RetirePrep, month 2b: A bonanza of destinations
I posted earlier that I’m writing about seven “categories” of trips this month as possible excursions in retirement. The previous post covered large trips that might bundle several destinations together. This one is more about “one-off” destinations. I confess that I don’t have a clear sense of priorities amongst the whole list, more simply the priority within sub-categories.
For North America, there’s not much to make this list because it will be covered extensively by other categories. There are a couple of small exceptions for Canada and the US. For Canada, Nunavut would likely still be unvisited under my other plans, and would therefore be a one-off visit. For the U.S., I think Washington D.C., Hawaii and the Grand Canyon would also be single trips. If I rank them? Probably Hawaii, Grand Canyon, Washington and Nunavut. Four possible destinations; all quite different.
For Central and South America, we really want to do the Galapagos and Patagonia (Argentina and Chile). They would likely be separate trips rather than upgrade to a bundled set. Fifteen years ago, I would have had Belize and Costa Rica on the list, but my interests have changed, and I’m not sure that I trust Brazil enough to keep it on the list. This probably leaves just Peru, and likely on the same trip as a broader Patagonia trip. So, that would be possibly 2-3 trips and generally in the order listed.
For the Caribbean, I am pretty open to any location, outside of Haiti. I think St. Lucia tops my list of potential desired locations, mostly because I was there for work, and it was beautiful, but I didn’t get to see that much. The downside is all the guides basically talk about one walking trip as the “thing to do” and not much else beyond that, unless you’re fishing. There is not much to see and do, nor big resorts with a lot of onsite amenities. It’s also really expensive compared to other locations with not much unique to draw you in. I just liked it; is that a reason to go back? Overall, it’s not a very realistic priority. We’re looking at trips for this year, and as with other vacations previously, it won’t top the list. The Dominican Republic is on the list, although it is pretty commercialized at this point, from what I understand. Not as much perhaps as Cancun, but still. St. Martin definitely interests me, as it seems to have a bit of a different pace and culture. But again, I’d go just about anywhere in there, including a Caribbean cruise if Andrea was willing. Most of them rank about the same to me.
If I look at Western Europe, the bundled options have already knocked out France, Austria, Germany, the UK, and the Nordics. This likely leaves me with Iceland and Italy competing for the top spot. Iceland because it looks amazing; Italy because I’ve been there before and would like to experience it with Andrea (and maybe Jacob). I’ve done parts of Rome but would love to go back, and I did Venice badly (long story focusing on the importance of having the right travelling companion). I also would like to see more of the Italian coast, and if possible, go down to see Ortona (the WWII battle site). After those two, I love the idea of seeing Spain, Greece and Portugal, almost all for coastal / water locales. For Greece, Andrea thought we could do it as a Mediterranean cruise perhaps (more on that in my next post).
For Eastern Europe and its neighbours, Jacob already has bundling plans that would take care of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Ukraine, and Hungary options. That only leaves one on my list, really, which is Russia (I know, I know, you want to put it in Asia; I’m old, sue me). I love the idea of seeing Moscow, St. Petersberg, etc., if only for the architecture. And, obviously not, if there’s a war still going on. But we could do it, maybe only Jacob and I (Andrea isn’t as interested), although maybe as part of some package deal rather than on our own. Not a top-of-list priority, but interesting.
For Asia, we already covered off Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam with a potential bundle. I’ve been to China before, or well, to be more accurate, I’ve been to Kowloon/Hong Kong Harbour for a day, Chinese Taipei for 2 days, and Beijing for a week. I’d love to go back, and maybe even go up to the Panda nature reserve, but is it a top-of-list priority? Probably not. Earlier in my life, I was attracted to Malaysia and Tibet, but I’ll take those off my likely list. When Andrea, Jacob and I were talking about different countries, we got a surprise. Andrea and I have a general interest in Japan, but Jacob? He’d like to go there for 2 months or longer. We had no idea. Sounds like a great choice for him for some sort of job program or a semester abroad. I like the idea of Japan but have zero interest in being anywhere near a commuter train and being packed in like sardines. Plus, the cost is exorbitant. It’s on the list though. And I’ll throw Mongolia on the list for fun, an out-of-the-box option.
Oceania and the South Pacific generally, well, it’s already covered. The last bundle covered Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Polynesia. The only other thing on my list was something like a diving atoll, but if I saw the Great Barrier Reef, I’d probably be just as happy. I really just want to go snorkelling somewhere awesome; I don’t even care if I dive.
If I group the Middle East, North Africa and South Africa, my list of desired locations is quite small. I like the idea of the Nile in general, but nowhere specific, a cruise perhaps. Egypt is mildly interesting, as is Morocco. But that’s about it until we go back into somewhere like Mount Kilimanjaro or South Africa, or the ability to see Victoria Falls. More a collage than a desire, and outside of something like South Africa, I doubt it will gel into some sort of proposed trip.
So, I’m done, right? Covered everywhere? Not quite. All three of us would love to go to Antarctica. However, besides being expensive, it is not clear if Jacob would enjoy it, since he doesn’t really love boats and it can be quite rough. Plus, it’s one of those trip-of-a-lifetime things for both cost and timing, so not something to be done on a whim. But Jacob loves penguins and seeing them in Antarctica would be amazing.
Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | |
---|---|---|---|
North America | – Grand Canyon – Hawaii | – Washington, D.C. | – Nunavut |
Central and South America | – Galapagos | – Patagonia | – Peru |
Caribbean | – St. Lucia | – St. Martin | – Dominican Republic – Cruise |
Western Europe | – Iceland – Italy | – Greece (cruise?) | – Portugal – Spain |
Eastern Europe | – Russia | ||
Asia | – Japan | – Mongolia | – China |
Oceania and the South Pacific | – Great Barrier Reef / diving atoll | ||
Middle East and Africa | – South Africa | – Nile – Victoria Falls – Mt. Kilimanjaro | – Egypt – Morocco |
Other | – Antarctica |
In the end, I’ve updated my potential travel list, but I have no idea what I will do with it. This is just MY personal ranking of possible destinations; it isn’t a consensus. I think as I get into actual retirement, Andrea and Jacob can decide when we’re considering new trips if any of these appeal to them. Maybe this just reflects my “input” to the conversation, if you will.
How about you…where do you want to go?
