Over Christmas break this year I want to go on a vacation. I want to go some place exotic. I've been to some good places in Europe, Asia, and South America, so I'm looking for something different. I was thinking about Dubai, but I'd much rather hear your input. The more exotic the better.

UAL747

What are you looking for on this trip?

There are tours to Antarctica that time of year. It would be summer by then and it's certainly exotic.  

Senegal is a nice exotic place to visit.
The Amazon, Siberian part of Russia, Bhutan are all rather exotic places too.
Then there is always Cuba.  

Okay, maybe not that exotic. I want a place where I can find a really nice hotel, but I want a place that not a lot of Americans go. Yeah, I'm not the roughing it type of guy.

UAL747

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-Roatan, Honduras
-Liberia, Costa Rica
-Islas Margaritas, Venezuela
-Cuba- Havana, Cienfuego, Varadero, Camaguey, Santiago
-San Andres, Colombia (Beautiful Colombian island in the Caribbean Sea)
-The Seychelles
-The Maldives
-Sun City, South Africa
-Recife, Brazil
-Manaus, Brazil
-Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
-Sharm El Sheik, Egypt
-Malta
-Cape Town, South Africa
-Windhoek, Namibia
-Phuket, Thailand
-Langkawi, Malaysia
-Luang Prabang, Laos
Some exotic destinations in all 4 corners of the globe.
Chepos

Hey ual747,

I'm in Dubai at the moment, and I'm coming back for Xmas again. IMO it would be a good choice, the hotels are great (very luxurious), the beaches are beautiful and the weather is perfect in December. Feel free to ask me any questions ....

If you can afford it - The Whitsunday Islands off the coast of Australia - paradise pure and simple and unspoilt.

CM

Texarkana Arkansas

I don't know what YOU call exotic. But I wouldn't call dubai exotic ...

If you want to go to some exotic places:
Laos (but not the normal Vientiane and Luang Prabang thing)
Cambodia
Myanmar
India
Sri Lanka

But if you already call Dubai exotic you might be happy with a lot of other places like all African, Arabic and Asian countries ...

For Americans i guess Dubai would be considered exotic,for that matter most places outside of Europe and Japan.....UAL747 i am assuming you are American, i would think Dubai would qualify as an exotic for you....(hey im not being sarcastic im simply trying to be logical and hopefully helpful). I would suggest Dubai definately. Other then being an exotic place in the middle east that you can tell your friends about, it has one of the best hotels in the world (even the non famous hotels in Dubai are great), it has fine dining of all kinds from steak houses to shawarma stalls,great shopping of all kinds,lovely beaches and out door activities like desert safari and things like that,good nightlife by western standards but what is different from USA most clubs that you would end up in there would be an abundance of GOEGEOUS(i really mean it!) women from former soviet countries(uzbek,tajik n so forth) and eastern european countries that will go with you for about $120-$150 give or take.....i dont know if you would be interested in that but im just informing you of all the attractions in Dubai and for alot of people that is a big one   ..... Its a very safe place and as an Americans you should have no concerns what so ever...your liscense is good there and you can rent anything from a Toyota Corolla to a Ferrari 360...Dubai ranks probably in the top 5-10 cities of the world for having the hottest cars
Last but not least,another thing that would certainly factor in is the price, and even though i know some people here would disagree with me, Dubai is a very very reasonably priced place(cheap in some things) not only by US standards but certainly for what it has to offer....you can get a room in DXB for $200 that you cant dream of getting in a major US city for $600...cabs r also very reasonable and are everywhere...Other then some of the attractions that i have pointed out, there are tons more that may interest you....
So if i were you i would certainly think hard about Dubai and specially since you wanna go in December, which as Marco pointed out, has the best weather of the year.......Good luck and keep us posted on what you decide.

Right now, Travelocity is showing a fare in late December and early Jan for around $1200USD, which I don't think is too bad. However, I was suprised at how cheap the hotels where, and they all look incredible!. I have to agree with you though, Dubai for most Americans, including me is pretty exotic. Hardly anyone travels to the middle east from the US for leisure. Now if I can just figure out on what airline to get there!

UAL747

You can go to Croatia, and visit the islands on the Adriatic Sea.
You can also see tha ancient city of Dubrovnik they call it "Pearl Of The Adriatic." Its a beautiful country


CB777

pitty you are traveling in December. I am thinking about going to Dubai maybe in a few months on Malaysia Airlines round trip for $399. Offer ends in November. Maybe you can work a few days out before then to capitalize on such a great deal!

Tahiti & Moorea.

Tres Bien.

Magic eyes only!

http://www.wsgforum.com/

How about Burnage?

Signed,
Noel and Liam Gallagher

Take a cruise from Tahiti to Marquisas Islands with the Aranui 3, the Freighter to Paradise !
http://www.aranui.com
Another very "exotic" idea: a trip to Chile, especially the Atacama region, with El Tatio geysers (you have to take a road that climbs around 4800 m!!!), the Chuquicamata copper mina, the "salar de Atacama"
In south of Chile, you can take a boat to the Laguna San rafael, an ice field ending in the see. You will get a 3000 years old ice cube in your drink....
Teva

Exotic is relative. An exotic trip for me would be a trip anywhere on the historic Silk Road.

And if you fly to Chile, why not take a Lan Chile flt to Rapa Nui, that maybe you better know as Easter Island....
Riding a horse between the statues is really great!!!
Teva