Your favorite vacation spots!
 

Tis the season to count down the days, slack off at work by researching hotels on TripAdvisor, and pack your bags... for vacation!

Where are your favorite places to visit on a regular (repeat) basis? Why?

What is your favorite vacation of all time, not necessarily a place you go to on a regular basis?

My favorite repeat spot is the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. It's less than a 5 hour drive from where I live, lodging is cheap (3 bed, 3 bath delux townhouse for less than $100 a night? can't beat that!), and hiking in the national park is free and beautiful. :D

My favorite vacation of all time was to Granby, Colorado when I was 16. My grandma took me out to a "dude" ranch for a week, and we travelled by Amtrak. I rafted the Colorado river, rode my horse every day, won second place in a barrel racing competition in a rodeo, and got to visit Rocky Mountains NP every day (on horseback). The western National Parks are something I really want to take my own kids to someday.

Is it obvious that I would take the mountains over the beach any day of the year?

Paris- the entire city is absolutely beautiful. Napoleon the III tore down the whole city and rebuilt is so 85% of the city matches so you have this lovely city made up of creamy buildings with blue-gray slate roofs. The food is awesome, the wine is awesome, the history is awesome, the shopping is awesome! The Euro is dropping in value thanks to Greece so this fall will be the best time in years for a trip to gay Paris!
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...a/IMG_2391.jpg

Brazil!- despite having a ridiculously difficult visa to obtain (start early is my advice!) Rio de Janeiro is so wonderful! A city with a beach, a mountain, a rain forest and a lake all within 5 miles of each other is a one of a kind! The food was memorable-- my husband still dreams about the food! Fresh fish, traditional Brazilian stews, Brazilian steak houses...I could go on and on and on! The best thing I saw there, though, was Foz de Iguasu...a fabulous waterfall at the border of Brazil and Argentina.
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...a/IMG_1477.jpg

San Juan, Puerto Rico- The mix of modern and old in this city is really fun. Old San Juan reminds me so much of a clean, New Orleans! The food is soooo good (do you see a trend here?!) The plantains are yummy (try the tostones or the green plantains if you want something sweeter.) Take home a Three Kings or Don Quixote figurine to remind you of your trip. There's a bioluminescent bay not too far away for a night cruise. Day trips to El Yunque are great, too. All this, and you don't even need a passport!
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...a/IMG_0857.jpg

Cape Cod (aka The Cape) is our regular spot. We usually share a house with my sister and her family, one block from the beach (walking distance!). We usually stay in Falmouth, which has a bike trail to Woods Hole (where you take the ferry to Martha's Vineyard). We usually get in a day trip to MV or Nantucket (I've stayed on both islands already - been there, done that). We spend every day (or part of) at the beach. Heavenly!

My favorite spot is Puerto Rico. We went several years ago and it's just amazing. PR has the only rain forest in North America, and Old San Juan is gorgeous (love the above pic!). The fort was amazing, we have such beautiful pictures of our time there.

We spent a week there and it wasn't long enough. Next time, we are staying in the Old San Juan Hotel, where the Rat Pack used to stay. The lobby is insane, we spent an entire afternoon and evening hanging out there. We didn't get any pictures there (we didn't know what to expect) but next time, we will. Here's a link to photos: http://www.elsanjuanhotel.com/photo_...inkToGo=hotel1

This thread is making me itch for a vacation!!

Favorite repeat vacation is good ol' Hilton Head :) My aunt used to have a timeshare down there so we would go every year. Since she's died we stay at a super nice place on the harbor side. I just really enjoy being down there and sitting on the beach for the majority of the week. We also usually do a city trip while we're there, either to Savannah or Charleston. I adore both.

My favorite trip of all time was Mackinac Island. They don't allow cars on the island, which I thought was so cool. We stayed at the Grand Hotel and the food was amazing. I loved dressing up for dinner each night. They also have the longest covered porch and I would sit out there and just visit with people. They have an old military fort that we took a tour of too. We learned how to drive a horse and carriage, which was awesome. They also have a huge national park and a pretty nice golf course. I would love to go back. It's also really cool up there and I'm not a heat person so 70s in August was great!

My friend got married there. We were all a little annoyed because it made it completely impossible for any of us to get to her wedding. You can't just fly into Detroit and get there in one day. She ended up with one person from our program at her wedding...hope she wasn't offended, but none of us could take vacation to go to her wedding. It's a shame, because it does look like a really nice place!

idk where on the island she got married at but I want to get married there soooooo bad. They have the little stone church and all the money you pay for your wedding there goes to the graduating class (usually one or two kids) so they can go to college. Most of the people who live on the island year round are pretty poor. BF, however, feels the need to invite his entire extended family (all 2 million of them) so it looks like I'll need to find an alternate plan lol.

She had it at the resort. Before we all finished residency, she made us all promise that we'd go to her wedding, then she popped up with Mackinac island.:rolleyes: We felt bad for not going, but none of us could actually get there in time for the ceremony.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2hzhiq8.jpg

How did I know someone was going to mention the Cape?

Because it's close, it's affordable, it has a variety of towns and experiences, and it's nice? We've stayed in Chatham, Hyannis, Orleans, Dennisport and Falmouth, and of course, Nantucket and MV.

If you live there, I know you have a different experience. We had friends in Orleans and though their business was dependent on tourists, they loathed them.

The Cape definitely has two personalities, tourist season and winter. I don't mind tourists too much (as much as I used to), my real peeve is people that rent or own property for the summer and then claim to live there. Sure, from the months of May to September you may live in Falmouth/any other town, but you live in a suburb of Boston for the other months of the year. IMO if you aren't here for all of the off season, you aren't a Cape resident.

I love the Cape though, the summer definitely brings a lot more to do. Unfortunately I won't be here because I'll be performing all summer with the Spartans Drum & Bugle Corps. At least I get the middle to end of August and early September when it's still nice out.

I've always wanted to do Cape Cod, along with coastal Maine, and the rest of NE. I'll do them all in the same trip someday. My grandparents go up there every fall. My mom and her husband are actually going to Mackinac island next month. It'll be their first trip, they're really looking forward to it.

I grew up in a super touristy northern Ohio town right on Lake Erie, so I can empathize with the love-hate relationship with tourists. In winter, the town dies, and summer... it's insane.

My favorite repeat spot is Sanibel Island, just because my parents have a home there so we used to go frequently when my siblings and I were all kids and those are some of my best childhood memories. It's so beautiful and relaxing! We still go when we can, though not as often, and I really miss my old family vacations.

My favorite of all-time? Probably Ireland. It's just so so so pretty and everyone I met was so kind.

St. George Island, here in Florida is our go-to spot. LOVE it! One of the best vacations we've ever taken though was to Xcaret in Mexico. Really great.

The Grand Hotel? It's super, super nice. That's where I would do a small reception if I got married on the island. Where were you guys coming from? We did the trip in two days on the way up, driving from Cleveland, and then one day on the way back to Cleveland but it's a super long drive. We stayed at a really nice bed and breakfast on the way up.

Oh, the Maine coast is beautiful. Friends of ours do a lobster dinner at the beginning of the season (his bday) in York. If you like seafood, you'll never find any fresher. The small strip of NH beaches isn't much to talk about, but the White Mountains are breathtaking in summer and adventure-filled in the winter. Northern MA (Gloucester, Marblehead) and the Cape (the whole length - every town his its own personality) are very pretty. Boston is a can't miss- you can easily spend several days there. Western MA (the Berkshires) are gorgeous in summer and fall. RI actually has a lot going for it (Newport, Providence) in terms of arts and culture. CT is very residental but there are some great places (Mystic, Groton/New London) for day trips.

Yes, the beaches in New England may be more rocky, but Barry Manilow got it right. It can get hot here (mid 90s in the summer), but near the water is cooler thanks to the sea breezes.

I love Jekyll Island, Georgia. Totally relaxing and once I'm on the Island, just give me a bike and I can go anywhere. Oh, and you can day trip to the swamp or Savannah or Jacksonville. St. Simon, Star, and Cumberland islands are all close by as well.

I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I consider Mackinac one of our secret treasures. It's definitely a repeat vacation place for Michiganders. The last time I was there was in 2008, with my son, when we scattered my mom's ashes in the straits of Mackinac during a meteor shower.

For as much as I like to bash Michigan (hey BF goes to OSU lol) the first thing I would do if I won the lottery is buy a house on the island for a summer home. It really is just spectacular.

now THAT is a beautiful, significant and amazingly memorable way to honor your mom!

Not cheesy at all! I adore Vegas! It's like the adult Disney World. Speaking of Disney World... :D

Have you seen The Beatles one? It's basically the reason I want to go to Vegas, lol

I go to Puerto Rico about once a year (family there & parents recent bought a house there). We stay on the northwest side of the island in a town called Aguadilla. It's beautiful! I second what AOII Angel said about the bioluminescent bay and rain forest. I also recommend Rincon (west side of the island) is you're into surfing.

My family and their friends and their family used to go to Door County, Wisconsin every year. We always had a great time! Lots of state parks and places to hike/ride bikes. Lots of golfing too! Oh, and we always spend one day on a pontoon boat that we rent on Green Bay!

Love love love Door County! It's a staple summer vacation spot for my family, too.

Me too!! I like it for the shopping and people watching! :)

YES.

You can read about everyone's (and some of my) Cirque experiences here:

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ghlight=Cirque

I love The Greenbrier. It is one of the most peaceful places I have ever been. Granted, the new owner has put in a casino, and I suppose I'll see how that affects everything soon. He has it basically in the basement, and promises that it will not totally change the atmosphere. I hope it doesn't.

I also love going to Mexico City and the Dominican Republic, but I have family in those places which may mean that I experience them differently than normal vacationers might...

Thanks KSU!

And ThetaDancer, where do you usually stay? We used to rent cabins near the Alpine, but we've been staying at the Landmark for a while now...Ugh we haven't been in three years, I miss it!

Another "Cheesy" One!
 

Greater DC

I've always said that if I knew I was going to die tomorrow, I would want to take one last drive down George Washington Memorial Parkway to Mount Vernon. There is something so peaceful about having the Bay on the one side, and all of the natural wildlife areas - it's one of my favorite places in the world. Knowing that it's so close to such a major city makes it all the more lush.

My favorite vacation of all time was when I was 16 and my parents took me to Estriol, Portugal (outside of Lisbon). We stayed at the Hotel Palacio, but unfortunately we didn't know that about 80% of the espionage during WWII happened at that hotel! Our suite was bigger than apartments I've lived in - two stories, huge balcony, floor to top of second story windows, sauna & jacuzzi in the suite, and most of the furniture (other than the beds) were well preserved antiques. The restaurant served the full seven courses, along with the wines, and used sterling and china. I'll admit that a lot of the passion I have in remembering this trip is from being so young, probably the only blonde in Portugal that week & a half, having men flirt with me continuously, and seeing so many luxurious palaces. The picture below is of the lobby, but the suite seen half-obscured by the flowers (second from the left) was ours. I'll have to dig up a photo of me while we were there.


My parents' section of the suite:

http://www.palacioestorilhotel.com/E..._Double_fs.jpg

The Atlantis resort in the Bahamas.

I've never been to Portugal, but those pictures make me want to go, Honey!

We usually stay at the Inn on Maple but my very favorite is the Thorp House Inn. I like the Landmark, too! This makes me want to start planning a Door County weekend...

If you do, diet first! The food is absolutely wonderful! It's really very beautiful. Some of the sites you want to see are Cascais, Sintra, and one of the top ten most beautiful palaces in Europe, Queluz.

FYI, no it doesn't. We have the Hoh Rain Forest here in Washington state, which is within the Olympic National Park. Alaska has some, too.

PR does have the only tropical rain forest in North America, whereas the others are temperate. The biggest difference is temperate - rain forests closer to the equator are warmer and known as tropical whereas rain forests closer to the arctic are cooler and known as temperate.

West Coast Represeeeeeeeeeent
 

I love the Oregon coast. My family went to Seaside, OR every summer when I was growing up and I fully intend to take my kids there when I have some. Oregon has an incredible mix of both powdery and rugged beaches. Seaside has a boardwalk you can ride your bike down, a main street teens like to cruise down that is lined with salt water taffy/candy shops, arcades, cheesy putt-putt golf and restaurants. Or go five minutes away to Cannon Beach, an artsy town with yummy restaurants, luxury hotels, an iconic beach, and not much else.

I also LOVE London every time I go, and I can't wait to go back to Paris.

My fiance and I are considering Belize for our honeymoon - anyone been?

Loving the Hoh Rain Forest!

Daytona and Vegas!

I had to do a double-take because the first time I read this, I read "Dayton" instead of Daytona ;)

I always end up at the coast for about any vacation/day off I have (I went today for instance). I'm a big fan of Cannon Beach and Newport. Seaside tends to be super busy most of the time so I go down to the other two so that I can deal with a smaller crowd. I love the aquarium at Newport, but the beach at Cannon is my favorite. No matter what beach you visit, you have to find Mo's. The clam chowder...OMG I may have to do another trip tomorrow because I'm craving now.

Here's cheesy:

Myrtle Beach.

Back in the day, my mom had this thing about staying in the newest motor court every year. Somewhere along the line they changed the names to motels, now they call them resorts. Haha.