Western Hemisphere Vacations

[CycloneSarah]

I know this doesn't align with most of your options, but since you have Vancouver as a summer but not tropical option - I suggest Montreal, Quebec and maybe also Quebec City. I haven't been but it seems from pictures etc that it would be like sneaking into old Europe without as long of a flight, possibly cheaper. Here is a google maps streetview chosen at random in the old part of the City:
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.504...4!1sNfajvTXhC3g1exDnkgacLQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Also a vote for summer in Iceland. I've wanted to go to Iceland for a long time - wish I would have before it was cool!

I had never heard of Quebec City until recently when I saw a picture of it similar to this one. It's definitely on my radar now!

My 2 cents: Curacao would be my pick just based on the pictures in that link and the fact that it's less known and looks like a neat experience. I think Banff and Iceland are overdone right now. I'm sure they are gorgeous and fun places to visit but my sister and I had a running joke this summer of texting each other every time we saw another Banff post on Facebook. There were so many! Might be best to wait a couple of years and hope that the interest in those places dies down a little.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I've never spent time in Montreal itself, but I've always heard it's much more English-speaking than the rest of Quebec. I know in Quebec City (and beyond) the English is much less prevalent.

Which is fine, or maybe even desirable.

 

[JayV]

Never been there myself, but it seems like an Iowan would vacation in the Corn Islands off the coast of Nicaragua in the Carribbean.

The speak English, economy is based on tourism, and love baseball.

 

[DarkStar]

Antarctica.

(Half of it is in western hemisphere)

Last continent left on my bucket list item of visiting all seven.

Hang out with some penguins in their natural habitat.

February because that is when it is summer down there. (And about the only time civilians can make travel arrangements to get there.)

 

[Angie]

One thing to consider if you're looking at fall times is hurricane season. Might be wise to purchase vacation insurance. We planned a vacation to Kauai a year and half ago about the time that hurricane Michael (may be the wrong name) was passing by and all reports said there was widespread flooding and heavy rain so we cancelled. We got all but about $50 back.

Thank you! That is super-helpful - I've never looked at vacation insurance before, because we've never gone anywhere at a time when it was likely to be an issue. That's awesome!

Guess I'm not a beach guy. Not that I wouldn't go, but I want to go to Vancouver and then rent a car and drive up the Alcan highway. I can only imagine how gorgeous B.C. must be.

I'm generally not a beach person, either. I burn IMMEDIATELY in the sun (like, seriously after about 10-15 minutes), and my curly hair becomes rather voluminous in humidity. I'd rather go somewhere in Europe (like London or Amsterdam) where I can do lots of cool, fascinating things and still do some outdoor stuff where I don't get sick from the sun!

I had never heard of Quebec City until recently when I saw a picture of it similar to this one. It's definitely on my radar now!

My 2 cents: Curacao would be my pick just based on the pictures in that link and the fact that it's less known and looks like a neat experience. I think Banff and Iceland are overdone right now. I'm sure they are gorgeous and fun places to visit but my sister and I had a running joke this summer of texting each other every time we saw another Banff post on Facebook. There were so many! Might be best to wait a couple of years and hope that the interest in those places dies down a little.

That's totally my reasoning with Curacao - it's fascinating, and we have Dutch familial history. I don't know anyone who has been to Curacao, and it looks a lot like the Burano island off of Venice that I went to this past May!

Never been there myself, but it seems like an Iowan would vacation in the Corn Islands off the coast of Nicaragua in the Carribbean.

The speak English, economy is based on tourism, and love baseball.

This is also incredibly helpful! I hadn't even looked at Nicaragua - for some reason, I end up remembering things from the early 90s and figure that they are always unstable.

 

[Candide]

I'm generally not a beach person, either. I burn IMMEDIATELY in the sun (like, seriously after about 10-15 minutes), and my curly hair becomes rather voluminous in humidity. I'd rather go somewhere in Europe (like London or Amsterdam) where I can do lots of cool, fascinating things and still do some outdoor stuff where I don't get sick from the sun!

We love Toronto. It truly is the cultural capital of Canada and has something for everyone. Museums, professional sports, food, outdoor activities on Lake Ontario, music, easy public transportation, etc. The Ontario beer scene is also out of this world.

You can also rent a car and be to Niagra Falls and back in an afternoon.

Google Flights has super cheap flights to Toronto right now, less than $200 from almost anywhere.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

I'm probably the exception to the rule, but I'm not a beach baby any more. I LOVE Vancouver, and all of BC. Spent plenty of time there in my miss-spent youth. Plenty of outdoor activities summer OR winter, but with the kids in tow you probably wouldn't want to opt for skiing at Whistler.
TL;DR - ignore me because I'm old and have different priorities!!

 

[MeanDean]

Of those, I'd vote Curacao. Been to Key West a couple times. Loved the drive down, so beautiful, but once you get there it's a tourist destination of the first degree. Also, surprisingly, they have almost no beach.

Been to Montreal and it is actually an interesting city. I mostly remember going to the island in the St Lawrence where Expo '67 was held .(Supposedly my sister and I were going to get to go to that in conjunction with one of my dad's business trips, but it didn't happen.)

Also, if you're considering Vancouver BC you might also want to look into Victoria BC. It's a bit less hectic but also very cool. You can actually fly into Seattle (cheap) and catch a ferry there.

 

[cycloner29]

Going to the Keys the last week of Jan for a week. Was there last year to. Hate it when I have to go there for work.

 

[Angie]

We love Toronto. It truly is the cultural capital of Canada and has something for everyone. Museums, professional sports, food, outdoor activities on Lake Ontario, music, easy public transportation, etc. The Ontario beer scene is also out of this world.

You can also rent a car and be to Niagra Falls and back in an afternoon.

Google Flights has super cheap flights to Toronto right now, less than $200 from almost anywhere.

I have never been to Toronto, so this sounds interesting to me! And going to the Falls would be awesome! I've only been to Manitoba and Alberta for any amount of time, and just been to Quebec to fly in and out and cross over into very upstate NY.

Of those, I'd vote Curacao. Been to Key West a couple times. Loved the drive down, so beautiful, but once you get there it's a tourist destination of the first degree. Also, surprisingly, they have almost no beach.

Been to Montreal and it is actually an interesting city. I mostly remember going to the island in the St Lawrence where Expo '67 was held .(Supposedly my sister and I were going to get to go to that in conjunction with one of my dad's business trips, but it didn't happen.)

Also, if you're considering Vancouver BC you might also want to look into Victoria BC. It's a bit less hectic but also very cool. You can actually fly into Seattle (cheap) and catch a ferry there.

Thank you so much! I'm giving Curacao a few really good looks, as it sounds fascinating. I'll definitely look into all of these! Thanks so much!

I had an uncle who lived in Victoria and took that ferry - he loved it!

 

[AlaCyclone]

Of the ones you listed, I voted for Key West. If I had to add one to the list, I would say Montreal!

 

[Clonefan94]

Thank you! That is super-helpful - I've never looked at vacation insurance before, because we've never gone anywhere at a time when it was likely to be an issue.

Generally, the ABC islands don't get affected by hurricanes. That's why we chose our honeymoon there since we went in prime hurricane season. We still did the insurance as at that time, it wasn't that expensive compared to the price of the trip.

The second time we went to Aruba, we were supposed to leave on September 14, 2001. So even though there was no cost to change the dates, it ended up being 100 times easier because we had the insurance. We could pick anytime we wanted and the prices didn't change. Without, it would have been trickier to get all of our itinerary covered since we would have had to appeal to different entities when theoretically, only our flights were officially comped without insurance.

For major trips outside of the US, I'll probably always go with the insurance, just to cover all the bases.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

Cozumel.

Quick, easy, usually cheap flight. Stunning island with the friendliest people you'll ever meet plus there's tons to do other that just the water.

 

[dmclone]

I've been to Isla Mujeres 6 times now and love it. The key takeaways:

Rent a house with it's own pool. If you can find another couple, you'll end up spending less than an all inclusive. Pick a house on the south side of the island, away from the day trippers.

Dining is cheap, Groceries are cheap, and beer is cheap.

Rent a golf cart to get around. The golf cart company will fill it up with gas at your house.

Schedule transportation between the cancun airport and the ferry.

 

[cowgirl836]

I'm generally not a beach person, either. I burn IMMEDIATELY in the sun (like, seriously after about 10-15 minutes), and my curly hair becomes rather voluminous in humidity. I'd rather go somewhere in Europe (like London or Amsterdam) where I can do lots of cool, fascinating things and still do some outdoor stuff where I don't get sick from the sun!

you might really enjoy Montreal then - still good outdoor stuff (especially hiking Mont Royal in the fall) and feels very European.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I've been to Curacao. It was fine-ish, but probably not that different from the other islands mentioned in this thread. Didn't find the food to be all that great away from the resort and did not find an abundance of entertainment options other than the beach. Granted this was about 15 years ago.

 

[Angie]

Of the ones you listed, I voted for Key West. If I had to add one to the list, I would say Montreal!

I really wish that I had added Montreal in the first place! It's gotten a ton of traction. I'm definitely going to add it to my short list. I really only have driven in and out in the dark, and was trying to find the airport when the signs were all in French (I only speak some Spanish, almost no French) and there were two airports. So I've never experienced it at all other than the airport hotels!

Generally, the ABC islands don't get affected by hurricanes. That's why we chose our honeymoon there since we went in prime hurricane season. We still did the insurance as at that time, it wasn't that expensive compared to the price of the trip.

The second time we went to Aruba, we were supposed to leave on September 14, 2001. So even though there was no cost to change the dates, it ended up being 100 times easier because we had the insurance. We could pick anytime we wanted and the prices didn't change. Without, it would have been trickier to get all of our itinerary covered since we would have had to appeal to different entities when theoretically, only our flights were officially comped without insurance.

For major trips outside of the US, I'll probably always go with the insurance, just to cover all the bases.

I wish I had purchased some for the past couple of years with my trips to Italy. I had just terrible flight situations (hence our free airfare banked), and I think it might have worked out in my favor... I really think the ABC islands seem so very cool.

Cozumel.

Quick, easy, usually cheap flight. Stunning island with the friendliest people you'll ever meet plus there's tons to do other that just the water.

Did you have good luck with the food and water? Is it safe to go off-resort? I know so very little about the different Mexican cities, just the overall stuff you hear.

I've been to Isla Mujeres 6 times now and love it. The key takeaways:

Rent a house with it's own pool. If you can find another couple, you'll end up spending less than an all inclusive. Pick a house on the south side of the island, away from the day trippers.

Dining is cheap, Groceries are cheap, and beer is cheap.

Rent a golf cart to get around. The golf cart company will fill it up with gas at your house.

Schedule transportation between the cancun airport and the ferry.

This is also really helpful. I've never been to Cancun - is it pretty safe? Did you have any issues getting sick with the water or anything?

you might really enjoy Montreal then - still good outdoor stuff (especially hiking Mont Royal in the fall) and feels very European.

I really am going to move it way up the list. It is obviously going to feel French in a lot of ways, and will just be super-different than here... but with a ton of safety, offbeat things to do, and safe water. It's a really good idea!

 

[1UNI2ISU]

Definitely safe to go off-resort in Cozumel. There's a big town square/shopping area with street vendors and all sorts of stuff. I've never felt unsafe there. Their entire economy is tourism so they bend over backwards to accommodate.

Food wise they have everything from American chains to local joints to truly authentic places. You can find anything you want and the resorts really cater to Americans and Western Europeans.

The water is like the rest of Mexico. It's a no-go. All bottled.

 

[dmclone]

Our time in Cancun is limited to going from the airport to the ferry.

We buy bottled water, no one drinks the faucet water.

We really have two types of travel. We do one vacation a year where we are always on the go, this is usually a European country. We do another vacation where we just chill the whole time, this is usually a place like Isla. San Diego is like Isla Mujeres in that we take it easy there but the Pacific water is nothing like the water in Isla.

 

[dmclone]

Sometimes we've stayed on the side facing Cancun, other times we've stayed on the ocean side. Every time was on the south end, away from the crowds.