50th-Glastonbury, USA road trip or Hawaii?

[Ohidunnodoi]

I’m 45 but planning now 😅

Which would you choose out of the three?
Our daughter will be with us and will be 10/11 by then.

Glastonbury: Never been before, always wanted to go, have been to many other festivals, adore music. We’d combine this with a trip to Europe somewhere-one of the lakes in Italy maybe or Iceland.

USA-California, L.A fly drive-never been before, only New York. Would love to have adventures, road tripping and visit where they filmed E.T 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

Hawaii: Dh surfs, we’ve always wanted to go-extended trip-3 plus weeks, total chill in a quieter area, swimming and surfing.

I have zero money for any of this 😂but plan on saving…which would you choose out of these three?

And what would be your ultimate 50th celebration?

Whew… luckily the OP has had your help.

I assume that on the roadtrip you'd mostly stay in hotels/motels. Would you book 1 room for all of you or a separate room for your daughter? The latter would be expensive (and I'm not even sure if hotels would let an 10-year old stay in her room alone). Everyone in the same room is really not great on an extended trip: you daughter would never have her own space, you can't even watch tv after she has gone to bed, not to mention any chance of sex for you and your husband.

For that reason alone I'd opt to stay in one place and see if you can book a 2-bedroom apartment.

What's your issue? I answered the question. Someone asked for a further explanation, so I gave it. - the post you quoted was aimed at the person I quoted.

Hawaii! Recommend Maui and Kauai! With three weeks, especially if you're in a good spot, your daughter could genuinely learn to surf, what an amazing experience for her to take home with her! Also nice for you... considering it's your birthday! Hawaii is heaven on earth.

Hawaii.
A friend recently spent a week there and loved every minute of it.

I'm born and bred California Girl and always up for a 'Golden State Road Trip'.
I'd do a 10 day road trip in California, then spend 10 days in Hawaii. I love Hawaii!

If your DD will be 10/11 do you think she'd be interested in Disneyland? It's the only Disney Park that Walt Disney actually walked in and built. Or if she's more into Harry Potter, there's always Universal Studios Hollywood.

You could start with Disneyland/Universal and end up at Redwoods National Park, where the forest scenes in ET were filmed. The 'neighbourhood' shots were in Northridge and Elliot's house is in Tujunga, neither of which is anywhere near the Redwoods and are just typical So Cal suburbs. BTW there are 43 Redwood Forests in California. iF it's just the Redwood trees themselves you want to experience, rather that 'see where ET was filmed', there are forests that would be shorter drives than Redwoods Natl Park.

Redwoods State and National Park is about 690 miles north of LA (most direct route) but there is plenty to be seen in between, you just won't be able to see all of it! And it's about 340 miles from the Redwoods to SF, so you could theoretically fly in to either LAX, Burbank, or SNA (Orange Count CA) for your Disney/Universal days, drive up to the Redwoods, sightseeing along the way, then drive back to SF and leave for Hawaii via SFO. There are also direct flights to Hawaii from other airports in No Cal, I like SMF (Sacramento). Or you could reverse and start north and end up in LA to head to Hawaii.

As far as Hawaii, with 10 days I'd spend maybe 3 days on Oahu seeing the 'touristy' and historical things then I'd go to Maui or the Big Island for the rest of the time. Or if I was to pick just one island I'd look for a vacation rental on Oahu either Kaneohe (love Lanikai) or North Shore (maybe Waialua or Haleiwa). It's an easy drive to Honolulu from either area to do the tourist stuff. I love the touristy stuff and usually go to Waikiki Beach, the Arizona, drive over the Pali, and the Dole Plantation. Then spend the rest of the time lazing on the beach (or shopping).

The OP's trip is five years down the road.

Also, what the recent Supreme Court decision did was repeal federal, not state abortion legislation. All states retain their power to allow, restrict, or ban abortion. AFAIK, neither California nor Hawaii have made any moves to restrict or ban abortion.

I have driven, years ago, from San Francisco to LA and then to San Diego. There are patches of pretty scenery like Big Sur but honestly it's not a 50th birthday trip.

LA, Hollywood et al are quite seedy unless you are a massive cinema buff and want to do the studio tours. But that's only a few hours out of an expensive long-haul journey. Hollywood Blvd is a shithole tourist trap. Vegas is not what it used to be -- you hardly see any middle-class people there any more, it's all poor people, drunken hen / stag parties and other flotsam.

Went to Honolulu last December, courtesy of a very generous friend. It was nice, esp the Pearl Harbor tour, climbing Diamond Head, etc. -- but not overwhelming. Waikiki beach was pretty but our hotel - supposedly the most luxurious (Halekulani, $1,000 USD per night) had a beach not much larger than my front garden. glorious pool though and impeccable service.

Maui is supposed to be nicer.

Seattle was OK for an interesting vibe. I think in your shoes I'd do a bit of Vancouver BC and then Hawaii, or somewhere in SE Asia. Or Costa Rica, actually - like Hawaii but less despoiled. Downtown Honolulu was like any big city with skyscrapers.

Wouldn't set foot in the southern USA for anything; all those "stand my ground" shootings and bullying police.

With five years to save up I'd contemplate a (non-hunting) African safari, Costa Rica, or a tour of Canada: Quebec, Montreal, Vancouver. Or Japan.

I loved Maui. You can do a road trip there and drive all around the island in a day and look at the amazing waterfalls. Snorkelling is great. Going to the tip of the volcanoe is fascinating an dthe sunsets are incredible. We also went to Lanai which has nice beaches but not much else. I'd love to go back to Hawaii. I know Honolulu has issues like all big cities and poverty is an issue but it really is an incredible place.

And I repeat - this past was a direct response to a question I was asked about my answer - I even quoted the post to make that clear. It was not aimed at the op.

I live in LA and I would suggest going to Hawaii. You'll have to go via LA anyway so could tack on a day or two in LA if you wanted both.

Hawaii is honestly my favorite vacation spot, it's the only place I've gone where I feel truly relaxed, but they also have fun adventure things to do as well! I'd definitely recommend Hawaii.

None of them.
Save your cash. You might need it.
Do something less costly and closer to home? Canary Islands are brilliant.

Of your three, I'd choose Hawaii. It's so far away, it's a once in a lifetime type trip.

Also I'd start going to festivals now! There's loads of great ones that aren't Glastonbury. Stay in the kids camping area or kids zone. It'll be great. Or leave her with family and focus on the music and hedonism for a few days.

How about Japan, New Zealand and Aus? Part road trip in a campervan through NZ, the amazing culture of Japan and the vastness of Aus.

Japan or somewhere in Italy or a proper Orlando park based vacation for me. But it’s next year, so I don’t think I will be able to save up in time. Good you are being organised! Out of your three I would do California / Hawaii too.

I would do Hawaii and a small road trip in/around LA first if you can afford it or maybe there’s a cruise you could do?

Hawaii

Thanks so much everyone,

Hawaii sounds amazing!
Not sure If Dd will be into Disney at that age…I don’t have any yearning to go there myself. Not interested in Vegas really
It was the suburbs in E.T I’d love to visit..for example the part where they’re trick or treating
Did want to go to San Francisco, but doesn’t sound like it’s too great these days 😬
Would love to visit Canada and Japan too, been to Oz..so many places I’d love to go, but Hawaii and California was higher up on the list..would love to visit Mexico and Iceland too…these are all the places I’ve yet to see

With regards to the Canary Islands, I’ve been lots and whilst it’s fine for a holiday, it’s not something dreams are made of 😬
I undoubtedly will always need the money for something else, but life is short…

We did fabulous California road trips with 11 & 8 year olds and 13 & 11 year olds. I would do a 10 day road trip and 10 days in Hawaii too !

I think the US road trip. Definitely not Glastonbury.

110% Hawaii!! Spend a couple of days in San Francisco then island hop. We did this for our honeymoon 5 years ago and it was amazing!! I'm saving for a return trip with our kids and still daydream about moving there!

Hawaii. Having lived in CA and done plenty of road tripping all around there, it’s nice if you’re local, but I wouldn’t fly half way around the world for it. Much more amazing places in Europe or even Asia that would be cheaper.

Not glasto, festivals are not all they're hyped up to be.

Incredibly expensive, hard physically, lots of walking and standing for long periods.

Very little chance of getting anywhere near the main stage so you may as well stay home and watch it on the telly with a bevvy rather than pay to watch it in a muddy field on a big screen.

I'd do a 2 week american road trip with the last week relaxing in hawaii

It was the suburbs in E.T I’d love to visit..for example the part where they’re trick or treating

Elliott's house; 7121 Lonzo St Tujunga CA

Trick or treating: This was filmed in the Porter Ranch area of LA, specifically various houses on Killmore Ave and a few other random streets off of Wilbur Avenue.

Bicycle chase/flying; near White Oak Ave & Tribune St in Granada Hills

But remember that this movie is almost 40 years old, so things have changed over the decades.

Did want to go to San Francisco, but doesn’t sound like it’s too great these days

SF can still be great depending on where you go. Golden Gate Park & its gardens & museums especially the Science Museum, Ocean Beach (but no swimming, the current is a literal killer), even Fisherman's Wharf & Pier 39 (sooo touristy!) can be worth a visit, you can walk or rent bikes and cross the Golden Gate Bridge. Take in a baseball game at Oracle Park. Go to Ft Funston and watch the hang gliders fly. Take a look at the 'Mrs Doubtfire house'. Visit the Presidio and the Walt Disney Family Museum, it usually has some great exhibits even if you aren't a Disney fan. Lucasfilm (same location) has a HUGE landscaped garden to wander in as well as the Yoda fountain.

Don't wander around after dark and avoid the Tenderloin, Hunters Point & Mission districts. Personally, Chinatown does nothing for me, but it's worth a driving look-see. Or book a bus tour and see the sights that way.

Be aware of your surroundings and know your route and destinations. But I expect that's the same for any large city, even London.

we did LA > Hawaii in 2 weeks. absolutely loved it. if you had 3 weeks you could add in San Francisco or Vegas!

I'd do whatever one takes the most energy. As a 55 year old seeing my friends suffering from health issues and some dying, don't count on having your health forever. Glastonbury would be last on the list.