If you have been listening to the Saverocity Observation Deck miles, points, and travel podcast, you know towards the end of 2018 we did a fun segment. The segment was titled “tell Joe where to take his wife for their 10 year anniversary” and I am really thankful for all the ideas our guests shared. I thought I’d put together all the ideas in case anybody is looking for ideas for upcoming trips. I’ve listed the ideas in order of guest appearance and included relevant links when applicable.
Before we get started, I gave our guests certain parameters they had to follow. I asked them to suggest a destination that we could get to on a direct flight of less than eight hours and somewhere where we wouldn’t spend more than 4 or 5 days. This was due to babysitting constraints. Let’s take a look at everyone’s suggestions.
St. Kitts
(Joey Redmond)
Joey Redmond is a reseller who moved to Texas specifically for his reselling business. He swung by to chat about Costa Rica and traveling for big soccer games, but his recommendation was to stay at the Park Hyatt in St. Kitts. Robert Dwyer of Milenomics agrees that it’s a fantastic Park Hyatt complete with great dining options and accommodations. St. Kitts probably ranks towards the top of Caribbean islands I’m interested in visiting so this trip definitely is on my list. The biggest drawback is the need to connect when coming from Boston, which eats into the whole eight hour thing.
Hyatt Ziva/Zilara in Cancun or Cabo
(Noah from Money Metagame)
Something a lot of people suggested was finding an all inclusive and Noah from Money Metagame took some time out from his gap year to talk about how much they enjoyed Hyatt Ziva and Zilara properties. The idea of an all inclusive is definitely appealing, we’ve never been except for cruises. But not having to worry about how much to pay for food eases the mental load of vacation – even if it’s expensive up front you don’t need to worry about a lot of expenses during the trip. The Ziva and Zilara properties can be pretty great values as well, with some going as low as 20,000 points per night for double occupancy.
Florida Keys
(Rachel Berkey of Award Travel 101 and Miles to the Magic)
Rachel Berkey, a moderator of Award Travel 101 and co-writer with me at Miles to the Magic had a more modest suggestion – driving through the Florida Keys. Due to time constraints and babysitting constraints like ours, she and her husband took a trip through the Keys and really enjoyed the warm Florida sun and beaches. I do enjoy long drives and the Keys look beautiful and there’s also the added benefit of it probably being cheaper than going to, say, Europe.
Paris
(Robert Dwyer of Milenomics and Miles to the Magic)
Robert Dwyer of Milenomics and my other partner in crime at Miles to the Magic took the exact opposite tact of Rachel – opulence! He suggested that we stay at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome, hotel of much controversy. 🙂 His reasoning was if you’re celebrating your ten year anniversary you want to go all out and enjoy yourself, which I definitely buy. Paris is one of our favorite cities so I think it’s tough to go wrong if you’re celebrating something there.
Montreal & Quebec City
(Spencer Howard of God Save the Points)
Coming back to continental North America, Spencer Howard of God Save the Points and the best award alert e-mail list going floated the idea of visiting the Paris of the Americas, Quebec. He suggested a drive up to Montreal and Quebec city, which, to be honest, have been on our list of places to visit. He made the area sound positively charming, so for a more relaxed and not as far version of Europe, sounds like you can’t go wrong with Quebec.
Mainz
(Trevor of Tagging Miles and Saverocity Observation Deck podcast)
Trevor of Tagging Miles and the Saverocity Observation Deck podcast has long discussed his love of the Christmas markets in Germany so I wasn’t surprised when he suggested his favorite, Mainz, for our anniversary. Christmas markets look like they should be on every traveler’s bucket list, they are picturesque and beautiful. I also loved the idea of visiting a less popular city like Mainz.
Belize
(Jeff Brownson of Upgraded Points)
Jeff Brownson of Upgraded Points had one of the most fascinating recommendations: Belize. According to Jeff, whatever you’ve looking for, they’ve got it. Beach? Check. Sports? Check. Beautiful nature? Check. Cities? Check. But his most fascinating recommendation was a cave tour that sounds like something straight out of an Indiana Jones movie, the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) tour. It sounded so great for kids I think we might wait until ours are old enough for this one.
Ireland
(Richard Kerr of Award Travel 101)
Last but not least, Richard Kerr from Award Travel 101 suggested Ireland, a country we love and haven’t visited since our very first babymoon. Ireland is a beautiful country with an amazing green landscape and dramatic weather that adds to the magic. We highly recommend renting a car and visiting the Dingle Peninsula along with all the other sites Ireland has to offer.
Final Thoughts
Although we’ve been to some of these destinations, there still remain some we need to check off their list. Obviously a brief roundup post like this doesn’t do the destinations justice. If you’re interested in any of them, I highly suggest you hit these wonderful folks up on Twitter (listed below) or check out the podcast episodes. I’m also happy to answer questions for the places I’ve been.
So, where did we end up booking for our ten year anniversary trip? Well, let’s just say I took all these wonderful ideas that were formulated based on the “rules” of a five day trip and a less than eight hour flight and completely ignored my own stipulations. But that’s a story for another time.
Twitter Handles: Joey Redmond, Noah of Money Metagame, Rachel Berkey, Robert Dwyer, Spencer Howard, Trevor of Tagging Miles, Jeff Brownson, and Richard Kerr
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A well deserved break for you!