Need ideas for interesting destinations most people don't know about

[motion]

The wifey and I will be flying several round-the-world trips during 2015. These are all free business class compliments of Delta for all the miles we've logged in the past 15 months (Thanks, Delta!). Seats are lie-flats, so distances really aren't a concern.

I am looking for ideas. I'm mapping out my first trip, for March, and am already struggling to come up with places that I think are interesting, and I haven't really explored before. For the trip after that, with the wife, we want to concentrate on beaches and islands, so should be a bit easier. So, I need lots of ideas!

Here is how my first trip is looking. I'll be exploring each location for a few days to a week or so.

LAX to Auckland, with a 20 hour stopover in Incheon, South Korea
Auckland to Melbourne
Melbourne to Tokyo
Tokyo to Rangoon, Myanmar
Rangoon to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv to London (explore all of UK and Eastern Europe for 2 weeks)
London to Salvador, Brazil
Salvador back to LAX

Yes, I know this is a ridiculous problem to have, and I thank you all in advance for being constructive.

Some areas I'd love to see, but am a bit unsure of:

Kenya
Morocco
Algeria
Tripoli
Egypt
New Delhi
Nepal
Mongolia
Kazakhstan
Turkey
Iceland
Southern Chile
Amazon rainforest area
Eastern Russia

A buddy and I will be covering Vietnam and Cambodia on bikes next month.

Need to draw on all the travel experience here! UNESCO World Heritage sites? 7 wonders of the world? We are not going to be backpacking. Think 4 star.

[ckelly78z]

A couple of those areas you would like to see are questionable in my mind, I don't think I would venture into Kenya, Turkey or Kazakhstan for the civil unrest in those areas. Just a matter of whether you could guarantee your own security in those regions.

[herr_oberst]

Vietnam
Fiji

[motion]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

A couple of those areas you would like to see are questionable in my mind, I don't think I would venture into Kenya, Turkey or Kazakhstan for the civil unrest in those areas. Just a matter of whether you could guarantee your own security in those regions.

I wouldn't hesitate to go to Turkey right now. Kenya and Kazakhstan I'm not sure about. I've heard that Nairobi is not a very nice place.

[motion]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Vietnam
Fiji

Vietnam next month. Fiji with the wife, for sure

[Reiver]

Ethiopia is a fascinating place with very unique history. Many cultures crossed there and left their mark.
Stay at the Hilton is Addis Abbaba...no problem with English as many speak it.
Ethiopian Airlines is also first class...most of all African airline maint. is done in Addis's airport.

[motion]

Originally Posted by Reiver

Ethiopia is a fascinating place with very unique history. Many cultures crossed there and left their mark.
Stay at the Hilton is Addis Abbaba...no problem with English as many speak it.
Ethiopian Airlines is also first class...most of all African airline maint. is done in Addis's airport.

A white Anglo is OK wandering around Addis Abbaba? I have no idea, really. If so, that would be high on my list.

[Nostril Cheese]

Iceland, Japan and Peru are on my bucket list.

I'll make it there someday.

[ckelly78z]

Make sure wherever you go, to wear the wig in your profile pic, you won't stick as a tourist with that on !

[creaturecat]

Istanbul and the Turkish Mediterranean Coast.
Roman ruins. Ephesus. Fethiye area.

[masraum]

I've done the Amazon rainforest thing, two weeks on the river at the high water period on boat. It was pretty amazing.

Rainy season is Dec-May, so a good time to go is Jun/July. That way it's not always raing, but the water is at the high water mark which allows you to go lots of places by boat. To really do the Amazon thing, you'd need to book a tour on a boat, for, I would think minimum 3-4 days, and a week would be better. You would ride the big boat overnight, and then during the day, there would probably be an excursion or two on smaller boats out into the jungle. Big boat is home base, sleeping, eating, etc... Small boats are tour boats out into the jungle.

The other good time to see the Amazon would probably be Nov/Dec. That's when the water is at it's low point. Then you would still get on a boat for a tour, but most of the excursions would probably be on foot into the jungle. The Nov/Dec trip would have the good fishing, the summer trip, not so much. I would think the best place to start the trip would be Manaus, Brazil, maybe Iquitos, Peru. Manaus is pretty much in the middle of the river and at the covergence of the white water and the black water which is pretty cool to see..

[2porscheguy]

I was going to suggest Fiji as well here.

Motion, with the amount of travelling you get to enjoy....yah, maybe I'm a wittle jealous...you should really change your PP name to In-Motion!

[BRPORSCHE]

islands - Maldives, seychelles

Out of the way - Bariloche, Muscat

[grendiers]

Cuba...

[TimT]

My cousins family recently came back from a few weeks in Namibia, They raved about what a great place it was to visit! Weird looking Baobab trees, huge sand dunes you can Ski or Snowboard on, the people were nice.. etc...

They rented a van ( cousins family = hubby wife+ 5 kids (hubby is a quad, confined to a chair)) drove all over.. Photos I saw of the trip have me interested in heading there with my S/O

[Christien]

In your title you say destinations most people don't know about, but then you say you want 4-star accommodations. Isn't that contradictory? If there are 4-star hotels, it's because people travel there a lot.

There are a number of adventure trips on my list for when our kids are older:
-the far north, maybe even the pole
-amazon river by boat
-camping on the serengeti (with a well-armed guide!)
-canoeing/portaging/camping northern BC/Alaska

Those are a couple off the top of my head. Definitely off the beaten track, but not luxurious by any means.

A bit more on the luxury side of things, I remember reading one of Porsche's travel packages, something to do with driving Cayennes through the Sahara desert. It looked absolutely awesome - adventure paired with comfort and excellent food. Maybe look into that.

[masraum]

The missus and I would like to do a Norwegian Fiord cruise/trip, see the aurora, etc....

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Ulaan Batar, Mongolia.
The island nation of Yap
Kiribati (before it is no more due to rising sea levels)
Santo Domingo, Indian Ocean
Falkland Islands

A few I wouldn't mind checking out (odd / exotic / off the beaten path kinds of places)

[tevake]

I'd second the Seychelles , beautiful unusual islands, exotic plants, nice people, good diving.
I was there in the early 70s. When the airport first opened. So not sure how it may have developed since. But I doubt it's over done.

++ on Fiji. Some of the friendliest people anywhere, great diving. With over 300 islands you can definitely get off the beaten path. And should to experience the best.

Aitutaki in the Cook Islands some of the best dancers and drummers in Polyinesia, big lagoon for lots of diving spots.

Cheers Richard

[tevake]

Galapagos seem like they would be interesting.

Oh how about the Isle of Mann, during race week.