considering 1 of 3 trips (alaska, italy or hawaii)?
ok, me and 2 of my friends are planning a trip for next year. We have it down to Hawaii, Alsaska or Italy. We are still deciding if we want to go stay in the US or go “overseas”. We gonna go thru a tour company that is planning trips/vacations/holiday to all three of those places.
But my questions are:
Has anybody been to any of thos places and what did you think??
How much spending money should we take??
What’s the weather in each city at the following times of year:
Alaska: May and July
Italy: October
Hawaii: October
I’ve list what is included in each package:
Grand Alaska: 10 day / 9 night, 6 full & 2 continentalbreakfast / 1 lunch / 2 dinners / 1 box lunch ($2,499.95)
Tuscan Vacation($2,599.95): 9 day / 8 night, 7breakfast / 7 lunch / 7 dinner
Hawaiian Holiday($3799.95): 11 day / 10 night, 9 breakfast / 4 dinner
Thanks for any information you can give me.
airfare and hotel and guide is included in all three deals. free time too.
this trip is NOT for business but for pleasure. my friends and i are going on a vacation because we are all going turning 30 around the same time and we wanted to something fun for our 30th birthdays
June 18th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
My wife and I LOVE Hawaii! Kauai is our favorite island, but we also like Maui and “the big island” of Hawaii. Oahu we could do without, and Honolulu International Airport is one of the worst in the world, but you don’t have to deal with it that much, so no biggie. Weather in Hawaii is pretty much the same year-round, and October is considered to be one of the “prime time” months to be there.
My wife has been on an Alaskan cruise and was not impressed, but she’s the type of person who believes if God had meant for men to camp He never would have put it into the mind of man to invent four-star hotels. She’s not big into getting in touch with nature, so I think she’s kind of biased on that score.
However, of all the deals you have listed, the Tuscan vacation sounds like the best deal because you’re getting all your meals just about every day, plus your plane tickets, plus your accommodations. Besides, what an opportunity to see a part of the world with such a rich history! I’d go for Italy.
June 20th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
I’m biased here, because I’ve only visited one of those three places. That was Alaska, but we didn’t take one of these package tours. We drove cross-country, made our own schedule. It was this summer.
We did, however, do many of the things listed on the Grand Alaska itenerary. The whole trip was a blast, so much different from anything else we’d seen before…and we’d visited all 48 states, DC, and Canada from Quebec to Alberta; all by driving.
Your trip will give you a little bit of everything as far as the tourist stuff. You get the cities, you get the sea, you get the mountains…and in all of these places, you get the wildlife. Honestly, everything you’ll be doing has a bit of a tourist feel to it, you won’t be doing much backwoods camping. That’ll be the case on any planned commercial tour itinerary like this. Camping or no camping, you will be amazed by what you get to see.
I can’t say what the weather is like in May, but in July, there was plenty of variance. It got quite warm at times inland, especially up around Fairbanks. We felt temperatures in the 80s, even the 90s at times there and in the Yukon Territory. Around Anchorage and Seward, it was a bit cooler, sometimes in the 40s and 50s overnight. It can vary, but we found it very comfortable. It sure beat rolling through Arizona one year in 115-degree heat with a broken air conditioner, I’ll say that much.
As for spending money, it’s hard to say. It just depends on how much souvenir-buying you plan to do, and how much you plan to do on your own.
The midnight sun is awesome. We were driving around 1 AM one evening, and finally got to see a sunset…but as that happened, the sky in the east was already starting to get light. And if you’re into wildlife, there’s plenty of it. I only wish your itinerary included Seward’s Alaska SeaLife Center, or the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center between Seward and Anchorage. Those were great visits.
My recommendation is squarely on the Alaska trip.
June 21st, 2010 at 2:29 am
Hi!
I’d like to start off by saying that I’ve been to been to Alaska in October, and I travel to Italy several times a year. I think you’re doing yourself a disservice by not letting us know exactly what you’re going for. As a silly example, if you’re looking for great beaches, Hawaii would obviously be the best choice. If you’re a ‘foodie’, get to Italy as soon as you can.
Regardless of your motives, keep in mind that right now (Sep 07), the US dollar is the lowest it’s pretty much ever been. So, for all those expenses outside your travel costs..(souvenirs, other meals, alcohol, shopping, misc. admissions fees, etc) you’ll be getting much less for your money than you have in previous years. If it was my money, I think I’d concentrate on places where the $ is standard currency.
Here are my thoughts on the pro’s and con’s of each:
Italy:
Pro’s: Amazing food, amazing history. Tuscany is gorgeous, regardless of which time of year you go.
Con’s: Exchange rate=less for your money. The culture, while passionate and romantic, is chaotic and irrational, and will absolutely wear you out. In larger cities (Milan, Genova) you’ll need to worry about petty crime. It’ll probably be cooling off + you’ll probably have some some rain.
Alaska:
Pro’s: Great weather down south. Some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, not overly crowded.
Con’s: If you’re not into hiking / fishing / camping, there’s just not a lot to do.
Hawaii (Keep in mind I’ve never been, so these are purely opinions):
Pro’s: Amazing landscape, amazing weather, huge variety of things to do, depending on which island you’re thinking about.
Con’s: Pretty expensive, and……uh…..that’s about it.
So…here is my ‘bottom line’ recommendation: IF this is a “once-in-a-lifetime” trip, you should go to Italy….hands down. If you’re pretty sure that there will be other trips in the future, and that this is something to get away and tide you over for a few years, then go to Hawaii. In my opinion, that’s where you’ll get the most for your money. If you’re only interested in ‘being one with nature’, then Alaska is your obvious choice.
I hope this has helped give you a different perspective.