Solo traveler ideas - $1500 budget (cruise, rental, hotel, hotels)
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I'm currently planning a vacation for sometime between January and early March. I'm looking at taking an Amtrak (with roomette) from Chicago to San Francisco, spending three nights there, and then flying back home. I've take a couple of train rides with sleeper cars before and I enjoyed the experience but I've always wanted to try the California Zephyr.
In looking for affordable hotels in San Francisco (lol), I came across The Grant Plaza which seems to have reasonable rates. I don't need anything fancy, just safe and close to public transportation. The reviews seem okay but I was wondering if any of you had any experience with that hotel. Also wondering if my budget seems reasonable.
Also, I'm wondering if you have any other ideas of destinations I might want to go to instead. I'm having a hard time deciding. I'm not much of a beach person (I considered a cruise, but all the cruises within that budget were for the Bahamas and Caribbean, though I would love to try a transatlantic cruise someday).
So, what kind of destination/activities are you looking for?
I'm one of those who tends to prefer the journey more than the destination. I've done multiple cross-country road trips and I loved those.
I've always been interested in San Francisco, but I've only been there once and it was just for a few hours, so I didn't get to really experience it.
I prefer more urban settings where I can people-watch. I haven't traveled overseas yet and I don't think that's within my budget but, staying continental, I would like to go to Vancouver, BC sometime.
I would make a few free <24 hr stops on that route from Chi-SF just to take in a few spots that I might never otherwise visit. Take a look at the route and see what options there are (would have to be somewhere that Amtrak runs multiple trains daily)
SF is definitely a city worth visiting for a few days. I don't know that hotel in particular but yeah it's not an easy city to find nice affordable accommodations. You might check out airbnb as well, or if you aren't so particular then Priceline's express deals or Hotwire's hot rate will give you something decent.
I wouldn't want to visit Vancouver in the middle of winter, but you could definitely be on the lookout for one-way cruises along the Pac coast. There's usually one-nighters between Vancouver and Seattle or a bit longer to get down to LA/SD. I'm somewhat like you in that I enjoy the journey as well, so I've always wanted to take that option sometime when I need to get from point a to point b on the west coast.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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I prefer FT Mason hostel in SF, very interesting travelers and tough to beat excellent location. Take a bunch of free public library sponsored tours (available daily) . SF is quite compact and ez to see in 2 days.
Consider renting a car for 24 hrs before your departure (San Jose is often preferred for rental car and departure airport, depends on Carrier, but SWA likely has direct flights to MDW.)
With a car, you could do the following 24 hr loops.
I'm one of those who tends to prefer the journey more than the destination. I've done multiple cross-country road trips and I loved those.
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Then you'd like the repositioning trans-Atlantic crossing. 14 days inside cabin was $850 (double occupancy). Oh I just realized you're single. Maybe you can get a buddy to go with. We LOVED it. All those days at sea to people-watch and wave-watch and shows every night. All you can eat. 5 or 6 ports of call...Celebrity Cruises.
Of course, then you do have to get back...
We loved our road trips too---even slept in our SUV in the back country a few times. So much to see in the remoter areas of the of the U.S. Like I-70 through Utah: "No gas for 110 miles" LOL.
Flights to Europe are insanely cheap right now. What about a quick trip to Spain?
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