Spencer
Los Angeles
This is it. This is your last trip, so you have to really make it count. Where would that last trip be to? And what would you do? Think common trip length, like a couple weeks, and not like 6 months i.e. not an RTW trip over the course of 6 months to 100 countries.
I would definitely head to Antarctica to see one of the final frontiers on earth in isolation. I would love that otherworldly, atypical adventure!
I would go home to Australia. I would fly into Ayers Rock (Uluru) to watch the sunset over the rock, then head up to Kimberley, during the wet season and take a helicopter ride across the Bungle Bungle National Park. I would end my trip on Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays, eating the freshest seafood on the planet.
Mentioned in this answer:
AH! What a difficult question!!
I'd say 3 week trip:
- Fly into Budapest (3 days)
- Travel to Split (5 day island hopping boat trip)
- Travel to Corfu (5 day island hopping boat trip)
- Athens (1 day)
- Fly into Istanbul (2 days)
- Fly to Tel Aviv (Tour Israel 5 days - with a day trip to Petra)
If I can't have a month, then I'd do three weeks also. I'd head out to Egypt to cruise the Nile, visit Luxor and then back to Cairo to stand in the shadow of the Great Sphinx of Giza.
Ten days later, I'd hit Paris to rinse the dust off. I'd stand under the Eiffel Tower in the night sky, enjoy the lights and then a train up to Florence.
Ah, what a wonderful question!!
Mentioned in this answer:
This is a very tough one! I think I would go to Peru and do an Amazon River cruise and hit up Machu Picchu then jump over to the Galapagos for some ocean time. I would love about 3 weeks.
Spain...always and forever. the people, the food, just the vibe of the country. Most people don't understand and have a preference for Italy, or Southeast Asia. But Spain has my heart. I would have to go back to Andalucía and spend some time in Barcelona. And I would have Duende as it would be my last trip to Spain.
I would want to spend the time with my wife, son and daughter. It would be a grand tour of China with an emphasis on history and food.
White water rafting through the Grand Canyon National Park. 6 day trip. Western River Expeditions. Great guides, Gourmet type food. I took the family on this trip 10 years ago, Everyone still rants about it. This is a trip of a life time that will change you forever
A toss up over culture or the natural landscape. I think it would need to be culture. I'd head to Scandinavian countries like Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Iceland. The people there are healthy happy and friendly. And they have beautiful views.
I'd say New York City.
If the reason I'm having a last trip is because I'm dying, I'll blow all my money there too and live like a millionaire for the last few days of my life.
That city makes you feel so alive !
If I had to choose one place to travel and then be back in "real life' in one spot for the rest of my life, I think I'd choose somewhere with natural, breathtaking geography, rather than somewhere that is interesting because of the culture and people.
Of course there are amazing benefits to learning a culture and people, but I think I would want to choose a more solitary place that would inspire reflection and redirection in life. The fjords of Norway, Antarctica as someone stated already, Iceland or Greenland, perhaps Tibet. Somewhere where unlike anything I've seen thus far so I can experience the grandeur of this world and refocus on what is important.
Mentioned in this answer:
The thought of not returning to South Korea saddens me - but in a few weeks, I'd:
- Explore the thousands of islands in Dadohae National Marine Park
- Eat, eat, & eat some more all through Jeolla-do
- One of Korea's other important & beautiful islands - Dodong-ri, Ulleung-eup
- Food tourism to the home of ddakgalbi, Chuncheon
- And generally try to get to all four corners of Korea again.
Mentioned in this answer:
South America. I would take 4 weeks, flying into Buenos Aires. I would spend a few days in Buenos Aires, then Mendoza, then travel to Uruguay, Bolivia and Chile, spending the last week in the wilderness of Patagonia (Argentina), gathering my thoughts and remembering the great life I have had!
Mentioned in this answer:
While it would be very tempting to return to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and Antarctica I would really need to cover more territory in Mother Africa. As my normal trip is a month to six weeks I figure for this "last trip" I could take in Morocco and get out into the Sahara Desert then head to Ethiopia to visit the Omo River and finally get to Tanzania for the great migration.
Mentioned in this answer:
Start in Hawaii and go hiking through the islands then to Galvestonand walk the seawall and strand. Rockport (Texas) to go fishing, then to Irelandto Explore countryside. I would make sure it was off season! Less crowded!
Mentioned in this answer:
I would take about 2 months and go fishing. Starting at Fort Lauderdale, heading south all the way down to Key Westthen north along the west coast of Florida along the Everglades National Park up to Naples (Florida)
Mentioned in this answer:
I would definitely explore the wilderness of Patagonia (Argentina), Mongolia, and Antarctica.
Mentioned in this answer:
There are a million places that I haven't seen that I'd love to go like Shanghai, Bolivia, and the Galapagos... but, if I'm totally honest and this is my very last trip, I'd have to spend it seeing the people that have made my past travels special.
I'd fly to Aachen for a couple days to see a "tante" that I adopted while living there, then to Valencia to see my Spanish friends and family, to walk the streets of that city, stop in my favorite shops, and visit Pastelería C. Aixa and the sweet family who run it. After a week in Spain, I'd fly to Trapani to see the new bakery my friend has opened and eat ice cream in brioche on the beaches there.
Then, if time allowed, I'd head to San Francisco to wrap up my time with family and go to my favorite beach near Pescadero.
Travel has fed me in a million different ways, but beyond the sights, sounds, and flavors of each place, it's always the people themselves, from the friendly waiter to the lasting friendships, that touch my heart and make those places "home" instead of just another place. A last trip would have to be a trip for that - for hugs, smiles, shared space, and a visit that is more than virtual.
Being form North America, i would go to the australian continent, Australia and New Zealand. Without a douth.
For me it'd have to the recently discovered giant caves in China
- http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140927-largest-cave-china-exploration-science/