[DoubleF]

I'm probably going to be slaughtered by those who love cameras... but here is my suggestion:

(Pitch fork comment) Sony makes great photo taking cameras for idiots (like me, or strangers) who never stray from auto, in the mirrorless and the RX100 lines.

I currently own a NEX 5N. It's "small" but it's still clunky as #### to run around with on a vacation if you don't have a dedicated camera bag. Great low light shots even though the NEX 5N lacks a dedicated flash. I'm considering the RX100 MKI (not MKII) right now for about $550 as a primary and giving my GF the NEX 5N.
The RX100 is smaller and takes great photos (Supposedly comparable to the NEX 5N). The ability of someone picking up the RX100 for the first time and taking a #### picture is excruciatingly low which is important to me. I was playing around with it at a Sony store and could only get blurry photos in semi low light if I moved half an inch after pushing the shutter. It's auto focus (Milliseconds) is way faster than the NEX 5N (1 second?) and I currrently already rarely get blurry photos.

Try the RX100 MK I or MKII and see what you think. Maybe it's not what you want, but give it a spin anyways. It's in your budget, it'll take great pics and it'll save you the weight of a bigger camera when running around on vacation. Even if you feel like a mirrorless or DSLR in the future, the RX100 still will make a great secondary and I don't foresee many point and shoots that size completely humiliating it any time soon. If you want to toy around, it has options, plus you can play with the flash angle to be a little artistic or something (that wobbly flash is actually a feature apparently).