Ask Lemmy

Rail vacations are amazing for exploring. Here are my favorites:

• Kyushu region in Japan is incredible on rail. In particular the Aso volcano area and anything south-east of it. Almost no one is there - you can get the front car and see in front of the train almost every trip. Incredible, super cheap, super underrated.
• Taiwan has entire rail looping around it that you can do scenic 3 day journey and it's incredible especially during autumn or spring.
• China has amazing routes but rail experience is pretty bad if you aren't alone with noise canceling headphones (people are really loud on Chinese trains). Chengdu to Kunming is my favorite route
• Switzerland rail is still incredible despite being a bit packed and expensive but if you can afford it and find good timing it's incredible though Swiss towns are kinda boring once wow factor wears of - once you've seen one you've seen all.

In general rail tourism is incredible. Really cheap and accessible these days!

The California Pacific Coast highway offers a ton of scenery. Half of it is the ocean, the other half is constantly changing terrain. I've gone south from San Francisco and would like to try north sometime. I'm a stargazer, so heading into Big Sur at night was a treat with such low light pollution, though winding cliffaide roads aren't everyone's cup of tea, especially at night. Still, it provides a wide array of cliffside features.

Acadia in Maine, USA is gorgeous, but hard to reach if having to fly there. Just something unique about the pines and topography.

If you have a day near Denver, Colorado, USA, then Pike's Peak is an action-packed mountain experience. If you have a few days, I'd say Rocky Mountain National Park

Banff Canada is another wild mountainous area.

Influenced by Fairly Odd Parents, I saw no real reason to see the "big hole in the ground" called the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA. I was quite wrong as it's tremendous. I even tried hiking down. I compared our wall color to what I could see across the valleys and realized we didn't even make a dent in the descent. Hours were spent. Remember to plan to spend twice as much time ascending. It's also a dark sky certified park and offers great stargazing from near the visitor center. The park doesn't close, which makes sense, as it takes 12-24 hours to cross.

I'd revisit any of these if I was in the area. I mostly seek out new places though. Edit: these are all free/"low cost" at under $100 per visit for entry. I mean, it's not like resort pricing. Obviously travel to the nearest city and potentially renting a car adds to the cost, but that's variable to the visitor.

Definitely thought we were talking about Actual Budget the budgeting software 🤣

I was one administrative hurdle away from relocating my life to New Orleans.

As soon as you are away from burbon street there is such a beautiful rich exuberant culture that felt immediately comforting to me.

Honestly, India.

It has just an insanity and intensity to it that you won't find anywhere else. The drawbacks are real, the filth and trash is on another level, the poverty can be emotionally paralyzing to witness, the food just spectacular, but first and foremost the nature and the pure adventure that you can still find in spite of the social mediafication and digitalization of everything.

I was there 25 years ago so before the forced digital enema that took over the world, and it was a once in a lifetime experience I deeply cherish to this day.

I went there last year again and while much of the mystery is lost because of the above, India is simply so massive and diverse that it still gives that culture shock arriving from a Western country.

Home.

Explore your home area as if you're a tourist and you'd be surprised the things you find to do that you'd never thought of before.

Most of us don't explore our homes anywhere near enough because we're busy working and then pushed to "get away" for a holiday.

Sopot Poland. Beautiful oceanfront, cheap, and so many pierogi.

Also, one of the best times I’ve ever had on vacation was at a cruise stop in Ensenada. The trick was walking far enough from the port they expected pesos then hanging out at a bar where the workers all had face tattoos. Very cool blokes and we might have found a local ski resort too; iykyk.

My local library. I hadn't been to a library since I was in school, over 10 years ago now. Went recently with a friend to try 3D printing and was surprised how many services were offered entirely for free.

About 20 miles north of NYC there are cheap hotels, hilly county roads through small towns, nice hikes (paved or natural), bookstores, distilleries, old cemeteries, etc.

South Padre Island in Texas. During tourist season it's packed, but much of the year you can have the beach mostly to yourself.

The beach, costs nothing for me to visit.

Some decent publicly accessible woodland closer to home could be nice.

I really enjoyed caye caulker in Belize. Super chill island vibe, low cost, great food and scuba diving.

Basically any of the trails in the Municipality of Anchorage, Chugach State Park, or Mat-Su valley in Alaska.