2011 vacation dreams and realities: What readers said

We asked readers where they would go if money and time were no object, and where they were likely to go in 2011. Thailand for dental work, one said. A trip with a friend to France, another said. Here are some of the other responses; you can see the rest online at latimes.com/whatreaderssaid. Bon voyage!

Incredible India

The pull of India is irresistible. Every positive aspect of travel exists — the sights within the cities, the streets, the myriad faces. It’s steeped in colorful traditions, and it seduces and transforms the traveler.

Brian Haimer

Malibu

Regal Rockies

If money were no object, I would travel with my husband on the Royal Canadian Rockies Experience, a totally decadent train trip (https://www.royalcanadianpacific.com/rockiesexperience.html) in restored vintage cars. National Geographic Traveler flagged it as a “Tour of a Lifetime.” Sounds perfectly grand.

For now, though, we’ll be using frequent-flier miles to London, where we will visit our granddaughter who is studying there for a semester. We then plan to take the train to Edinburgh, Scotland, and then drive to Peebles, where my grandfather was born. Not a bad trip, but not one in which we can indulge ourselves in unbridled luxury like the Royal Canadian Rockies train ride.

Cathie Brown

Los Osos, Calif.

Chew on this

How about a dental vacation to Thailand? I am 60 and want to have at least one more good time before I take a dirt nap, plus doctors here want $50,000 to fix my teeth. I can pay $14,000 in Thailand.

Noelle Drew

Culver City

Local luxury

If time and money weren’t an issue, we would travel to Jerusalem to take my wife’s 82-year-old mother; Machu Picchu, Peru, to have the spirits move us; Rio to dance in the streets during Carnival; and Paris to embrace the sights and romance of the city.

But we’ll be closer to home: My wife and I will ring in the New Year at L.A. Live by spending two nights at the JW Marriott. The weekend before Valentine’s Day, we will fly to the Bay Area to visit my 102-year-old uncle and travel to Vacaville to visit my wife’s sister. In March, I will attend the Black Ski Summit in Steamboat, Colo.

In October, my wife and I plan to go to Vegas to celebrate our anniversary. We celebrated our 30th this year at the Aria; next year we plan to stay at the Cosmopolitan.

The Friday after Thanksgiving, my sisters and I do a day and night staycation to remember and celebrate our mother’s life. November of next year will be our fourth annual, and it’s my turn to select the accommodations. The Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills is being considered.

Chris Watkins

Los Angeles

Greece is the word

If time and money were unlimited, my husband and I would go on a cruise of some Greek islands to celebrate his 60th birthday. We would choose Greece, and specifically the islands, because it would be warm, sunny, beautiful, and it would make us feel young and carefree. Also, my husband is a fan of Greek history.

Anna Dixon

Long Beach

Vineyard time

If time and money were unlimited, I would travel throughout France for an entire vineyard year.

For me, that would be pure heaven. In April, I am taking my best friend from college ( UCLA ‘76) on a whirlwind two-week trip to share with her some of my favorite spots in France and Italy.

After a few days absorbing the ever-changing Paris scene, we will pick up a rental car and journey to Burgundy. We will make the quintessential Abbaye de la Bussière our home base, while meandering through the vineyards and villages. Then it’s onward to Italy, along the coast to Rapallo, Santa Margherita and the Cinque Terre. Then, we’ll head inland to Montecatini and the rolling hillsides of Tuscany. Two full days in Florence, overnight in Verona, and two more days in Venice should satisfy our penchant for museums and cathedrals and history — until I return home, and plan my next journey.

Julie Blumberg

Newport Beach

Stay awhile

Next summer we plan to continue our ongoing exploration of Europe by finally heading east of Munich. We are heading to Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia. We are expecting the people to be as friendly and nice as they have been in all the countries we have visited so far. There is a great value in spending enough time in each country to get to know it.

Kenneth J. Hoffer

Santa Monica

Using a refund

Our cruise on Carnival’s Splendor, scheduled for next month, was canceled because of the ship fire. We decided use our refund to travel on a cruise in June to the Mediterranean, somewhere we have been aiming to visit for a long time.

Tony Miranda

Lancaster

Hello, Asia

Our first trip of the year will be to Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary as well as a significant birthday. In addition to touring these cities, we will travel on the Eastern and Oriental Express from Bangkok to Singapore. We are looking forward to staying at the Raffles Hotel when in Singapore. This will be our first trip to Asia.

Our second trip will be with my husband’s family to Fort Myers, Fla., in March to see the Boston Red Sox in spring training. We’re planning to rent a house there.

Our last trip of the year will be renting a motor home and driving to Oregon. We’re testing our retirement dream, which is to travel the country in a motor home. We’re doing it now in small bites to see if this lifestyle suits us. We will visit the wine areas of Oregon.

L. and P. Japp

Los Angeles

Due south

Unlimited time and money: To experience extreme opposites in one vacation, I would combine two cruises — one to Antarctica (covering much of Chile and Argentina) and one to include the Amazon (covering much of Brazil). And knowing that the price to Antarctica will start at $10,000 a person (because the only travel option will be on smaller ships), this would warrant an “unlimited” source of funds. Some of the above will be accomplished with a 30-day cruise to South America early next year with additional stops on land to Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls and Rio de Janeiro. However, no stops in Antarctica or the Amazon. The diverse beauty of the scenery (Chilean fjords and glaciers, immense water volume of Iguazu Falls and Rio’s picturesque mountains and beaches) and experiencing the differing cultures of the various South American countries that will be visited was a major factor in selecting these destinations.

Dale and Barbara Joyner

Culver City

Fit for goddesses

With unlimited funds, I would go to Greece on the Goddesses Go to Greece luxury tour. I think I would melt right into the azure Aegean Sea. Delicious.

Anne Youngblood

Brentwood

It’s no safari

Time is not a problem as much as money. I’d love to go on safaris, traveling from Kenya and Tanzania overland past Victoria Falls to Botswana, and winding up in South Africa. Instead, I’ll go on another budget trip, riding the rails from Singapore to eastern Thailand, taking buses to Siem Reap and Saigon, and then trains to Hanoi, Guilin, Beijing, Ulan Bator, Irkutsk and Moscow, from which I’ll fly home via Istanbul.

Carl Boyer

Santa Clarita

On the road again

In the early fall of 2011, we are planning a car trip, with friends, traveling from Southern California to Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans and back. We haven’t been on a car trip since we took our four grandchildren on a trip to Las Vegas, Salt Lake, Reno, Nev., San Francisco, Monterey Bay Aquarium and back home. It has taken us 10 years to recuperate!

Don & Yvonne Phillips

Big Bear

An eventful 80th

I will be 80 years old in 2011, am married and in reasonable health.

Our travel plans: Maui in December for rest and relaxation. Tucson for gem and jewelry shows in February.

Montreal in May. Pacific Grove in June for a family reunion and my 80th birthday party.

Murray Rosenbluth

Port Hueneme

A Grand time

We are rafting the Colorado River in 2011, spending eight days running the rapids. I’ve always wanted to raft the Colorado, partly because my parents made sure I was infected with the love of the canyon through backpacking trips during my adolescence. Although I have traveled around the world, no destination has replaced the Grand Canyon in my heart. I have been to the bottom of the canyon many times but never spent more than three days at a time inside the walls. That I will be inside those ancient red walls for over a week is almost too good to be true. I can’t wait.

Nancy Steele

Altadena

Plenty in U.S.

With unlimited time and money, my 2011 travel plans would focus on the United States. Some travelers might yawn over a domestic itinerary, but my eyes haven’t yet seen many parts of my native country. Now’s a good time to savor a taste of each state’s landscapes, history, food and residents. I hope to celebrate a big birthday by spending a long weekend in London with my younger sister, who lives in Berlin, before going to Edinburgh to visit a high school friend and absorb Festival Fringe. Doesn’t that sound like a brilliant way to celebrate a 40th birthday?

Amy Hooper

Costa Mesa

Home to Germany

My funds are limited for traveling, but that won’t deter me. I am originally from Germany and have not been there in at least 10 years. My 11-year-old needs to see where I am from and what makes me who I am. We will go on a fantastic castle-hopping tour in Bavaria. We will start in the northern part, where I’m from, and tour a bunch of old ruins and (for me) taste some great, intensely rich and dry wine of the “Frankenland,” eat mushroom stew and venison — I can taste it already. As we head southbound, driving along the “romantic street,” we will, I hope, partake in some of the traditional wine or beer fests. We will stay at small-town bed-and-breakfasts or stay with the locals, who are often open to renting out cheap rooms. One for sure thing will be the bike tours through the Taubertal and a city tour of Rothenburg, one of the true antiques of the Medieval area.

Sigrid Caldera

Monrovia

Just cruising

My wife, Monica, and I will cruise around the Australian continent on the Dawn Princess, with a pre-cruise stay in Sydney. Then in summer back-to-back cruises: a Greek Isle cruise ( Athens to Istanbul) and a Black Sea cruise with pre- and post-cruise stays in Athens and Istanbul, respectively. In December, an island-hopping cruise in the Indonesian archipelago with a pre-cruise stay in Singapore and a post-cruise side trip to India.

Murali Srinivasan

Marina del Rey

Grandkids’ requests

In a weak moment I promised all eight of my grandchildren I would take them on a trip of their choice when they graduated from high school. We have done Indonesia, Japan, Egypt, a Caribbean cruise and Africa. It wasn’t until a few years ago I realized I will have two graduating in 2011, and they’re holding their Grammy to her promise. Granddaughter Kristina has dreamed of visiting Paris, so we’re taking a river cruise on the Seine and ending in the city of her dreams. Grandson Kurt chose Australia and New Zealand. Thank goodness, the next and last grandchild doesn’t graduate until 2017.

Norma Boehne

Temple City

Swim with sea turtles

My girlfriends and I are going to Costa Careyes in January for a week of beach riding, sun and swimming with the sea turtles. We read about how safe and preserved the area is and want to support Mexico as a destination. There is a wonderful sea turtle sanctuary there we hope to visit and a new cultural center. It is low-key and just what we all need to start the new year.

Laura Urquidez

Ballard, Calif.