stevento

I'd like to go SOMEWHERE at the end of March 2014

I was planning to go to Buenos Aires, and had award tickets NYC-EZE, but UA canceled the direct flights, and the revised routing didn't work with my schedule.
So now, I am at a loss. Would love to get some suggestions from FTers.

Because of time constraints, it should be Wed PM to Sun PM (preferred dates 03/26-03/30, but flexible).
The flights have to be non-stop from NYC, or with short connections.
Because of limited time, would greatly prefer premium cabin.

The destination should have a cultural and historical interest...this is not a beach getaway.

South America would be great - but I see no availability for EZE or GIG, and I am not sure if other cities would be as interesting for a city break - I may be wrong. No time change would be awesome - we could fly out Wed PM and return on an overnight flight and go to work (minimizing work time missed is the major consideration here.)

Europe would be nice if it wasn't so damn cold Although, since we've been to all the major cities, and don't need to do too much walking around, it may work.

I think anything farther than 11hr flight would just be impractical for a weekend trip....so I don't have a lot of options.

Suggestions?


Miles:
Chase UR 450K
BA 300K
UA 250K
AA 130K
AmEx MR 120K
SPG 75K
DL 60K

JWEMTX

I realize you're looking for something in the end of March, but just in case you change your mind, there's the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas early-mid March

http://sxsw.com/schedule

8rulos

Take a look at past hemispheres (UA in-flight mag) for suggestions. They have a 3-days in XXX series. Bogota or Quito could be interesting and shorter flights than EZE plus I think no visa fees.

MSPeconomist

Santiago? How's the UA schedule there?

In fact, does a *A partner have flights that are better for your schedule? Availability might be a problem, versus UA being able to create award seats on their own flights for UA miles following a schedule change. For this reason, I would avoid canceling your current award tickets until you have a new plan.

Due to spring break, any flight segments shared with the beach crowd are likely to be packed. Don't try for AA through MIA or even UA/CO through IAH if you can avoid it.

It's Europe, but Barcelona is relatively warm and has great cultural and historical stuff. Istanbul too, but it's a much longer flight. Lisbon might be a possibility that could have relatively good award availability.

cagcag

ISTANBUL, is my suggestion.

Kagehitokiri

UR hotel awards >
argentina - 2 park hyatt
barcelona - ritz carlton
istanbul - park hyatt + ritz carlton

does JL or anyone still do F from US to south america?
europe obviously has tons of F options

re culture/history vs beach - for reference, places like bali and maybe vietnam have both (as in drive from beach hotel to culture/history, if not also including culture/history 'adjacent' to beach hotel)

PHLisa

I was in Madrid in early February last year and it was in the 50s. I'd think by late March southern Europe would be pretty nice. Portugal or Spain is also not a very long flight.

Or Central America. Just because a lot of people go to the beach doesn't mean there's nothing of cultural value there. Check out Mexico City or San Salvador. "Afar" magazine just did a piece on San Salvador in a weekend. http://www.afar.com/magazine/spin-th...in-el-salvador

stevento

Thanks for replies.

Barcelona is high on the list - being that the trip falls on or around our 15th anniversary, and BCN was the first stop on our honeymoon, it has a certain sentimental significance. We went to Spain and Portugal this summer, but mostly stayed in Andalucia, Algarve, and Lisbon. It's not a non-stop, but a short MAD-BCN hopper is acceptable.

Istanbul is also a worthy consideration...as is Jerusalem. Although we are likely to have a family trip to Israel in late 2014/early 2015, a weekend getaway for 2 is a different animal altogether. So far, availability on both, for dates and times that fit my schedule, is not good.

We plan to go to Ecuador in February, so that takes out Quito...never thought about Bogota - in my mind, it's not a top tourist destination, but perhaps my view is a bit one sided.

That leaves Santiago as the only destination in S.America. Enough to do for 3 days? Worth an 11 hour flight?

viajera1219

I'd recommend a few nights in Porto, Portugal and a few nights in Barcelona. I just returned from a trip to Spain, with a 1 day/night stopover in Porto. The Porto flight was direct from Newark (~6.5 hours) and I used UA miles to get there. And using the free stopover technique, flew to Barcelona for the second leg of my outbound flight (originally there was no direct flight availability to Barcelona, but it worked out great). I absolutely adored Porto. It was so beautiful and charming with a lot of history and culture. There were a lot of people there but I still felt like I had the city to myself. I've been to the Algarve and loved it but this city in Northern Portugal offered a change from that.

Then I went to Barcelona and it was a mad house. I was only there for 3 days so had to hit all the touristy spots but it was the opposite of Porto. Every adorable street or plaza was just filled to the brim with other tourists. Lots of people from other countries, whereas Porto had a lot of Portuguese and locals there, which I prefer. It was a bit overwhelming for me, kind of like being in midtown for 3 days straight. It will probably be a lot calmer in March. Stunning city though and excellent food.

*This, of course, is my own personal preference.

Also would recommend
Cartagena. I see there are no direct flights from NY, did not look at connections.
Dublin
London

mbece

Cartagena could be a good option too.

dj506

What about Manaus, Brazil - you can get there direct from Miami. From Manaus, you can take a boat into the Amazon where you can stay in a hotel in the middle of the rain forest. We stayed at the Ariau Amazon Hotel. Daily excursions in the rain forest, fishing for piranha, night viewing of the caymans, swimming with the river dolphins. All in all - it was pretty cool and easy for a 3 -4 night getaway.

cl.lurker

porto is amazing - and cheap for europe....

lima is, imho, way more fun than santiago.. and a better culinary experience as well.... (did i mention cheap??)

istanbul as well! great shopping trip, and people-watching....