Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,502
Hopefully this will catch on.
Most travel sites suck. This is because the people on those sites suck. The (perhaps misguided) idea is that this thread will not suck because the people posting in it don't suck. More realistically, we probably at least value most of the same things, since everyone left here is a 30-40 year old male. And Clark, who thinks he is.
To kick things off, I'll briefly discuss some places I've been, how I liked them, what to do, etc. I'm hoping others will do the same.
And yes, I know there is a travel forum. I'm not trying to figure out how to get the best "massages" in Thailand here.
The United States
Awesome cities in the continental US include:
Seattle
San Francisco
Charleston
New York City
Boston
Chicago
All these cities are walkable, with great food, natural beauty and wonderful hotels. Generally speaking, tons of museums and other cultural offerings.
There is also Las Vegas, which is awesome for completely different, obvious reasons.
Outside large cities, there are lots of great destinations. Some more isolated places I've enjoyed include:
Crater Lake (Idaho)
Yellowstone / Tetons
South Carolina Low Country
Northern California / Napa
In addition, some resort destinations I really liked:
The Greenbrier
The Homestead
Several Scottsdale, AZ
Kiawah Island
Sea Island
Have not been to Blackberry Farm. Would like to hear from anyone who has.
I've also been lucky enough to go to Hawaii several times, but only to Maui. Kapalua area is super nice, especially for families. Have also been to Lanai, which is better for couples.
Have not been to Kauai or the Big Island. Would love to hear from those who have.
The Caribbean
I have loved almost every place I've ever been in the Caribbean. Brief thoughts:
Bahamas - awesome; close to Florida, great golf, gambling and food. If you're rich, stay at The Ocean Club. Incredible.
Jamaica - fine, but you can't really leave your hotel because this place has very high crime. Beautiful though.
Aruba - awesome. Small island, easy to get around, beautiful. Great casinos and night life. 3+ hour flight from Miami though, very close to the equator and can be outrageously hot.
Bermuda - great, but super expensive and not hot enough out of season. Limited beaches. Great food and culture, and very safe. 1.5 hour flight from NYC.
Everywhere Else
Unfortunately, my experience in the rest of the world is pretty limited. Have been to London and Paris and found stereotypes mostly true. The food sucked in England but the place was pretty great otherwise. Insane expensive. The people in Paris were smelly *******s but the food was great and they've got a good thing going with the cafes and art and never working really.
In my future travels, I'm hoping to spend time in Asia and South America. I've never been to either. Japan seems awesome, Hong Kong, China, tons of other countries that I'd like to visit. Same for Brazil, Chile and several others in South America. Would love any suggestions.
Happy travels all.
