The best or memorable vacation spot was...

For me Paris, Oslob in Philippines and Maldives.

Im not into Europe but Paris was where I proposed and Maldive is just simply a beautiful tranquil place. Oslob was where I fulfilled one of my bucket list by diving with Whale Sharks.

Svalbard, because…
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For breathtaking beauty:
Canadian Rockies
Oregon coast
Kalalau trail Kauai

Had a totally unexpected encounter with a whale shark while heading back from a dive in Hawaii. Captain stopped the boat and everyone grabbed their masks and fins and jumped in. It hung around with us about 5 minutes before moving on. That was memorable but not a reliably repeatable experience.

My most memorable vacation spot Barcelona in 1977 during the first presidential election after the death of Franco and hearing gunshots and explosions as we walked down the street. It was a (very) short but memorable visit

Impossible question, but the first thing that comes to mind is Kyoto.

More recently, the Norwegian fjords last summer were life-affirming beyond all (high) expectations.

Paris and Tokyo are the places I’d most like to revisit annually.

Kyoto in the fall with the leaves in full color very nearly made my top 3.

Keep hearing about the Norwegian fjords. Needs to go on our list.

My most memorable was a stay in Roses, Spain about 10 years ago, where we had the penthouse suite at a beach-front hotel. That night was the Festival of San Joan (summer solstice), and they had a massive fireworks display right in front of our hotel. Really cool.

Kala Patthar at approximately 18,200 ft, a peak adjacent to Everest with the best views.
I’ve been to more memorable places, but not on vacation.

I posted this in one of the Spanish threads. My favorite trip we took was Granada → Toledo → Madrid → El Escorial → Segovia → Avila → Zamora → Santiago de Compostela → Salamanca-> Cáceres → Mérida → Trujillo → Sevilla → Granada. The parador in Santiago is adjacent to the cathedral and is breathtaking. We had a beautiful suite that over looked the plaza in from of the cathedral.

A few come to mind:

  • a small village in Cambodia (can’t remember the name) but the poorest of poor living conditions, with kids laughing and kicking a shoe as a soccer ball. Happiness found anywhere. It was deeply impactful and memorable.

  • bora bora, honeymoon.

  • trekking gorillas in Uganda. Just how similar to humans these amazing animals are. Wow

  • cruising in the Galapagos and watching sunset. The island tours were nice, animals sure. But man those sunsets were as beautiful and as peaceful moments as I can remember.

Wow, so many…

Bolzano, Italy
Ravello, Italy
Gordes, France
St Remy, France
Pinhao, Portugal
Telluride, Colorado
Crested Butte, Colorado
Orcas Island, Washington
Grand Marais, Boundary Waters Minnesota
Door County, Wisconsin
Bitter End, Virgin Gorda, BVI
Moab, Utah

Ravello is a great call. Magical place.

Myrtle Beach S.C., with 8 days of golf and a group of 24
Pebble Beach, with 3 days of golf and a group of 24 that cost more than Myrtle Beach

I lived in Japan for 3 years and it was so memorable, I’d love to vacation there.

Probably where I went with my family on holiday every year as a kid. Nothing beats spending the summer at the beach with a huge group of friends you’ve known almost your whole life. Mass games of cricket and touch rugby on the beach, waterskiing every morning and evening when the sea was flat calm and sailing or swiming the rest of the time. Abersoch, north wales.

Canadian Rockies
Bhutan
Nagasaki
Hokkaido
Quemoy

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Yup.
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The Asturian Mountains in Northern Spain
Cinque Terre, Italy
Luxemburg

Most memorable in no particular order:

Walking (hiking) the various sections of The Great Wall

Hiking all of Cinque Terre

Experiencing Hojuzan Risshaku Temple in Yama-dera Japan

These are three gems for those who appreciate the outdoors!!! I like your phrase “reliably repeatable experience”, since many of our own most memorable vacations have a bit of serendipity in them. We may have set the stage, but the special experiences “just happened”. These three destinations are pretty sure to please.

Prague, 1992
Hanoi
Cinque Terre (before the hordes discovered it)
Taroko Gorge, Taiwan