Women Travelers - Need Advice - Surprise Trip For Mom

Hope this is the right forum (apologies in advance if it's not)...

It's becoming a kind of bi-annual thing that I take my Mom on a surprise trip for her birthday (trip's in mid/late September, her birthday is first week of October).

Two years ago was the first iteration of this, and while the itinerary was modified a few times before we departed, the final result was something like:
2 days in London
1 day in Paris
2 days in Munich/Oberammergau
1 day in Zurich/Champery
2 days in Rome

She seemed to have a blast, but she really didn't like the frequency of moving from place to place. I had warned her in advance to pack very lightly (I said carry-on only), but that didn't dissuade her from packing three suitcases (and something like five pairs of shoes).

I need the collective wisdom of FT-er women to help me ensure this next surprise trip is a good one. I routinely go two weeks on a single carry-on with a single pair of shoes, so this whole extra luggage thing is confusing to me. :p

Anyway, the options for the surprise trip this year include:

Europe
Southeast Asia
South Pacific

I've already got us booked to Europe, but it's another bouncy trip (1 day each in London, Copenhagen, Oslo, Brussels, Munich, Champery, and Warsaw).

If we were to do Asia, it would probably be 3-4 days in Hong Kong, 2-3 days in Singapore, and a day in either Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok.

If we were to do the South Pacific, it would probably be 2 days in Sydney, 1-2 days in Hobart (Tasmania), 2-3 days in Auckland, and 1-2 days in Rarotonga.

She's a picky eater (and won't eat seafood - same as me), doesn't speak any foreign languages, enjoys seeing new things but isn't really into in-depth cultural stuff (e.g. going to some remote village and living for a week wouldn't appeal to her in the least). The highlight of our previous trip for her I think was buying some shoes at a small shoe store in Oberammergau, Germany. She's not big into shopping - I think the novelty of buying shoes in a foreign country coupled with either the style or the perceived value were what tipped the scale. We went to Oktoberfest which she really enjoyed - much to my surprise. She also enjoyed just being in new and different places - I think for any of us, the first time we set foot in an iconic foreign location we get a shiver of excitement. I know the first time I visited Sydney and London I felt this way.

I'm sure she'd enjoy the Europe trip again, but she would hate the pace. She really enjoys the quaint European villages (e.g. Champery, Oberammergau). I think she would really enjoy Brugge, Belgium, and I've never been to Oslo or Copenhagen, so those are draws for me. Biggest downsides to Europe are the exchange rate and the lack of escalators or ease of accessing elevators in some mass-transit locations (an important consideration when you're sherpa-ing your own luggage plus your mother's).

As for Asia, she's never been, and it's quite a bit different from Europe. She likes PF Changs but otherwise isn't a fan of "Chinese" food (read: any Asian cuisine). I find Singapore and HK easy to get around, with interesting museums and other sights. They have incredible hotels which I'm sure she'd enjoy, and it would be cheap(er) to get her a nice massage somewhere in Asia compared to Europe.

South Pacific (basically Australia/New Zealand and Cook Islands) have a lot going for them - exotic in her mind, English widely spoken, "normal" food. She enjoys wine and there are wineries all over in the areas we'd be in. Mass transit is not really an option outside of Sydney, and the exchange rate, while good, isn't nearly as good as it was two months ago (so who knows what it'll be like in September), so those are kind of downsides.

She can only spare a little more than one week for the trip, but award availability for the time frame we're looking at is excellent at the moment, so the world is her oyster.

Given the above, where should I take her? Or is there a region/country/city that isn't listed above that would be an excellent choice?

I've contemplated a safari trip to South Africa as well, but I'm thinking it might make sense to wait until she's a bit more of a seasoned traveler before we do something like that. On the other hand, the exchange rate is good, the weather would be mild with lots of plants in bloom and apparently a good time for wildlife viewing. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance for any advice and/or experiences you can share that might help to make this decision easier!

Sean

It sounds to me as though you only want to move hotels once during the trip.

Brugge is lovely, but I doubt that it would keep you occupied for a week. Perhaps Brugge combined with somewhere like Düsseldorf, which has some of the swishest shopping in the world in Königsallee?

Alternatively, I think my home town, Melbourne Australia could easily keep her entertained for a week. Do day trips down the Great Ocean Road (either hire a car or do a bus tour) and to the wineries, and shopping in the city and other shopping districts. Public transport is excellent, and you'd be able to entertain yourselves nicely without having to move hotels at all.

I love Hong Kong but from what you say I don't think your mother will. Seafood is big there.

All your suggested itineraries are "jumpy" - if she doesn't like this then don't do it to her. That's my main advice!

Audrey

Hi Sean

Really nice that you take your Mom on a trip but for her to enjoy sounds like you just need to slow down and visit fewer places on one trip. Why don't you try this on your next trip. Try to think of it as your Mom's trip - not yours. You might enjoy a different type of trip also.

Reread your post and what your Mom enjoys and plan the trip around that. Maybe one country, Italy- a few days in Rome or Florence, then go to Tuscany. You might also think about your Mom relaxing, enjoying in a small italian hill town, Orvieto? and you taking a day trip to Florence.

Sean - Irish? maybe a trip around Ireland with a few days in Dublin
Both countries are full of charming people and beautiful towns and scenery and probably food that you and Mom would like

Audrey's and jerseygirl's suggestions are excellent. I'd go in the same direction of choosing a more concentrated region and staying 3 days in each place. Less stress, less time and money spent on transport, less luggage hauling, more experience, more relaxation.

I think a trip through Ireland or Scotland in a rental car would be super lovely. The food isn't exactly wonderful but it's not exotic, either. The landscape and culture are wonderful, though.

I also think the Italy idea is a great one. Do Siena and Florence. One week is almost not enough to see these two places that are linked by a historical rivalry (so you can read up on that and really create a story to frame the whole trip for her). the weather should be lovely, too. Not too hot, but still warm, perhaps already with some color although late September might be a little early for that. Food and wine are absolutely incredible and not exotic. Seafood can be easily passed, even if it would be a pity. If you think you need more moving around like crazy (your last trip was nuts, sorry), throw in a one day in Milan. Visit the Last Supper, enjoy the FANTASTIC shopping and perhaps you are lucky and you can see a performance at La Scala.

There would only be one flight involved and it seems like you are trying to burn off miles. So, why not just upgrade to business or first instead of taking several flights? That is, of course, if you don't have an exorbitant amount of miles to the point where you can take multiple intercontinental F flights.

Otherwise, the Lake of Constance area shared by Germany, Switzerland and Austria is truly gorgeous. You could fly into Zurich, get a car from there and be at the lake within 75 minutes. The lake itself is spectacular and there are many nice boat rides you can take. There are some of the best restaurants in Europe in that area and even the normal fare is quite nice. Most people should speak at least a little English. It is VERY clean and the infra-structure is good (except for easy internet access). The old cities of Konstanz, Bregenz and Lindau are highly picturesque to say the least. You can do hiking, shopping, museums.

A similar area would be the Swiss/Italian Ticino region. Lugano, Bellinzona, Locarno, Como are all worth visiting. The time you propose is one of the nicest seasons for that region. Shopping in Foxtown is beyond your imagination. The quality of life is higher than almost anywhere on earth. Driving is not a problem. It takes less guts than driving in Italy. But you should be comfortable with mountain roads and serpentines. If you can swing it and if that's your style of driving, rent a Ferrari. It is the perfect mode of transportation for the region (you'll notice there are a lot of them there). It will also give you a perfect reason to curtail your mom's excessive packing habit. And she might feel twenty years younger driving through the gorgeous landscape in a Ferrari with a young man (who happens to be her son). ;)

Thinking about it. I should do that with my mother. :D The only problem is that she would have a hard time getting in and out of the car because she isn't super fit, unfortunately. A Rolls convertible would be more her style but that is decidedly too boring for me.

Till

Sean,

Why not write down a basic itinerary as you have here and let her choose?

I take my Mom on infrequent trips like these and find myself nodding at much of what you say. I forget the age difference between my Mom and me at times, I can travel for a week with a rollaboard and dont like to stay in the same place for more than a few days. My Mom is happy just soaking in the atmosphere and seeing a different place, but she does like to do it slowly and in comfort now that she is a little older. My Mom also takes far too much luggage!!

When I took my Mom away for her birthday a few years ago I gave her some choices of places I knew she would like to go (New York, Vegas, Cairo & Spain) and she chose New York. I kinda planned the Itin how I would see the place, I dont think we got to see much more than the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State so I was kinda dissapointed but she had a wonderful trip and kept saying how much she loved it. I think she loved goingto the deli the most as she, being a Brit, was amazed at how much was available! Its the little things that Mom's love.

If I were you I would give her the choice but definitely try to allow several days in the same place. Moving about is something I imagine she is not so used to as she probably doesnt travel as much as you? My Mom ceratinly would prefer to stay at the same place for a week - but then she is the kind of Mom who unpacks into the drawers at hotels!

The safari idea sounds great, I am planning to take my folks soon and they both really want to go. My plan was 3-4 days at a lodge so they can do safaris each day and then 3 days or so in Cape Town to do some wine tours, fine dining and a trip to the beach. My folks loved this idea as it gave them a lot to see but at a slower pace.

I think its a lovely notion of you to take your Mom away, you just maybe need to slow the pace down so she can enjoy it a little more. If she is like my Mom she'll enjoy sitting there with a glass of wine and a nice meal just as much as touring through three places. :)

What about one of the river cruises? No need to unpack, you see alot that you wouldn't ordinarily and I think she'd really enjoy the people. I took my MIL on a trip and she thanked me effusively for not making her go 2 days here and 2 days there but you could achieve this and go almost anywhere. The two that come to mind (not a rec but I received literature when I was a travel agent) are Viking and Amadeus. I considered Amadeus for myself. Looks really good.

Hi, I was just researching cruises out of Aruba on www.cruisecritic.com and went to the message boards. On "other cruise lines" there are alot of comments re river cruises - Avalon is one and they are as diverse as China, Europe, etc. Linda

A very big thank you to falconea, jerseygirl, tfar, LaydeeSarah, Linda VH for your thoughtful and helpful responses!

I took the advice of at least hinting around where we might go to see what she thought, as well as asking my Dad for his thoughts.

She wasn't thrilled with the thought of heat+humidity, so that pretty much excludes Southeast Asia.

It turns out she didn't mind hopping from place to place on our last trip - she just didn't like hauling bags all over (e.g. the tube in London). In fact, she would be interested in a similar pace this year :eek:, so long as I do a better job of handling transportation to/from the hotel. :)

I'm told she is fascinated by a trip I did earlier this year to Rarotonga, and I'd love to take her there, but I am cash-poor and miles-okay, and unfortunately it's one of the harder destinations to get award tickets to within the Star Alliance. If I win the lottery between now and her trip, I'll fly her down there on a paid business ticket, but until then, we're limited by where the miles will take us. I'll keep my eyes out for award openings to the South Pacific, as I think she would really enjoy a few days in Sydney, Auckland, and either Fiji or the Cook Islands.

So the net result? For now, anyway, it's Europe. I'm picking hotels based on travel convenience - not cost, and hope that will ensure a smoother trip this time around. I won't be penny-pinching on transport to/from the airport, as I think this was the single-biggest stressor for her. In fairness, we did take the tube from LHR to Paddington, and that was simply an idiotic move on my part. :cool:

As it's planned now, we'll fly into London, then Copenhagen, then Oslo, then Brugge/Brussels, and finally Munich. We've got some flexibility, but she can only take a week of vacation from her work, so I'm working within those constraints.

She quite enjoyed a few small towns that we'll be sure to go back to, and she's never experienced high tea in London nor a theater performance, so I hope to take her to those. I think she'll really enjoy Brugge - it's an easily walkable town, beautiful architecture, great chocolate, and some well-regarded restaurants too.

I did seriously consider a single country, but I think she'd get bored, especially if English wasn't widely spoken (though I think Switzerland may be a contender for future trips). Plus my goal is to expose her to a couple of different countries and continents so that she can provide some input on where I send her and my Dad for their 40th wedding anniversary.

If you have any other suggestions, please post them - I'm all ears. Thanks again for taking the time to provide feedback and suggestions - I truly appreciate it!

Linda VH - Thanks for the suggestions on the river cruises. It's something my Dad would very much like to do, and my Mom seems open to the idea. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of money at the moment to bankroll a river cruise though I can use points for airfare and hotels. Perhaps in another year or two...

LaydeeSarah - I'm surprised your Mom chose NY over Spain, but I guess if she's British NY might have been more "exotic" than Spain. With regards to the safari idea - as it turns out the weather in September would be excellent and the chance for sightings high, but I think this may be a trip that I do on my own first as a scouting run, and then one that I send my parents on together without me. I think they would enjoy a private trip in a nice safari camp coupled with a couple of days in Cape Town.

tfar - I like the idea of focusing on an area, and I think in the next incarnation of this trip, a focus on Switzerland, Germany, and Austria is highly likely. Since this will only be her second international foray, I want to ensure she gets to sample a few other new things so that she can identify what places and things she really likes and what places and things she doesn't. In that respect, it's a lot like dealing with a toddler - you feed them all kinds of things so they can sample them - and then they develop a taste for certain things and a distaste for others. Right or wrong, I want to let her sample a broad variety of places before we start to focus on one area in particular... :)

jerseygirl - You are correct, I am Irish, but from my Dad's side. My Mom has little interest in Ireland, despite my raving about it from past trips and my Dad's positive feedback as well. So while I won't be taking her anytime soon, my Dad and I spent a week there in 2007 and will be returning for another week for his birthday next year. I agree with you regarding the people - the Irish people I've encountered on both trips were amongst the friendliest people I've met throughout the world. Plus my buddy and I got to tag along for a stag party for a little while - that was quite an experience... :eek::o:cool:

falconea - I would love to bring her to Australia, and I may still on this trip, but if I do change our tickets it won't be until the last minute as that's when availability usually opens up. I love Australia, and I'd love to live and work there. I'd like to share that feeling with both of my parents.