows.

 

[Northforker]

Install a whole house back up generator.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Hopefully it is just as amazing now, or better, but then who knows.

Well, for starters, everything is 51 years older! So that's a plus.

 

[W2R]

Well, for starters, everything is 51 years older! So that's a plus.

So true! You've got a point, there.

 

[Drake3287]

That may describe Oahu to some extent but not the other islands.

I'm guessing you haven't been to some of the outer islands lately. Ali'i Dr. in Kailua-Kona is a homeless and drug dealing area now. It use to be that I'd have no issues in letting my older kids walk this area at night after dinner. Those days are long gone unless you wish to be hit up for drugs every block.

As for Maui, it now has its own share of homeless camps everywhere just like here in the Bay Area. Every time I go back to Hawaii it's that much closer to being like the Bay Area.