I think the choice of lens when depends on what you intend to shoot. If you don't need the speed Nikon's F4 lenses are considerably less expensive, lighter and smaller. They're also less intrusive/obviously expensive looking which is something to consider depending on where you travel to.

After a few trips with the 2.8's I figured out the F4's and a couple of nice primes made sense for what I do. YMMV...but the 2.8 VrII's are a very nice bit of glass.