Where would you go for $10,000

[wvjules]

Disney - two or three weeks - no expense spared!

Disney on the Platinum Package Deal for as many nites as 10,000 will buy!

Really? Anywhere in the entire planet and you would choose Disney? Don't get me wrong I love WDW and can't wait to get back but if I could go ANYWHERE Disney wouldn't even be in the top 10. There are so many beautiful, exotic, fascinating places in the world.

Bora Bora - one of those cabanas over the water where you can see the rays swim under you at night. WITHOUT THE KIDS!! Just DH and me!

Me too!!!!!! Although it would only be 7 night plus airfare.
https://www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1743

I have to look into Maldives Resort now. We are looking for somewhere other than Hawai'i to go next December. This thread is perfect timing.

 

[Belle5]

My son spent last fall in Europe. He was based out of Italy. He exhaustively toured that country. He also hiked the Alps in Switzerland, hiked through the Irish countryside, visited England, Whales, Turkey, Paris, Germany...I am trying to remember where else he visited...He was thoroughly shocked by which place he liked the most and would most like to return. GERMANY! He thought that it was stunningly beautiful and very, very clean. His least favorite place was Paris.

He is returning to Europe this winter and will spend time in Italy, Spain, England, and France. He is most looking forward to more time in England.

So, based on his opinions, I would say that I would like a trip to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. (He did say Switzerland was outrageously expensive...)

The other option would be England,Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

 

[shortbun]

A. I think your idea of canyon rafting is a great one. Nothing is more memorable than a family vacation like that. I don't know how old your children are or where you live so I'll assume that if they are old enough to raft, they are old enough for anything. You could do a really long carribean cruise for that money if you shop. I think an adventurous family would enjoy Central America-Costa Rica, ziplining and staying at some of the canopy resorts as well as spending some time on the beach. Belize would be gorgeous, scuba diving and ruins crawling with time on the beach. A short trip to Hawaii for four would probably cost about 10K if done with some style and adventure...horseback riding in the rain forest, helicopter tours over the active volcanos and a nice hotel right on the beach, biking down Haleakala at dawn with champagne breakfast at the end. Alaskan cruise with a cruisetour at the beginning or end-maybe a couple of days in Vancouver to boot-be sure you get to see Mt. McKinley and go salmon fishing as well as the scenic railroad and walk on a glacier. How about a polar bear adventure in Manitoba? Or-Canadian Rockies - Banff skiing, Jasper Lodge, glaciers and some famous train travel to and from British Columbia. I might take my kids to Europe on the cheap, get an apartment somewhere central(Paris) and take day trips from there for a couple of weeks.
Italy would be great done like that as well...I love expensive hotels but an apartment gives children a base and makes breakfast easy, relaxing and cheap. Want more?

 

[IndianaPrincess]

I would stick with Disney, but I'd love to invite all our parents and my nieces and nephew and all their parents.

We'd all stay in Pop Century until the money runs out!

 

[wvjules]

A. I think your idea of canyon rafting is a great one. Nothing is more memorable than a family vacation like that. I don't know how old your children are or where you live so I'll assume that if they are old enough to raft, they are old enough for anything. You could do a really long carribean cruise for that money if you shop. I think an adventurous family would enjoy Central America-Costa Rica, ziplining and staying at some of the canopy resorts as well as spending some time on the beach. Belize would be gorgeous, scuba diving and ruins crawling with time on the beach. A short trip to Hawaii for four would probably cost about 10K if done with some style and adventure...horseback riding in the rain forest, helicopter tours over the active volcanos and a nice hotel right on the beach, biking down Haleakala at dawn with champagne breakfast at the end. Alaskan cruise with a cruisetour at the beginning or end-maybe a couple of days in Vancouver to boot-be sure you get to see Mt. McKinley and go salmon fishing as well as the scenic railroad and walk on a glacier. How about a polar bear adventure in Manitoba? Or-Canadian Rockies - Banff skiing, Jasper Lodge, glaciers and some famous train travel to and from British Columbia. I might take my kids to Europe on the cheap, get an apartment somewhere central(Paris) and take day trips from there for a couple of weeks.
Italy would be great done like that as well...I love expensive hotels but an apartment gives children a base and makes breakfast easy, relaxing and cheap. Want more?

I do! I do!

We are planning something for next December and some of your ideas sound amazing. I'm going to look into Costa Rica Belize now.

 

[drwitz]

Really? Anywhere in the entire planet and you would choose Disney? Don't get me wrong I love WDW and can't wait to get back but if I could go ANYWHERE Disney wouldn't even be in the top 10. There are so many beautiful, exotic, fascinating places in the world.



Me too!!!!!! Although it would only be 7 night plus airfare.
https://www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1743

I have to look into Maldives Resort now. We are looking for somewhere other than Hawai'i to go next December. This thread is perfect timing.

I would absolutely do Disney, but I would stay at Grand Floridian with a water view... Is a 10 day vacation about $10,000 at that level?

 

[DisneyMomma81]

...He was thoroughly shocked by which place he liked the most and would most like to return. GERMANY! He thought that it was stunningly beautiful and very, very clean. His least favorite place was Paris.

I agree with your son ~ I visited Europe the summer between my jr & sr year of H.S. I love Germany *the southern part* I did not like Paris ~ dirty and the people were rude, I'd love to see other parts of France.

My choice ~ goodness that's hard I want to see lots of places!

 

[lizerbug]

Fiji. No doubt about it. Right on the beach. That's my dream trip

 

[ckoncurat]

Ireland.

OP- Grand Canyon in in a national park! Lodging and admission are very inexpensive, and you don't need a super expensive float trip to experience it!
We took our family of eight on a three week trip to vegas, grand canyon, arches, and park city utah, and the whole trip was under 10K. Everyone should see the grand canyon once, and arches was also amazing.

 

[Kimberly]

Heli-skiing in Alaska. It's about 3-4k a person, and I'd use the money to pay for 3 close friends to come with me. I've brought it up in the past to them, but they cannot afford the trip. I can... but I really don't want to go.

Definitely would be the experience of a lifetime.

 

[Taja]

A combination holiday for me: a few days at WDW, a 7-night DCL cruise followed by a few more days at WDW, then off to Italy! Or Greece!

Sorry! It's a toss up between the two countries. I love both of them!

Then a quick stop in New York on the return trip (2 nights) before flying home.

Most of this would be relatively budget--or at least not extravagant) to fit it all in--but that's fine with me!

 

[mytripsandraces]

I would go back to Antarctica and try to get to the South Pole next time.

If I couldn't go to Antarctica (it may be closed to tourism), then I would go to the Galapagos Islands.

 

[Belle5]

I blush to say this, but with a big family-we actually did spend more than 10K on our Dec. 30-Jan 15, 2006 vacation to WDW. Fortunately, a company that wanted to reward my DH was picking up the first 10K of the tab.

 

[Chelley00]

$10,000 would more than pay for us to take our 4 kids on a big long cruise with lots of excursions. Unfortunately, we don't have that $10,000, so our cruise with the kids next summer will be a shorter one.


If it was just for DH and I, either Tahiti or Bali.

 

[tammymacb]

The Seychelles.

 

[PatriciaH]

Africa

 

[dvcgirl]

I blush to say this, but with a big family-we actually did spend more than 10K on our Dec. 30-Jan 15, 2006 vacation to WDW. Fortunately, a company that wanted to reward my DH was picking up the first 10K of the tab.

It's not hard to do....so nothing to blush about. We spent a week at Disney and two nights at the Hard Rock....and spent $7,500 for two of us. We rented half of a 2 BD Villa at BCV for our time at Disney. Then add in flights, transfers, pet sitting for our dogs, souvenirs for my little niece and nephews....it adds up quickly. And then for dinners, we like enjoy a nice meal and good wine, and it's not cheap there. We enjoyed a bass fishing trip for my Dad for fathers day, a spa treatment for Mom for mothers day...it's very easy to spend money at Disney. But it's fun....and easy. The only downside with this last trip was that we had some medical issues with family members and it's tough traveling with little ones. Next time we see Disney will be for Food and Winefest for just me and DH....and likely just for a long weekend. This trip confirmed to me that our days of taking a week-long trip to Disney are over.

We actually spend less per week when we travel to Europe because we're not as focused on spending on expensive meals....moreso on touring. We eat on the run, we pack light....and we have a blast. With Disney, it's sort of "been there done that thing', even though we enjoy it when we go....this time we went because my whole family was going and we didn't want to miss my little niece and nephews seeing Disney for the first time.

Typically, we spend about $12,000 for a two week trip to Europe for the two of us, not including flights (we use AMEX points for those). That does include pet care and transfers from airports and any travel within Europe.

We're planning a two week trip to France in October of 2011.

 

[Mickey1Fan]

An Adventures by Disney trip

 

[Mom2apirate&princess]

My son spent last fall in Europe. He was based out of Italy. He exhaustively toured that country. He also hiked the Alps in Switzerland, hiked through the Irish countryside, visited England, Whales, Turkey, Paris, Germany...I am trying to remember where else he visited...He was thoroughly shocked by which place he liked the most and would most like to return. GERMANY! He thought that it was stunningly beautiful and very, very clean. His least favorite place was Paris.

He is returning to Europe this winter and will spend time in Italy, Spain, England, and France. He is most looking forward to more time in England.

So, based on his opinions, I would say that I would like a trip to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. (He did say Switzerland was outrageously expensive...)

The other option would be England,Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

We spent the last 3 years living in Italy and have been to most of the places you mentioned. Germany was one of our favorite countries to visit. Driving through it and Austria was breathtaking. It's gorgeous! We also loved Greece, Turkey, Ireland, and England. We weren't huge fans of Italy, I think we lived there too long and it lost some of it's appeal after the first two years.


One year we spent a month in Hawaii and it cost 10K with creative budgeting and military discounts!

Next I'd like to go to Australia or Alaska.

 

[travelgirl06]

I would love to visit Thailand (Phuket, Korat, and Bangkok), but I would need more than $10k since I would want to stay 2 or 3 weeks. I'm just in awe of the temples, beaches, and jungles. I would love to visit India too, but I'm not sure what the travel safety is like for India.

I think you could spend 2-3 weeks in Thailand pretty comfortably on 10K, even after factoring in airfare. Phuket and Bangkok are amazing, and I'd love to get to Chang Mai and Koh Samui

For my "dream" trip, I would probably do Tahiti, with an overwater bungalow (for some reason they are so intriguing). I'm also interested in New Zealand, but I don't thin the $10K budget will allow for both trips (but I would try, of course).