Here’s a hypothetical question that I hope you’ll have fun with:
You walk into work today and were told you are getting a free 2 week vacation as a thank you to your performance and loyalty. You’ll be given two weeks off, a $1,000 bonus, and get to cash in airline miles from the company for your flight.
Where would you travel to if you were given a $1,000 budget, and a free flight to anywhere in the world?
Where would you stay? What would you want to see and what kind of activities would you do? If you are a no-frills traveler, would you upgrade your level of accommodations, or if you are used to luxury, would you use some of your own money or travel cheaply and stay within budget?
Post your hypothetical travel plans in the comments and be sure to read others’ as well. Let’s have fun with this! :)
Thanks to Darren for the post idea.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
You don’t specify foreign or domestic miles, but I have a friend in Indonesia I want to visit in the next year (and I’ve never been there before). The flight is the most expensive part of the trip. The $1000 would go a long way towards budget hotels, in-country travel (city and island hopping), and FOOD. With two weeks at my disposal, I’d probably try to see the Medicine Man mentioned in *Eat Pray Love*.
With just two weeks and traveling from the West Coast US I’d probably have to eliminate Southern Hemisphere trips so I don’t lose too many days to travel. Can you use airline miles to get to Cuba? For some reason I’ve been recently intrigued with the idea of traveling there…maybe to see what it is like before the US embargo ends.
I’d like to think that I’d just play with house money the whole two weeks…I assume $100 per day is doable most anywhere, but I’d probably start rationalizing splurges on activities and quickly bust the budget. I’d love to experience a Cuban baseball league game. And then there would be the mojitos. Many, many mojitos.
I would travel to Germany to learn my German heritage and visit a long lost brother. My mother was German but I had never been myself. I know she would be smiling down one to see me finally visit. I would want to visit the area’s where she grew up and lived Stuggart Boeblingen, Dusseldorf. She loved the Black Forest so I would also go there. I would then take the train to Northwest Germany to Lingen to see my brother who I did not know about. Munich would be a plus during Oktoberfest. My mother use to always talk about Oktoberfest.
I’d close my eyes and spin the globe completing the totally serendipitous nature of the trip. Try to find a place to stay that reflects the destination — love living like a local when I travel.
I would take the bus from my house (Seattle, WA Ballard area) to the train and go to Fairhaven, WA where I would walk to the ferry to Alaska. I would then see all the inside passage. I would then fly from Alaska (as far north as I could get) to Vancouver BC. There I would visit the city for a few days and come home to Seattle via the train, and bus. Oh, I would also bring my wife alson as the budget would cover us both.
Currently….Russia (Moscow and St. Petersburg) or Turkey (Istanbul and Capadoccia) or somewhere in India. But that might change next week depending on what locations catch my eye.
I would definately pick a place to which airfare is generally very expensive. I’d want to get the most out of the freebie, so there wouldn’t be much point in picking a place to which I could easily afford the aifare myself.
For a $1,000 and 2 weeks, we would want to go somewhere inexpensive but far away. Argentina or Chile fits the bill and we have never been to South America. I think that would be sufficient to have a low-frills holiday down there.
I’m headed to Brazil in that case assuming I can go when it’s summer down there.
If I was to go now, it would need to be somewhere that it was easy to get to Nairobi from as my adventure begins there in just over 2 weeks time. I think I would therefore go to Uganda and try to see some gorillas.
Right now… India. I want to check out Rajasthan.
Easy: New York. I’d catch all sorts of Broadway and Off-Broadway (and heck, Off-Off-Broadway) shows, and buy assorted cast recordings and scripts. And of course, check out what else New York has to offer.
I’m a theater dork. Of COURSE I gotta go to New York!
North Korea, hands down. Fly to Beijing then grab an Air Koryo flight to pyongyang.
I think I will splurge on a once-in-a-lifetime experience here. Either a 2-night safari at Jao Camp in Botswana or a 2-night stay in an over-the-water bungalow at Huvafen Fushi in the Maldives.
It’s only fair that I chime in, right?
I’d head to the Middle East. $1,000 goes a long way there, but it’s expensive and difficult to get there from California.
I’ve been hoping to visit Turkey and head to Iraqi-Kurdistan but if I had more time I’d love to see other countries like Syria & Jordan.
Thanks for all of your comments so far everybody!
Where would I go? Turkey…..or Peru…or…..New Zealand….or the Amalifi Coast….or….Morocco……or …..Buenos Aires.
I want to see the world, but I’ve always been drawn to Morocco, it fascinates me. So I’d head there first.