seasoned vacationers I need your help & expertise!!!!!

labyrinth

Thu, Oct 11 2012, 11:08 pm

my dh just told me he wants to take me on a 1 week vacation, I should just choose where I want to go. seriously, making decisions is the worst thing for me. can someone (or a lot of someones..) please please please help me out? Israel for a week? California- Hollywood-la? cruise to Bahamas? any suggestions? any do's or don'ts? please!!!!! this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.....

Mrs Bissli

Thu, Oct 11 2012, 11:22 pm

What do you/DH enjoy doing--would you prefer outdoor/nature type of attraction, or history, or arts/interesting buildings? Beaches, diving, snorkeling?

Do you/DH need kosher restaurants, daily miniyan?

How much travelling (driving, changing airplanes, international travel) do you guys feel comfortable?
My rule of thumb is x number of days = x hours of travelling. So if you have 7days, you can do up to
7hours travelling (one way).

Personally, I love New England or Vancouver to Lake Louise around this time of the year.
Arizona is also awesome.
Or come to Europe (nice time of the year to visit Italy, not too hot or crowded, hearing you can get cheap hols in Greece or Spain because of their economy)

Then you can't go wrong with Israel for a week.

dancingqueen

Thu, Oct 11 2012, 11:32 pm

If you tell us where you are and what time of year year you will travel and what you like to do on vacation we could probably be a bit more helpful...

labyrinth

Thu, Oct 11 2012, 11:50 pm

wow! thank you for responding already. my dh was roaring from laughter when he heard ill be asking my "nonexistent advice experts" for help. well! proves him wrong!!!
ok, so I'm in NY-NJ area.
budget? I spent last year 10k on a trip so would want this to be a bit more reasonable.
enjoyments? honestly, this is like once in a lifetime opportunity. kinda live in a place where not much is allowed so when we go away we have to do EVERYTHING if you guys get what I mean?
and I happened to not be expecting right now so I can really have fun like a teenager. dont know if ill ever have the opportunity again in the next 20 years.
israel would be a spiritual trip, california would be more real fun, talking beaches water parks hollywood etc.
thank you for all your help!!!

zaq

Fri, Oct 12 2012, 1:20 am

If it's literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and not just your way of saying "this doesn't happen very often"--how can you think of going anywhere other than Israel?

Tamiri

Fri, Oct 12 2012, 4:26 am

zaq wrote:

If it's literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and not just your way of saying "this doesn't happen very often"--how can you think of going anywhere other than Israel?

I had exactly the same thought. I can't imagine a Jew spending big money ANYWHERE, before having been to Israel. OP, have you been to Israel?
Now, is just about the best season to visit. The days are still quite warm, the nights pleasant. There usually isn't rain and if there is - it's short. High tourist season is over so you can save some money on flights, hotels etc. Also, things won't be as crowded as they are during high season.
There are kosher restaurants galore, so you would never have to worry about food. Even stepping into the supermarket is a pleasure because it's all kosher!
Coming for a week with no children is like a dream come true!!!

Last edited by Tamiri on Fri, Oct 12 2012, 5:03 am; edited 1 time in total

Raisin

Fri, Oct 12 2012, 4:37 am

in europe people go to isreal for fun. Not having to worry about food is a huge plus.

What about a cruise? You can order kosher meals on them, I believe.

EmesOrNT

Fri, Oct 12 2012, 10:07 am

I concur about Israel. Why would it be only a spiritual trip? I've done the most exciting things there - paragliding, parasailing, kayaking, zip-lining, jeeping, horseback riding, and all the shopping!!! Walking through the shuk, the old city, the boardwalk in teveria… And the best part was all the delicious, kosher food, readily available.

However, if you want something exotic, and different, I loved Italy. LOVED.

irrationalrose

Fri, Oct 12 2012, 10:26 am

if you like history and beautiful things then Italy - Rome is amazing I would spend most of the time there. you can also rent a car, drive up to sienna (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena) which is basically in intact medieval town, stop along the way at little villages, you can stay overnight in siena or florence - I think florence still has at least one kosher restaurant. http://www.jewishitaly.org/ has food, shul, info, etc.

MimiMommy

Fri, Oct 12 2012, 10:36 am

Nix Hollywood. It's really nothing special and rather disappointing (dirty, seedy). In my experience, anyway. I know I would love to go to Israel, but it is a long trip and you might spend a lot of the time jetlagged. Maybe Europe?

perquacky

Fri, Oct 12 2012, 10:38 am

We loved Puerto Rico. We're outdoorsy people, and P.R. has beaches, a rain forest, a desert--all on one small island!
There's kosher food available in the supermarkets. We're used to cooking when we travel, so not having restaurants to go to is fine by us.

Belize is also very beautiful. . . .

irrationalrose

Fri, Oct 12 2012, 10:43 am

MimiMommy wrote:

agree about hollywood.

europe is starting to get cold - in three weeks you will want to make sure you stay south, italy, south of france, parts of spain or greece.

oodlesofnoodles

Fri, Oct 12 2012, 11:35 am

A week might be a little too short for Israel unless you won't have jet lag..
I would recommend a resort in the Caribbean or a cruise. You can definitely get kosher food on the cruise but you have to reserve it in advance, 3 weeks may not be enough time. I would also recommend a balcony stateroom, totally worth the money!
check out groupon getaways for some good deals on resorts if you choose that option.

celesteno

Fri, Oct 12 2012, 12:22 pm

Well it depends how big a trip you want to do. If you really want to go somewhere very different. Try something like Buenos Aires, Argentina. It has a huge Jewish population so there are plenty of kosher restaurants (If you like steak and wine you'll be in heaven--best steak meals I've ever had--appetizers, dessert and wine for less than $20 USD)and minyanim, but there is so much to do and see. It also doesn't have to be crazy expensive (I think it would be way cheaper than Europe where the pound and the Euro make everything like twice as expensive). Other than flight the cost is not so high. You can rent an apartment for a week for way cheaper than a hotel. At least when I went the ratio was 1/4 (US Dollar/Argentinian Dollar), cabs there are incredibly inexpensive. I recommend it to everyone.

labyrinth

Sat, Oct 13 2012, 8:12 pm

thank you for all your opinions. truth is my trip last year was to Israel, we were there for two weeks.
one week is max that I can leave all my kids, I really want to do the things that I wont be able to do in the future while being pregnant or with a baby, as in water parks, beaches, & the works. 1 week for Israel is too short, no?
any recommendations for places in California? Florida is way too congested for my taste.
and Italy? what fun places do they have?

Mrs Bissli

Sat, Oct 13 2012, 8:26 pm

Italy (or most of southern Europe for that matter) would be a bit too cold for beaches, water park etc if you're thinking of November. The only place I can think of that would be still warm in Europe for swimming would be Canary Islands but I don't think there's kosher foods/miniyan/synagogue there. Some of our friends got good valued deals in Greece, still warm last month, but again very little jewish amenity.

If water sports are high on your agenda, probably I'd stick to Carribean.