* Dean Jackson <[email protected]> [2009-03-25 07:53+1100]
> Gerald (and friends, who I assume are nearly as well-traveled as Gerald),
>
> I have a free airfare that expires in August (on One World partners).
> I'm looking for advice on where to go and you are probably the most
> touristy person I know. More importantly, you seem to really love it
> so I figure this is the type of question you're passionate about!

Cool... I have always wanted to tell you where to go.

> What I'd like:
>
> - scenic
> - outdoorsy (eg. trail walking, etc)
> - relaxing, which doesn't mean doing nothing. I probably mean "quiet"
> - preferably cheap, but doesn't need to be sleep under a bridge cheap.
> - no big cities
> - no snow! (it's spring/summer after all)
> - only needs to be a few days (I'm approaching this as if it is a
> freebie travel opportunity, not a fully planned holiday)

My first inclination was to suggest southeast asia because it's
pretty amazing in terms of bang-for-your-buck and being easy and
comfortable while being mind-blowingly different. (Vietnam or
Thailand for an easier trip; Cambodia, Laos or Burma for more
difficult but less busy/touristy)

But that doesn't really match your criteria above in terms of
scenic, outdoorsy, and relaxing, unless you go out of your way to
find those things while you're there. (e.g. Laos has good trekking,
and you can relax on beaches and/or scuba dive in Thailand)

So:

> My current thoughts:
>
> - New Zealand

I haven't been there myself but can't wait to go and I think it
would meet your criteria above very well.

> - Hawaii (initially very hesitant, but people assure me that other
> islands are nice... although they were all Americans)

I was *really* pleasantly surprised with my trip to Hawaii last
year: it's beautiful, the climate is great, and the people are
generally very friendly; we weren't even hassled for spending
10 of our 14 nights there camping on the beach.

The Big Island was fantastic, and amazingly diverse; Maui and
Oahu are more developed but still nice. (we were able to find
free spots to camp in Maui even though it's full of resorts.)
Kauai sounds good too but I haven't been there yet.

But Hawaii would probably be expensive if you weren't doing it on
the cheap like we were, and probably not as fun as a solo trip.

> - Whistler (I have a chance for cheap accommodation)

Whistler is awesome, especially in the summer :) It meets all
your criteria perfectly. The nice thing about summer (in addition
to the weather) is that most of the Aussies clear out ;)

It can be less fun if the weather is bad (e.g. raining the whole
time you're there) but that would be pretty unlucky. My possibly
wrong perception is that the weather is excellent about 80% of
the time from June through September: there are lots of weeks
where it's 20-35C and sunny every day, and it always cools down
to 5-15C at night.

Hugo and EricP have also made convincing threats to visit this
summer. Definitely come visit if you can... get in touch to
discuss dates before booking a flight, just in case.

You might consider combining it with a trip to this music festival
near Seattle on May 23-25: http://www.sasquatchfestival.com/
(pretty amazing lineup!)

I don't really have a plan for that yet... will probably camp
nearby with friends and commute to/from the site each day.

The weather in Whistler is somewhat less predictable in late May.
(generally pretty good but maybe more likely to rain a bit)

--
Gerald Oskoboiny <[email protected]>
http://impressive.net/people/gerald/