Holiday Ideas?!

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Matt.

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I am starting to think about sorting a holiday out now. I am not sure when it will be, but hopefully within the next 6 months or so (but it may be longer). I like to decide these things early as i am one of those people who loves the whole planning thing!

Anyway, the original plan was Iceland, and this is still a high option, but i am looking for other ideas. What i do have a tendancy to do is go to cold places, and it is about time i got out in some sunshine :lol:

So what i am after is holiday ideas for somewhere hot that i can go to towards the end of the year or early next.

I cannot stand holidays where you sit in some resort and do nothing all day. I like traveling to places and seeing something and doing something. I also dont want to go somewhere with loads of English people.

So i am after some suggestions! Budget will be roughly £1k-£2k for at least a week for one person.

Thanks! :nuts:
 
If you don't want to meet any English try Buenos Aires Argentina, in 5 days I never come across any tourists apart from the other 7 that made up the trip with us.
Most out of the ordinary trip we have ever made, and just a short trip across River Plate to Uruguay.
This was with CTS (China travel service)
http://www.ctshorizons.com/
 
Japan is also worth a visit if you can get the budget down.
Just a pity I did not have a DSLR at the time of our two visits.
 
Japan would be a great adventure, but it isnt for me just yet really.
 
Ok, as you asked for some ideas this is an unashamed plug. We offer holidays in rural Spain, but within easy reach of touristy areas if you need them.

We've got some stunning scenery, mountains on our doorstep and sooo much more.....

You can just chill out with B&B accommodation, or we can show you around. Have a look at our website if you get a couple of minutes, and if you fancy sampling a little of some real Spain let us know :)

And it'll be well within your budget!

Cheers,

Neil
 
:lol:

I have been to rural Spain a few times now with family, but just now it isnt really for me. I am in my early 20s and after adventure! I would like to do as much out of Europe as i can before i get settled down and too old to hack the long flights :nuts:

I have only just started on the whole traveling thing as i had a period of a good few years after leaving home (and the regular yearly holidays abroad!) where i didnt leave the country!

Just to give you some kind of idea of what i have done so far (these are trips on my own - so no, i am not scared of that!)-
- Canada (Toronto, Niagara (WAY too touristy for me), Victoria, Vancouver, Whistler)
- New York City

One of my places i want to go to is Iceland... But what i need is to get rid of the glowing white body i have and go somewhere sunny :thumbs:
 
China?, been there twice, could be an adventure for you.
 
No problem, I can see where you are at...

My son went on an "expedition" to Iceland a couple of years ago and he hasn't stopped raving about it since. It really does sound the place for an adventure!

Cheers,

Neil
 
Recently at work we had a Belgian female graduate. She told us how after finishing Uni she went to Beruit for six weeks. We were all amazed and have always thought of it as a war zone but after seeing her photos it looks amazing. She said she always felt safe and there were no hassels regarding personal security.
 
China is totally not my thing to be honest with you. Beruit would be interesting but i dont think i am that adventurous quite yet!

I was thinking of Fiji at some point though it may be a bit far for this trip. So thinking along those lines, what would you recommend? I like the idea of Fiji because of the diving options as i would like to try that. Though i am not going to anywhere too touristy so keep that in mind too!

Oh and i know that i am very picky!
 
South Africa!

I'm headed off there for 3 weeks over Xmas and NY and can't wait - plan on doing rock climbing, rafting, bungie jumping and some crazy mountain biking. Not to mention some of the greatest wines and wine tasting tours... :naughty:

The scenery is inspiring, the whether amazing and the people are some of the friendliest in the world. Just as long as you're not an African foreigner - in that case you'll be burned alive... :runaway:

Other than that - definitely SA! Cape Town in particular unless you want to do the Safari thing (I'd save this for your golden years though...) :thumbs:
 
Hong Kong...bright, bustling and colourful. I went there a couple of years ago and it was brilliant.

Or Sydney. Went there whilst I was in that part of the world too.
 
MikeeB said:
Hong Kong...bright, bustling and colourful. I went there a couple of years ago and it was brilliant.

Or Sydney. Went there whilst I was in that part of the world too.
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Plenty of tourists at both those places.
 
Before we gave up on airports and long haul trips I always fancied Vietnam but other half was not interested., I have already mentioned Japan but I would recommend it to anyone, A wonderful place and a lovely race who respect people and property, their architecture is just amazing at times. Hiroshima, Kamicazi musuem, the Bullet train, see the very latest in technology well before it reaches our shores.
Tourists are few and far between. Do at least keep it on your list for the future.
I loved it.
 
Why not try Canada? You can do hot & cold in the same day :D
 
Matt. said:
I am in my early 20s and after adventure! I would like to do as much out of Europe as i can before i get settled down and too old to hack the long flights
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Sounds a good plan. I've taken a few small group longhaul trips with Explore and enjoyed them all. Group sizes range from 12 to around 20, but on average are 12 to 16 and can run with as few as 8 people in some destinations. They're also good for single travelers as they pair you up with someone (same sex of course and round about your own age if possible) for room sharing so there's no supplement.

I've done Ghana; southern India; Sri Lanka; and Syria and Jordan with them. Enjoyed every trip with the sole caveat that I found Ghana not to be very photo-friendly.

Bear in mind that most of the tropics will be in their monsoon period until the end of October and maybe into November. November to February or March is the best time for the tropical belt as it tends to be less humid. On the other hand, the Muslim/desert bits of the world are likely to be too hot for comfort until the middle or end of September. These things are important if you are on an active or adventure type of trip.

All of these are a fortnight give or take a day or so and include flights, accommodation, the guide, some meals and all internal transport:

Costa Rica (http://www.explore.co.uk/Tour+Detail+Page.htm?TourCode=CC&BrochureCode=EWW2008) for under £2,000

Guatemala/Honduras (http://www.explore.co.uk/Tour+Detail+Page.htm?TourCode=GM&BrochureCode=EWW2008) for about £1,700

Laos (http://www.explore.co.uk/Tour+Detail+Page.htm?TourCode=LA&BrochureCode=EWW2008) from around £1,650

Cambodia (http://www.explore.co.uk/Tour+Detail+Page.htm?TourCode=CD&BrochureCode=EWW2008) from £1,600

South India (http://www.explore.co.uk/Tour+Detail+Page.htm?TourCode=DS&BrochureCode=EWW2008) from £1,300

Syria/Jordan (http://www.explore.co.uk/Tour+Detail+Page.htm?TourCode=SYJ&BrochureCode=EWW2008) from around £1,100

Ethiopia (http://www.explore.co.uk/Tour+Detail+Page.htm?TourCode=ET&BrochureCode=EWW2008) from around £1,600

Mali (http://www.explore.co.uk/Tour+Detail+Page.htm?TourCode=SMA&BrochureCode=EWW2008) from about £1,900 (this visits the Dogon villages without serious trekking, though there are other trips which do trek and are slightly cheaper)

Some ideas there?
 
^^^
Good selection of ideas there Matt, would have been tempted myself a few years ago when I was was not allergic to the airports and long haul flights.
 
You could try Venezuela or Ecuador? We spent time in Venezuela, down the Orinoco Delta then caught a wee plane to angel falls. Absolutely fantastic. Go see the Amazon rainforest now before it completely disappears of the map due to mans inability to conserve our natural world!!
 
woadrage, thats more the kind of thing i am after. With regards to the group trips, do any young people (ie. early 20s), actually go on them?
 
Matt. said:
woadrage, thats more the kind of thing i am after. With regards to the group trips, do any young people (ie. early 20s), actually go on them?
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I'd say the core age range is mid 20s to late 30s. You get a sprinkling of early 20s and the ages go all the way up through middle age to the odd retired traveler.

However I'd say that raw age isn't the way to look at it, especially as people in their early 20s may be less able to afford £1,500 or £2,000 for a holiday. On the Ghana trip we had a couple of wise-cracking, barking-mad, middle-aged Aussies who were terrific fun, whereas on the Jordan part of the Syria-Jordan trip there were a fair number of young 20s who were typical tourists. Essentially they had only gone on the trip for the couple of days in Petra and weren't really "there" for the rest of the week.

To be honest there are a couple of downsides with this sort of trip, one being that they keep the costs down by not generally using direct flights for long-haul. Hence you can end up seeing the transit lounges of some very strange airports in the early hours, but they do make up for that by allowing you time for a few hours sleep when you first arrive at your initial destination. Also, if you book less than 2 months before departure you may find you're not on the official group flight. This is because they block-book seats for cheapness well in advance and then surrender unsold seats 6 to 8 weeks before the departure. When this happens they will find you an alternative flight for the same price but it may be on a different airline by a different route.

One good thing is that they schedule a number of half (and sometimes full) days where you are left to your own devices (usually after a half day guided tour) which means reasonable snapping and exploring time. On the Jordan trips you get one and a half days free in Petra to explore on your own, in Syria you get half days in Damascus and Aleppo and in south India you get half days in Ooty, Madurai and Cochin, and when they "work" you hard on the trip, they tend to end with a day on the beach to let you chill out.

Of the trips I've done, I would particularly recommend the south India one. The food is incredible (especially for vegetarians), the temples are gob-smacking and the locals pretty much jump in front of your camera. You also get to do interesting things like hanging out of the open door of a speeding express train taking snaps of the landscape.

They will send you a hard copy brochure if you ask for one, but the on-line trip dossiers for each tour are very informative.
 
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