I want to travel outside of the U.S. and I don't know where I should go. Do you have any ideas?

Trust me, go to Atlantis in the Bahamas. Vacation of a lifetime.

GREECE!
You want history? Have some ancient ruins and a Parthenon.
Food you say? One word.. Baklava.
Great people? Umm.. duh. (Btw, I’m Greek. This point pretty much seals the deal. ;])

More info is really needed.
Belize is close to the US, they speak English, have a beautiful coastline and can stay in stilt cabins over the water. Not as touristy as the rest of the Caribbean. Local fishermen will catch food for you. Whole shimp is popular.

Cambodia can also be done in a week. The food is increadible, and they have a rich ancient as well as modern history. The remnants of the Khmer Rouge’s killing fields can still be seen, as well as old temples and such.

People around the world are friendly, so dont worry about that one.

@arpinum Ok so I would rather be in a place where a swimsuit isn’t required. But it would be nice. I don’t think I’m ready for people to see a walking beached whale.

I’m going to Barcelona next month, and I hear it’s going to be a wonderful trip! It’s one of the “younger” cities… very forward-thinking, but there is still a lot of history there.

@WhiteLotus that sounds like fun. Welcome Lurve for joining :)

@WhiteLotus

I’ll second Spain. It has the history you want (more than you want, maybe; you could spend a lifetime there and not see every cathedral in that country), it’s beautiful, it’s small enough that you can get around to every major city on train or bus, and the people are very kind.

The history isn’t entirely European, either; there are a lot of Moorish influences in the architecture, etc., and there are even palaces that are great to visit in the spring when the weather is nice.

Plus, you can visit the castle that inspired the Disney logo.

dresden, germany

Thank you shego! You’ll have to tell us where you decide to go!

@nxknxk
Actually Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany is the one Disney patterned the Sleeping Beauty Castle after. Don’t know if the logo is something different.
http://www.castles.org/castles/Europe/Central_Europe/Germany/germany7.htm

Every place has history, and you can find “great food” most places.

How long do you want to travel for, what does your budget look like, and can you speak any other languages besides English?

@PandoraBoxx I am fluent in French, and I am learning Spanish. It will be for a week, and I have been saving up since I was 16, so a decent amount.

Then the logical choice for the first time out of the country would be southern France, Switzerland and Spain. The trains in France are very efficient, and it’s relatively easy to get around. Planning far enough ahead would get you inexpensive air fare. The south of France is gorgeous, and the whole country is steeped in history and good food.

I agree with France. Plus- you can buy a tourist train hopper pass and hit a few other countries while you’re over there if you want to.

Personally I loved Scotland. I got to wear my fall clothes (read- hoodies), there were tons of castles and the people were top-notch. Absolutely worthwhile.

I do think that a week is too short for international travel- but that’s just me. I tend to want to laze around for a day or two after arriving.

Viva España!

Go to Spain. In fact, live there.

If you absolutely have to stick to a week, then Belguim. Especially Bruges

@peedub – I loove Spain.

@troubleinharlem Yo tambien. I should live there and not the US.

My family spent a week in Martinique (French side) and had a marvelous time. At the time my son was only 5 so we avoided the ‘clothing optional’ beaches. My brother and I did sneak off and looked through binoculars. the only inhabitant of the beach looked like a troll! The poor chap looked like Sasquatch! couldn’t even tell he was nekkid because he was so hairy. I dont think he could possibly get a suntan. It was ghastly. Aside from that misadventure, the house we rented was nice and we felt right at home from the start, Only a minor language barrier at first, but immersion is a fast way to learn any language.

You should come to Australia. Okay, so we don’t have much history to speak of, but we have great food, culture and people. A Pommy guy I know insists that after living here for over a year now he still hasn’t met an Aussie he doesn’t like. You should probably give it more than a week though, our country is a bit too big to cover in only a week.

Portugal. Different from what you already know. Give it a shot

Provence ;)

We have been on a Mediterranean cruise that allowed us to see multiple cities in several counties without the stress of having to navigate maps etc. Prior to that we travelled and found our own way. That is nice because you get more of a feel for the people and city but there is nothing like the relaxation of a cruise. It combines total pampering with being able to sightsee. My husband wanted to travel abroad, but with teenagers, I felt like trying to find our way in multiple foreign cities would be a nightmare. He was resistent to a cruise but has since wanted to go on one every summer. Of course, that is not possible, but someday we do hope to go again.

History, great food and nice people, you say? Get to China. You’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere with more history, the food is absolutely delicious and the people are some of the friendliest you’re ever likely to meet. Add to that that most westerners are woefully ignorant of the true nature of moden China and it’s people, and you’re very likely to have a life-changing and mind-altering experience. At the very least, you’ll most likely blow away many previously-conceived notions you may have…

Many people speak French in Cambodia, and you can have a great week without setting foot on a beach

All of the above, except not the Bahamas. Don’t worry about language, you can get by most anywhere. My personal experience is with Europe, and I would highly recommend Italy, you can see and do a lot of great stuff in a week, but Ireland is great too, France is good, Switzerland is good, Germany is good. I haven’t been to Spain or Portugal, but I really can’t imagine anywhere in Western Europe that wouldn’t fit the bill. Also, Prague is very popular these days, and has great history. I’m not a fan of Eastern European food though. Food wise probably Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland. Greece might be great, but I don’t care much for Greek food myself. Asia is full of great choices too. South and Central America have some great candidates too, depending on your food and history tastes. Guatemala and Belize are great for Maya ruins, Mexico is not bad either. Argentina or Brazil are definitely great food choices. My top three picks for food and history, for one week would be: Italy, Japan, Ireland.

I’m a sucker for France and spend a lot of time there. Paris is just wonderful for people watching and strolling. You could easily combine 4 days in Paris with a few days out of the city; perhaps somewhere like Honfleur in Normandy which is a small fishing port with Impressionist connections, beautiful scenery and great museums. Rouen is another nice small city not far from Paris and you could stop at Monet’s Giverney on the way to either. Speaking French in France is a real kick; some of the people do switch to English, but I think that is more to practice their English than to be obnoxious.

The Bahamas are no place to go for history or culture. Costa Rica on the other hand, has very friendly people, great biodiversity, and wonderful scenery.

OK, I’ve left off Africa. So this all depends on what you mean by history. North Africa could be great, especially Egypt. Generally though there are obvious concerns about travel in the Middle East and North Africa, mostly I think Egypt is pretty safe, even Saudi Arabia is probably pretty safe. Just don’t stay in a big western chain hotel. Stay where the Middle Eastern tourists stay and you are likely to be fine. I have no idea what the food is like in Egypt, but I bet you can get great food of all sorts in Cairo. I expect it’s somewhat like other middle eastern food, maybe a bit like Ethiopian.

So, here’s my new recommendation. Go to Italy, spend two or three days in Tuscany for the food and to see Pisa and Florence. Don’t stay in either of those cities, stay in Lucca, which is smaller, less trafficked by Americans, and has some of the best food in the country. You could take a day trip to the Cinque Terre, especially if you like to hike. Five beautiful old towns along the coast. Make sure you eat dinner there, and get something with anchovies (they’re fresh, not canned so it’s not what you expect). Then head down to Rome for another two days to take in all the essential tourist sites. You really can’t beat Rome for history. Now comes the adventure, take a ferry to Egypt. Go to Cairo and possibly Alexandria if that’s where the ferry lands. OK, now you’ve seen in one week history from 5,000 years ago, to the Roman Empire, and the Renaissance, and you’ve had great Middle Eastern cuisine, Tuscan, and Roman food. I really wanted to do this when I was in Italy, but I couldn’t fit Egypt into my schedule.

@gussnarp Great ideas, but she’s only planning to go for a week.

@gussnarp that does sound awesome. I will keep it in mind, for the future.

@janbb I know, lots of ideas, but that last post will work for a one week itinerary. You can really do Florence in a day, Pisa in half a day. Rome in two, leaves a day for general kicking around, possibly Cinque Terre, and two for Egypt. Only the Egypt leg consists of real travel time.

Anyway, Lucca, Italy is a great trip for a week on it’s own. You can stay in this charming little walled town with great food and day trip to Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terra, Viareggio (beach town), pretty much anything in Tuscany. Definitely give serious thought to Lucca. I loved it there. They have superior gelato to any more touristy town.

@gussnarp “Superior gelato?” Sign me up!

@janbb I was there for six weeks. We had the gelato places all rated. There are three that are great. Really, all are top notch for quality. There were two we called “the good gelato”, which really meant they gave you a lot. One inside the walls, one outside. Couldn’t give you names or addresses, but I could find them in a heartbeat. But the third, Gelateria Veneta, is well known, it’s in the guide books. In addition to regular gelato, they take fruit, hollow it out, and fill it with fruit flavored gelato. Strawberries, cherries, grapes, apricots. Soooo good.

Once you remove a botfly from your buddy’s back, Belize loses its appeal.

@majorrich Fortunately not many people get botfly. There’s also malaria, and I had a friend who picked up Leishmaniasis, but I don’t recall if that was in Central America or Hawaii. That’s one you want to avoid though.

eeeewwww! Nasty. I think that I will keep my distance from there

Israel. Is real.

@WhiteLotus

Then the tour guide must have lied to us. That’s so disappointing.