Fitting in 1 more vacation this year — suggestions?

Confectioneer

Confectioneer

San Francisco Bay Area
Due to various circumstances I’m ending up with about a week of unallocated time off for the year. My wife isn’t so fortunate, but has given me dispensation to take a solo trip (she’s a keeper!)…as long as I avoid places she wants to see. :)

So, to add some details…

1. What route are you looking for? Asia (not Japan, China, Thailand) or Europe (Eastern Europe or Germany are good; most countries off-limits to me if I want to avoid spousal ire).

2. What dates do you want to travel (mention how flexible you are)? Approx 1 week, in November (preferred) or October.

3. Do you want to fly first, business, or coach? (maybe also "are you willing to fly coach for a positioning flight") First (preferred) or business.

4. How many passengers? 1.

5. How many points do you have, in which programs?
Approx 150K UA miles (willing to spend up to 175K for an aspirational experience).
Approx 150K UR points (willing to spend up to 175K for an aspirational experience).

My departure airport is SFO, and I’m looking for ideas of first class (or business class) routes that tend to have good availability, to destinations where a week off can be a nice trip. Interests when I land are history (museums, landmarks), nature, and dining. Nightlife and shopping are low priority.

Currently toying with the idea of SQ F awards to ICN and/or SIN (aspirational flights); or UA to Europe.

Thank you VERY MUCH in advance for suggestions!
 
italdesign

italdesign

Level 2 Member
is HK excluded as part of China? CX F to HKG, breathtaking nature (at least from the plane :D), interesting history, tasty food, and the most epic skyline ever.
 
italdesign

italdesign

Level 2 Member
Something to consider is the jet lag factor. As someone who flies to Asia every few months, I've come to realize a week isn't worth the trip for me. I was in China for a week recently; the first 3 days I did nothing due to jet lag. I had 4 days there before flying back for another week of jet lag hell. So depending on your tolerance it may or may not be worth it. On the other hand, my colleague came back from Brazil with no jet lag - only 1hr time difference there.
 
N

nrdk

Level 2 Member
@italdesign All about tolerance on that point, spent a week in Tokyo and had no issues adjusting there or on the way back, just had to power through the rest of the day and slept that night 'local time' in both instances.
 
smittytabb

smittytabb

Moderator
Staff member
Everyone's different, but I would never let a little jet lag get in my way. I'd go most anywhere for just 2 or 3 days. That being said, there are a lot of places worth going. The big issue is available seats. I do really like Seoul as a destination. Been there a couple of times. Not sure how easy it would be to get seats but there are a lot of great parts of Eastern Europe. I flew Lufthansa in business and connected to Sofia, Bulgaria. Another trip I did the same and flew to Ljublijana, Slovenia on Lufthansa/Adriana. Both are underrated destinations.
 
italdesign

italdesign

Level 2 Member
I will say that I get over jet lag better if I'm active. On my China trip I was with family and everyone was lazy so I just went to sleep. Doesn't sound like OP will have that issue.
 
Confectioneer

Confectioneer

San Francisco Bay Area
I've done ~1 week trips to Asia and Europe before, and this is where flying in premium class helps me because it's easier to sleep. #LoveThisHobby #IDontDrinkEveryChampageBottleOnTheFlight.

@Matt, thanks for the Borneo tip. I'll check it out.

@smittytabb, thanks for the tips. So far I'm seeing decent SQ/F availability, so Asia could work. Europe seats are tougher, though with enough connections I can piece something together. I'll look into Bulgaria and Slovenia; Europe won't be as hot/humid as SE Asia, so that's an appeal! For Korea, did you have any favorite activities?
 
S

Stuck in KC

Level 2 Member
I took my sons to Iceland for a week earlier this month, last minute. I had some educational funds from my job that were use or lose. Cashed in chase points for boys airfare and used up a whole boatload of club Carlson points for the hotel. Had a fantastic week. Wish we could have stayed longer
 
italdesign

italdesign

Level 2 Member
I get the sense that OP is keen on enjoying a premium flight (and who can blame you), but another contender could be Hawaii. My friend went during Thanksgiving last year and got a great deal on a week of car rental for under $100. That's the cost per day in the summer. And it wasn't busy. And it was warm enough to swim. Sounds like a winner.
 
smittytabb

smittytabb

Moderator
Staff member
Confectioneer said:
I've done ~1 week trips to Asia and Europe before, and this is where flying in premium class helps me because it's easier to sleep. #LoveThisHobby #IDontDrinkEveryChampageBottleOnTheFlight.

@Matt, thanks for the Borneo tip. I'll check it out.

@smittytabb, thanks for the tips. So far I'm seeing decent SQ/F availability, so Asia could work. Europe seats are tougher, though with enough connections I can piece something together. I'll look into Bulgaria and Slovenia; Europe won't be as hot/humid as SE Asia, so that's an appeal! For Korea, did you have any favorite activities?
Click to expand...
Well, Seoul is an interesting blend of ancient and modern and it is fun to explore the many neighborhoods. It's really safe and clean with good public transportation and the food is amazing. I really like Bulgaria, it's edgy but has lots of cultural interest. Slovenia is just downright gorgeous and largely undiscovered, although lately I have seen more articles about it. Frankly, I could give you a lot more ideas. If you are open, just see what you can find. I really like Vietnam. Went there on AA miles on Cathay and DragonAir. I find something to like everywhere. I love exploring new places and going back to ones I really enjoy.
 
smittytabb

smittytabb

Moderator
Staff member
Just saw this on TIF. He mentions Bulgaria as well

Code: 
http://travelisfree.com/2015/06/15/planning-a-trip-deciding-where-to-travel-to/
 
Confectioneer

Confectioneer

San Francisco Bay Area
Since I started the thread, I figure I should post what my itinerary ended up being. :)

2 nights in Seoul
2 nights in Singapore
3 nights in Java

My return routing is SIN-ICN-SFO, with a solid half day in Seoul, so I may re-route through HND (love Tokyo!) or PEK (see the Great Wall?), but can figure that out later.

Thank you everyone for the tips in putting this together!
 
N

nickelfish1

Level 2 Member
Slovenia....But only if you take your wife. It's too amazing not to! Maybe day trip to Pula, Croatia if you base from Ljubljana.
Iceland also gets my vote. Although, she may want to go as it's amazing as well.
I would also suggest Costa Rica or the Azores.
 
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