Where is a place you've always wanted to go, and why?

[babylonsister]

I'm itching to go to Italy, Portugal, and Greece, but haven't talked the DH into it yet. :-(

[jannyk]

1. Peru

I want to see Machu Picchu and Nazcar before I die.

[rucky]

2. hey, you took my choice!

for the same reasons. I'm thinking about going on a tour with Heifer International www.heifer.org

[likesmountains 52]

5. I went there last year, hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu..beyond

words..

[Inland]

7. Went in 1986, quite an experience

Macchu Picchu was beautiful. I would recommend staying at the hotel on site, if it's still there, jsut for the quiet of the morning.

[blindpig]

3. Guiana

My idea of a good time is going out in the field and seeing as many species as possible. Though my particular interests are amphibians, reptiles and birds all critters are fodder, as is the flora.

I grew up watching old Marlin Perkins on Wild Kingdom and have always remembered his trip to the interior of Guiana around the Rupinuni(sp?) River. The bogus wrestling match with a 9' Anaconda was particularly amusing. There're gazillions of birds and herps to add to my life lists and I'd dearly like to see Giant Anteaters and the Giant Armadillo.

One day, perhaps.

[mike_c]

4. wow, I've been paralyzed in front of the keyboard for several minutes...

...trying to think of a definitive answer. Just to go SEE? South East Asia, Egypt, the Carpathian Mountains, Nepal. But my real dream is a transcontinental bicycle tour, from the arctic circle to Patagonia. Realistically, I don't have more than about 10 more years to make that dream a reality (I'm 50), and that's unlikely. *Sigh*

[Inland]

8. Ten more years? Won't it take ten years to complete?

You'd better start now. Start in the arctic, so it's downhill.

[bikebloke]

24. You have plenty of time.

I've bike trekked and once met an Aussie. When he was pedalling the Rockie Mountains, he saw a couple by the side of the road with bikes. So he pulled over to see if they were OK. Sure, just taking a break. She was 68 and he was 72. They said they weren't as fast as the Aussie, but they'd arrive just a little later. So ignore the laps around the sun.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. An odd one: Latvia

My ancestry is Norwegian, German, and Latvian, and although I visited Norway and Germany many years ago (many many years ago), it was not easy to go to Latvia in those days.

I therefore would like to go there and see the village where my maternal grandfather was born, Vecpiebalga. Just because I was in the neighborhood, I'd combine it with three other destinations on my to-do list: Finland, Sweden, and Russia.

I'd also like to visit Korea (a gap, since I've spent a lot of time in Japan and visited China and Taiwan), Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Brazil, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, French Polynesia, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Cuba, and, since it's been a long time since I was there, the British Isles, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Austria, France, and the Netherlands.

Gee, I've got to win the lottery fast...

[babylonsister]

13. LOL! I'll say! Keep buying those tickets, L L! nt

[tinfoilinfor2005]

29. Hi Lydia! I think we've "talked" before.

I was in Latvia last March and April, and you should definitely make the trip. I had a very good experience traveling with a group, and their rates are really great. The trip started in St. Petersburg (story in itself) and then we took a bus to Tallinn Estonia, a remarkable city and one of my favorites on the tour. I took an optional day ferry trip to Helsinki, and then we continued by bus to Riga. Riga is everything you've heard. The Paris of the north. I could easily live there. My tour ended there but I stayed an extra week with my aunt in Jelgava and we took trains and buses and car trips around the whole country. It was a wonderful experience and I am anxious to go back sometime in the summer season.

PM me if you would like the details about the travel group. I've traveled with them several times now, and going again with them to Paris in November. They are very reasonable and provide great opportunities with each trip.

[AnnieBW]

9. Greece

Especially Athens. I'm an ancient history buff, as well as a Pagan dedicated to the Goddess Athena. I want to worship Her at the Acropolis sometime before I die.

[Reciprocity]

10. Even though we have been to New Zealand...

I want to go back. We went there about eight years ago, it was during their winter and we only had five days as we were visiting friends in Australia...umm I would love to go back there as well. My fantasy trip would be to go on a Red Carpet Tour. Red Carpet Tours is a company that takes you to see where The Lord of the Rings.
Red Carpet Tours
http://www.redcarpet-tours.com/

[Ally McLesbian]

11. Greece and Thailand are tops on my list

Greece - for its food, history, and culture

Thailand - for the food and monuments too

China used to be the tops until I hit the Great Wall and Beijing in 2002, so time for something new.

Another trip I'd like is to buy a German car and pick it up at the factory in Germany (BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche let you do this). Of course, I'd have to survive the W economics first.

[chascaz]

12. Bhutan

They only let so many people visit per year. It used to be only a few hundred, but I hear they let in a few thousand per year now. I'll probably never make it there, it's very expensive to visit. http://www.kingdomofbhutan.com/

Peace - :)

[SodoffBush]

22. I want to go to Bhutan as well.

It's not so expensive when considering the base rate of around $200 is for everything, though, granted, I spent a lot less per day in Thailand!

[jonolover]

14. Pretty Paris!

Parce que je l'aime!

[tinfoilinfor2005]

30. I was there two years ago for three days

but I dreamed about it for three weeks after I returned home. So I have my reservations to go back later this year to see if the magic is still there. I'm thinking it is. :)

[elehhhhna]

15. Here:

http://tahitinuitravel.com/webcam/borabora/


you can see why.

[spindrifter]

16. It's not PC, but

I have always wanted to go to Myanmar--since it was Burma. I'd love to spend enough time there to travel around the entire country, but it ticks me off that the government is so out to lunch. I also would like to go to eastern Turkey around Van and then there is Santiago de Bahia, Brasil, except I have avoided anything but flying through Manaus to Bolivia, since I am not into giving my tourist dollars to countries that kill street kids to get rid of them. Realistically, I think I am going to Argentina and Uruguay next.

[wakeme2008]

17. New Zealand

:)

[Catchawave]

18. Rail Europe and Rail Canada

http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/eurail_index.htm

http://www.vacationsbyrail.com/canada/index.html

I love trains !

[Lydia Leftcoast]

20. Then you'd love Japan!

It's not just the Shinkansen ("bullet trains"). The so-called conventional lines are great, too, and they go absolutely everywhere.

The Japan Rail Pass is a tremendous bargain, available only to tourists, and Japanese people nearly weep with envy when I tell them about a pass that lets one ride any JR (formerly Japan National) train (except the Nozomi Super Expresses) anywhere for a set period of time.

In 2002, I set up headquarters in Tokyo and took looong daytrips on the trains.

[Patiod]

19. We're so un-traveled outside the US

I've been to Italy once (for work), and my S.O. has never been to Europe.

In the US, the only places I haven't been (and want to go) are Savannah, Seattle, New Mexico, and Utah.

Outside the US, we're dying to go on a walking trip of Britain, and I want to see as much of France, Italy and Spain as I can. I want to show my SO Venice (although he's not good with either heat or crowds, so we'd have to go in early Spring or late Fall)

[On the Road]

21. Been Wanting to Spend Some Time in Morocco for Many Years

Never have managed to make it yet. Not the best climate now, but it will happen someday. Done a lot of study, talked to people who have visited and who have grown up there, and know pretty much what I want to see.

Morocco has over a thousand miles of Atlantic and Mediterranean coastline, as well as mountains where you can ski. That's not counting the Sahara or the fertile areas where much of the population lives. Some of the cities, like Fez, are very medieval, and some, like Moulay Idriss do not allow non-Muslims to stay overnight.

I had a plan once to travel down the coast through Mauritania to Senegal, but that's probably dead. Even if the border weren't closed, it's dangerous for human and natural reasons. But Morocco has many fascinations.

[raccoon]

23. Newfoundland.

Ever since I read/saw the movie THE SHIPPING NEWS.

I'm interested in archaology and natural history, and Newfoundland has plenty of both--Viking settlements, whales, Iceberg Alley.

[fudge stripe cookays]

25. Turkey and Germany

I've seen so many awesome pictures of Turkey (the Lycian rock tombs, all the cool churches and mosques in Instanbul, the beautiful Bosporus, the whirling dervishes, Pammukkale...aaaah!). Started teaching myself Turkish about 8 years ago, but then met reprehensor and our expensive internet courtship overruled any exotic travel plans.

And I want to go to Germany, but I'm trying to figure out which town my Smiths (Schmidts) came from before I venture out so I can do more research across the pond. I even took two years of German so I'd be prepared to read old documents! I've recently made some strides into the really old lines, so I may be getting closer. Yay! :D

[Eurobabe]

26. Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla - SPAIN

Going in May when daughter #2 comes to visit again. Want to see the Alhambra and the gardens and the Grand Mosque at Cordoba. So that wish will be fulfilled.

Other places: Norway to the fjords, Holland to see the tulips and the windmills, and Japan, to see the landscape. Oh and Morocco and Turkey to see the architectural sights.

[av8rdave]

27. Strange as it sounds...Cuba

I've always wanted to see old Havana.

[seemunkee]

28. My list

Far to many places I want to see and do

Trek to Everest base camp
See the sun rise from the top of Mt Fuji
Walk the Inca trail to Macchu Pichu
Stroll through Paris on a cool fall night with my wife.
Hike the Grand Canyon rim to rim.
Walk coast to coast across England
Ride in the Paris-Brest-Paris randonée.

Why? I'm a climber and I'll use the classic line by George Mallory, Because its there.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

31. Great thread and just reading it has made my list longer!

I have a friend who lives in Iceland, and her stories about the country have really gotten me interested in traveling there sometime. She said that there is no place on earth prettier at Christmas time. It is a very expensive place to visit, though.