Three weeks to spend anywhere in the world..

So in light of my most recent thread and quandry...I've decided to forgo my year long RTW trip that was supposed to commence in November, in favor of continuing to work and grow my company.

That said, I still need to take a nice long vacation until I can finally do this RTW trip. I can get about 20 days off in July. The map is completely wide open. I am open to going absolutely anywhere.

Some things that are important to me...

Good food, interacting with the culture/people, viewing famous sites, and partying. Probably in that order.

The only place I'd currently consider in Europe is Italy...everything else I'm going to wait to hit when I have more time on my RTW.

Other than that, I'm open...let me know what you would suggest, given my time constraints...Thanks!!

The interacting with the culture/people is a tough one if you only know English

The sites is most anywhere in the world

Then add good food & partying to the mix, that kind of limits it even more

Mexico would likely be the best bet or possibly Thailand

I'm in mexico now and unless you're going to be in the mountains, I would not recommend most of Mexico in July. It's fecking hot here. So hot that I passed out in the grocery store the other day. It sucks. And I love mexico. However, you could easily spend three weeks exploring Chiapas and Oaxaca and Guatemala and stay semi-cool by sticking to the mountains/coast the entire time.

It appears you are from the USA. Although, yes you can travel farther east/west, with 3 weeks I'd stick to the Americas to minimize jet lag and maximize your time. In July, I'd probably lean towards Peru

Honestly 3 weeks in Italy sounds around perfect time-wise except for the whole it being July so the rest of the world will be there on vacation with you. So I'd rule out pretty much all of Europe for this reason.

Asia could be good and not too far if you're on the West Coast- well not so far that I don't think it's worth going for 3 weeks. Most of SE Asia will be hot and in monsoon (some exceptions so you'll have to do your research) but China can be good then from what I've heard. Just came from there, good food and great culture, Yangshao area in the south is a great party spot, and met loads of interesting people.

Ecuador is also a nice place that offers an amazing mix of culture, wildlife and scenery. July is the ideal time to visit there and temperature is around 24 degree Celsius in July. Moreover three weeks is a good time period to see the major spots.

Australia: Sydney, Melbourne or Gold Coast, maybe even up to Far North Queensland! That way you can be a part of our Aussie culture, you know most of the language, and you'll be adequately drunk.

I'd save Europe for when you have more time, then you can do the entire thing.

well, i agree with your choice, italy is a great place to go and with so much to do, so much to see, lots of yummy dishes to eat and places to explore, it makes a great holiday destination and you can manage things very easily as its a popular tourist hub. each of its cities is equipped with great history and culture and invites you to take a plunge and explore what great experience it has to offer!! i hope you will enjoy your trip to italy and write about it too

So, think I've narrowed it down to 4 choices..let me know what you all would pick..

Keep in mind I'll be traveling in July for 20 days..


1. Spain/Morocco..Start in Madrid end in Marrakesh

2. Southern Peru/Machu Picchu to Bolivia

3. Indonesia..Backpack from Yogyakarta to Bali

4. China...Beijing and surrounding areas

Morocco in July? Yuck.

I'd choose peru personally but since i've been baking in 100+ temps for the last month I'm anti warm weather right now.

1 Spain/Morocco---never been so can't comment

2 Peru Bolivia-----sounds good

3 Indonesia---not really enough time + rainy season

4 China, Beijing for 20 days----Yuck

busman7 wrote:1 Spain/Morocco---never been so can't comment

2 Peru Bolivia-----sounds good

3 Indonesia---not really enough time + rainy season

4 China, Beijing for 20 days----Yuck

As far as #3 goes...are you sure it is the rainy season in Indo? Everything I've found suggests the opposite.. http://www.inm-asiaguides.com/Bali/ebclim.htm

As far as #4...is there a better area of China you'd recommend for 3 weeks?

#3 sorry, my bad & stand corrected

#4 I had a far from satisfactory experience in China, however a couple days around Beijing to see the wall then the train to Lhasa followed by an 8 day tour of Tibet then a few days in Nepal would be cool.

That actually sounds amazing. I had thought of it but didn't seriously consider something like that because I didn't think I'd have enough time.

You think I could handle a route like that in three weeks?

yanks26dmb wrote:That actually sounds amazing. I had thought of it but didn't seriously consider something like that because I didn't think I'd have enough time.

You think I could handle a route like that in three weeks?

I spent a total of 6 days in Nepal which included 2 in Chitawin National park

7 days on the trip Kathmandu to Lhasa included 2 days in Lhasa

Instead of returning with the group to Kathmandu I took the 2 day train to Beijing

4 days in Beijing, the wall etc

Total 19 days, leaving 2 travel days to get to China & return home in 3 weeks

It will be a full 3 weeks but awesome!!