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What''s your favorite tropical vacation spot?

zoebartlett

zoebartlett

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
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So I''m watching House Hunters and the guy on tonight''s episode lives in Tokyo but he''s looking for a vacation house in Bali. I''ve never been there but it looks beautiful.

In my dreams, we are able to jet off to a tropical place whenever we want. Since that is, and always will be, so far from our reality, I''ll have to settle on just dreaming.

What tropical place do you love the most and why? Is it the type of place that you think, "it''s great for a vacation but I wouldn''t want to live here" or do you want to move right in permanently?

I have''t been to many tropical places other than Bermuda (and Key West, if you count that). I love that there''s a mix of things to do besides lying on the beach in both places (although that''s fun too!). My ultimate dream vacation is a trip to Hawaii, but it''s SO expensive and SO far away. Someday we''ll get there though.
 
I''ll probably get kicked out of Australia for saying it, but to me, Bali is bleh.
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Well, the touristy areas are - too many loud, obnoxious Westerners. And it''s dirty, dirty, dirty - trash and stray dogs everywhere.
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I imagine the less developed northern areas would be beautiful though.

Right next door to Bali is Lombok, and off the northwest corner of Lombok are the tiny Gili Islands. They''re much more up my alley - very underdeveloped (so far), not even any motorized transportation (only horse-drawn carts). It''s so relaxing and beautiful, but I still wouldn''t choose to live there. I like visiting places like that to unwind, but would be bored stupid if I were there for longer than a week.

I''d really like to visit someplace like Bermuda - have only managed to get down to Tulum when it comes to the Caribbean. So much still to discover!!
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I haven''t been on many tropical vacations (trip to Hawaii, maybe 4 trips to the Caribbean?), but I have to admit that being on the East Coast, the Caribbean is perfectly fine with me. There are many different types of islands and it''s close...usually the plane rides are 4 hours or less. Also, it''s not terribly expensive, which is great. I can take a quick 4-day trip to the Caribbean and feel relaxed without haivng to take much vacation time from work at all. Also, many of the islands are definitely worth exploring, so you don''t feel like you''re stuck in the resort all day (one of the reasons I''ve never been to Mexico).

I do really love Hawaii and we are going back next month, but from the East Coast it is SUCH a long trip that it''s hard to justify a trip that isn''t at least a week long. For me, personally, I''d rather use the 1 week+ trips for Europe and keep tropical trips to 4 - 5 days.
 
Costa Rica was great, as was our honeymoon to the British Virgin Isles. We stayed on Tortola and visited Virgin Gorda, too. I don''t know that I''d want a vacation home in either place, though. I''d rather have a vacation home in Europe, probably in Spain. I don''t love the beach and ocean enough to want to go more than once every few years.
 
Hawaii is a paradise, as long as you can find a spot that isn''t TOO touristy. However, one of the coolest, most laid back tropical vacations i''ve had was to Dominica. (In the lesser antilles, by Martinique) Teeny weeny island. I went about 16 years ago, so it may be more built up by now, but it was laid back, had lots of cool historical stuff to see, and lovely (basically deserted) beaches!
 
I love tropical vacations, but I haven''t been to too many places! DH and I have a whole list of islands and places we want to visit together. We''ve been to Hawaii and Puerto Rico and I have to say both are beautiful but I don''t think anything will ever top our honeymoon to Hawaii. It was so beautiful, so peaceful on the beaches there, and we just had the most amazing, fun, exciting time but it was still so relaxing.

The only problem I have with Hawaii is that it''s SO far away from NY, so I don''t think we''ll be able to go back for several years - but if we lived closer I would love to go back there more often!
 
I haven't been to that many tropical places - Playa del Carmen in Mexico, the Pacific Coast/Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, and Hawaii (Oahu). We lived in Hawaii for several years and we'd spend a week or two in the summer at Bellows Air Force Station which had cabins on the beach. It was really nice just because of how quiet and isolated it was (since tourists aren't allowed
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). And I loved the beaches in Costa Rica. The most picturesque were the beaches in the Manuel Antonio Park, though the tide was too strong to really enjoy the water. We loved Playa Samara though - great combination of beauty and calm waters.

BF is way more well-traveled than I am, and he says his (of ones he's been to) is Thailand.

And our dream tropical vacation spot is the Maldives
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ETA: For a vacation home I don't think I'd want it on the beach though. WAY too hot. I'd love to get a home in Monteverde in Costa Rica (if I were to retire there) where it's cooler, and then just go down to the beach whenever I want. But like Thing, I want a vacation home in Spain too!!!!
 
www.curtainbluff.com Have gone for many years. It's a home away from home for us, just love it.
 
I'm not a beach vacation person unless it involves a) a small island, b) a rental house, and c) a bunch of friends. I did love my trip to the Bahamas last year and will be returning this year with a bunch of friends and I can't wait! We were on Green Turtle Cay last year, but I forget which island we're on this year.

I would absolutely love to live there part of the year! But if it was just DH and me, I think we'd get bored and sick of things pretty fast. I don't really have patience for sitting on the beach in the sun, so I need other people around to keep me entertained.
 
Zoe- I still have that House Hunters on my dvr from when it first aired! I love Bali so much and my husband and I talk about wanting to move there all the time. It really is a gorgeous place with so much culture and friendly people. The place we loved most was in Ubud. www.viceroybali.com


justginger- what towns did you visit? It sounds like you were in Kuta and the surrounding areas and that seems like a very unfair assessment of the whole island. Ubud, Sanur, Jimbaran, Lovina, Amed, Semminyak, the temples, etc. and you think the whole island except the north is bleh and filled with obnoxious tourists? That would be like judging the whole US off of Detroit or the whole Caribbean off of Hatti. I wish I could trade places with you in Australia so I could get the cheap airfare to Bali and you could get the cheap flights to the Caribbean!
 
The island of Dominica is a great spot for your next Tropical Vacation. Located in the middle of the Caribbean archipelago, Dominica offers an array of culture from its mix of English, French, African, and Carib peoples. Discover their unique food, music, and dance. Visit http://dominica.dm to plan your perfect Tropical Vacation!
 
I'm not a beach vacation person in general, but I loved our trip to the Bahamas with a group of friends. I don't mind crowded cities, but I do mind crowded resorts and beaches, so going to one of the small islands and renting a house was perfect. I could live there! The smaller islands are safe and the people are extremely friendly - I love being able to walk anywhere without fear of being mugged.

I've been to a few other Caribbean locations, but they were very crowded and I didn't like them much.
 
Maldives - hoping we can get there before we leave asia :)
 
Date: 4/20/2010 9:34:55 AM
Author: thing2of2
Costa Rica was great, as was our honeymoon to the British Virgin Isles. We stayed on Tortola and visited Virgin Gorda, too. I don''t know that I''d want a vacation home in either place, though. I''d rather have a vacation home in Europe, probably in Spain. I don''t love the beach and ocean enough to want to go more than once every few years.
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Ditto Costa Rica. I loved the beach we stayed at (Playa Samara) on the Pacific side. BF also went to the Caribbean side but he said Samara was way nicer. And the beaches inside Manuel Antonio park are lovely though the tides are way too strong.

I''m also a big fan of Hawaii from when I lived there. There was a great little beach that was part of an Air Force Station we used to vacation at (not Hickam AFB) and it was so quiet, since it was restricted to military personnel and families. Absolutely lovely and serene.

Not such a big fan of Mexico, however, nor Barcelona for beaches, though I love Barcelona as a city.

ETA: Cehra, my dream is to go to the Maldives! Please post pics if you end up there!
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Costa Rica!
 
Moorea, French Polynesia. (we stayed at the Hilton for 7 days)

Gorgeous, lush, HUGE, jagged mountains, white sandy beaches, perfect turquoise lagoons full of fish, rays, and sharks, overwater bungalow (free surprise upgrade when we arrived!).

Just got back 2 weeks ago... can''t wait to go back!
 
Oh, Zoe....I have too many places to count! I guess that''s what growing up in the tropics will do to you...

As far as truly relaxing vacation spots, I''d say Rawa is at the top of my list. Small (seriously, seriously small) island in Malaysia, no internet connection (at least when I was there), barely any phone reception, nothing to do but eat, swim, hike, kayak, and laze on the beach. It''s the perfect long weekend getaway. Or, it was when we were living near there! Bintan and Phuket are nice as well (Indonesia and Thailand, respectively). Touristy, but nice. We went to Krabi one time, but we were all, well....kind of crabby. Beautiful islands nearby, but the town we were in (I think we stayed just outside Krabi, but I can''t remember the name of the town) was overrun with tourists and not at all relaxing.

I haven''t been to any tropical spots on this side of the world yet, but I think M and I are going to take a tropical cruise at some point so we can see what''s around and maybe discover another favourite vacation spot!
 
i''m not a tropics person but i''d visit Trinidad/Tobago again. when i was in Tobabo, it was drop off the world place as development was just being planned by foreign investors [1993]. lovely beaches.

mz

ps i''ve often wondered about the Aussie fascination with Bali: thankfully, my husband doesn''t suffer from that. i find AU to be hot enough w/o having to go to Bali. however, i know several people here in california that make a january pilgrimage to Bali every year.
 
When I was about 10 I went with my family on holiday to New Caladonia to an all inclusive resort there and remember it being extreamly beautiful and fun. I would like to go back but wouldn''t live there because I don''t speak French.

The east coast of Australia have some beautiful beaches but lord do some of them get busy in peak season and SO HOT! Another place I love to visit but wouldn''t live.

The coromandel peninsula in New Zealand is the best, only a 2-3 hour drive from me and has amazing weather in summer and a whole lot of beautiful beaches. You can go to very busy touristy beaches next to little beach towns with lots of reastrants and coffee shops, or you can go to good surf beaches or little secluded bays. Beautiful but again, I wouldn''t likie there because to me a bunch of little beach towns is not real civilisation!
 
Oops! In the process of moving, I forgot about this thread!

NEL -- I totally agree with you about Hawaii and how far away it is from here. I''d LOVE to go some day but it''s hard to justify it because it''s a vacation just to get to the west coast, let alone take another 5-6 hour plane ride from there to reach one of the islands.

I''ve been to Bermuda, and unless you count places like Sanibel Island or Key West, that''s the only really true tropical place I''ve been. It''s beautiful!
 
Date: 4/20/2010 8:58:16 PM
Author: Kaleigh
www.curtainbluff.com Have gone for many years. It''s a home away from home for us, just love it.
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WOW -- that looks beautiful Kaleigh!

There are so many places I want to see. It''s fun dreaming about possible future trips but it would be so hard to pick a place -- there are too many gorgeous places to travel to.
 
Date: 6/20/2010 9:51:35 PM
Author: 4ever
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The east coast of Australia have some beautiful beaches but lord do some of them get busy in peak season and SO HOT! Another place I love to visit but wouldn''t live.
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let me suggest the WEST coast of australia which is lovely and has great beaches and the Swan River.

mz
 
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