So Im in a bind.

My partner and I are trying to plan a vacation and are in complete disagreement as to where/what. I'll try to make it as fair as possible and get some outside opinions.

Trip ideas have boiled down to these two:

A: Puerto Rico, Mexico, Virgin Islands -

Pros: Lesiurely, nice 4/5 star hotel, nightlife, scenery, affordable.

Cons: Generic, forgetable and too similar to where we live now (Tampa/St Pete/Clearwater)

B: Vietnam, Peru, Brazil

Pros: Adventureous, memorable, historical and educational (think HaLong bay, Macchu Pichu, Corcovado),

Cons: Travel can be difficult/uncomfortable, expensive

 

I'd say pick one of the locations in B. It'll definitely be memorable and possibly change your perspective on life. Good luck and have fun.

 

Things to consider: own age, career, finances, where you are in life.

For example, it might be better to do Trip B at a younger age when you are less burnt out or have more disposable income. And as above poster suggested, higher chance for Trip B to expand your perspective.

 

B - more adventurous and memorable. A is too cliched, common, been-there-done-that...

 

A sucks. Turn up the thermostat and get drunk in your living room and you've basically done A already.

 

Another thing to consider, if you know where you're going or someone who lives there.

Vietnam: unless you are from there, know for a fact where to go, or have family/friends that have been there, I wouldn't visit because A. tourism spots are too expensive and you can get easily taken advantage of B. dangerous.

If it's an all inclusive vacation or tour then ok.
Since you're considering the big-trips, spend a week or two touring italy, or france.
It really depends on what you both want out of the vacation.

 

What's dangerous about being in Vietnam? Crimes? Crimes can happen in any country if you happen to be in troublesome spots; and actually, Vietnam has some of the lowest crime rates. I'm not Vietnamese but have been there twice; loved the beaches and resorts there. I liked it much better than Thailand too.

 

i agree w/wraith on the "things to consider" part. sometimes you need a trip A and sometimes you need a trip B, depending on how things are at the moment in your life.

that being said, i just went to hanoi/halong bay a month and a half ago. couple things...
1) i'd hardly call it adventurous
2) it was cheap as hell (i actually had a hard time spending all of the money i brought w/me there...which was not much at all)
3) there was nothing in the way of crime

from my experience, the ripping-off-of-tourists more is a description of bangkok, if you're white.

 

As a matter of fact, Vietnam has one of the lowest, if not the lowest, murder rates in the world. I'm a Nippon but I like going to its resorts. One place to go is to Nha Trang's exclusive (semi-deserted) resorts; not a lot of people there and oh so beautiful.

 

Do you want to be a tourist or a traveler?