I've read this forum from time to time, but first time posting.

I got married two months ago and took my wife on a wonderful honeymoon to Paris and Ireland. Used Delta miles and most of my lifetime accumulation of hotel points. The US $ being so weak lead to lots of money being spent on food and trinkets.

I am 30, not a hostel and backpacking sort of person. I love a bargain. Example, I loved Easycruise in the Carribean, at $2 a day, it didn't matter what 3rd world country it pulled into port of (they all were not bad, but St. Vincent was not the safest of stops).

I have oodles of airline miles, enough to get me and my wife to wherever (Delta miles, by the way, but also a decent ammount of AA too). Looking for a 7-8 day vacation, due to time limits, I am going to limit this to 3 continents (N America, S America and Europe). I am more adventurous than my wife, and I want her to feel comfortable, so I can keep talking her into the next trip.

Where could I go where my US $ will not make me poor, and where accomodations are reasable and there are things to do for a week (a beach can be great, but there better be something to see in terms of culure or history for a couple of days).

I don't like to use miles domestically (Hawaii or Alaska would be exceptions).

So where would you tell your friends to go, where are your hidden gems.

To recap here are the goals:

1. Affordable accomodations
2. Affordable food
3. History and Culture
4. Fun (beach, nightlife, activities)

Cost of the plane ticket is not an issue.

Thanks for any help and advice.

Mike

pills11.com ;))

It's counterintuitive, but do not rule out London or Paris.

London is a great budget travel destination because:

a) many local cultural attractions and institutions are free;

b) some London travelodge locations (e.g. LCY) are very decent and excellent value for money;

c) it's a hub for a number of European LCCs -- inexpensive connections to a large number of countries.

The CAD$ is weaker than the US$, but even I don't find the squeeze to be too bad as long as incidentals are kept strictly under control. Food is expensive in England, but there are deals to be had.

Much of the same can be said for Paris: a walk through the Tuileries is a wonderful (free) experience, a trip through the catacombs is a cheap way to spend an afternoon, and people-watching is always free. Food isn't as expensive as in England, and you can find decent accomodation for $120/night in the 7th/15th arondissements. Not cheap, but not bank-breaking, either.

I can't think of anywhere in North America or the Caribbean that meets more than one or two of your requirements. I understand that many still find Argentina to be quite the travel bargain (though not what it was), and that may be something to consider, although it's a bit far south for (swimming) beaches.

Eastern Europe. Poland. Portugal.

I'd vote for Eastern Europe. Stop by Prague. Maybe Budapest. Cesky (?) Krumlov in Czech Republic. Pecs, Hungary. Krakow. Auschwitz. Maybe drop into Istanbul.

No complaints about my spelling, please.

Peru and/or Ecuador.

Very cheap accommodations, food and local transport, amazing historical (pre-Columbian and colonial) sites, culture you won't believe (ever seen a many-petticoated woman in a bowler hat sitting on the ground selling auto parts?), wide range of physical activities (trekking, boating, climbing, diving, bird watching, ...).

No visa required.

If you're flying from Florida, they're more like domestic distance from you.

Colombia and Panama - Panama's on the dollar so it's not extremely cheap but it's no more expensive than the US for food. Taxis are a huge deal. Can go across the city for just a few dollars.

Colombia's got a bad reputation but Cartagena is one of the most underrated places on earth, Bogota's safer than most US cities and Cali is still the home of Salsa.

Mike: you don't have quite enough posts to get access to the coupon connection (you need 80) but since you have oodles of airline miles you might want to think about trading airline miles for hotel points once you have access.

Well, I have no idea what "cheap" means to you but Costa Rica, Panama, and Mexico are cheap if you choose wisely. Our recent vacation to Point Pelee in southern Ontario was cheap, even with a rental car. New Mexico away from the spa resorts is cheap. West Texas is cheap. I have a lot of trip reports online I could link if you wanted.

Well, I have no idea what "cheap" means to you but Costa Rica, Panama, and Mexico are cheap if you choose wisely. Our recent vacation to Point Pelee in southern Ontario was cheap, even with a rental car. New Mexico away from the spa resorts is cheap. West Texas is cheap. I have a lot of trip reports online I could link if you wanted.

send me the trip reports link, please.

How about Spain or Portugal?

Outside of Barcelona or Madrid, room rates should be reasonable. Not quite as much history as Italy or the glitz of the south of France but the culture is relaxed and the ham is excellent. Did a loop from Madrid a few years back including Cordoba, Granada, Nerja, Ronda and Tarifa.

September or October would be nice: the weather's not as brutally hot and room rates should be manageable.

Thanks for all the great responses.

I need to mention that the time of year is pretty locked in. My wife doesn't get her vacation time until June. I work in college football, so I can't travel when the season gets close, so I need it to be June or early July at the latest.

I have been looking at a couple options more closely than others:

I have been doing some research into flying to Vancouver and taking a 7 day cruise to Juneau and back (I know that is just the tip of Alaska, but it would be a nice introduction. )

The wife mentioned Mexico, I thought of Pacific resort towns (since Cancun and Cozumel are so close). I fear she won't enjoy herself, since she will need more non beach / non pool activities to keep her happy.

She also keeps mentioning Scotland, I have no idea how to make that affordable, maybe a Band B or a private room for rent for a week in a central location and travel out from there? Any ideas will be appreciated.

I'd be happy with any of them, I just need to "sell" her on one being great and get it locked in.