| We have this really luxury problem right now: we don’t know where to go his winter! I’m looking at all the options and change my mind almost every day ;Din December we’ll probably be going to Mexico for a week, so basically we’re looking at destinations for our vacation later in the winter (early March). I mentioned it before: we’ll be travelling with another couple, we’re all in our later thirties/early forties, we’re not too keen on AI’s, but if the deal is good…we may as well. We all like the beach, but also like to go out and explore the area we’re at.Also….we’ll be travelling from Calgary and prefer to go to a country we haven’t visited yet (see my list on the bottom)
I’m eagerly waiting for all the responses! ;D |
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| Looks like it’s time that you hit Central America. A fav of ours. Costa Rica ~ El Salvador ~ Nicaragua ~ PanamaWe’ve stayed in AI’s in all but Costa Rica. Beautiful countries. But don’t expect to find the beautiful blue clear waters there. | |
| thank you. Costa Rica has been on my wishlist for a few years already, but I’m pretty sure we need at least 2 weeks and that means I really have to watch my vacation days for this year.
Another one on our ‘wish list’ is Honduras, but there are no direct flight from Calgary to Roatan. |
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| thank you for all the suggestions! Prrolt, I think we’ll skip Los Cabos, as we’re heading to Mexico earlier in the winter already.Shirley, I’ve put Maui on my list as well! So far, it looks like its gonna be:- Panama- Punta Cana- Costa Rica (although I hate to go there for only a week)- Maui
any thoughts? |
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| Maui should be at the top of your list, followed by Costa Rica and Panama imho! We too have tired of all-inclusive vacations and Maui was a great fit for us. The snorkeling was great and the beaches- so many to chose from- were a joy. I suggest getting a condo- tons available btw- and it makes for an economical vacation.Westjet offers some well priced, good flight times packages to Maui which include the airfare and accommodation (look for the packages that offer condos!). Renting a car is pretty much necessary but splitting the cost between 4 people makes it reasonable. We vacationed in Maui with our daughter and SIL this past April. We can’t wait to go again! While Hawaii isn’t a cheap vacation like some all-inclusive deals, the quality of the vacation made up for the slighter higher cost. I posted a review of our experience at this link:
www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g60632-d87260-r104594755-Aston_at_the_Maui_Banyan-Kihei_Maui_Hawaii.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT I also highly recommend you get the guidebook "Maui Revealed"- tons of great info!We also loved our trips to Costa Rica but they were not beach vacations on the same level as what one would get in Cuba or Mexico. Costa Rica is all about eco-tourism! If you can get a reasonably priced all-inclusive package, there are lots of excursion options (some privately arranged!). One week in Costa Rica will be enough to whet your appetite for going back when you have more time and can do the logistics of non-all-inclusive. I’m not a DR fan after several trips to Puerto Plata and Punta Cana, so that destination would be way down my list even if the deal was cheap. I’d go to the Mayan Riviera or somewhere else in Mexico or Cuba multiple times before going to DR- if we ever go back. |
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![]("http://images.proboards.com/v5/smiley/smiley.png") I couldn’t have said it better, YVRck. But how about Kona on the Big Island? Friends go there every year for 6 weeks at a time and say that Kona is now what Maui used to be – less developed but still has everything one would need. Great beaches on one side of the island, great hiking on the other side. It’s very tempting! ![]("http://images.proboards.com/v5/smiley/kiss.png") |
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Still haven’t made up my mind, it looks like I’m changing my mind every week! I just told my friend last week that I feel like a kid in a candy store with all the options out there ![]("http://images.proboards.com/v5/smiley/tongue.png") Maybe I’m just waiting for that super deal to fall into my lap ;DSo far I think I’ve limited it to:- Maui (direct flight from Calgary)- Bahama’s (either Nassau or Great Exuma….any thoughts on them? Westjet flies directly from Calgary to Nassau, but I noticed Air Canada flies to Great Exuma with not too bad of a stop over in Toronto)- Punta Cana (AI)Punta Cana is personally my last choice, but like I said before: I"m not the only one travelling and it’s probably the cheapest option.
The trips to Maui and the Bahama’s are about the same price and although they do include accommodation, there’s no food included. I’m not sure which of the two places would be cheaper for groceries, eating out and liquor. My guess is that they’re pretty similar, but I’m not sure. |
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![]("http://www.nissansportz.com/images/350ZLogo.jpg") Nice, which hotel or resort?
we’re not gonna stay at one place. We hope to do the Arenal/Monteverde area for a few days and then head out to a beach somewhere in the Guanacaste area for the remaining 6 days. We’re not really AI people, so I’m not sure yet where we’ll end up, but I love looking at all the options! |
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