I always find these LGA vs. JFK arguments pretty funny. I mean the airports don’t even serve the same cities so the distinction is functionally academic. I rarely fly from LGA for the simple reason that the planes don’t fly to any place I want to go. If LGA started running flights over 1000 miles I would use it every time. Hell I can almost walk there from the Bronx in the time it takes to get to JFK>
The killings threatened Tulum’s reputation as a low-key carefree beach town without the crowding and problems of Cancun.
After the shooting, U.S. tourist James Graham said he had come to Tulum with the idea of possibly buying a property there to rent out on AirBnB. “Right now, we are not so sure we’re going to buy anything here,” Graham said.
“I think that what was surprising, is we figured that this type of crime wouldn’t necessarily be where the main tourist areas are, just because it’s such a big part of the economy,” Graham said. “You would think that you would be very careful to make sure that you know the tourists feel very safe coming here.”
Oh just go straight to hell James Graham. You are part of the reason Tulum is so fucked. Americans buying up all the property, jacking up the prices of everything, destroying the environment.
“Not only do they continue to build in the park, which is forbidden, but they build on sand dunes, which are there to stabilize the sand and prevent erosion,” adds Carlos Meade. “This affects the entire coastal ecosystem.”
With its cenotes, the famous natural sinkholes in the jungle, and underground water system, mangroves and dense jungle, the ecosystem of the Yucatan Peninsula is particularly fragile. But preserving it is made difficult by Tulum’s lack of infrastructure.
Walking south from the ruins, you can see the full sweep of Tulum in 2019. There is Papaya Playa, which on its Wellness Day brought in 22 different “healers” specializing in biomagnetism, reiki, color reading, deionization, numerology, and Wataflow. You pass Azulik, which rents one villa for $7,800 a night and recently hosted a “Vibrational Concert for World Peace.” If it’s the morning, Perlman’s Bikini Bootcampers could be running on the beach; if it’s the afternoon, Ak’iin might be throwing one of its daytime beach parties; and if it’s the early evening, a 20-something New Yorker at Coco Tulum might meet her friends for dinner only to realize she’s underdressed
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I went back in 2015 and it already seemed like it was infected by tourists. I guess I was part of the problem, but we did stay in some lovely couples backyard and not the $4000 a night hotels. I can’t imagine what it’s like now.
Guys I need help.
Every vacation I take just pisses me off. I hate travel in the U.S. We have gone all over, and I never like it and literally every time wish I had stayed home. There are many reasons - the overpriced everything, the hassle, the annoyance of travel, but mostly I just hate being around other Americans.
Please help me plan an international trip my kids will like. They’re great kids, adventurous and open minded, and don’t complain.
how old?
11,9
Where have you been internationally, and of those (if any), what pissed you off and what did you like?
Costa Rica has a lot to offer. Spend some time in the cloud forest zip lining, go for night walks to see lots of critters. Then spend some time on the beach - there’s a great national park - Manuel Antonio, that’s also a beach. San Jose has some nice neighborhoods with a lot of restaurants and stuff - to stay one night before going to the airport or maybe longer.
Past You is going to have some words for Present You:
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Also, I’ve kinda joked with MrsWookie that I tend to prioritize the 3 As in our international travel – Art, Architecture, and Alcohol – but stuff like natural wonders, wildlife, food, history, family heritage, wanting to hang with locals, or what have you are also good reasons to pick a place and what to do there. Any priorities of things you like to do or see?
Guatemala is beyond what most families’ (except missionaries) comfort zone. Costa Rica makes a ton more accessible. Then if you love Costa Rica maybe try Guatemala.
A lot of the volcano hikes in Guatemala have armed guards because people were getting robbed. There are poor neighborhoods high up on the slopes in the most dangerous places. So yeah - Costa Rica wins there.
Also Guatemala is weird. It’s really hard to do Antigua and Tikal in the same trip - unless you want fly across the country. Tikal is more easily combined with a trip to Belize.
I assume Guate has some decent beaches - but nothing like Costa Rica. I don’t care about beaches but a lot of people do. Lake Atitlan was fine but I didn’t feel the need to spend more than a day trip there.
Antigua though - possibly my favorite city on earth.
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I’m mostly just fucking around because I like you and the video you posted, but I also think it’s cool you gave me a serious and informative response.
I love the whole region. I’m always glad to contrast and compare and give advice.
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well i don’t know what type of vacation you are looking for, how many hours of flight you are willing to endure and the length and time of year.
Barcelona is a very easy urban destination with kids imo if you haven’t been. You can also spend a day at PortAventura if they get sick of the city attractions. If they are interested in Soccer in anyway going to a game in Camp Nou is like a bucket list level experience.
Japan
It’s a bit of a journey to get there, but there is all sorts of stuff to do there depending on your tastes.
It’s pretty tough to get away from Americans in short range of the US AND be a favorable place for kids/family. However ive heard a lot of good things from parents about Costa Rica, tons of jungle and outdoorsy things to do, pretty safe, caters well to English speakers etc, so I like Suzzer’s recommendation. Chocked full of Americans though 
Whoa, this is kinda surprising to me. I loved Lake Atitlán, and felt like checking out a different little town around the lake each day was really cool. Each has its’ own feel.
Antigua OTOH, it’s cool yah, and the views with the volcanoes in the background are pretty epic, but the town itself, to me felt kinda meh, especially after you’ve seen a dozen+ similar places in Mexico. I feel like if it were a part of Mexico, it would be one of the top colonial towns, but wouldn’t stand out as the clear #1 or anything. But since it’s in Guatemala and is pretty unique for that country, it gets a massive boost. I’d much rather re-visit Guanajuato than Antigua, and would put Antigua in the same category as San Miguel de Allende, kinda meh and overrated.
I also visited recently and it felt like it’s getting more and more inundated w/the annoying Tulum type travelers.
To each his own, and each person valuing different things is what makes travel cool, but I’d be surprised if Atitlán just being a day trip place was a common opinion. It’s epic and probably the top reason to visit Guatemala.
BTW, if you feel the temptation to visit Guatemala City, I’d probably just pass. I spent 2 days there thinking it had to have something cool, but left disappointed. The center of Guatemala City is also one of the few places I can remember myself speed-walking to GTFO b/c I felt like people were sizing me up. And this coming from someone who walked thru 2 favelas in Rio w/just my girlfriend.
I always recommend France for about everything, so take it with a grain of salt, but Paris would seem like a great option, maybe a side trip to Strasbourg, Lille, or Lyon, which are also solid and would provide a more “French” feel. You’ve also got Disneyland nearby, Versailles Palace, tons of epic castles nearby, which might appeal a lot to kids that age.
Yeah I can see Atitlan being cool and I should have given it more time. We went to three towns on our day trip - San Pedro, San Marcos and San Juan. At San Pedro there was a big loud party boat, and everyone at the cafe we went to seemed cracked out from the night before. So I just assumed it was a crazy gringo party town. San Juan was great - we went on the little tour of Maya crafts. But it didn’t seem to have much tourist amenities to stay there or stuff to eat.
At San Marcos the hippies annoyed the crap out of me - some of them were more or less naked while living amidst the conservative Maya. That kind of thing really bothers me. You can be stinky, naked hippies anywhere. Why flaunt that shit in a Maya village? You know the Maya absolutely hate them, but put up with them because they bring in money. If they took one minute to learn about Maya culture they’d realize how offensive they’re being.
Also the lake was very smoky so the views weren’t that great. I think I might like to spend some time in Panajachel.
Antigua is kind of personal because I spent over a month there the first time with one friend visiting and then some other guys on bikes showing up a few weeks later. I took Spanish classes the whole time and lived near the school (Tecun Uman). In the vicinity I also had my local pub with the best bartender in Central America (Reillys), my favorite coffee shop, my gym, my laundry lady, my favorite taco place, etc. I even went on a couple dates with a teacher at the Tecun Uman.
I was down in the SW corner - away from most of the tourist hubbub. I just fell in love with everything about the town. I would definitely recommend getting an AirBnB or hostel as far away from the arch as possible. It becomes just a normal tourist-packed craphole around there.
I’ve spent time in Zone 9 in Guatemala City - which is just where all the business people go and is relatively safe. Nothing much exciting but there is a great steakhouse - Montana’s. Also there’s something about the air every time I’ve been to Guate City - its like the softest, most perfect gentle breeze. There’s just some quality of the air that blows me away every time.
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I loved lake atitlan, lots of different communities around the lake, definitely worth more than a day trip lol.
But also Acatenango hike and watching the volcano erupt outside of Antigua is a like a top 5 overnight excursion I’ve done
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