Where to Go in a Hot Tub Time Machine

Travel experts tell ABC News the places and years they would visit if possible.

ByABC News
March 25, 2010, 2:48 PM

March 26, 2010— -- Yes, you read the headline correctly. Usually, we try to give you a look at amazing travel destinations or tips on how to save on your next vacation.

But today... well, today we are having a bit of oddball fun. With the release of the new movie "Hot Tub Time Machine" (four friends get into a hot tub and end up in 1986; do you really need to know more?) we decided to ask some leading experts in travel what they would do if they had a hot tub time machine.

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(Of course, feel free to add your own travel suggestions in the comment section.)

You can imagine the silence on the phone when we first told them what we were doing, but luckily some of the world's top travelers have a good sense of humor. So, without further delay, here are the times and destinations they would travel to and why:

If I had a hot tub time machine I would travel back to 900 B.C., to the Cycladic Island of Delos off the coast of Mykonos. The people of that time worked hard and played harder. In fact, the whole island, now a UNESCO world heritage site, looks less like it was sacked centuries ago and more like it's suffering the aftereffects of a major kegger: ruined temples and 1,000-year-old marble columns laying like beer cans all over the place.

But even so the ruins now are stunning to behold -- and my hot tub travel machine would certainly fit nicely into one of the stately homes with atriums and mosaic floors. There was also proper plumbing back then so if the tub overflowed with all my new ancient friends, no problem -- the water would go down the pipes.

This was definitely a very cosmopolitan city in its day and one the most important centers of commerce. But in the middle of the island near the Temple to Apollo is a towering large phallic statue. In fact they worshiped this symbol with weeklong celebrations that would make the men in "Animal House" blush. This is no Abercrombie and Fitch tour, it's hot tub time travel at its best.