Vacation spots you want to go to, or have plans to go to...
 

I want to kick it in Johannesburg, South Africa. I haven't made any plans to go, but, as soon as I get my finances tight again, I definitely want to make plans with my fiance' to go. One of my boys just came back from there on business. Dude said he loves it there. He said it's like a bigger/warmer version of Chicago.

Any of y'all have any dream places you want to visit, or are there any places you are planning on going to?

The Bahamas, or really anywhere in the Caribbean. My parents took me on a cruise when I was about 11, but I was really too young to enjoy it then. I would love to go back! Tropical places are my favorite.

Japan!

Would also love to see more of the middle east, but right now, I'm not taking the risk.


Botswana is also on my list.

I'm going to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic Dec '13 for my cousin's (who is a DG btw) wedding. I've never been to the Caribbean, let alone an all inclusive resort (Hard Rock) so I'm looking forward to it.

I want to visit all of Great Britain. I just love all the culture in each country!

Italy and Greece. It's just that my mom was born and raised in southern Greece, and my dad was born in Italy, but raised in the U.S. I'd like to visit my "roots" one day. :)

I don't have anything booked yet, but I really do have to get to Oahu and Kauai (for business), and Machu Picchu is at the top of my bucket list.

Tulip86, most of the Middle East is perfectly safe, in fact WAY safer than here. You probably wouldn't be going to Saudi Arabia, Yemen or Syria, which I wouldn't recommend, and Israel hasn't had a day of peace in 2500 years, so I wouldn't let the occasional threat of war slow you down if that's on your list. Very few foreigners ever get caught in that cross-fire anyway; they fight mostly amongst themselves. But UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan are all fine, and Lebanon is just currently having a blip. They'll be fine again shortly. And Egypt outside Cairo is also perfectly fine, although technically not Middle East.

I Phi 1963, I just came across a fantastic promotion for South Africa, so how convenient is that? http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=1&theater And yes, that's my work Facebook page, but I really did get this promotion about an hour before reading your post.

I really want to visit Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, since I have traveled some other places in the Middle East already, and I've heard wonderful things about those countries. I know most countries in the Middle East are very safe, never felt unsafe in any of the countries I visited there.

Qatar is also on the to-go-list, but at the moment, financially out of my reach.

Jordan should be the top of anyone's list. It was really amazing. And while there's some trouble happening in Lebanon, to me it's not worth putting off a trip if that's what you want to do. During the war in the Balkans, people traveled literally through an active war to get to Medjugorje. As far as I know, no pilgrims ever died in Yugoslavia en route, and that was way more violent than anywhere in the Middle East, except Syria. There was a window in about 2011 when you could go to Syria. Now, I would plan roughly for 2015.

I don't mean to be crass, but next time you hear about violence in one of those countries, count heads. Is it worse than how many got killed last week in Chicago or New York or LA? And yet you wouldn't think twice about going to New York to go Christmas shopping.

That doesn't really have anything to do with my reasons for not traveling there, like I said, I know the Middle East is quite safe, I´m not so naive to think the US is the safest place to be.
But since I want to combine Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, I'll just put it off for a while. One of my best friends made that trip, and I loved the idea of combining them. Since I get a few weeks off , but can´t take those weeks off separately, I´m aiming for one big trip!

If I can make a suggestion for someone who wants to experience an Arabic country, but doesn´t want to go to the Middle East per se, I´d say check out Tunisia. It is an amazing country, with a lot of culture, beaches and amazing scenery. The people are welcoming and laid back. One of the most amazing trips I´ve ever made (and budget friendly too!)

One of the guys in my BF's fraternity just came back from South Africa after a 6 month internship. He loved Johannesburg, said the vibe was really good, great people, a lot to see and do.
He said Cape Town was a must-see as well.

Yeah, I heard Cape Town was nice as hell.

there more i travel the world, the more i want to explore the US. I'm an east coast girl so Denver, San Francisco, Seattle and Vegas are on next year's domestic travel agenda.

^^^ SF is a great city. Let me know if you need any tips on what to do here :)

I really want to go to England, Australia, Morocco, Southern France, Spain, and the Bahamas!

That's a quirky mix! I've been to some of the above and like them for different reasons. But you can tie in Morocco with Spain and do a nice trip including crossing the Straits of Gibraltar.