Favorite vacation destination you've been to

[chugg21]

well mexico and haiti await you with a myriad of unexpected surprise adventures.

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Heading back to Cabo on Sat morning lol.

 

[gbo]

Paris, France without question.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Need to post my Spain trip still. Loved it, would go back tomorrow.

 

[CuseTG2003]

I’m in Croatia w/ my wife right now, and it’s unreal. Crazy beautiful scenery and wonderful people. We spent five nights in Bol on Brac and just got to Hvar today. Highly recommend.

 

[chugg21]

I’m in Croatia w/ my wife right now, and it’s unreal. Crazy beautiful scenery and wonderful people. We spent five nights in Bol on Brac and just got to Hvar today. Highly recommend.

Have a wedding in Hvar in May. The Airbnb we booked with another couple looks absolutely bonkers. Very much looking forward to it.

On the not awesome side of things, supposed to be leaving at 6am tomorrow to head down to Cabo and looks like Hilary will just be passing by on the west so that landing and subsequent 12 hours isn't going to be great.

 

[OburgOrange]

So jealous reading about all these trips and experiences. I’ll never get to any of them. Wife won’t fly

 

[Ghost]

I’m in Croatia w/ my wife right now, and it’s unreal. Crazy beautiful scenery and wonderful people. We spent five nights in Bol on Brac and just got to Hvar today. Highly recommend.

Concur. Croatia is amazing. Beyond amazing. The people are extraordinarily nice.

 

[BillSU]

So jealous reading about all these trips and experiences. I’ll never get to any of them. Wife won’t fly

{edit} 8/19/2023 I wanted to add this: Listing trips/vacations like these can be very subjective. But I believe my list is true as are all those mentioned in this thread.

In my opinion, all of the destinations I visited were either very attractive or quite beautiful, so much so that when we first arrived in Glen Affric in Scotland and stood in the evening looking at the loch and the mountains in silhouette behind it, we could not believe how magnificent it was and I standing there with my mouth open gazing at the splendor of it all.

At some locations the wonder of the place and the kindness and general happiness of the local people upon departing made me think “why am I going back into the haze off JFK?,” if you stay at a certain place and get to know people especially. I have a place picked out to either split between or make the move permanent.

Of course these trips, some included business and pleasure, don’t come at bargain prices - particularly some of them. My business paid for some of the trips and I was fortunate enough to have had a step-father who owned his own engineering business in CT doing a great deal of work for Pratt and Whitney Aircraft which was just taking off – pun intended. Unfortunately the alcohol he consumed caught up with him and he passed.

The business was purchased from my mother for a great deal of money. I am very fortunate in this life. After she died I inherited it all including royalties which kept coming in so I was able to go on these trips for weeks at a time. I had also begun my own Industrial Design business out of SU and it also became successful. I eventually had 25 employees doing design work and model making.

Supervising senior designers on all other facets of design my individual concentration was corporate and brand identity. If you have ever heard of York Peppermint Patties, yours truly created the logo and silver foil look packaging. Another work is Browning Fire Arms, the stag with the doe in the negative interior space. Thus the trip to Belgium as Browning is owned by the Herstal Group and is based in Liege, Belgium. It was not initially a great meeting with the president as the art director wanted to do the design work or take partial credit after I designed it back in CT. Thus there were several trips to Belgium to calm irritated nerves.

I believe wherever we travel it is best to plan a trip due to your particular interests and then you can’t help but enjoy every minute of your journeys and relax which is what vacations are for. I digress.


I've combined my trips to both wonderful cities and places where the water doesn't get any more crystalline than the next place I visited.

Of all the places I have been, I can say that Bimini, where Hemingway wrote part of Islands in the Stream in Browns Hotel, has the most beautiful water anywhere. The water goes from crystal clear to, green to turquoise to shimmering bright blue to the dark purple blue of the Gulf Stream. It is also the big game fishing capital of the world. You can also dress in a white shirt and shorts with a white SU hat on and your guide and you can go out on the flats for Bonefish or Tarpon and if you happen to hook one you're in for one of the best fishing experiences of your life. I've landed 5 Bonefish in my trips there-they'll take 100 yards of line off your reel on their first run.

It was always nice to sit back on the North Island with my guide and throw down a few ice cold St. Pauli Girls and talk about the day. Boogie boarded, body surfed, sunned, fished and relaxed at every place I listed save for England and Scotland. In Scotland fished for salmon in the river Spey. Good thing I had many women willing to travel, sun and fish, eat great food and have fun. Below The water looking out at the Gulf Stream on a Bimini beach.

England
Cornwall
St Ives
Redruth

Scotland
Glen Affric

France
Paris
Brussels
Cannes
Nice
St Tropez

Greece
Corfu

Spain
Majorca

Caribbean
Caymans
St Lucia
Aruba Antigua
St Kitts
Barbados
St Johns
BVI

Bahamas
Eleuthra
Turks & Caicos
Bimini

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I’m in Croatia w/ my wife right now, and it’s unreal. Crazy beautiful scenery and wonderful people. We spent five nights in Bol on Brac and just got to Hvar today. Highly recommend.

On our list, to be sure

 

[CuseFaninVT]

In February, I went to Hotel Xcaret Mexico. No Olive Garden experience there. Best vacation I ever had. Everything about it was exceptional. It included excursions to all X-parks which were fantastic as well as archeological side trips to e.g. Chichen Itza (which we took).

Food was awesome with lots of choices. The resort itself was crazy nice. 0 complaints.

We'll be going back.

Looking in this area right now. Either Xcaret Arte or Occidental at Xcaret or one of the Barcelo properties nearby. Christmas with the boy. Trying to make it easy.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

So jealous reading about all these trips and experiences. I’ll never get to any of them. Wife won’t fly

Ask cowtown to pack her in his suitcase.

 

[xc84]

Looking in this area right now. Either Xcaret Arte or Occidental at Xcaret or one of the Barcelo properties nearby. Christmas with the boy. Trying to make it easy.

You probably know this but Occidental is unrelated to Xcaret except it is near the Xcaret park itself. In fact, taking a canal boat to the park from Xcaret Mexico you pass through Occidental. It looks nice but I have heard it is not as nice as the other 2 and it doesn’t include all of the parks. On the plus side, Occidental is much less expensive. For us, Xcaret Mexico was worth it.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

You probably know this but Occidental is unrelated to Xcaret except it is near the Xcaret park itself. In fact, taking a canal boat to the park from Xcaret Mexico you pass through Occidental. It looks nice but I have heard it is not as nice as the other 2 and it doesn’t include all of the parks. On the plus side, Occidental is much less expensive. For us, Xcaret Mexico was worth it.

Taking our 21 year old. Are there parts you’d avoid?

 

[Marsh01]

Our family vacationed in La Jolla 4 times when the kids were teenagers. Then the wife and i have been going to Aruba for the past 7 years during the winter.

Europe wise Ive been to Ireland twice but it only involved 16 rounds of golf with very little actual sight seeing.

 

[xc84]

Taking our 21 year old. Are there parts you’d avoid?

So you can go to Xcaret Arte or Xcaret Mexico given your son is an adult. Not sure exactly what "parts" you mean but if you are just talking those resorts I suggest you can take advantage of what it offers. The resort itself is beautiful and IMO the food and drink is great. Places to relax, have fun, etc. It also offers excursions to parks as well as excursions e.g. to Chichen Itza. Which you go to depends on what you like. I liked the Chichen Itza tour but once is enough. It is pretty much all day and you bus to the site with a great tour guide. You get a box meal for the ride. The tour itself is great. Then you bus to a cenote that is in a cave. You can swim there if you want. You then go to a village where you eat at a buffet restaurant. All nice. The only thing you pay for is a government tax of $25. We went to Xenses, Xplor and Xcaret parks. Xenses can be quick... 1/2 day but it is pretty cool. Xplor is great... lots of ziplines, jeep rides. We didn't go to Xel-Ha but if we do go back I will do that. I would also do Xnotes and Xavage if I go back. So take days to explore and also to enjoy the resort. Also, some of the parks (e.g.. Xcaret) have nice buffets included. So you can eat at the park with no extra cost.

At the resort, we loved El Merado for meals. It is the easiest to go to and the food is fresh and made to order. All good. I really liked the Las Cuevas which was as Brazilian Steakhouse set inside a cave. WE did other restaurants and had no issues getting into any of the restaurants. In the resort you can do SUP, snorkel in the lagoon, kayaks. There are a lot of pools so you can always find a pool-side lounge. Servers come by regularly for drink orders. The only pool that got semi-crowded was the main pool which had a large pool bar and infinity edge to the oceanside. The resort is very large... we went for walks and had no problem getting in a few miles on the meandering paths. Because it is large, it really doesn't feel crowded.

They have a beach area but I would not call it a great swimming beach. It's great for lounging and receiving drinks from servers who go around. There is a limited swimming area due to rocks. If you really love a large sandy beach for swimming, this is not really there though I have heard the Arte beach is better for swimming.

Lastly, we used Costco travel which gave us a full package (air, airport transport and hotel) at a very good price. Whether for Xcaret hotels or any others, check it out.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

So you can go to Xcaret Arte or Xcaret Mexico given your son is an adult. Not sure exactly what "parts" you mean but if you are just talking those resorts I suggest you can take advantage of what it offers. The resort itself is beautiful and IMO the food and drink is great. Places to relax, have fun, etc. It also offers excursions to parks as well as excursions e.g. to

Which you go to depends on what you like. I liked the Chichen Itza tour but once is enough. It is pretty much all day and you bus to the site with a great tour guide. You get a box meal for the ride. The tour itself is great. Then you bus to a cenote that is in a cave. You can swim there if you want. You then go to a village where you eat at a buffet restaurant. All nice. The only thing you pay for is a government tax of $25. We went to Xenses, Xplor and Xcaret parks. Xenses can be quick... 1/2 day but it is pretty cool. Xplor is great... lots of ziplines, jeep rides. We didn't go to Xel-Ha but if we do go back I will do that. I would also do Xnotes and Xavage if I go back. So take days to explore and also to enjoy the resort. Also, some of the parks (e.g.. Xcaret) have nice buffets included. So you can eat at the park with no extra cost.

At the resort, we loved El Merado for meals. It is the easiest to go to and the food is fresh and made to order. All good. I really liked the Las Cuevas which was as Brazilian Steakhouse set inside a cave. WE did other restaurants and had no issues getting into any of the restaurants. In the resort you can do SUP, snorkel in the lagoon, kayaks. There are a lot of pools so you can always find a pool-side lounge. Servers come by regularly for drink orders. The only pool that got semi-crowded was the main pool which had a large pool bar and infinity edge to the oceanside. The resort is very large... we went for walks and had no problem getting in a few miles on the meandering paths. Because it is large, it really doesn't feel crowded.

They have a beach area but I would not call it a great swimming beach. It's great for lounging and receiving drinks from servers who go around. There is a limited swimming area due to rocks. If you really love a large sandy beach for swimming, this is not really there though I have heard the Arte beach is better for swimming.

Lastly, we used Costco travel which gave us a full package (air, airport transport and hotel) at a very good price. Whether for Xcaret hotels or any others, check it out.

Thanks man! We would be looking to avoid the areas with a lot of young kids. I love children, but at 55 I’m completely done with hearing them shriek. We were wondering about the beach issue. Was there at least snorkeling in the area, or did you go elsewhere? We’re looking at a Monday to Sunday type of stay, so want to be sure we would use the Xperiences. Ha.
Weve gone to tulum before And done the ride over to Chichen Itza before, so we wouldn’t look to go back.

Appreciate all the intel.

 

[xc84]

Thanks man! We would be looking to avoid the areas with a lot of young kids. I love children, but at 55 I’m completely done with hearing them shriek. We were wondering about the beach issue. Was there at least snorkeling in the area, or did you go elsewhere? We’re looking at a Monday to Sunday type of stay, so want to be sure we would use the Xperiences. Ha.
Weve gone to tulum before And done the ride over to Chichen Itza before, so we wouldn’t look to go back.

Appreciate all the intel.

I don't think the beach at Xcaret Arte / Mexico hotels are good for snorkeling though you can go snorkeling in the hotel's lagoon and there are fish there. It's fun but not exactly what you are probably looking for. However, Xel-Ha has snorkeling included as does Xailing. I have not done Xailing before but I saw that it includes weather-permitting snorkeling. btw... I barely noticed the kids at Xcaret Mexico but Arte is all adults so you can be sure you won't see kids there. Good luck deciding what to do.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

So jealous reading about all these trips and experiences. I’ll never get to any of them. Wife won’t fly

It’s not for everyone, but my wife and I take separate trips each year in addition to joint trips. Mine are golf trips, but she does vacations with friends and family.

 

[Marsh01]

It’s not for everyone, but my wife and I take separate trips each year in addition to joint trips. Mine are golf trips, but she does vacations with friends and family.

Love golf trips. Have one planned in october down in Tallamore

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Love golf trips. Have one planned in october down in Tallamore

We are doing Arizona first week in October. Hoping to do St. Andrew’s, etc. next September. We are going to look at combining that somehow with Cape Breton, in Nova Scotia. It may not workout, but we’ll see.

Cannot wait to get back to Bandon Dunes. For me, that is my best trip so far, just for all the courses, as well as the scenery, clubhouses, and overall experience.

When we pulled up first day to drop our clubs, the guy started talking to me about Baldwinsville (where I live). He looks up all the hometowns for the guests that day to be able to have a bit of background to start a conversation.

We flew into Portland, drove north and played Chamber’s Bay that afternoon and the next AM, then drove down to Bandon.

We also played Bandon Crossing twice.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Was this the place that had the gunmen on the beach shooting people? Or am I confusing it with a another resort?

That’s a Mitch Rapp movie

 

[Marsh01]

We are doing Arizona first week in October. Hoping to do St. Andrew’s, etc. next September. We are going to look at combining that somehow with Cape Breton, in Nova Scotia. It may not workout, but we’ll see.

Cannot wait to get back to Bandon Dunes. For me, that is my best trip so far, just for all the courses, as well as the scenery, clubhouses, and overall experience.

When we pulled up first day to drop our clubs, the guy started talking to me about Baldwinsville (where I live). He looks up all the hometowns for the guests that day to be able to have a bit of background to start a conversation.

We flew into Portland, drove north and played Chamber’s Bay that afternoon and the next AM, then drove down to Bandon.

We also played Bandon Crossing twice.

Yea ive been to bandon 3 times. Really special place

do ireland. Its also amazing

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Yea ive been to bandon 3 times. Really special place

do ireland. Its also amazing

This is a weird thing to remember, but their Buffalo Poutine is fantastic

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Love golf trips. Have one planned in october down in Tallamore

Have you done Tabacco Road

 

[Marsh01]

Have you done Tabacco Road

We are playing

Tallamore
Tobacco Road
Pine Needles
Mid South
Southern Pines
Forest Creek (private club get on)

Cant wait