Foodie Vacation
I've decided that if I get into grad school I'm treating myself to a vacation next summer. Requirements: international locale, beach, budget friendly, and of course... great local cuisine! Help please???
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28 Comments:
Italy or Croatia
Greece would be nice too.
CJ McD at 3:22PM on 10/12/09
Brazil!
Amazing beaches in Ubatuba, good food is everywhere, you really can't go wrong.
Jamaica is really nice too but theres too many tourists and where there aren't tourists is probably dangerous. It's an amazing country though.
AyeEat at 3:28PM on 10/12/09
corsica!
yayfood at 3:39PM on 10/12/09
My suggestions:
Sicily
Lisbon
Barcelona
Puerto Rico
Koh Pi Pi (Thailand)
Phu Quoc Island (Vietnam)
AnnieNT at 4:33PM on 10/12/09
Costa Rica...the comida tipico es mucho delicioso!
KateRuby at 4:42PM on 10/12/09
I vote for Portugal.
Carioca at 5:10PM on 10/12/09
hoi an, vietnam (and surrounding areas). the flights expensive but it's relatively cheap once you get there. hoi an is a quaint little village with crafts, a farmers market, and lots of farming in the area. you can visit a local farm and learn about how they work. also there's a beach nearby for swimming. i went to vietnam and took cooking classes all over the country, it was awesome.
italy would also be good but is more expensive all in. or turkey!
kristin314 at 5:54PM on 10/12/09
Hamilton, Bermuda. Local, due east of North Carolina ... British, they drive on the wro ... er ... other side of the road ... and decidedly international, with excellent beaches and waters.
LunaPierCook at 6:32PM on 10/12/09
I'm partial to Southeast Asian cuisine: Thailand, Vietnam or even Indonesia would be great choices. As someone else mentioned, Hoi An, Vietnam is well set up for food tourism. In some of these places you can find cooking classes and even guided foodie tours. I'm hoping to do a "street food tour" in Singapore next year.
For something closer to home, consider Mexico, though I can't think of a particular area on a coast that's foodie paradise or anything. You can find good food and budget accommodations all over the country, but there's no real concentration of culinary adventure in any one area, except of course for (unfortunately landlocked) Mexico City, which is packed with great eats of all kinds.
Lorenzo at 6:58PM on 10/12/09
Greece or Thailand. I did Thailand the summer before I started my PhD and luckily the boss let me out for two weeks to explore Greece last summer. Both foodie-worthy and a great treat to yourself before immersing yourself in school.
foodandscience at 7:13PM on 10/12/09
Jamaica, mon. Or Mexico (check out the places recommended by Rick Bayless on his site). Puerto Rico, Costa Rica If you go, I can hook you up with transplants who would be happy to guide you around. The Riviera, Azores. New Orleans, San Francisco and New York, all on the water, all international, no immunizations or passports required.
betteirene at 11:00PM on 10/12/09
Santorini and the rest of the Greek Islands.
shoneyjoe at 3:31PM on 10/13/09
My boyfriend and I are taking a foodie vacation to Portland, Maine at the end of the month! Can't wait, we're basically going just to eat.
alliect at 5:42PM on 10/13/09
The international destinations sound fabulous but in 2008, my BF and I went on what I thought was the ultimate foodie vacation - plus it was an active one. We visited Canyon Ranch during a program they called Five Chefs in Seven Days. Canyon Ranch is a beautiful health resort spa in Arizona. I've wanted to go there for years and he sprang that trip on me. I could not have been happier.
It was nice to see healthier ways to prepare food. We signed up for every hands on course and field trip we could. (We did all of them...LOL.) Interspersed with the exercise encouraged at the spa, we enjoyed a fantastic culinary experience without packing on pounds.
If I had a fantasy international foodie trip, it would be either of the following two:
* A pastry tour of France
* A food tour of Italy
therealchiffonade at 6:01PM on 10/13/09
If "budget friendly" is important, I would steer you away from Europe. Maybe I did it wrong, but I felt like I was bleeding money when I went there. Personally, I would recommend Hong Kong. Look into it!
hungryhungryhippo at 6:22PM on 10/13/09
PUERTO RICO!!! PUERTO RICO!!! PUERTO RICO!!!
Not entirely international because we're a part of the US, but the main language spoken is Spanish and feels Latin all the way. Hey- no passport required. I am not very objective in saying this, but there's no cuisine in the Caribbean like Puerto Rican cuisine... nothing is even close to being better.
But, if you indeed want to use your passport - Greece would be my choice. I am salivating to go soon.
MadelynRodriguez at 9:16PM on 10/13/09
Southeast Asia. Flight is only expensive part. Stay in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (do not come to Singapore or Hong Kong) and you're fine. Enjoy great street food in Bangkok like yam pla duk foo and pad boon fai dang, head to Chiang Mai or Rai in the north for some Khao Soi, and head down to songkla for some amazing crab fried rice.
If you know where to go meals can be had for 30 THB (about 1 USD)!
Paul
accidentalepicurean at 10:16PM on 10/13/09
No one's said Spain?
BrooklynBaker at 9:15AM on 10/14/09
Thanks for all the suggestions! Some of them might be out of my price range. I think I want to wait and do Europe when I have enough money to really enjoy myself. (Unless someone knows how to do Europe for next to nothing.) Right now I'm think somewhere warm and tropical. Probably because it's so cold here in Philly!
wilma at 10:00AM on 10/14/09
Puerto Rico all the way, Wilma. It's a good value, and you can rent a car and go all over the country. I saw every coast in the week I was there, and had a great time doing it. Prices are good. I stayed in Rincon for most of the trip. Added bonus: flights there shouldn't cost much from Philly.
ricestein at 12:46PM on 10/14/09
@BrooklynBaker -- Barcelona is in Spain
AnnieNT at 12:51PM on 10/14/09
@alliect...be sure to go to Becky's on the waterfront for breakfast!!
PoorOldMama at 1:21PM on 10/14/09
If you decide for Puerto Rico... or still need some convincing, ">here's a SE thread where I discussed a few things about Puerto Rican gastronomy, places to eat, places to visit... we'll be waiting for you with open arms. Bring an empty stomach... you'll need it. The PR Tourism company should pay me some commission here...
MadelynRodriguez at 8:16PM on 10/14/09
italy (cinque terre fulfills all requirements), also tuscany without the beach! or the south of france!
jackgib at 8:18AM on 10/15/09
Grand Case, St. Martin. Cheap flights, wonderful and cheap hotels once you are there, great beaches, very international (lots of French people vacation there), great beach bars with live local bands, and of course, really really good French food. Yes, some of the food/presentations can be slightly dated (like probably avant garde in the 90's), but foie gras, langoustines, Sauternes on the beach by torchlight is pretty incredible.
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxzy at 11:52AM on 10/15/09
Try for the Southern part of India, such as Kerala. Totally different experience from what you would imagine India to be like.
If that's too expensive, I second Lisbon. It's my favorite European city. Ginja and roasted chicken from Bon Jardim is my ultimate last meal.
Juman23 at 1:01PM on 10/15/09
Burlington Vermont. One day my husband and I drove all over the state and purchased 16 artisan cheeses in 14 hours. We used priceline and got a crazy deal on a hotel, lake Champlain was right down the street, tons of local food and Montreal was only 2 hrs away. We loved it!
kls2003 at 4:20PM on 10/15/09
Awesome thread. Please tell us what you decided, Wilma.
Lorenzo at 10:46PM on 10/17/09