Hello, I am sorry if this is not the right forum, so please move if another forum is better, but since we'll be flying Delta I thought this was as good as any to post from.

My wife and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this year and would like to do a one week trip to celebrate, sans kids! Due to work travel, I have been able to travel all over the world the last few years and my wife has been unable to go with (mainly because we have a 4 and 3 year old at home). Like many of you, we have an incredible amount of miles/hotel points so that is not a worry.

We would be flying out MSP. If you had one week (I know, not a ton of time) to travel any where in the world, what would you recommend? Ideally, I'd like to go somewhere that I haven't been before. We're not huge beach fans (though if we were by a beach we'd probably do a day of it) and love to site see, be active, hike, etc.

The options we're currently considering are:

Barcelona for a few days; then French Rivera/Monte Carlo
Greece for a few days; then Italian Rivera
African Safari

Here are the places I've traveled to that I'd like to stay away from so we don't duplicate if possible:

Throughout U.S.
Throughout Canada
Guatemala
Mexico
Brazil/Argentina/Chile
Australia (Melbourne)
South Africa (Cape Town only)
Turkey
Italy (Venice, Rome, Florence)
France (Paris)
U.K.
Turkey
Dubai
India
China (Shanghai)
Japan (Tokyo)
Netherlands (Holland)
Ireland (Dublin)

Long winded post/question, and again, I apologize if this is the wrong forum. But I really appreciate the travel/points expertise provided by so many and am sure you all have some great recommendations to consider.

Thanks!

Algeria is really nice this time of the year

Ascension Island ???

Yea, we'll take that one into great consideration!

Algeria sounds better.

What time of year? From MSP, I like going to Singapore in the winter.

You could easily do a week in Greece, split between Athens and an island. Don't take southern France on with just a week total, including travel time.

Similarly, don't try for Barcelona and southern France. Either would be nice alone, or go someplace else in Spain.

For southern France, spend a day or two in Monte Carlo, a city like Nice or Cannes, and a small coastal village or town up in the hills. However, do not try this in high season. It's miserably crowded.

Thanks - good stuff to consider. We probably would be looking June - August time, realizing its crowded that time of year.

On a more serious note. Thailand has always been a favorite for my wife and I.

Try for June. Southern Europe is less crowded (still shoulder season in many areas, so hotels are open for the year but not so expensive). Later it will also be hot and humid.

You could combine the Riviera area with Provence for more sightseeing or simply take the coastal train toward Marseille and go there, or Aix-en-Provence (stunning smaller city with lots of history and cultureand a couple very nice historic hotels in the center), or Aivignon (church history, also a smaller city where the center inside the walls is walkable), les Baux (realistically requires a car IMO), or go a bit further north toward the Burgundy wine region, for example Beaunne (spelling?) or further north to where the good good Chablis, Meausualt, Montrachet come from, although again you would want a car for such smaller wine villages.

why DL and not skyteam?

what hotel programs?

what budget for paid hotels?

It can be SkyTeam. We are sitting on 1.3 MM miles so we're not restricted at all.

I have Plat Status with SPG, and more points than we can use for years with them. I also have good number of points with Club Carlson, Hilton and IHG.

SPG has some stunning properties in Greece.

Looking at the list you have already been to, you may want to try:

- Switzerland - Alps, hiking - fly DL to ZRH
- Ecuador/Galapagos Islands - fly DL to Quito (UIO)
- Peru (Cuzco, Machu Picchu) - fly DL to LIM
- Eastern Europe - DL to PRG or ST partners to BUD or OTP or WAW, etc.

To go off the list, I love Copenhagen. If you don't want to stay there the whole time, take a ferry or the new tunnel/bridge to Malmo and then to to Lund for a day and night. Stockholm, Oslo, and Bergen are also nice, but you would need to fly from Copenhagen.

There are also some interesting places to visit in Germany. Go to Munich and then take the train (gorgeous scenery) to Salzberg for a few days.

not if you consider these for example >

(transfer SPG to VS) http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb...roup/index.jsp

(point requirements in SPG, taking the 5K bonus on 20K into account)

- necker island (all-inclusive, private island, 8 rooms through feb, 14 rooms after)
960K 7 nights (137K per nt) (vs $3,895 / $3,926 per nt)

- ulusaba south africa safari (all-inclusive incl laundry, 23 rooms)
530K 5 nights (106K per nt) (vs $1,126 per nt)
320K 3 nights (107K per nt)

- lodge verbier (during summer) (all-inclusive incl some laundry, 10 rooms)
280K 3 nights (93K per nt) (vs $928 per nt)

- kasbah tamadot marrakech (27 suites and tents)
200K 3 nights (67K per nt) (vs $513 > $613 per nt)

- they also have a kenya safari (all-inclusive, 12 tents) scheduled to open in august
awards arent published yet, rates are $1,180 > $1,990 per nt

all actually take kids, but necker only at certain times

while SPG hotels themselves can cost up to at least 140K per nt
AFAIK only one SPG award may include half board - al maha in desert outside dubai
- SPG in barcelona - w (ask about suite award options)
- SPG in greece - some properties have pool villas, not sure about award availability
if looking at very top award properties, luxury hotels forum can be good resource