deniah

patagonia

Kiwi Flyer

Accommodation in SYD for NYE is rather pricey though.

BuildingMyBento

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

invisible

I'd suggest Indonesia - Java, Sumatra and Borneo.

chrisl137

Galapagos

pinniped

The first thing I think of when someone is considering a trip where miles, hotel points, status, etc. *won't* be used, I think of the Galapagos.

Patagonia, Chile, and Peru are high on my list as well.

So is Antarctica, but that probably stretches the $3,000 a bit far.

Easter Island, Reunion, Mauritius, and some of these other very out-of-the-way spots could be very appealing as well.

I get the sense from your original post that you aren't necessarily looking to blow all the cash on a big NYE party. I get that Sydney is a party, but given that you're coming *from* New York, I might be tempted to do something totally non-big-city with this one...

lighthand

Go and find Nemo.

airmotive

Antarctica on a budget.

pinniped

What are the options to do this? I'm genuinely interested...

flipstah

Your money goes far in SE Asia.

Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia... The world is your oyster.

MMinNYC

For those of you who are curious, I haven't booked yet. There have been some fires at work, so i have another day or two to deliberate.

It's basically down to: Patagonia or Australia.

Also- if anyone knows the cheapest way to get to Antarctica, please reply to this thread!

pinniped

Whenever I've seen Antarctica trips advertised, they tend to include a Patagonia component to them. I occasionally see these in magazines or websites targeting a medium-to-high-end audience, likely based in U.S. or Canada. Often in the $5,000 range and higher. Usually a full package kind of deal...flights to a certain point in Argentina, maybe a few nights in Patagonia, and boat from there.

However, I'd be interested in how an FT'er might do it a la carte, using miles/points for flights and a few days in Argentina, and then buying an Antarctica trip from there.

I've been told that people do it for the Galapagos: fly to Quito and go to a certain part of town where local travel agents sell Galapagos packages from there, highly discounted vs. what the typical affluent National Geographic reader pays for full-service from a U.S. departure. Wondering if that exists for Antarctica (even for a very short season), or if there are simply not enough vessels going that way to just buy a cheap ticket at the last minute.

erik123

Nepal via Abu Dhabi. Bit cold but a nice time to visit and good for a single traveler.

Bali (via HKG). Always great.

Box5

It's possible to milk them for the most expensive trip but I'd say to take the trip you deem the most enjoyable, whether or not it's the most expensive.

Don't go out of your way to maximize miles. Pick a good schedule for the flights. Business class is certainly more comfortable than economy class but I am not sure if first class trumps business class by much, especially if the business class seat is fully flat.

As far as hotels, go for ones with the best location. The most expensive is not always the best location.

DeepUnderground

Australia for NYE will eat your whole budget just on hotels at 1000$+ / night if there is even any more inventory available this late.