Vacation Plan Help!!

[tarheelpenner]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hello all!

Like 95% of you I'm sure, I am planning on taking a vacation before medical school as a kind of last hurrah before I lose myself to studying for the next 8-10 years (lol). I have three options and I am unsure of which one I want to do. Looking for opinions!

1. A 9 night cruise to the Bahamas and Bermuda, all planned out and food/beverages included ($2,000)

2. A two week trip to Las Vegas and California, as well as a separate trip to Niagra Falls ($1500-$2000)

3. 14 Days in Europe (flying into barcelona) ($2000-$2500).

Me being an indecisive person, I'm looking for some opinions to help me make my choice. On a side note, I am thrilled that after the stress and horror that was this application cycle, I finally get to relax and think about fun things for a while before buckling down.

 

[AAAmeds]

I would go with option 3 just because I think Europe is super cool, and that's what I am going to do this summer too. Just a note that it depends on where you are from and where you are going to specifically, but for me a 10-day vacation in Europe would cost at least $3000, since the hotels are super expensive in the summer. Congrats on your acceptance!!

 

[tarheelpenner]

I would go with option 3 just because I think Europe is super cool, and that's what I am going to do this summer too. Just a note that it depends on where you are from and where you are going to specifically, but for me a 10-day vacation in Europe would cost at least $3000, since the hotels are super expensive in the summer. Congrats on your acceptance!!

Thanks! 🙂 I would be flying into Barcelona which is only like $504 for a round trip plane ticket. Then through staying in air-bnb's, I'm just keeping my price down that way.

 

[all things possible]

Congrats on getting accepted to medical school!

Vacations are always a positive, especially when you might not get one for a while after this summer.🙂

1. I honestly think this is quite costly for a cruise (even for 9 days). Check out lastminutecruises.com for deals. This can also depend on what port you are departing from and what kind of boarding you choose (ocean view, private, etc.)

2. This sounds like fun but also can be more expensive than that. Did you budget airfare, transportation, lodging? Do you have family in these places or will you be traveling with some friends to help defray cost? Also, have you ever been out of the country before (besides Canada) and have you visited these states before?

3. My favourite option of course! Barcelona is beautiful and not as expensive compared to the rest of many Western European cities like London, Paris, etc. Airfare to Spain is also reasonably priced.

 

[efle]

Have you been to Europe before? It's amazing. For a few grand you can stay in AirBnBs, get cheap flights/ride trains, and see a bunch of very different countries in just a few weeks. I vote Europe

 

[tarheelpenner]

Have you been to Europe before? It's amazing. For a few grand you can stay in AirBnBs, get cheap flights/ride trains, and see a bunch of very different countries in just a few weeks. I vote Europe

I went for a month last summer and LOVED it. Guess I should have mentioned that in my original post. I would love to go back (especially to Spain which was my fave)

Congrats on getting accepted to medical school!

Vacations are always a positive, especially when you might not get one for a while after this summer.🙂

1. I honestly think this is quite costly for a cruise (even for 9 days). Check out lastminutecruises.com for deals. This can also depend on what port you are departing from and what kind of boarding you choose (ocean view, private, etc.)

2. This sounds like fun but also can be more expensive than that. Did you budget airfare, transportation, lodging? Do you have family in these places or will you be traveling with some friends to help defray cost? Also, have you ever been out of the country before (besides Canada) and have you visited these states before?

3. My favourite option of course! Barcelona is beautiful and not as expensive compared to the rest of many Western European cities like London, Paris, etc. Airfare to Spain is also reasonably priced.

1. Cruise is expensive but it's leaving out of a port right next to my hometown, so I would not have to fly to florida. Flying is a huge thing for me (read: I hate it) Good website, I'll check it out.

Edit: should also mention this price includes $300 unlimited beverages package, $250 pre-paid gratuities, and $300 worth of shore excursions and long term parking for my car. Literally, door to door no expenses spared

2. Everything is budgeted out. I have never been out west or seen these states before, and I have gone to Europe. That's why this option was appealing.

3. Barcelona is amazing. I would love to see la sagrada familia again. Do you think I can go back to Spain again and feel like I'm not repeating anything? (I've been for 10 days last summer)

 

[efle]

I went for a month last summer and LOVED it. Guess I should have mentioned that in my original post. I would love to go back (especially to Spain which was my fave)

Make sure to go see Rome/Italy, that and Prague were favorites of mine

 

[tarheelpenner]

Make sure to go see Rome/Italy, that and Prague were favorites of mine

Saw Rome and Italy last time too. I spent 10 days in spain, 13 in Italy, then Paris, London, and Amsterdam. Prague would be awesome, maybe I'll look into that!

 

[efle]

Saw Rome and Italy last time too. I spent 10 days in spain, 13 in Italy, then Paris, London, and Amsterdam. Prague would be awesome, maybe I'll look into that!

Yeah Prague and Budapest would both be recommendations from me. Your money also goes very, very far. You can have an extremely nice meal of several courses or go have a bunch of fancy beers for like 25% of what it would cost here.

 

[all things possible]

I went for a month last summer and LOVED it. Guess I should have mentioned that in my original post. I would love to go back (especially to Spain which was my fave)



1. Cruise is expensive but it's leaving out of a port right next to my hometown, so I would not have to fly to florida. Flying is a huge thing for me (read: I hate it) Good website, I'll check it out.

Edit: should also mention this price includes $300 unlimited beverages package, $250 pre-paid gratuities, and $300 worth of shore excursions and long term parking for my car. Literally, door to door no expenses spared

2. Everything is budgeted out. I have never been out west or seen these states before, and I have gone to Europe. That's why this option was appealing.

3. Barcelona is amazing. I would love to see la sagrada familia again. Do you think I can go back to Spain again and feel like I'm not repeating anything? (I've been for 10 days last summer)

1. I've never been on a cruise but I bet it would be easier to go on one during a break in medical school. Maybe during spring break for 4 or 5 days. I just don't get as excited about cruises at I do about visiting other countries

2. This option does become more viable since its a place you have never explored before.

3. As much as I loved Barcelona when I visited, I think it would be nice if you visit new places.

 

[tarheelpenner]

1. I've never been on a cruise but I bet it would be easier to go on one during a break in medical school. Maybe during spring break for 4 or 5 days. I just don't get as excited about cruises at I do about visiting other countries

2. This option does become more viable since its a place you have never explored before.

3. As much as I loved Barcelona when I visited, I think it would be nice if you visit new places.

True, but if I'm not flying into barcelona the trip just became $200+ more expensive. Good point about the cruise. Will I even have money to do that in med school though? lol.

 

[efle]

True, but if I'm not flying into barcelona the trip just became $200+ more expensive. Good point about the cruise. Will I even have money to do that in med school though? lol.

Really? I flew to Scandinavia for like, $300 (out of LAX via Norwegian Airlines). There are some cheap places to fly to that are also worth a visit

 

[tarheelpenner]

Really? I flew to Scandinavia for like, $300 (out of LAX via Norwegian Airlines). There are some cheap places to fly to that are also worth a visit

It's expensive to fly out of PHL for some reason. It was cheaper when I lived in NC.

Edit: Just realized I could probably also fly out of BWI which is way cheaper.

 

[all things possible]

True, but if I'm not flying into barcelona the trip just became $200+ more expensive. Good point about the cruise. Will I even have money to do that in med school though? lol.

Yeah flying into Barcelona is cheaper. Also check out flying into Rome as it's closer to Prague and Budapest.

The 4-5 day cruises from my port are as low as $300, and I don't plan to do excursions or drink or anything like that. The 2nd year medical students at the school I'm attending actually planned a class cruise for this past spring break so I'm sure it's affordable!

Whatever you decide, just be safe and enjoy!

 

[dpmd]

Is that cruise price because you are going alone and have to pay the single supplement? Have you ever been on a cruise before? Does the thought of bursts of activity with periods of lazing around appeal to you? I absolutely love going on cruises because I am too frugal to try new foods or get fancy foods most of the time unless it is included. I love laying on a deck chair and reading in the sun on sea days. I eat, drink booze (that I smuggle on the ship because it is cheaper that way), eat, maybe check out a show, eat, chill, eat, repeat. Shore days we usually do a snorkeling trip when in places that is appropriate, or do hiking or other active stuff (order a room service sandwich the night before and you can pack your own lunch-score!). But it isn't for everyone. Some people hate the sea days (and the longer cruises often have more sea days) and aren't into the food. But if you have someone fun to go with (or even a few someones, you can pack more people into a cabin and get the price per person down) it could be awesome.

I don't really care for las vegas. I don't do clubbing or gambling so there isn't much for me there besides the buffets (which are overpriced versus what they used to be). As for California there is a variety of stuff to do which could be cool. Just depends on what you want to do.

Europe is cool. The flight is long and painful, but at least you would be there for a while. Have been a few times including living in Germany for 14 months and there is usually new stuff to explore even if you have been to the same towns before.

 

[Upstage]

Honestly I'm applying this upcoming cycle and used this year to actually move to Europe. While 2 weeks is way shorter than my year this side of the world is so different and there is so much to see. Flights are super cheap if you buy them ahead of time(about 100 sometimes) I booked a trip last month from Paris-Berlin-Rome-Athens-Parris in 8 days for 2 people for only about 400 dollars. It's so worth it


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[TheRealJohnDorian]

Cruise if you want to literally relax and lay on the beach and have everything planned out for you. Europe if you want to plan everything yourself (I've done it and it took months to plan a 10 day trip), and enjoying the adventure of figuring out everything yourself and walking everywhere to explore. I personally would pick Europe because I like an adventure (read: having a loose plan but getting lost a lot and finding cool stuff). But if you don't want to deal with the potential headache and time it will take to take a trip to Europe I would go with the cruise.