[miiipilot]

Looking to take a "beach vacation" in Feb. This will be the last vacation until ED next May and then no vacation till the Mar '17 at the earliest.

GF wants to cruise. I am open to the idea, but want more of a cultural experience. I'd love to do western caribbean, but I want more local culture.

I have heard Costa Rica and Belize are nice. I am looking to be outdoors. Rainforest, hiking, beaches, gastro-travel, historical areas etc I don't want to be restricted to just a "resort." I don't have to leave the US if i want just "the resort experience."

I don't want to rough it per se, but I want to experience the local culture. I want to go where the locals eat. That sort of thing.

I am road-tripper and love going off the beaten path. I am worried about my safety in a foreign land outside the touristy areas.

Anyone have any recommendations or advice?

[mccannable]

If you want adventure Costa Rica is cool. Not the classist place I have been but fun. Lots of local culture, although not the most interesting it's hard to escape.


Aruba was amazing. Very safe and clean but didn't feel too heavily different than the U.S. Also it's cool that it's a dry arid climate.

[CANGRKE70]

Originally Posted by mccannable

If you want adventure Costa Rica is cool. Not the classist place I have been but fun. Lots of local culture, although not the most interesting it's hard to escape.


Aruba was amazing. Very safe and clean but didn't feel too heavily different than the U.S. Also it's cool that it's a dry arid climate.

St.Maarten

You can enjoy both the island's culture from the French or Dutch side. Had a mean oxtail while I was there. People are friendly and there is lots to do outside of the resort.

[HFW003]

We have some beautiful beaches down here my friend

February is a great time of year as well.

[F80_M]

Dominican Republic and Barbados are fun spots as well

[Alfisti]

Australia. Just don't go annoying the snakes and you're good.

[Ragged Edge]

Bali.
Amazing culture shock for you. Plus the luxury hotels are stunning and inexpensive. Check out some of the hi-end hotels on Kuta beach.

[HFW003]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Australia. Just don't go annoying the snakes and you're good.

Snakes aren't an issue. Man eating sharks though, that's a different story!

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by miiipilot

Looking to take a "beach vacation" in Feb. This will be the last vacation until ED next May and then no vacation till the Mar '17 at the earliest.

GF wants to cruise. I am open to the idea, but want more of a cultural experience. I'd love to do western caribbean, but I want more local culture.

I have heard Costa Rica and Belize are nice. I am looking to be outdoors. Rainforest, hiking, beaches, gastro-travel, historical areas etc I don't want to be restricted to just a "resort." I don't have to leave the US if i want just "the resort experience."

I don't want to rough it per se, but I want to experience the local culture. I want to go where the locals eat. That sort of thing.

I am road-tripper and love going off the beaten path. I am worried about my safety in a foreign land outside the touristy areas.

Anyone have any recommendations or advice?

I suggest checking out the adventure travel operators. They will have stuff for a wide range of interests and capabilities, from light hiking and canoeing to seriously dangerous stuff that'll require you to side death and injury waivers. A good place to start your investigation is here: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ad...sta_rica2.html . There are plenty of other operators in nearly any country you can name that isn't in the middle of a civil war.

Another thing to consider is contacting various departments at a university and volunteer to participate on a professor's research trip. They can nearly always use the extra hands. That route also will put you in first person contact with folks -- both the professors, his grad students and the locals -- who will give you far more cultural immersion than you'd ever find on a strictly vacation oriented trip. Some of the departments to reach out to include:

• Archaeology (http://digs.bib-arch.org/digs/)
• Biology/Zoology
  • http://www.nature.org/about-us/volunteer/
  • http://www.goabroad.com/volunteer-ab...nteer-abroad-1
• Geology
• History
• English (or other language)

Those are just some general ideas. Of course any professor doing research that calls for travel overseas and interacting with the locals, flora and fauna is a good one to ask if they can use your help. I've listed a few links above, but they are not even the tip of the iceberg. Just Google for "volunteer for ....." or "volunteer vacation..." Some other centralized resources that can help get you pointed in the right direction include:

• http://www.vergemagazine.com/program...rn-abroad.html (this group has several Costa Rican opportunities: http://www.vergemagazine.com/program...e=Costa%20Rica)
• Carnegie Mellon University -- https://www.cmu.edu/oie/sab/gettings...rtunities.html
• U. Mass - Amherst -- https://www.ipo.umass.edu/index.cfm?...9C5A4AE9CC0ED8
• http://www.gviusa.com/
• http://discovercorps.com/landing/vol...-destinations/
• Volunteer Vacations: http://www.projects-abroad.org/volunteer-vacations/

I think short of the examples I've noted above it's hard to get much of a real cultural immersion in the short time of a week or two unless one is very, very good at making new acquaintanceships very quickly, something that at a minimum requires speaking the local language. (It's easier to do that as a single person than it is as a married one...for obvious reasons.)

FWIW, if you're looking for cultural immersion, a big cruise to Western Caribbean ports of call aren't going much at all of it. Most of the places the ship docks are tailor made for Western vacationers. You might be able to do something like visit a Mayan ruin or something, and the buss you take to the ruins will carry you through places you wouldn't think could even exist in this day and age, but that's about it. (BTW, if you've never been to ruins, make no mistake, there's a very good reason they are called "ruins." A good many of them are underwhelming on a brief tourist visit to say the least. LOL)

All the best and have a great trip.

[1smokehouse]

Two suggestions. Palau and/or Yap (Federated States of Micronesia). Especially if your dive certified. These places are amazing with some great local culture even if your not a diver. Only draw back is its a long trip, but its off the beaten path for Americans so its sure to be a one of a kind trip. Both islands are reached by United through Guam.

A couple of suggested stays...

http://www.palauppr.com/default-en.html

http://mantaray.com/