30th birthday ideas... help!

[autumnleaves15]

So my partner and I are both going to be turning 30 in the first half of next year. We were thinking of not buying each other gifts, pooling the money and adding on what we'd usually spend on a 14 night beach holiday to do something a bit more special. We are also considering asking for money instead of gifts from family to put towards a special holiday.

We're looking for suggestions on where to go. Some examples we've considered are New York, Florida, Miami, Vegas, Dubai or a combination of relatively nearby locations etc.

We'd like to go for 2 weeks and are happy to combine 2 destinations into one trip. We like to have some drinks/cocktails but aren't big on partying all day/every night. We like food, sightseeing, relaxing - a bit of everything really and usually do a fortnight beach holiday of pretty much nothing except sunbathing and eating and a separate 4/5 day European winter/spring city break packed with sightseeing (and eating) each year to give you an idea of our current habits.

Has anyone else done this? Where did you go? Where would you recommend?

Suggestions welcome!

We've done new yorkand Mexico combined and that was great

What about the far east?
Hong Kong, Bangkok, KL or Singapore would give you the city fix and then combine with beach - Bali, Thailand, Langkawi or Malaysian Borneo.

I love Vietnam and you could again mix city and beach - Phu Quoc or Hoi An with Hanoi/HCMC. If you go to Hanoi it's easy to add in Halong Bay. Domestic flights with Viet Jet are good value and the food in Vietnam is fabulous.

I would look at South Africa. It costs a bit to get there but it’s a great place to visit and so much more than beaches to remember.

If you fly to Cape Town you can look around The Cape which has great little towns and plenty of restaurants! You can stay in Hermanus to see whales (September). Unforgettable, as they are right up close to the shore. There is also the garden route which has great beaches, smart little towns and good food. There is also the wine region around Stellenbosch and Franschoek. These towns have great wineries nearby and wonderful food too.

When you are in SA, it’s not too expensive. There are wonderful guest houses that really look after you. They are much better than faceless hotels. The owners and managers are always great and can suggest restaurants and what to visit. The scenery is unforgettable! Do go!

When abouts are you looking to go autumnleaves15? You mention that both your birthdays are in the first half of the year so are you looking Spring/Summer? If you can give us an idea, that would be really helpful as weather will rule some locations out!
Of the places you've looked at, I've done a Miami/Key West combination. Miami is a party town but on the cultural front, there are some great contemporary art museums & interesting deco buildings. The Keys (a drive from Miami) make a relaxing contrast. It was a good holiday - because of the Cuban connection though I did compare Miami to Havana & Havana wins hands down! I'd definetely take a look at Cuba - Havana is a very vibrant, attractive city with a unique history. Great place!

Dubai the closer you get to summer is going to be unbearably hot. I lived there many years ago & the ex pats fled in June. It's only personal opinion but as a place it does nothing for me as they've pretty much bulldozed down & built over anything of interest. But if you like shopping & glitz & sunshine then it could be your bag. If you're looking for a combo, of the other Emirates Fujairah has mountains, beaches & more history than you'll find in Dubai. Ras al Khaimah has similar (but is a bit boring!). If it was me, I'd go to Oman instead - a lot more of interest & Muscat has some good beaches. Oman would be more expensive though.

New York is a completely unique city & wonderful place to celebrate being 30 - can't think of anywhere better! In terms of combining it with some downtime somewhere within reasonable distance, Maine/New England spring to mind for a different kind of beach holiday. Other people can give you better advice on this. An alternative would be Boston & then going on Nantucket/Cape Cod. Again just personal opinion but I 'd take New York over Boston!
Someone else has mentioned Mexico - we did a Mexico City/Cozumel (island off Playa del Carmen) a couple of years ago.Mexico City has a really interesting (& pretty brutal!) history to explore & lots of art museums/arty districts, good restaurants etc. Cozumel was very relaxed - less tourists than on the mainland, great beaches & diving/snorkelling, jeeps are easy to hire & there is a huge Mayan ruin to explore. Tulum is about an hour away & another option for you in terms of good beach places to stay.