Rhode Island Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
I need a vacation (recommendations/poll)
Sooo I want to start planning something for when i graduate this year. I have not had a vacation since my honeymoon, so I'm due 
What was ur favorite vacation?
Where did you stay?
What did you do?
What time of year did you go?
+any other info you want to share (I'm open to anything!!)
Re: I need a vacation (recommendations/poll)
Also my last vaca was my honeymoon. HOLLA
but in addition to where we went, I have another thought.
We did
What was ur favorite vacation? Bermuda
Where did you stay? Cruise from Boston, 7 days
What did you do? A little bit of everything, it was pretty awesome
What time of year did you go? October
I have a recc'd for Sanibel Island/Captiva Florida
seriously, my most favorite place ON earth.
So far, my favorite vacation is a tie between our first CA wine country trip (Sonoma Cty) and Aruba - both very different, lol!
CA: we spent a few days in Sonoma and a night in San Fran, although after having been to SF, we skipped it for our 2nd trip to CA. Comparing Napa to Sonoma, we MUCH preferred the laid-back vibe of Sonoma - but the restaurants in Napa Valley were better (albeit more expensive). It was SUCH a relaxing trip - it was awesome checking out the wineries, then splitting a bottle of vino on our private patio in the afternoon before dinner. Let me know if you want rec's for places to stay or wineries to visit. Our Sonoma trip we went around the 4th of July, although we did go to Napa this year towards the end of October.
ETA: Our favorite place in Sonoma (right off the town square) is Bungalows 313 - a little b&b with reeeeally good granola. Another place we stayed is a little further up the road in Kenwood - Kenwood Oaks Guest House (another b&b, which is really the way to go in wine country, and tends to be the most cost-effective for what you get). Joan is the sweetest thing ever, and her fig tree has the best.figs.EVER.
Aruba was another wonderfully relaxing vacation (although it was obviously more tropical). We stayed at the Bucuti resort, which is in the low-rise (read: quieter) section. It's quite easy (and cheap!) to hop a public bus to the high-rise section (where all the action/casinos/restaurants are), so we never rented a car. We went in February, and it was just what we needed to kick the winter blues (although it's a more expensive time of year to go, if memory serves).
My favorite is our honeymoon.
Place: Playa Del Carmen
Stayed -El Dorado Casitas Royale...a swim up casita
We went to Tulum...and then did NOTHING else. hahah it was the most relaxing E.V.E.R.
We went in August
This is my ULTIMATE vacation. I would love to go back, but it's so expensive. Sometimes you can get a good deal through bjsvacations.com though. It's a gourmet all inclusive and no other resort has yet to compare to this one.
Another place that is a good place if you want a group of people to go is Lifestyle Crown Villas in the Dominican. You can rent 3, 4, 5 , 6, or 7 bedroom villas that have their own pool! If you want more info on this, i can give you the lady we rented through, it's MUCH cheaper and you get things like a golf cart for the week and VIP privileges.
What was ur favorite vacation? hmm, that's tough. I loved my HM in Hawaii and San Fran but the last couple times I went to Disney with Ella are right up there.
Where did you stay? San Fran - The Fairmount, Kauai - the Grand Hyatt, Maui - The Four Seasons. Disney - Sheraton Vistana
What did you do? Snorkeling, swimming, relaxing, touristy things.
What time of year did you go? Hawaii - October into November, Disney, April-May and October-Nov.
As much as I love Disney, DH & I always say that our favorite vacation yet has been the week we spent in St. Maarten. Someone offered us their time share for the week (Pelican Resort) so all we paid for were flights, rental car, and food. We are firm believers in renting a car, and discovering a place on our own. I did lots of research before we headed down, even booked some small excursions (booze cruise, etc), but we just asked lots of questions at the resort of the best places on the island. It was hands down the best vacation ever! I still have websites saved and tons of info if you're interested.
Last April we took our first cruise together. Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas. Probably the CHEAPEST time of the year to go is the last week in April heading into May. No one is traveling then b/c school vacations are over and colleges aren't quite done yet. DH & I booked the cabin & flights for around $1K. It was a 7 day Southern Caribbean that was seriously action packed. 5 islands and only 1 day at sea. We didn't feel the need to get off at each island, so we definitely rested up on the ship while others were on shore. This was also a great trip!
For our HM, we went to Sandals St. Lucia. Not the vacation for us. We're just not into the all inclusive scene. The best times we had on that trip was when we left the resort. Once we went on a catamaran tour, and then we went zip-lining in the rain forest. I would definitely go back to St. Lucia (the island was beautiful), but would never stay at an all inclusive again.
I'm right there with you. DH and I both officially finished our schooling and we need a vacation.
We have everything planned we just need to book it. We're going to St. Lucia. It's where we wanted to go for our honeymoon but we couldn't afford it. We're going all out! We figure it's our last big trip before we start TTC next year so we want it to be good.
Where did you stay? - I think we're going to do 3 nights at Ladera and 4 nights at Ti Kaye.
What did you do? - We want to do a lot of nothing. I really want to go zip lining one day. That's the only thing I'm planning on right now.
What time of year did you go? - Probably at the end of June.
Let us know what you decide!
If I could go back to St. Lucia we would definitely stay at Ti Kaye!! I've heard it's fabulous!. We loved the zip lining excursion, and we were also there at the end of June. Just be prepared that it rains a little every day. It's a gorgeous island!
Sounds like a great way to celebrate your vacation!
My favorite was our month-long road trip to Montana and back, but assuming that isn't in the cards...
We loved our visit to the UK this summer, especially Scotland. We stayed in a bunch of B&Bs that trip, and at our friend's house, but our favorite was Craiglinnhe House in Ballachulish: http://www.craiglinnhe.co.uk/ We also ate at the amazing Clachaig Inn, they have sleeping accomodations there too: http://www.clachaig.com/
We did some hiking when we were on our own in the Lake District. In Scotland we took the Jacobite Steam train up to Mallaig, and we went up the gondola in the Ben Nevis range to see the view. A friend of mine went to the Ben Nevis distillery, we went to the Oban distillery. We would have LOVED to make it to Skye but we didn't have time. The scenery is supposed to be amazing, and considering how lovely the Glencoe area of Scotland is, I can only imagine how awesome Skye is.
We went in August, which was perfect, I thought. Definitely bring rain gear of course, and your camera!
Last vaca was w/ DD to Disney, but beside sthat was just after she was born we went away w/o her to St Maarten. Stayed in my parents' timeshare and they paid for flight, so we did a bunch of excursions and it was great. Relaxing and fun at same time. No rushing to do anything. I just didn't like driving around there too much b/c of the roads in some spots. oh, went in April...not on top of my list though.
Before that was our HM to Alaska- best trip! right there on top of my list. Cruise line was Princess. Was ok, think might look into a line that has things on board for younger, well our age people. it was either too young or too old. we sat with grand parent aged people, although they were so nice and we really enjoyed talking with them at dinner. Just wishe dwe met one couple our age to hang out with and go into town with. it was relaxing b/c there wasn't a ton to do, but enough at same time. did a heli ride to dog sled, best time ever! :-) I highly rec this trip. we went end june/beg july.
also, in college i went to spain and italy, great time. also Ireland. if you want to do any trip liek that, i would rec italy or ireland. i had the best time in those 2 places. I actually want to take DH to both. we are planning on taking DD to italy this summer or next hopefully. oh yeah, ireland was march, weather was crazy, warm one second and hailing another. other two were christmas, i hear summer is pretty hot, but may/june might be better- not sure.
My parents love aruba, one place on my to go lists...some day.
have fun no matter where you go. :-)
We really enjoyed our vacation earlier this year to Vegas and Sedona, Arizona. We hadn't been to either so it was all new to us. We spent 3 full days in Vegas, then got a rental car and drove to Sedona.
Sedona and Vegas could not be any more different but it was great really to have 2 totally different parts of our trip like that. We are NOT gamblers (we didn't even gamble until our last night there and spent very little) and not huge partiers but still found TONS to do in Vegas. If we could have had a longer vacation (we were gone for 9 days, 8 nights already) I would have done an extra day in Vegas just to see more! We went to a few shows, checked out most of the hotels which are always a thing to see, did some of the typical "Vegas" things like went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, took the gondola ride at the Venetian, etc. We had an awesome time. Then we went to Sedona which is just GORGEOUS. Very laid back (it is about a 5 -6 hr drive from Vegas), just gorgeous scenery everywhere you go, etc. We spent 2 full days there and one day of that was a day trip to the Grand Canyon. We took the Pink Jeep tour (I highly recommend taking a tour, the Grand Canyon is so massive I'm glad we had a guide and someone to drive us to the best spots) to the Canyon which is just breathtaking and beautiful. Our next full day we relaxed, saw the sites around Sedona, shopped, spent a couple hours by the pool in teh afternoon, etc. The last few days of our trip we spent with my aunt & Uncle who live outside of Phoenix but I wouldn't expect you to be doing that part lol. Oh and time of year we went was the end of May/early June (Memorial day weekend into the 1st week of June). It is definitely getting toasty at that time of year so be prepared. I do have to say that the "dry heat" does feel a little different than if it was 100 degrees here at home...but it's definitely still hot!
We have also enjoyed in the past our cruise to Bermuda (like what Jana did). It was our 1st cruise so I'm sure I'm biased but we had a great time. We got that tropical-ish vacation without having to fly anywhere since we left out of Boston (big $ savings on that alone). We went on that in early October.
We also went to Disney with our parents a couple years ago - so much fun. DH had NEVER been and had never really wanted to go but when my parents had brought up the idea it was hard for him to say no. Let's just say he had a great time and admitted it really is the happiest place on earth!!! We went to Disney in July. HOT....but doable. We had the park hopper pass so basically every afternoon when it was its hottest we would all go back to the hotel on the shuttle and hang by the pool to cool off and then head back to the same park or a new one. I definitely recommend the park hopper, it's worth the extra $$ for the flexibility.
We had a nice HM in Punta Cana but I also won't be running back there anytime soon if that makes sense. It's definitely beautiful, we had a great time, etc. but we both agree we've been on some better vacations since (like Vegas/Arizona).
If you are looking for more of a driving trip, Niagara Falls is very nice. We just went there in late October. We went just about the last weekend everything was open (like the Maid of the Mist, etc.). Definitely a fun time but if you are looking for exciting Niagara isn't necessarily the place to go but part of thta may have been for us the time of year we went as tourist season is winding down. It is definitely something to see and I'm glad we went.
Great idea! I went on a vacation after I graduated. It was fantastic. Plus it was January, so being somewhere warm was really really nice.
I've been on several cruises (3 in the Caribbean, 1 in the Mediterranean) and loved them all. Royal Caribbean for the win. I've been on the Serenade, Enchantment, and Adventure of the Seas. There are pictures from the cruise on the Enchantment in my bio (haven't updated in forever!). I liked the layout of the Serenade best. Large but not too large. I would be cautious about going to the Caribbean or Bermuda during hurricane season, though. But as long as you're already on the ship, the cruise line will keep you entertained. Your itinerary may change, but the ships themselves have so many activities that the only reason you're bored is because you want to be bored.
Running on the Rhode
I hate you very much
What was ur favorite vacation? our belated honeymoon to italy & prague in 2008 is probably my favorite but i also loved going to brazil in 2009
Where did you stay? we mostly stayed in vacation apartments because we prefer to put more of our budget towards food, drinks, and shopping or experiences
What did you do? in italy: DH had never been so we did a lot of the traditional sightseeing and walking tours in rome, florence, and venice, hiking in cinque terre, an afternoon wine tour which was good though next time i'd just spend more time in the smaller towns of tuscany. in prague, we did things we didn't get to do the first time we went, went to restaurants we loved the first time, and just wandered around.
in brazil: a few days with my ILs in the mountain town of petropolis (this was the boring/family part of the trip) and five days in rio (the fun part). in rio, we went to cristo redendtor, did a private tour of the churches/landmarks, went to sugar loaf, got in a little beach time (even though it was their winter), and feasted our way around ipanema.
What time of year did you go?
italy: late september/early october
brazil: august
+any other info you want to share (I'm open to anything!!)
think about what kind of vaca you really want. neither of these trips was particularly relaxing but they were both fantastic. we're not sit on the beach for a week people, especially DH. i'd avoid europe during the summer - very hot, very crowded, and the most expensive time to be there. rio in august was was actually lovely - there were some days that were very hot, some were cool and overcast but still not what we'd consider cold. the dollar is good in rio and you can eat/drink really well for reasonable prices. you can buy caipirinhas & beer ON the beach.
if you want more specifics, give a shout.
I loved Hawaii and would go back in a heartbeat! We did our HM there in June '08. We stayed on Maui for a week, I could live there, loved it. We rented a little guest house from a friend of a friend, up in the mountains on the North side of the island. We were pretty far from the resort areas, but the island is so small that it's a quick drive to get anywhere. We paid a ridiculously low rent for the week, so we splurged on restaurants and drank a lot of champagne! We did a mix of beach/snorkeling and hiking and exploring. Did the "road to Hana" and camped out there for a night, sunrise at the top of the volcano, hung out in town, etc
After Maui we went to the Big Island for 3 days and stayed in resorts there, which was nice but I kinda prefer to stay 'in-town' and do more locals stuff. On the big island we snorkeled a lot and checked out the volcano, it was cool and I'm glad we went but I could've stayed longer on Maui instead.
For something less pricey & closer to home, I've gone to sonoma/napa twice and absolutely loved that too!
we've done a ton of traveling and seriously loved it all... if any of the following interest you, let me know and i can answer your questions more in full (a non-napping toddler is preventing me from writing more now
anyway: singapore, bangkok (thailand), siem riep (cambodia), kuala lumpur (malaysia), belgium, paris, florence, tuscany & rome (italy), prague, budapest, vienna, koln and munich (germany), switzerland, all around northern and central portugal, barcelona, ibiza and mallorca (spain), iceland, copenhagen, oslo, stockholm, bermuda, banff, jasper & callgary (canada), and then a lot around the US too...
we haven't been anywhere big for over 2 years since DD was born, unfortunately, so i'm so jealous you have the world at your fingertips right now
have fun wherever you go, congrats on finishing school!!!
wow thank you everybody!! these are some great ideas! All these places look beautiful! i googled them all!
its so hard to decide. first when to go b/c i graduate at the end of june, but who really wants to go to a tropical island in the middle of the summer? you think you would want to do something like that more in the winter. So do I wait til december? but will i have a job by then? so will i be able to get the vacation time? i also want to start ttc by the end of the year....sooooo that factors in too.
Part of me wants to go to europe (sleigh2006...holy sh!t! i would love to visit half the places you went!!! totally jealous!!) But coming from being a student, Europe may be to pricey at that time. The other part of me wants to go lay on a beach for a week, but realistically after about 5 hours of that my husband and I would be A.D.D.-ing. We need activity. Oooh so many thoughts running through my head! Sorry I just went off on a tangent. Anyhow..thanks for the advice!
i would start scouting flights on kayak.com now. you could also subscribe to travelzoo to get more info on upcoming deals. you may be able to score a good deal for europe. if you could go for 2-3 weeks, i'd definitely consider thailand or other parts of asia for a mix of sightseeing and beach time. since you also have ttc in your plans, i'd definitely do something really special that will be more difficult once you have a baby.
greece, thailand, and new zealand are at the top our of our shortlist for upcoming trips.
good luck deciding on your next vaca!