I can go to any country, with the caveat that my mom would accompany me for part of it. I donāt want to go someplace Iāve already been, so it canāt be Taiwan, Canada, France, Germany, Morocco, Japan, Mexico, Ireland, or Argentina. Iām from the US and donāt want to go to a state Iāve already been to either. I want somewhere that feels very different.
The reason that this is a hard decision is because my mom is up there in age and canāt swim. I would really like to beach and party at least some of the time, but I donāt want to do that with her because weāre not the type to drink and do drugs in front of each other. The idea is that it would be 2 weeks for me and 1 for her, so we would start off together and then Iād be let loose and sheād fly home. When she is there we would do shorter hikes, visit museums, shop, and do normal tourist things. When she is gone I want to party and swim, so I need a place that is rich in both culture and unzh unzh.
The other issue is that it has to be June, and some places we would both be really interested in like Thailand and Vietnam would be too hot for me. Or would they? Idk, thatās why Iām asking.
I would love to visit any country tbh but some would be less fun with my mom. Like in Kazakhstan Iād want to ride horses and sleep in yurts and itāll just be different with her since she canāt do those things, so I will save that for solo travel. This also may be the last trip we take together so I want to make her happy. I bet the best option is Thailand in winter but June is when I wonāt be employed.
My thoughts: Costa Ricaāplenty to see and do with her, warm oceans for me after, many activities, but we only speak French, Chinese, Taiwanese, and English.
Cubaāsame as above but could be difficult for US citizens?
Puerto RicoāI know itās part of the US but I havenāt been and my only concern is the stability
TurkeyāI was a history major with a focus on the Ottoman Empire so historical site would be fascinating to me, and I love cats, and there would be a lot of things Iād love to see while sheās there and plenty of beaches for me.
South Koreaāher idea. I think if we go there not speaking Korean we might struggle to have a good time without a strong itinerary. I want to go to Korea with a person who speaks Korean and can show me more authentic things so I donāt just feel like Iām walking around looking at skyscrapers without a good itinerary. Iād also want to save up for some plastic surgery before going, lol.
New Zealandāonly con is a long flight for a trip that will be on the short side for her if sheās only going for a week.
ScotlandāI bet weād both love it but it seems a bit quiet and more the kind of trip Iāve want to take with a lover.
Portugal, Croatia, etcā¦
To be clear Iām not trying to say that any of these countries would be bad to go to, just that they may not be ideal for a half-family half-solo trip. Other places I want to visit, like Iceland and Alaska, wonāt offer the kind of swimming I want to do.
Iād also like to get a bit slutty on the back half. Like itās actually really important to me that I get to make out with random strangers and do something stupid and stumble home
Check out Albania. There are plenty of beaches. The historical ruins are amazing, and way less crowded than Italy. You can stand on a stage that Plato stood on. The food is great. You can have an experience tailored to your budget, everything from 5 star down to hostel. The best part is they love Americans. LMK if you want specific advice, Iāve been living here for 3 years.
I feel like a jerk for not considering the less mentioned European countries. I hate crowds so this sounds perfect. I just want to vibe and see cool shit and get in the water and it might be perfect.
Iād love to hear your specific recs!If you fly into Corfu Greece, Seranda Albania is a quick ferry ride away. Seranda is a nice touristy beach town. Good food, gets somewhat crowded in July and August. Near Seranda is Butrint National Park. Itās an abandoned ancient Roman city. Itās amazing. KorƧƫ and Theth are both mountain towns, lots of hiking, super friendly people. There are a ton of wineries all across the country, a bunch of them have hotels. Kruja has a bazaar dating from the 7th century. There are castles all across the country that are fun to explore. A bunch of YouTubers have done stuff across the country.
Color me interested, Iāve been meaning to get to the balkans for a decade now on any number of recommendations. What is the food like in Albania? What Plato stage is that? What took you over there in the first place and why did you decide to stay? Iām interested in hearing as much as youāre interested in sharing. Howās the public transport/healthcare? Natural environment, clean air and water? What kind of ruins are there?
Thereās a plaque in Byllis that says Plato had given talks there. You can just walk up and stand where he was. The food is great. Did you know that celery has flavor? Itās not just crunchy water. Same with tomatoes, even the heirloom tomatoes in the US donāt have shit on any random tomato Iāve had here. Tirana is a little smoggy. In the winter when everyone is burning wood for heat, the air all around Albania bothers a lot of Americans. I lived in California, it never seems bad to me. I havenāt had problems with the water anywhere. There are busses between most cities, and usually a local bus in the cities. Healthcare is cheap. Doctor visits are around $25 with no insurance. Iāve never had labs cost more than $100. We came here because getting a permanent visa to an EU country is a pain in the ass. Albania has chill immigration laws, and we were tired of living to work and never getting ahead. We went in with a bunch of friends and managed to buy a house in the bad part of Oakland, CA so we didnāt have to keep dealing with rent increases, but the insurance increases weāre more than the rent increases ever were. We realized that weād never be able to retire, and tried something insane.
Thanks very much for the information, very cool about Byllis. A lot of your motivation rings familiar. The bland produce and meat is one of the worst parts of visiting the US, buying food thatās been processed to mush or frozen for weeks or months is crazy and offensive in so many countries. Good to know about the smog, although I tolerate woodsmoke a lot better than industrial byproduct. And yea, US housing is also insulting.
Retiring 40 years early was maybe my biggest motivation to continue living abroad. Congratulations, Iām glad living abroad is working out for both of you. And thanks for bringing eastern Europe back onto my radar.
You made a very sane choice.
Thailand is very hot even in winter, but 35 million people visit every year because itās so much fun and a fascinating country. Thailand is definitely what youāre looking for in terms of a single country with tons of culture for a week and then party for 2. The night markets are easy to walk around in for your mom with great food after museums/temples, but are still fun and have party vibes so you can loosely figure out where you want to party after your mom goes home.
Everywhere youāve mentioned is great, but with the emphasis on culture and clubbing, Thailand, Colombia(cheaper plastic surgery for the same quality, btw) come to mind first. That comment above recommending eastern Europe is spot on too.
If your mom is really interested in SK and this might be her last trip, you can always go there for a week and then party in Thailand for two, although there are plenty of bars and clubs open very late in the main SK cities. Busan is a gorgeous city, and speaking Korean wonāt be a problem; every significant cultural activity your mom will be interested in will have options for translators and private guides in multiple languages.
Thailand, SK or both sound like the way to go.
Omg every suggestion is so different! SK to Thailand for me solo would be great. Only thing is I think if I go to Thailand Iād want to do one of those women-only guided trips where they take you to pickleball and snorkeling and the night market, and idk if one week would be enough to join one of those. Iām really good at traveling on my own though so maybe I donāt need it.
Iām probably not gonna get the plastic surgery but taking this heavily into account. I love Thai people and want to go so bad I just figure I can go in cooler weather. Itās more about what she wants for that first week than me tho and she might be more comfortable in Asia than a different region so Iāll have to find out but this is super helpfulChiang Mai will always be a little cooler than the rest of the country since itās a thousand feet in elevation. Itās also a very fun city with tons to do for the both of you. Between the temples, step waterfalls, amazing food, the massages(best in the world so far for me), art museums, monks, jade statues, jewelry neighborhoods, night markets, monitor lizards, tigers, thereāll be a ton of culture for both of you before party time for you.
The womenās only tours are a good idea, there are countless agencies before you land and even more after you are in Thailand that will be happy to provide you with womens-only or private tours for however many days youāre looking for. If you are comfortable solo traveling, it will be extremely easy for you to walk into any tourist agency the day youāre on your own and find the exact type of tour youāre looking for the next day.
Since youāve mentioned climate a few times, I should mention that Chiang Mai is the only city in Thailand that will be significantly cooler during the winter months since Thailand is near the equator and has a very stable tropical climate. Any other cities at sea-level, Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, will all be about 90F(32C) the whole year., Chiang Mai is the only one that will drop closer to 60(23C) over the winter months, but will still be cooler during the summer as noted in that temp chart I linked above. Any place you stay in will have AC, and a lot of the malls, restaurants, museums have AC, and there are ice cold smoothie stands everywhere around as well.
Thailand is such a beautiful, convenient and friendly country that the heat does not put off tens of millions of tourists from visiting every year. You mentioned disliking crowds, which Thailand certainly has, but if youāre planning on partying/clubbing, youāll be in the more touristy crowded districts whichever country you end up in.
Since this community has very few subscribers, you may also want to cross-post to a more general community like !nostupidquestions@lemmy.world or !justpost@lemmy.world
Thatās super helpful bc I noticed that not a lot of people are on this one. Will cross-post <3
The subscriber count is low because weāre a new community(a little under 5 months), be assured youāll always get a response here and your travel question is very welcome.
Iāll do my part!
The Philippines is great, around the Christmas festival or early new year. No issues with English, good beaches, lots to see and do. Just avoid the major cities.
Oh yeah I bet I would do the Philippines great and would get a ton of great memories. Only problem is it has to be June because of work and I go bright red and start panting the second itās hot
Turkey is absolutely amazing but most of the country (all of the touristy places, except maybe cappadocia) are hot as fuck in June.
Are you looking to stay in one place or see a few cities? Prague to Vienna to Budapest is a nice little circuit. Absolutely tons of history and interesting buildings, and thereās always a party somewhere. They also have all the western accommodations that can make older people more comfortable.
Iām not an expert about any one country but Iāve been living as a nomad in Europe (plus Turkey and Morocco) for a year.
Italy? You really cannot go wrong with it. And thereās so many places that donāt get much tourism despite being really worth seeing.
