Wondering if anyone here has recommendations for travel destinations that are 1 day's journey or less from the Northeast, don't have Zika, and would push an American out of their comfort zone. DH and I are adventurous travellers--we love southeast Asia and Latin America, but both are off limits due to Zika. Two places that have been on our list but don't really seem feasible right now for other reasons are South Africa (it's a solid 24-36 hours one way to get there/back depending on layovers, which sounds like it would be terrible if I were newly pregnant) and Jordan (political climate/state department travel warning). I'm drawing a blank, and the answer might be that we just don't travel next year or we only do a national park or something, but that feels like putting our lives on hold for a hypothetical in a way that I'm not ready to right now.
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What about Spain/Portugal? A friend who is TTC went there recently.
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Do you guys have any activities that you love to do on vacation (hiking, skiing, scuba diving, etc.)? If you're just into generally exploring different cultures, somewhere like Marrakesh would be fun. Or maybe Romania/Croatia/somewhere in Eastern Europe?
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We went to Chile and Argentina when I was newly pregnant with our first. The only part of the trip we amended was skipping a high altitude region. Other than that it was no problem!
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@sunny: Portugal could be cool, or Southern Spain. I did Barcelona and Madrid, and it was fun, but not on my list for repeating when there are so many other places to check out.
@raspberries: Exploring other cultures is the big one, but any opportunities for unique wildlife, hiking, or snorkeling would be bonus. Morocco is a great idea. A little googling and we can fly direct from Montreal to Casablanca and it's not purple on the CDC zika map.
@Baby Boy Mom: Looking at the CDC map, the spine of the Andes is pretty much the only safe-ish spot in latin america in terms of zika, so maybe Chile. Or Peru, I'd just have to stay in the interior.
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@karenbme: Yes! Morocco is on my list - it's about 12-15 hours from Boston where I'm at, so we're thinking of doing it next year when TTCing again. I think it would be so much fun!
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Dh and I are planning a trip to the Azores this summer thanks to a suggestion from here. It looks gorgeous and you can fly direct from Montreal, Boston, Toronto, etc.
Iceland is also amazing...Dh and I went last summer and it was beyond spectacular. There was so much to see and do ... an adventure travelers dream. But at the same time it was so isolated that is was extremely relaxing and romantic. I can't stop raving about it. I would go back in a heartbeat
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Iceland!
We won a trip several years ago, and it was incredible.
Out friends went on their honeymoon over thanksgiving.Its only a 4 hour flight from Boston, but its a totally unique place!
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I was also going to suggest Iceland, or what about somewhere in Scandinavia like Norway?
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Iceland!! DH and I went a year ago for 10 days. Absolutely stunning. Rent a car and circle the whole island. You'll feel like you're on another planet.
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Eastern Europe, or Scandinavia to see the Aurora Borealis?
I know several people who have done Eastern Europe recently and had an amazing time.
Or what about Alaska, lots of back country and wildlife opportunities to make an adventurous trip.
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I would suggest Iceland, the Azores, or Denmark/Sweden/Norway! Or what about Russia?
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I was going to also suggest Morocco - that was my big trip that I kept putting off because “I might be pregnant”. I finally decided I was being silly, went, and it was amazing. We did four days in Marrakech and then a 4 day guided tour, ending up with an overnight in the Sahara. I can’t recommend it highly enough, I’d love to go back. I have a friend who was actually disappointed with Casablanca, he said it was mostly a business city. I loved Marrakech but he also recommended Fez.
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I also wanted to recommend Morocco! I went about 10 years ago to Essaouira and Marrakech. I think Essaouira has probably changed a ton since I was there, but when I saw it, the Medina still had a completely medevial feel to it and it was a quaint little city by the sea. Or what about South America (not sure about Zika)? I’ve never been, but I would love to see Buenos Aires someday. Or maybe Peru/Machu Picchu?
What time of year would you be traveling?
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@jennlin821: @Rocker2014: @annem1990: I know a couple of people who've been to Iceland recently and loved it. Plus they have adorable ponies. The only challenge is the airlines. From where I am WOW air is the only option and it's supposed to be miserable and put you in Reykjavik at like 4am.
@PawPrints: Alaska is def on our list but it was something we were saving for after babies, since travel within the US can be so much was with small kids. The list of Eastern Europe destinations had some cool ideas, though. Thanks!
@erinbaderin: That sounds so dreamy! Too bad about Casablanca, but thanks for the tip.
@lamariniere: Unfortunately, except for the spine of the Andes, South America is off limits because of Zika. Theoretically, we could fly into Cusco (the sacred valley is at the absolute top of our list) and do some day tripping from there, but Lima has Zika and Cusco is bonkers expensive to fly to. In terms of timing I have week in March or a week in May when I can be 100% off both work and the grad program I'm in. May would probably be more ideal, but either would work.
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Have you been to Croatia? We absolutely loved it, we saw many gorgeous spots and the food was DELICIOUS. Plenty of good adventure-type stuff to do outside of the cities.
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Chile is incredible and there is no Zika there. Santiago and Valparaiso are really cool cities and Patagonia is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been (if you’re into hiking and the outdoors).
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What about Budapest? I’ve been a couple of times at different times of the year and even in February it was nice. You could go to the outdoor baths (more fun when it’s cold out) and there’s a great food scene in Budapest.
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@karenbme: I’m pretty sure we flew to Casablanca and then just caught a flight to Marrakech - it was like 30 minutes.
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