Best Seven Day Photo Vacation from U.S.??

[bwcolor]

No driving in Italy. Land Rover sounds like a smart ride with regards to both mobility and safety.

[tjh]

btw - I'm not proposing DRIVING in Paris - never done that - though I have driven several times in N. Italy, without incident. But, flying nonstop into Paris, taking the bus/rail into town, and staying at a single hotel for, say 6 or 7 nights, could be very interesting and relaxing. Good photo ops also!

[Roger Hicks]

If you can live with one city, consider Arles. About 3000 years of history and the Rencontres: look under 'Arles' on my site. Better still, you can drive to a lot other interesting places in the South of France.

Yes, Paris is gorgeous, but ultimately, it's just another big city. Likewise Berlin, St. Petersburg, Vienna, Prague, Bordeaux, Istanbul, London, Athens, Moscow, Budapest, and indeed San Francisco or New York (and I've been to all of them). Big cities are often more like each other than the country in which they are found, hence my advocacy of e.g. Pecs over Budapest, or Rhodes over Athens. And of getting out of the city.

Cheers,

R.

[Vics]

The Basque Country of Southwest France. Biarritz, Bayonne, Pau, St. Jean de Luz, St. Jean Pied de Port, Cambo les Bains. Nearby in Spain is San Sebastian and Bilbao of Guggenheim fame. Beautiful country, Pyranees Mountains, Atlantic beaches that go on for many miles, the longest in Europe, great food, You can fly into Biarritz via Paris from SFO in a day, rent a car. A couple of good suggestions for a base of operations, St. Jean de Luz, Ciboure or Hendaye (right on the Spanish border). Eye candy everywhere you look. Run a flickr search for Pays Basque. See what you think. Oh, and I forgot. Bordeaux is a two hour drive north.

[ferider]

Somewhere in Europe, but choose one place and stay. Prague (I predict your wife will love it), Paris, the cote d'Azur, Munich, the Swiss Alps or the South of Switzerland (Ticino), Vienna, Tuscany. I've driven many times in Italy and never had a problem. Except being hit by a Police car in San Marino once - at their fault; strictly speaking this is not Italy though Which place is best depends a bit on the season, too. For example - avoid Munich in October, avoid the cote d'Azur in August (good time to visit Paris), etc.

Munich is a nice place to visit many other places from. For example, 3 hours to Prague, two hours to Switzerland, Austria is very close, etc.

[tjh]

I flew Miami-Paris-Bordeaux in May and drove from Bordeaux to Bilbao on the day of arrival. Bilbao was great - go around to all the bars serving tapas. I like driving in the countryside but equally interesting is to stay in a city - Paris and Berlin are favorites.

I second ferider's ... "but choose one place and stay".

[raid]

Choosing one city is a good idea if you don't feel like driving and enjoying the countryside.

There are several excellent suggestions posted here.

[wlewisiii]

Fly into Frankfurt & buy Eurorail passes. All of Europe is open to you then.

I haven't been there since the '80's but the Spanish riviera near Barcelona was wonderful.

Japan is a beautiful country as well and it lends itself well to shorter trips as well.

William

[bwcolor]

Lots to think about. Thanks for all the good advice. Will start my search based on this thread.. Thanks Again... Gary

[finguanzo]

Come on bwcolor, Cuba.....
want to do it legally? drive/fly to Canada, now its legal...
I went this way about 15 years, straight out of school, one of the best 7 days Ive had.. The bad part, I didnt think about taking pictures as I do now..

[oftheherd]

Originally Posted by Darkhorse

Utah gets overlooked, but they've got Arches, Bryce Canyon, Zion and more. Great for landscape. You could dip down to the Grand Canyon as well, and as cliche as it may sound, it's a must see for everyone on earth.

Having done that on a longer trip through the old west some 30 years ago, I vouch it is interesting. But it is the USA and you seem to think your wife wants to see something outside the USA. The four corners area has the cliff dwellings which are interesting.

Originally Posted by retnull

Just my opinion: how photogenic your destination is should be only a secondary consideration. If you have a great vacation, PERIOD, the photos will mean more to you. You said it's an anniversary holiday, not a photo assignment...

Sounds like the best advice so far.

Originally Posted by bwcolor

Lots to think about. Thanks for all the good advice. Will start my search based on this thread.. Thanks Again... Gary

Nobody has mentioned southeast asia. But I don't know that your week to ten days would be a good idea.

Korea has a lot of very picturesque places, such as quiet temple areas in the mountains. But again, how you would plan that for a week's visit, I am not sure.

Mr. Hicks sure makes Malta sound nice. I know nothing about it other than what Mr. Hicks has said in this and earlier threads.

Hawaii, especially off the beaten path might see more foreign than you think, and still modern enough to be enjoyed.

Good luck. Utimately only you and your wife can decide. I presume you have asked her?

Are you looking for a whirlwind tour some place, or a quiet time in some exotic place?

Again, good luck in your decision.

[bwcolor]

My wife will decide after I present her with her options. I don't want to city hop much with such little time. I considered Osaka and surrounds, Paris and surrounds, Rome, Malta.. I'll have her look over this thread. Ultimately, I'll let her decide.

[LKeithR]

My first thought is that I agree with others who have said this should be about the two of you--let the photos be a souvenir of your trip, not an assignment.

Second thought is that, given that you don't get to travel much, something exotic and far away on such a tight timeline may not be very enjoyable. Any way you look at it you're going to need a minimum of a day--probably more--on each end for traveling and jet-lag; doesn't leave much time for real relaxing.

Since I live just outside Vancouver I suppose I'm biased but Western Canada/Southern B.C. have a lot to offer. Fly to Vancouver, visit the city, hit Whistler, cross over to the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island, work your way down to Victoria-perhaps hitting the Gulf Islands--and back to Vancouver. Absolutely gorgeous in spring! You could spend your week traveling no more than 500 miles so no rushing necessary; lots of time to stop and stare at our amazing scenery...

[Ken Smith]

Cities are for flying over en route to somewhere wild. With 7 days you can get lost in Glacier National Park or Yellowstone. Yes - there's as many folks there on a given day as is in a city, but they're all in vehicles on the road. Or gawking at the sites along the road. 95% never get further than a 1/4 mile from any paved surface. Bring some hiking boots, a day pack, map, compass/GPS, and your gear. Step off the paved surface an enter a world still here, but forgotten. Don't forget the bear spray - you don't wanna wind up as a pile of bear poop.

[Roger Hicks]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Cities are for flying over en route to somewhere wild. With 7 days you can get lost in Glacier National Park or Yellowstone. Yes - there's as many folks there on a given day as is in a city, but they're all in vehicles on the road. Or gawking at the sites along the road. 95% never get further than a 1/4 mile from any paved surface. Bring some hiking boots, a day pack, map, compass/GPS, and your gear. Step off the paved surface an enter a world still here, but forgotten. Don't forget the bear spray - you don't wanna wind up as a pile of bear poop.

Generous. Try 100 yd.

Cheers,

R.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by bwcolor

I was intentionally vague. It is our tenth wedding anniversary and our first chance out alone. We initially looked at places like Fiji and decided not to spend lots of time sitting on the beach. I would love to go to Cuba, but it might be a bit much for such a short time and the complications of travel from the U.S. I think that buildings, people, streets, color and history trump beaches and mountains. Other suggestions, such as Utah are on our planning desk for trips with the kids. In fact, a friend just moved to Utah and suggested that we visit.

Gary

Folks travel from all over the globe to visit where you live. I bet there are places less than a day's drive from home that you haven't seen. 10 days along the California coast would be awesome.

10 days in any of the following would be awesome. Again, folks come from the far corners of the earth to see these wonders.
1. Capital Reef N.P. Because nobody goes there.
2. Bryce/Zion/North Rim Grand Canyon N.P.
3. Arches/Dead Horse Point/Canyonlands

10 days in Banff/Jasper/Yoho/Kootenay/Mt. Robson parks.

10 days in Yellowstone/Grand Tetons N.P.

10 days in Olympic/Ranier/North Cascades N.P.

The list is endless. We haven't even brushed the surface. Bon voyage!

[Roger Hicks]

Originally Posted by venchka

Folks travel from all over the globe to visit where you live. I bet there are places less than a day's drive from home that you haven't seen. 10 days along the California coast would be awesome.

10 days in any of the following would be awesome. Again, folks come from the far corners of the earth to see these wonders.
1. Capital Reef N.P. Because nobody goes there.
2. Bryce/Zion/North Rim Grand Canyon N.P.
3. Arches/Dead Horse Point/Canyonlands

10 days in Banff/Jasper/Yoho/Kootenay/Mt. Robson parks.

10 days in Yellowstone/Grand Tetons N.P.

10 days in Olympic/Ranier/North Cascades N.P.

The list is endless. We haven't even brushed the surface. Bon voyage!

Yes, but culturally (which is what he's after)... Well, 'culturally' gives the game away. California is still USA. He wants something CULTURALLY different. Also with more than 150 years history of civilization.

For pseudo-wilderness, much of the USA is unbeatable. For history, most of the USA isn't in the running.

Cheers

R> (California resident 1987-1992)/

[faris]

New Orleans Or Montreal/Quebec.

[nikon_sam]

One of the best trips I got to go on and take the wife was Ireland...
I was there (working) with a co-worker for 6 weeks, both our wife's joined us later for about ten days...the weekends were ours and we had a car so we were able to travel at will and see a lot of the place...
Some of the nicest people you'd want to meet, beautiful and very restful...a great trip...

[venchka]

Originally Posted by faris

New Orleans Or Montreal/Quebec.

Culture? New Orleans? Your kidding, right?

Wayne
New Orleans resident 1970-2005.

If it's textbook culture the OP wants, then 10 days in Paris.
If it's non-textbook, scratch the surface and find the less obvious culture, then I stand by my original list.

[furcafe]

If you can bear staying in North America, I highly recommend the DF, Mexico City. I'm amazed that so many US folks overlook the place (perhaps because of outdated &/or inaccurate security concerns).

Originally Posted by bwcolor

It has been years since I traveled abroad. My wife left Cambodia at two years old and has only travelled to Canada. I rarely get time off and when I leave my office it is for short times. My wife and I can leave the kids with her sister and spend seven to ten days away sometime this year. What would be your best suggestion for a good photo holiday of short duration? Thanks in advance.

[Austerby]

Some great ideas here, this is fun.

For something cultural, civilised, interesting but not culturally too much of a handful, England offers a lot.

From the diversity of London to the beautiful English countryside, charming country hotels, a stunning coastline (in places) and interesting history (everywhere). Plenty to savour, share and photograph.

A visit to London, with excursions to Bath and the Cotswolds for example, has been a perennial favourite with American visitors and with good reason.

[Leigh Youdale]

Could I suggest Paris? Pretty easy to get to quickly from the USA.
My wife and I visited for the first time last year. We were only there five days - would have liked it to be longer - but it was special, nonetheless. We stayed in a little B&B apartment about 500m from Notre Dame and walked or used the Metro to get everywhere.My (retained) shots in colour and B&W are in two places if you care to look and see what the experience might be like for you - http://gallery.me.com/lmyoudale#100112 - and - http://gallery.me.com/lmyoudale#100133 - . All taken with Bessa RF's.

p.s. Some of the titles in the B&W gallery aren't very informative but they're all of Paris.

[Frank Petronio]

Santa Fe or Quebec City offer a significant difference from mainstream America and are fairly inexpensive and easy to get to.