educational vacation spots.

[Cliche Guevara]

I want to go on vacation with my parents and sister, and I really don't want to go to some like party cruise or something embarrassing like that. (when you're with your parents).

I was thinking either vatican city or mexico to visit Aztec ruins. Any suggestions?

[AtrainV]

I've been traveling a lot, and for a lot of different purposes. There are definitely some times where my trip has been more educationally-skewed than just the usual vacation.

When I've gone on trips like this, I've found that across the board the trip depends most upon what you bring with you, and less on the actual place.

What I mean by this is that you can make any trip an educational experience if you put the time in beforehand to research this destination and figure out what's interesting about it. Research it to the point where you feel like you could be a tour guide without having been there.

To give an example: Cambodia. Specifically Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat is located.

This place is a tourist trap. Everybody who goes through SE Asia, goes to Angkor Wat. Very few people actually become interested or do the research ahead of time to make this experience worthwhile--they just assume that by going somewhere like this, they will soak up an educational experience.

What I did was read up on hindu mythology and how the characters of certain stories are depicted in various temple carvings. I researched how old temples of the Angkor era were constructed and why there were built the way they were. As a result, I was able to go through and figure out a ton of stuff for myself, with some of my own research behind my belt. It made the experience much more memorable.

So, my advice to you is to pick a place that's already interesting to you (if that's the aztec ruins, then that's fine), and then do a bunch of research. Really get interested in the iconography, the historical relevance, and the cultural background. If you do that, you'll have an amazing time and you'll really learn a lot.

However, don't go to some place just because it seems like it would be educationally validating, as you'll end up being underwhelmed and feeling like every other tourist who is doing the exact same thing.

[Euda]

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/travel/eco-travel/eco-success.html

I've been liking the idea of ecotourism for a while. It's somewhat educational and very down to earth.