Best 1 week vacation to recharge?
I have 1 week off in April. I’m in a very demanding team, even for IB standards.
I’d be flying out of east coast in North America, ideally to somewhere not in North America. 1 week, can tack on the 2 weekends, would love to be somewhere near the water to recharge, but also sightseeing / touristy things to do (ie, not a resort vibe).
Any recs for places that won’t break the bank too much, or leave me exhausted?
Puerto Rico sounds good. Or maybe even Brazil like Rio. Otherwise, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece also decent. If you are very adventurous, Australia is cool too.
Good luck safe travels
Thanks for the reply, I think Australia is a bit far for a week (was considering Japan earlier) but these recs seem great - did Barca a few years back and loved it
While I still have the recent memory.
I just got back from vacation in Croatia, and I recommend the Dalmatian Coast cities of Split and Dubrovnik. Late March and April (also September and October) are good shoulder season months, before these places get too crowded and expensive. Spend more time in Split, it’s about 20% cheaper than Dubrovnik. But do check out Dubrovnik (especially if you liked Game of Thrones).
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford had a liberty visit while we were in Split and it was cool to see our sailors in town. That was unexpected, since they were the week before off the coast of Iran.
For the cuisine, it’s a shame you’re not going with a bigger group so you could share food because I was surprised how good it was. I tried Balkan food, but Dalmatian Coast cuisine is like the best parts of Italian food with a lot of meat and seafood. Squid ink risotto, cevapi (beef, pork, lamb sausages), hand made macaroni red sauce pasta (15 euro, so considered cheap for my SF standards), white truffle sauce pasta, fresh grilled fish. You really should eat this family style because it was excellent. Eating $100 dinners that would cost me at least $200 in SF for the family at our local Italian restaurant.
Great day trips from Dubrovnik to Montenegro and Bosnia (half the price of Croatia), also to waterfalls and Adriatic Sea islands especially the town of Hvar (from Split).
I met several solo travelers. I’d recommend do a group day trip early in your trip, you can make maybe a friend or two who are also solo.
A place like Croatia is like a Europe 2.0 or 3.0 trip, meaning, you’ll find more well travelled people there. It’s a cool vibe.
Peak summer season is great for swimming but too crowded, more expensive, and hot.
I went to Croatia recently and agree with all your points, especially plugging Split. I'd also recommend Krka national park and Plitvice Lakes national park. Krka is a short drive from Split, and has good views of waterfalls along pretty straightforward paths. Plitvice Lakes is further from Split but very much worth it. Lakes the color of Baja Blast, tall waterfalls, decent wildlife and fish, tons of foliage, and incredibly well maintained walking paths. I'd go as far to say it was the nicest place I've ever been.
You touched well on the food. Can't beat the fish, pasta, and cevapi in Split. Dubrovnik has a really cool spot called Konoba Dubrava which specializes in peka. You have to reserve a table and order the peka in advance, but it's well worth it. Probably the best meal I had there, easily the best meat. For drinks, the Croatian liqueur called rajika was readily available in Split & Dubrovnik, came in a variety of flavors, and was not expensive at all. There's a fair amount of wineries near Split and Krka falls, and the cities obviously have great selections of Dalmation wine.
I didn't go to Montenegro but was not very impressed with Bosnia. I only visited Mostar and Kravice waterfalls, so I'm by no means familiar with the country as a whole. I thought Mostar was very commercialized and seems nicer in pictures than real life. Kravice Falls was cool but not as impressive as Krka or Plitvice Lakes; there's nothing in the area except the falls which can be seen in 20-30 minutes. Bosnia was noticeably cheaper though, so I can see it being a good spot for people looking to stretch their dollars more.
If you wanna relax check out the French coast
Amazing recommendation!
Second this. So many cool little places and a lot of direct flights into Nice.
You have to specify Atlantic or Med.
Croatia. April may be too early tho. I would probably do like Costa Rica or somewhere in South America
I just got back from Croatia yesterday (Split and Dubrovnik). April is a great shoulder season month and the weather is great (ocean maybe a tad too cold for a long swim but doable, but less crowded and cheaper than summer). Highly recommend.
If you haven't been, Ireland can be a very fun time. Especially if you're into the idea of having some nice beers / going to pubs each night. Countryside is absolutely stunning too. Could also easily be done on a long weekend from the East Coast.
Caribbean, very easy to island hop and tons of hikes/things to do while also being a relatively quick flight. Can get best of both worlds too = hotel right on the water and mountains right behind you
What mountains?
Tell me you haven't been to the caribbean without telling me you haven't been to the caribbean.
Check out Jamaica's blue mountain peak trail sometime. Many islands have mountains.
Damn bro you that soft lol
Saint Lucia is almost entirely mountainous. Puerto Rico has mountains and rainforests inland, with lots of bluffs along the coast.
in the Americas - Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina / Patagonia
beyond that my favorites are - southern and northern spain, southern france, greek islands (maybe it's too cold now though).
Gun to my head given the weather, i'd try a warm mediterrean coastal place somewhere, my favorite is Marbella (went there last April and was able to go in the ocean), if not somewhere in central america**
Japan imo. Stay in a ryokan, especially one that has an in-house onsen or one close by. Eat kaiseki meals fit for an emperor, walk around exploring Shinto and Buddhist temples (and maybe even some obscure Catholic churches from when they were persecuted there), admire how psychotically organized everything is.
I'd want to say Japan as it would definitely be a beautiful recharge but I think Japan is better experienced in a 10-14 day minimum. There's a lot and it's not a place you want to have rush and urgency with. It's very harmonic. Save it for a longer trip. Off the top of my head the places that sound good for a week are the south of France, southern Italy (like Palermo), Belize. These are all not too far, by some beautiful water, and have enough to do that you can feel relaxed but not get bored either. And they're unique enough to be good conversation pieces to talk about, as a lot of people go to more mainstream spots over these.
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