Help me choose a vacation destination

[skimomma]

I am looking for a very specific type of domestic or international vacation destination for two adults and am hoping for some help.  We are looking at a week-plus away during either the beginning of February or some time in April (trying to avoid the spring break traffic if possible).  We have a whole pile of airline vouchers which we earned the hard way sleeping in airports and playing the where-did-my-luggage-end-up games, so ticket price is pretty much not an object.  Here are the criteria:

1. Above 70 degrees and not typically rainy during time of visit (specify if this might only apply to one travel time window)

2. NO BUGS that bite people.  No mosquitoes, black flies, fire ants, etc.....  Or at least not in biblical quantities

3. Outdoor activity options (beaches, hiking, boating, etc......)

4.  Economical lodging and food costs

5.  Not super crowded or "touristy" but relatively easy for English-only-speaking people to navigate

6.  If outside of the US, no need for a rental car to get around

7.  Low hurricane risk (or any other weather phenomenon that requires fleeing)

For reference, we have been to a handful of tourist destinations in Mexico.  There are few (predatory) bugs, costs were reasonable, and the weather was good but I found the beaches to be packed and it was difficult to get out of the tourist fray for more peaceful hiking, dining, excursion experiences without renting a car.  Our best travel experiences have been WAY off the beaten path in northern European countries....mostly hiking and poking around at lesser-known attractions.  But these are often wet, always cold, sometimes buggy (I'm looking at you, northern Finland), and pretty expensive.  We are looking for something completely different for this trip.  I live in the land of snow snow SNOW (yes, even in April) followed by epic bugs.  The whole point of this trip will be to escape both for a bit.  We have spent very little time in the southern US so really don't know anything about those options.  We do know we are not at all interested in cruises.

 

[MEmama]

Portugal? We were there in March and it was lovely--warm but not hot, not too touristy and endlessly beautiful. Terrific public transportation in Lisbon and Porto, and the train in between.

 

[skimomma]

26 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Portugal? We were there in March and it was lovely--warm but not hot, not too touristy and endlessly beautiful. Terrific public transportation in Lisbon and Porto, and the train in between.

 

That is on our short list!

[Carol in Cal.]

French Polynesia, hands down.  Not Tahiti, but one of the other islands like Moorea, Bora Bora, or one of the smaller ones:

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/island-vacations/cool-islands-to-visit-in-french-polynesia

[skimomma]

45 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

French Polynesia, hands down.  Not Tahiti, but one of the other islands like Moorea, Bora Bora, or one of the smaller ones:

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/island-vacations/cool-islands-to-visit-in-french-polynesia

That was not on my list.  Thanks!  Have you been there?

[Beth S]

I do a lot of Armchair Traveling via Youtube.  It could be a fun way for you to narrow down your choice.

[JustEm]

Puerto Rico

[skimomma]

1 minute ago, hjffkj said:

Puerto Rico

This is also on our list and especially attractive because jet lag would not be an issue.  

[Faith-manor]

Barbados. English speaking, very relaxed, beaches are lovely, the public transport is easy to use, well marked. 

[R828]

The Azores

[JustEm]

1 hour ago, skimomma said:

This is also on our list and especially attractive because jet lag would not be an issue.  

Depending on where you are flying from and airline flights can be very cheap. We just bought tickets from Philadelphia to San Juan for January 2024 for $89 each way.

[wintermom]

Costa Rica!! You can do a resort or a small coastal town. The west coast is great. We stayed with friends in Uvita, but there are lots of lovely places along the coast. You don't need to rent a car. There are some wonderful taxi companies with lovely drivers, a/c and wi-fi in their very comfy vans. There are lots of amazing parks with cool wildlife to visit, gorgeous weather that is consistantly beautiful the times of year you are thinking. It gets pretty warm in April, but Feb and Mar are amazing!

[bolt.]

Croatia is lovely, with some EPIC national parks, various Roman and Medieval sites, and beaches on the Mediterranean (possibly not always warm enough for a swim). We were there on a cruise, but I understand it to be quite affordable. (Also Montenegro: it's the same coast.)

However, I do think a rental car might benefit you: especially if you want to go to the national parks and other not-so-beaten path sites -- although you could book tours instead. (Can you let me know why you are reluctant to rent a car? We did it in some cities, and we were in each port for a day. It wasn't at all difficult or expensive.)

Edited to add: I'm not sure, but it might fail your English-navigable requirement too. We were fine everywhere we went, but we stuck to pretty touristy places with service-oriented folks. It might be harder in less tourist-industry focused centres.

Here's an Amazon link to a guidebook with a good 'look inside' selection of info and photos:

https://www.amazon.ca/Fodors-Essential-Croatia-Montenegro-Slovenia/dp/1640973680/ref=sr_1_36?crid=QS6VFQ3MW10I&keywords=dalmatian+coast&qid=1693343490&sprefix=dalmatian+cost%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-36

Edited August 29, 2023 by bolt.

[Murphy101]

Curacao!!  Been there and adore it. Easy for English speakers. Beautiful weather and lots to do. Places to stay are fairly cheap and awesome. Avoid the all inclusive places. They are way overpriced compared to other places. Food is amazing. 

[athena1277]

If you decide to stay in the US, I would look at the FL Keys.  Hurricanes are not a problem in February or April.  

[skimomma]

1 hour ago, bolt. said:

(Can you let me know why you are reluctant to rent a car? We did it in some cities, and we were in each port for a day. It wasn't at all difficult or expensive.)

 

Driving in places where we do not know the language or driving rules stresses me out.  Lol!  We have done it and I am sure we will do it again, but if it can be avoided, I would prefer that.  I am still recovering from driving in Amsterdam......

[skimomma]

1 hour ago, Murphy101 said:

Curacao!!  Been there and adore it. Easy for English speakers. Beautiful weather and lots to do. Places to stay are fairly cheap and awesome. Avoid the all inclusive places. They are way overpriced compared to other places. Food is amazing. 

We have friends that went there last spring and they got NAILED by chiggers.  They were miserable.  Which is actually why I even put the biting bug concern in my criteria.  Well, that, and the swarm of mosquitoes that nearly drove me over the edge in Finland.  And I am very very used to mosquitoes.

[skimomma]

20 minutes ago, athena1277 said:

If you decide to stay in the US, I would look at the FL Keys.  Hurricanes are not a problem in February or April.  

This is on our list.  No bugs?

[bolt.]

3 minutes ago, skimomma said:

Driving in places where we do not know the language or driving rules stresses me out.  Lol!  We have done it and I am sure we will do it again, but if it can be avoided, I would prefer that.  I am still recovering from driving in Amsterdam......

AMSTERDAM!!!!! Yeah, that's ridiculous!

If you want a little road trip out of town, the country roads of Croatia shouldn't freak you out too much. Driving rules are normal. Traffic is light. The signs are either numbers (speed limits), easy pictograms, or place names (you'll know what you are looking for). Google maps works flawlessly (and speaks English). There's also lots of town-to-town busses that aren't hard to navigate.

Edited August 29, 2023 by bolt.

[skimomma]

Just now, bolt. said:

AMSTERDAM!!!!! Yeah, that's ridiculous!

If you want a little road trip out of town, the country roads of Croatia shouldn't freak you out too much. The signs are either numbers (speed limits), easy pictograms, or place names (you'll know what you are looking for). Google maps works flawlessly (and speaks English). There's also lots of town-to-town busses that aren't hard to navigate.

That is good to know.  I think it is very location-specific.  Like, driving around in Iceland was a piece of cake.  Cancun not so much.  And, well, Amsterdam.......  So, I think if we go somewhere with easy driving, we probably for sure would do so.

[Carol in Cal.]

8 hours ago, skimomma said:

That was not on my list.  Thanks!  Have you been there?

Yes, it's heavenly and magical.

Kind of the tropical ideal.

Also there is great French food as well as island delicacies.

[whitestavern]

10 hours ago, skimomma said:

That is on our short list!

I thought of Portugal immediately as well. We went late April and weather was exquisite. I’m not gonna lie. It was crowded. Porto (didn’t really like) was insanely so. Lisbon a little bit better. We spent a week driving around the country as well and that was just amazingly beautiful. If you can get over renting a car that would be my recommendation. Another option is the Alentejo region (wine country) It’s lovely and there’s a huge man made lake there. You could spend a couple of days in Lisbon and train to Evora (30 min?) and stay in that area. Then maybe go just a little beyond that (Uber?) to the lake. We stayed at a beautiful resort in Reguengos de Monsaraz. The people of Portugal are the nicest I’ve ever met. I’d love to return. The areas outside the cities weren’t crowded. 

Edited August 30, 2023 by whitestavern