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Which countries would be your top pick to visit?

CJ2008

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So...hoping we might be able to take a vacation next year.

I did a search for the cheapest places to visit, and this one of the lists that came up.

Which ones would your top 1-3 picks?

(the article gives a little more detail about each country) http://www.skyscanner.net/news/10-worlds-cheapest-countries-go-holiday

1. Cambodia
2. Vietnam
3. India
4. Bolivia
5. Hungary
6. Honduras
7. Bulgaria
8. Sri Lanka
9. Argentina
10. Greece
 

VRBeauty

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1. Cambodia and Vietnam - neighboring countries, you could do both in one trip (and I would, given the travel time involved.) Both are getting more popular, but might still be in a "pre-megatouristattraction" state.

2. Bulgaria. An inexpensive slice of eastern Europe. I suspect it would also give me a chance to indulge in my love of textiles.

3. India and Sri Lanka... textiles, art, atmosphere, and gems... I have good friends who travelled to India every few years until (their) health restrictions made it impossible.

Greece would probably be no. 2 on my list, for week or so vacation, if I hadn't already been there. It's more of a first world experience than some of the other options on the list, a nice chance to see both antiquities and beautiful beaches and islands.
 

packrat

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Any of those places would be amazing. I'm not going *anywhere* out of the US until I've been to Australia tho, so I'm no help. (maybe soon tho b/c mom says she's taking us..)
 

kenny

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Don't want to visit any more countries.

I wouldn't mind moving to some countries, but visiting does nothing for me any more.

I liked being in the military and living in 3 countries for over a year each.
That was cool.

After that being a tourist feels shallow and even exploitive.
 

azstonie

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Ireland, both to visit again and live there!!!!
 

missy

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I have on my short list Australia and New Zealand. And Kristie, I would love to join you in Ireland. :sun:

CJ, out of the countries you listed I would choose Greece. It has been a very long time since I last visited but it was a wonderful visit. Make sure if you go you get to visit some of the Greek Islands too. My second choice from your list would be Hungary. My aunt and uncle visited last year and said it was one of the most amazing trips they ever took and they are frequent travelers all over the world. So that is high praise.
 

chrono

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The Asian countries are hot, humid, full of bugs and the latrines are challenging. If you can handle that, there's plenty to see and do. The European places have better hygiene so you are less likely to get sick whilst there, with the bonus of wonderful history, culture and architecture. It is all about what you prefer and how hardy you are.
 

autumngems

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Italy
England
Greece
Switzerland
Australia
Sweden
Germany
Holland
French Polynesia
 

Snowdrop13

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I've had a recent hankering to go to Iceland, it looks very interesting in so many ways. I'm not keen on flying at all so we are a bit restricted but I'd also like to explore Scandinavia.
 

chemgirl

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Are you looking for destinations on a budget, or just cool places to go?

Iceland is one of my favorite places and I highly recommend. You can find affordable flights and Airbnb has some decent places. Hotels are getting expensive again so not exactly the budget trip it was a few years ago.

Bonus is that you can rent a car and drive fairly easily so you can see a lot without paying for tours. Although I would recommend meeting up with a group or guide if you are doing anything that could be dangerous (ie I'm going back for Christmas and planning to do some ice climbing).

Ireland is also amazing and can be done on a budget if you stick to b&b's instead of hotel chains.
 

Arcadian

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I just got back from Ecuador, and I wish I could have stayed longer!!! I did San Cristobal for 3 days, then Quito for 3 days.



Next on my list is Peru. I'm hoping I can swing it next year do to a hike through the cloud forest and up the Andes. I'm apparently a glutton for punishment...lol

After that I want to visit The Darien National Park, and the Azores in Spain.

When I want to go somewhere I tend to use this list:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/

p1120096_sm.jpg

p1110462_sm.jpg
 

smitcompton

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Hi,

From your list, I would choose Greece. I think next choice would be India.

For myself, I would choose Monte Carlo, and nearby St Tropaz. Morocco would be my third choice, but I don't want to be beheaded, so I'll pass for now.

I'm sure you'll enjoy any place you choose.

Annette
 

CJ2008

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Thank you all for all your feedback! :wavey:

As of right now based on some further reading/thought and your suggestions I'm leaning toward Greece or Hungary. ETA: I'll look further into what we can get for our money based on when we might be able to go.

Iceland and Ireland and Peru and Ecuador sound amazing too - every place sounds amazing, really. And Australia, definitely.

There's no place I wouldn't like to visit.

But like Chrono asked, I'm not hardy at all. :???: So I do have to keep that in mind - and it's not like we can go for more than about a week or so we need to keep flight/travel time in mind.

chemgirl, I'm looking for a cool destination on a budget ::)

We're not really "budget" travelers in the sense that we like really nice hotels (who doesn't, I know) so a chunk of our $ is going to go to accommodations...so I want to look for places where we can get the most for our money so we can get decent accommodations but not pay super expensive prices.

We tried a B&B once and didn't really love the experience...too intimate...I think we like the impersonal best ::)

Thanks for the list Arcadian I'll check it out.
 

Arcadian

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CJ, sometimes you find some amazing deals on groupon. Its worth a shot. When I did Ecuador I went though there and really enjoyed the experience. The Travel Agents(when they're good) can set you up with some amazing places. I won't lie, my vacation was NOT relaxing :lol: It was fun and memorable though.

But if thats not really your thing, you may do better on a cruise and use the ship as your floating hotel. Only thing is, you may not get the time you want at each stop, which is the trade off.
 

ksinger

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I just got back from my second time in Ireland, my husband's first. We chose it because I really wanted to go back, he'd never been, and I can't handle warm places anymore. So....

Anyway it was a great trip. I did the B&B route the first time, but we chose the hotels for this trip. I was hoping for more comfortable beds in hotels than in the B&Bs (I'm the princess from "The Princess And The Pea") but the Irish truly love sleeping on slabs of concrete. Even the hubs - who loves a firm bed - was a bit ginched up by the beds. So if you love a firm bed, Ireland is definitely for you. Still, he was quite taken with the place, I got to see things I missed the first time around, and I'm pretty sure both of us could get used to living there quite easily.

He still wants to visit France, and I'm wanting to see Italy. We shall see though. I have some limitations, and we both found international travel times to be quite brutal.
 

PintoBean

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They all are amazing! Maybe one way to narrow the list down is to figure out when you want to take the vacation, and how optimal the weather will be in the countries.
 

zoebartlett

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Ireland, definitely. My husband would love to move there tomorrow if he could. Of the countries on your list, CJ, hmm, I think I'd pick Greece because it's so beautiful. I'm not sure why but I'm not interested in visiting Asia. There are so many places I'd love to see, it would be a hard choice!
 

adele_h

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Oooooh!

From what I've heard, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic aren't too expensive either.. I'd definitely pick a few of the eastern european countries, and go in a shoulder season (we went from Aus - Italy this year in late Feb / early March - hotels and train travel were cheaper, flights were cheaper, tours were cheaper and the lines were far less long)..

Enjoy planning!
 

CJ2008

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PintoBean|1446679327|3945813 said:
They all are amazing! Maybe one way to narrow the list down is to figure out when you want to take the vacation, and how optimal the weather will be in the countries.

Yes, definitely...have already started doing that. That is always a good way to do it.

ksinger and zoe - heard so many great things about Ireland. I also think haven had gone one year and she posted some pictures from there...absolutely beautiful.

Thanks adele for your recs, and for the good wishes!

I will keep all these in mind as I start to research.

I am really really leaning toward Greece right now.
 

PintoBean

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Btw, are you a Costco member? It might be worth a shot to compare and contrast their packages with what you are currently looking at.
 

AprilBaby

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DONT go to Honduras right now. Murder capital of the world. Even Roatan is dangerous. I loved Malta but I have no idea how expensive it is right now.
 
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