[BlurredSevens]

I'm looking for suggestions and recommendations for adventure travel destinations.

To be specific...places where I can spend some time exploring both nature, culture, and city/night life, all within a 3-4 night period. I know there is always a tradeoff, but some combination of those elements is what I'm looking for.

Here are a couple examples of what I'm getting at:

Puerto Vallarta: access to scuba diving during the day, and some good culture and nightlife in the evenings.

Whistler: world class skiing, and a cool mountain town vibe worth exploring for a night or two in the winter months.

Money isn't the issue here, but time and accessibility is. Hitting the road for a full week isn't really viable for me, but I can squeeze in 3-4 night trips with good frequency, and the occasional longer trip, so that's what I'd like to do.

Ideally, these destinations are within throwing distance of the US (central/south america, caribbean, canada, or within the US itself) but Europe or Asia are not out of the question either for a longer trip mid-summer.

Ideas?

Thanks!

[Chaos]

3-4 nights is not an adventure.
You are looking for a teaser.

[VolandoVengoVolandoVoy]

Guatemala would be a good choice. Stay in Antigua, check out Lake Atitlan. 3-4 days. Short flight from USA.

[BlurredSevens]

(01-01-2015 09:22 PM)Chaos Wrote:  

3-4 nights is not an adventure.
You are looking for a teaser.

Ahh but it is! When time is short, you can do some amazing things.

But, to be fair, let's call it mini-adventures. I have had some amazing trips in short time spans, and I know that it's possible to pull off fun excursions.

For the sake of the thread, I'll say that I can do this in the next 12 months:

Six 4-night trips + two 7-day trips.

[Seadog]

I'd recommend Costa Rica. Lots of great hiking, waterfalls, volcanoes, surfing, rock climbing, zip lining, beaches, and canopy walkways.

Only thing is it can be a bit tricky to get around being central America given your time concern, but there are shuttles that go between all the big cities. It's also considered to be the most developed of all the countries there, so you do have some comfort.

[MdWanderer]

I've been to all three choices above (PV, Antigua,Whitsler) and I would suggest Antigua if you want a combo of all three. I feel that Whistler would be lacking nightlife wise (if you do go go during Ski and Snowboard week around April or May, lots of tourists and some cool pub crawls) and PV is not bad but its more of a resort town (has some nice beaches though). Antigua has a good mix of tourists and locals plus you can explore ancient Mayan pyramids nearby, as well as a volcano near the edge of the city. Plus it has a lot of good bars.

[MrWorldwide]

Puerto Vallarta is really great. IMO I see it on the "relax vacation" side of things more than adventure.

[Tiguere]

Costa Rica, Nicaragua, & El Salvador all work well for this.

In Costa Rica, you can hit San Jose for a few nights and check out Volcan Poas during the day. The next day you can go to Montezuma or Puerto Viejo, both beaches 3-4 hours away. Another day you could hit Monteverde and do the zipline (my favorite activity in Central America outside surfing).

In Nicaragua, you can enjoy nightlife in Managua for a few nights while checking out Volcan Masaya and the market in Masaya during the day. The next day you wake up early and head to Leon to explore the colonial city and go out at night. In the morning you volcano board and then head to the beach for the afternoon. Spend the night at the beach which is only 20 minutes outside Leon and then surf the next day before heading home.

El Salvador offers great nightlife in the capital, San Salvador along with stunning views from mountains near by. The party and surf spot in El Salvador is 45 minutes from the capital, El Tunco. One of the best surf spots in all of CA, El Tunco boosts great waves and good nightlife as well.

All are a quick flight from the US.

[BlurredSevens]

Good stuff guys!

I have done Guatemala in the past, but it might be time for me to travel there again.

I had never considered Nicaragua or El Salvador, so I will do some more research. Both places look cool.

Any thoughts on Honduras? Specifically, Roatan? Sounds like the diving there is top notch, but wondering if the rest of the island is going to be fun to hang out rolling solo.

[Tiguere]

(01-04-2015 01:12 PM)BlurredSevens Wrote:  

Good stuff guys!

I have done Guatemala in the past, but it might be time for me to travel there again.

I had never considered Nicaragua or El Salvador, so I will do some more research. Both places look cool.

Any thoughts on Honduras? Specifically, Roatan? Sounds like the diving there is top notch, but wondering if the rest of the island is going to be fun to hang out rolling solo.

Other than the diving, I didn't hear many good things about Honduras from other travelers during my time in CA. I never went, but I'd imagine rolling solo wouldn't be great there.

[Laner]

A buddy of mine was a dive master on these shark diving tours. The Farallon islands he said were insane during a certain time of year.

High on my to do list, I have loved and feared sharks since I was little kid.

[BlurredSevens]

(01-06-2015 01:04 PM)Laner Wrote:  

A buddy of mine was a dive master on these shark diving tours. The Farallon islands he said were insane during a certain time of year.

High on my to do list, I have loved and feared sharks since I was little kid.

Nice! Exactly the type of thing I had in mind - easy to get to, but I never would have stumbled across that particular excursion. I'll put it on my watch list for this summer.

[Americas]

I had a great time in Whistler. So if you are interested in it, I would definitely recommend. Pretty sure you read the trip report that I posted on it.

[Novus]

I've heard great things about Madagascar if your looking for an adventure, I don't know if 4 nights are enough though

[spaceman]

Queenstown NZ is great. but far far from mainland USA

[Roustabout]

Belize. I went to Ambergris Caye last summer. The diving and snorkeling is great. I can't say that there is a ton of culture, but there are nice restaurants. I went with the gf, so I did not hit the bars at night. It's a 2.5 hour flight from Houston, TX to Belize City. From there, it's a 1.5 hour ferry ride out to Ambergris Caye. Placencia is another spot in Belize that is supposed to be cool. I did not go there, but you might want to check it out as well.