Last Couple Holiday to be scheduled before TTC - Florida or Japan - help me choose!!

[christmastreesparklex]

As the title says really :)

Myself and my partner are planning to TTC in 2022 and hope to be able to schedule a final long-haul couple holiday before starting our own family.

We will be able to budget one holiday before then and we are both super indecisive about whether to choose Japan or Florida. So far we have thought about the following:

• Florida (Pros- Able to go to the theme parks and go on adult rides together without having to look after children and also explore other areas of Florida, i.e Florida Keys, we can travel with children but would not be able to go on rides together with young children until they are older)

• Japan (Pros- Long Haul Destination and long haul flight, not suitable for babies/toddlers, we want 2 children so may not be able to go until children are older, once in a lifetime holiday and unique destination)

Has anyone been to either destination and has any advice/recommendations? I have also re-read over my post and realise how awfully self-centered I probably sound, eek! I suppose we will be saving for over a year and want a final hooray holiday and so want to make sure we make the right choice! I am also aware that we may not be fortunate enough to conceive straight away, however; it is unlikely I will schedule a long haul holiday either way whilst we are TTC!

I also welcome any other experiences of any other couples that had their final hooorah holiday before TTC, perhaps your honeymoon? If so, where did you go!! How was it? Were you glad you took the opportunity before TTC?

Definitely Jspan. I have only visited Didney rather than anywhere else in Florida, but I did not enjoy it at all.

Japan, I’ve been to both and Japan was a trip not to be missed, I took my older teenage DC and wouldn’t have wanted to do it with younger DC

Florida I have been to pre kids and with kids from 2 to adult and it is a different trip with each age but always enjoyable.

🇯🇵 Japan definitely

Both of those are quite feasible with children actually, do you not yearn for off the beaten track, a safari for instance? If it's on iPlayer look up the Giles coren amazing hotel programme, I fancy the giraffe hotel one and the one in Oman.

One of my favourite places I've been is Sri Lanka, can be done on a medium budget, don't bother with an ai hotel, part of the experience is going to local restaurants, we are in basically someone's front garden one night, and other night the hotel chef invited us to a special feast! Worth doing multiple hotels and going inland, the trains and buses make it fun or get a driver for a few days. In Colombo they have Uber tut tuts now!

Ps I did Florida with a 3&5 year old was brilliant. Also highly recommend Alaska as a once in a lifetime trip (actually currently planning to go with my now dp as he hasn't been, on a motorbike.

Japen for certain. Although you could visit Japan with kids, you would miss out on a lot of incredible experiences, as onetwothreeadventure beautifully describes. I really want to go back with DD when she is 10 or so, but I'm really glad DH and I went by ourselves before she was born.

And you are likely to do a lot of theme parks in the next few years! Starting with Peppa Pig world and Thomas world and the million playground-with-toddler-rides parks that you don't even know exist yet; then legoland around 4-7yo; then progressing to the bigger UK places like Chessington, Alton Towers etc. There are also amazing theme parks in Europe for all ages: Efteling, Puy du Fou, DLP - all perfect for families. And of course Florida is designed for as a families too, for a bigger trip. So I wouldn't choose that as your special pre-kids trip!

Japan every time. Florida is ok but I wouldn't go again.

Japan and go to DisneySea instead!

wow I am taken aback by the number of responses and also 100% japan answers :)

Although a long way off from your responses I am really excited!!!

@AtLeastThreeDrinks have you been to disneysea before? is it worth a visit even for 2 adults? (adults but big children really :p)

@movingonup20 Alaska... oooooh somewhere I have never actually considered before, I need to get googling! Is it expensive?

Japan appeals - the culture absolutely. Florida not so much.

@christmastreesparklex We were supposed to go this year but it's on the itinerary for when we finally make it (we were going sans kids too –we had a plan packed with culture and wanted to spend the last day being big kids!)

Haven’t been myself but DH was planning a 2 week holiday to Japan earlier this year that was scuppered by COVID (he was going to travel while he was on a break between his old job finishing and starting a new one so it was a once in a lifetime opportunity).

One thing I’d say is watch the James May travel documentary on Amazon Prime. As well as being very funny there are lots of useful tips on travelling in Japan and interesting places to visit.

Google “things to do in Japan”, there are hundreds of travel blogs that will give you lots of useful hints and tips like which are the best train tickets to buy to get around, making sure you have plenty of cash as many smaller shops/noodle bars/etc don’t take cards.

Japan definitely. I’d also say if it’s going to be a last ditch holiday (and I’d also recommended doing it as I’ve found holidays with small people hard work) have a clear break so you’re not ttc during it. With both of my children I knew I was pregnant within days of conception. I actually conceived my second on day 1 or 2 of a holiday and I spent a bloody fortune on early pregnancy tests. I got a positive by the end of the holiday but had a bleed (which I assume was implementation bleeding) on the plane flying back which put a bit of a dampener on things. I also spent the last week feeling too hot and tired. The hormones seem to reek havoc with me early on. Week 1 of my holiday was great. Second week not so much. It’s amazing that something that is so tiny can affect things so much.

Japan. Have been twice, once without kids and once with 5 and 3 year olds. Great holidays both times, and of course you can do Tokyo Disney and universal in Osaka! If you like the ghibli films there’s a small museum in Tokyo which is worth a look.

Yup Japan is AMAZING. I really need to go again.

Japan!

I have never been, and wish we had before having kids. My two are fussy eaters and I can't see us managing Japan with them until they are teenagers.

Florida you can do any time and much more familiar and easy to navigate with kids.

I second Japan. Florida will be such a fun holiday to do with kids and seeing their excitement will be amazing for you. For now Japan or the type of holiday that is more aimed at adults, a once in a lifetime thing I would do now. I wish we had done Peru before having the kids, I just don't have the fitness levels or money to be able to do it now.

I'm so jealous. I've wanted to go to Japan for such a long time. DH grew up there and speaks Japanese, and I'd desperately love to go there with him.

My kids would love to go to Japan too, but I don't think I can afford for 5 of us to go.

Do Florida with your kids if/when you have them.

One tip if you do decide to visit one of the Disney resorts in Japan- find out about the school holiday schedule.

My DH took DD ( then 13) to Hong Kong Disneyland for a day and there were no queues at all (late June/early July). Turned out that the local schools had just gone back there so it was the perfect time to visit. They hadn’t planned it, just happened to work out brilliantly!

To all posters saying Japan would be hard with D.C. apart from the fact that ANYWHERE is hard with very little ones, if anyone is reading this thread being put off taking children there don’t be, our two had an amazing time and have asked that we go back again. It’s so safe and so easy because trains run on time and the Japanese women were besotted with the kids, everyone is so nice and polite. The whole experience of the insane themed cafes, the spiritual staying in monasteries on mountains, experiencing ryorkans and onsens - they tried all the food because even the several coursed meals always came with a big bowl of rice they could fall back on, they loved yakitori and dumplings and noodles in every form. We only used public transport and once you get the hang of the metro in Tokyo it’s all really easy.

Ours had had a little immersion in Japanese culture before we went as they adore all studio Ghibli films (so the museum was a highlight) and we live on the US west coast so eating sushi and ramen is pretty standard but even so I would do it again with them in a heartbeat - it was magical