I can go to any country, with the caveat that my mom would accompany me for part of it. I don’t want to go someplace I’ve already been, so it can’t be Taiwan, Canada, France, Germany, Morocco, Japan, Mexico, Ireland, or Argentina. I’m from the US and don’t want to go to a state I’ve 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 can’t swim. I would really like to beach and party at least some of the time, but I don’t want to do that with her because we’re 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 I’d be let loose and she’d 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, that’s why I’m asking.
I would love to visit any country tbh but some would be less fun with my mom. Like in Kazakhstan I’d want to ride horses and sleep in yurts and it’ll just be different with her since she can’t 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 won’t be employed.
My thoughts: Costa Rica–plenty to see and do with her, warm oceans for me after, many activities, but we only speak French, Chinese, Taiwanese, and English.
Cuba–same as above but could be difficult for US citizens?
Puerto Rico–I know it’s part of the US but I haven’t been and my only concern is the stability
Turkey–I 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 I’d love to see while she’s there and plenty of beaches for me.
South Korea–her 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 don’t just feel like I’m walking around looking at skyscrapers without a good itinerary. I’d also want to save up for some plastic surgery before going, lol.
New Zealand–only con is a long flight for a trip that will be on the short side for her if she’s only going for a week.
Scotland–I bet we’d both love it but it seems a bit quiet and more the kind of trip I’ve want to take with a lover.
Portugal, Croatia, etc…
To be clear I’m 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, won’t offer the kind of swimming I want to do.
I’d also like to get a bit slutty on the back half. Like it’s actually really important to me that I get to make out with random strangers and do something stupid and stumble home
I think you should give Turkey some serious consideration. If I were your mom, I imagine I’d absolutely love it if you shared your passion for the local history with me.
I think Turkey should have wonderful beaches, but from there you could also travel to Albania, Greece or Italy quite easily. If those are too hot, you could go to Poland or Lithuania, Latvia or Estonia. I haven’t been myself, but I hear Eastern Europe has beautiful old cities and nature. Those countries are also pretty cheap!
Depending on how much you want to travel and whether you like trains you could get an Eurail ticket for one or more countries. If you’re younger than 28 you’ll get a nice discount. There should also plenty of affordable flights.
Don’t let the heat scare you away from Thailand.
Spend the first week with your mom up in Chiang Mai, go to “elephant nature park” up there, one of the few who actually are a real elephant sanctuary for rescued elephants and treat them well. You can feed, touch, and bathe them, it’s an awesome experience. There’s also great cooking classes to do that take you through the markets where you try different foods as you collect your ingredients to cook with later.
If your mom is open minded enough, go to the ladyboy cabaret, it’s good fun, I’ve literally seen families there before, it’s not x-rated stuff, just good song and dance with humor mixed in.
Night market every night, and Sunday walking street both offer tons of shopping and excellent street food options everywhere you go for literal miles. Don’t miss out on the best Khao soi of your life.
See the temples, Doi Suthep offers an unmatched view of the valley Chiang Mai lies in. Doi Inthanon is high enough of a climb in elevation that you get serious relief from the heat, and there are waterfalls to visit along the way, makes a great day trip.
Spend a couple days up in Pai to enjoy a peaceful hippie-ish town with beautiful views (about 3 hour drive by car). If you make the trip up here, you might as well go to the white temple in Chiang Rai - I can’t vouch for that one but it looks sweet!
Week two - fly yourself down to Phuket for the beach and nightlife. Go to a full moon party, do some shrooms or whatever floats your boat. Tons of bars and clubs in the area for you too. Also, if you’re up for something not as much of a party but still incredible while you’re there, look up John Gray sea canoe tours. They do the best day trips out in the bay, take you to a couple different hongs where you kayak under these caves into lagoons, see bats, monkeys, all kinds of cool shit… They cook you good food on the boat… You can do overnight trips where you camp on a tiny island you have to yourselves… Highly recommend them.
I spent a couple months in Thailand in college (over the summer months) so I’m always encouraging others to see it, even in the hotter months - don’t let weather discourage you. The people, the sights, and the food far outweigh any bad weather you might encounter. I liked it enough to bring my wife back for our honeymoon years later, we had an awesome time.
Big question is what is “too hot”? Croatia or Turkey in June would be toasty. You can also look at the Aegean side of Greece. Beyond being hot, June and August both are when these places empty out or get absolutely filled up for the summer. Personally, I would suggest looking more around the Balkans and seeing if there’s something you like and renting a car to drive between places. Beaches in NE Greece, hot springs in Bulgaria? Beaches in Montenegro, shopping in Belgrade? You get that Ottoman history anywhere you go. Maybe look at flying into one city and flying out of another.
Turkey is solid, but beaches might be some internal flights or long drives from IST. Just beware of scams and hustles from every direction.
Scotland in June is beautiful, the question would be if you can actually find a place to stay. It’s a short summer so things book up quickly and expensively. Water is always freezing.
Dominican Republic on the Semana peninsula? Panama?
Southern Poland? It’s not been discovered by the masses yet.
I recently vacationed in Costa Rica. Language won’t be an issue. Everyone was polite & friendly.
We did a lot of driving. From the central volcano area, down to the coast at Puerto Viejo.
I’d return to check out the West coast.
FYI: I have an American friend from Thailand. She advised us against travel due to the Middle East shit show effecting many aspects of life in Thailand. Even our tour provider warned us that flights were no longer guaranteed.
Belize.
Tiny country just south of Mexico. It was the only English colony in South America. It’s a lot like Jamaica with less crime. Beautiful beaches and friendly people. I went there for the scuba diving, but it also has old Mayan ruins to explore.
You can use US dollars anywhere if that matters.
Belize is part of North America.
Only speaking to what I know:
Cuba - It will be a pain for you to handle the paperwork. As an American, you have to pick only one of right reasons to go to Cuba and going on vacation isn’t one of them. You also can’t go to fancy hotel since they are owned by the Cuban state and the USA embargo means you can’t trade with the government directly. You also need to keep all receipts for a few years.
Puerto Rico - Pretty stable as a place to visit, especially in touristy areas.
Turkey - Istanbul is a great place to visit and it is easy to get around. I also hear the beaches are great. Only possible issue is that Turkey is rather hilly and I don’t know if your mom can handle the hills.
Scotland - Nice place to visit, but you aren’t going to be going to visit any beaches. Also, you’ll likely be drinking in front of your mother.
Portugal - Nice place to visit. Very hilly. The area is also adjusting to its tourist demand.
If you’re worried about stability in Costa Rica, man do I have news for you about Cuba.
Genuinely laughed out loud
I’m sorry this is your last planned trip together and I hope you get another opportunity. When my mom was older we went to Alaska. It was beautiful and exciting while not being too much for her - short drives, train, ship through the inside passage- bears, eagles, moose, glaciers, …
Istanbul week 1, Princes Islands in the Sea of Marmara week 2.
How about Spain?
Split in Croatia sounds like it’d fulfill basically all of your criteria.
I’ve seen videos of Croatian tourist activities like swimming holes and ziplines and I think that may be the one. And plenty of beautiful city to cover week one. Was thinking about spending one night in Zagreb–>Split–>Dubrovnik, send the madre on her way, and then just wing it by myself once I’ve gotten the lay of the land.
If you have more specific recs I’m all earsI have been to Croatia 2 years ago, drove to Zagreb via night train, rented a car and immediately drove to the coast. Keep in mind I really despise big cities and tourist stuff.
I have been with my girlfriend and we visited two small villages along the coast that were not too touristy but had nice beaches. We really liked it.
The highlight of our visit was the Plitvicd National park which was one of the most beautiful nature I have seen in my life (you need tickets). Also the roads to Plitvice have been very nice. We spontaneously did one other activity - there is an old Yugoslavian underground airbase close to the Bosnian border which is a huuuuge lost place. We booked a guide who went with us through the tunnels for 2 hours, I’ll never forget that experience!
Then we went to Split for one night, just for going to one of the islands, in our case Hvar. We spend almost a week in Hvar and had a really good time although it was way to warm.
Split was alright but pretty ugly, you have the typical tourist stuff, the residential area is not really worth it. It is pretty funny to watch the rich people in the port area though.
Dubrovnik was a pure tourist hell. Yes historically interesting, but pure tourist hell. I would never come back again if it wasn’t another pandemic or so, but people like different things.
That was a short summary of our trip, ask me anything if you like!
I’d second Portugal. You could spend a week in Lisbon for culture , museums and shopping, then hop on the train to a beach resort in the Algarve for the partying and swimming.
Thailand is switching into monsoon / low season right now. Cheaper flights, cheaper hotels (in theory), temperatures coming down. For most people this is actually the best season to travel in Thailand.
Croatia, Portugal or Spain would probably be good choices.
