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Original poster

If you had £5000 for a trip of a lifetime

73 replies

DogDaysNeverEnd · 06/10/2021 19:50

Where would you go? Or more specifically, can you recommend somewhere for our family of 3 (LO will be 4). We married between lockdowns with no guests and definitely no honeymoon. It may still be premature thanks to covid chaos, but with winter looming I'm looking for escapes.

So can anyone suggest places? Thinking January/February, absolutely max £5000. We're quite active and enjoy swimming/diving etc, and have been lucky enough to live and work in Asia/Pacific so more interested in Atlantic/Indian Ocean/Caribbean. Please, help me dream!

OP posts:

TheHobbitMum · 06/10/2021 21:31

We're off to Costa rica in Feb, it offers something to all age ranges and plenty to keep all 8 of us happy

WinterCarlisle · 06/10/2021 21:33

Singapore
Costa Rica
Canada

VaguelyInteresting · 06/10/2021 21:37

If I were you, I’d book a v cheap winter sun holiday to the canaries for the winter this year, then save the rest to do something in a year or two when your DD is a bit older.

The difference between 4 and 5 and 5 and 6 in terms of comprehension, engagement, being able to settle out of routine etc is phenomenal.

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Holidays

NeedToKnow101 · 06/10/2021 21:40

@VaguelyInteresting

If I were you, I’d book a v cheap winter sun holiday to the canaries for the winter this year, then save the rest to do something in a year or two when your DD is a bit older.

The difference between 4 and 5 and 5 and 6 in terms of comprehension, engagement, being able to settle out of routine etc is phenomenal.

I agree. Even though I said Sri Lanka.

Doodar · 06/10/2021 21:42

for your budget probably Dominican rep or Mexico, 5k doesn't go far at peak times. Thailand is also beautiful, Krabbi, Khoa Lak, koh samui.

PersonaNonGarter · 06/10/2021 21:45

I agree about the age and also that £5k won’t get you that far. Maybe consider Florida.

nc4565 · 06/10/2021 21:48

Another one not wanting to poo-poo on your parade but £5k really isn't much. Not sure why PP are suggesting the Caribbean on that budget

I'd do a luxury 1 week ski holiday with that money. Your DD can go to ski school at that age which would be lots of fun!

Or maybe somewhere like Thailand? Lux hotels are cheap. Flights will be the bigger part of the budget.

Or 1 week at a posh-ish all inclusive like Mark Warner where a huge chunk of you're childcare is sorted. May half-term might be a go.

FanSpamTastic · 06/10/2021 21:50

We had a lovely holiday here a few years ago. It's very family friendly (my kids were a bit older). We went at Christmas.

FanSpamTastic · 06/10/2021 21:52

Sorry looks like the resort did not post! It was Tamassa.

ChaoBella · 06/10/2021 21:53

Somewhere where the £5k will go a long way and there is a lot of awesome history and culture. Somewhere like Vietnam or the Philippines.

Kinlocrhum · 06/10/2021 21:57

You could go to a good hotel in Antigua for 3 for 5k. Ticks a lot of your boxes. Good luck.

SalemWitchCraft · 06/10/2021 21:59

Japan was pretty cool, they have a Disney for the little one too.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 06/10/2021 22:09

I'd get the 4yo on a stay with grandparents and blow the 5k on 4/5 days somewhere with dh.

Jins · 06/10/2021 22:10

Barbados. Our DS of similar age at the time adored it. Loads to do, easy to get round. Would go every holiday if we could

Original poster

DogDaysNeverEnd · 06/10/2021 22:14

Thanks, taking it all on board. We've never been on a resort holiday so the budget could be bobbins, but tbh I'd struggle "risking" more than that on something we wouldn't enjoy/freak weather ruining it. We've both worked in a lot of weird and wonderful places and travelled with/after work so we need to get to grips with the idea of just buying the holiday but also accomodating the needs of a little person.

Agree that it might all be a lot more enjoyable in a few years, and maybe that gives us time to add to the pot/come to terms with spending big bucks. But! Still looking, thank you all.

My dream would be a round the world ticket to revisit some of our old haunts, meeting long lost friends and exploring new places. Will put that one back in the shelf until the world reopens.

OP posts:

pk78 · 06/10/2021 22:18

Definitely this..www.rockymountaineer.com/

TracB · 07/10/2021 04:47

You mentioned you had started looking at Kenya. Are there some cheap flights that can get you there? There are all-inclusive resorts on the coast which have kids clubs and watersports - fulfilling the requirements to entertain the child and your enjoyment of diving. From there you can also head to Tsavo for a night or two of safari. But honestly for that budget I can't see you getting more than 5-6 nights for three of you after you buy flights. I guess you are in a similar time zone so that might be an OK length of time for you. But if you wanted to do some serious wildlife watching and see some of the variety Kenya has to offer, I'd want a bit more time (which always means more money). Unless you are up for a camping adventure......
Also lots to do for kids, not just game drives, if you head to central Kenya - walking safari, Maasai culture experience, etc.

Silkieschickens · 07/10/2021 05:30

Costa Rica is great though quite a few of the adventure activities there won't be suitable for a 4 year old. You could do a rainforest / wildlife based trip though and there are beaches, ones we were by were on the wild side with strong currents but the hotels had pools as well.

Caribbean in hotel with pool would work well for a 4 year old. Personally didn't like Cuba that much. Not sure how diving would work with a 4 year old unless you do it individually.

Cape Town might just work if can get a nice hotel in a safe area - we stayed at the Vineyard with was lovely and had tropical gardens with turtles in, views of Table Mountain and a pool but was pre kids. You can see penguins on the beach nearby, go to Aquila safari park which would take a 4 year old but is inbetween a safari park and the real thing, you see animals very quickly, Table Mountain etc.

purplesequins · 07/10/2021 06:00

I would love to go on a safari in tansania or kenya. but that would be more like 5k per person...
canaries are a good bet for that time of year. maybe carribian.

Forrestttheout · 07/10/2021 06:04

I would agree with TracB plenty for kids to do in Kenya but you do have to look outside the usual 2 game drives a day standard safari packages which is the cheapest way to do it. You could look for a family run small lodge these often have plenty for kids to do in the day and guides used to making game drives more interesting for children, they're also more likely to offer walks, picnics, fishing, arts and crafts in the bush etc than the big commercial ones. There are quite a few in the Mara area and also the Laikipia region. That would probably eat most of your budget in a few days however if you're not fussed about a resort you could easily add in several nights at the coast quite cheaply by booking an air bnb instead of a hotel. Most will come with staff so its not quite like self catering in the UK there will be someone to make the beds each day, set the table, do the dishes etc.

BeingATwatItsABingThing · 07/10/2021 06:12

When DD was 4, we went to an all inclusive in Menorca. It had a pool with slides and water features, it was crazily hot, there was a play park and a beach really close and it was a short walk into the harbour with some shops and restaurants. Was about £2000 for all of us all in. DD loved it! We loved watching her have so much fun and just being able to enjoy spending time with her without work or house things to do.

At such a young age, I would say go on a holiday that DC will love. My parents took me to California for a tour round for 3 weeks at 8. We went to the Grand Canyon and Yosemite and all sorts of amazing places. To me, they were all just rocks and I whinged the whole time.

DockOTheBay · 07/10/2021 06:21

I would go for a cheap sunshine holiday this year and then save up for the holiday of a lifetime in 2 or 3 years time when child has a chance of remembering it and can get involved with the planning, plus will be a lot more amendable to long journeys and airport waiting rooms etc.

PersephoneJames · 07/10/2021 06:29

Lapland, or Latin or Central America. We honeymooned in Cuba which was wonderful, very interesting and different and friendly. I dream of Indians Jones style archaeological sites in Mexico for a big trip!

KingdomScrolls · 07/10/2021 06:40

I really want to go to Costa Rica and DH and I travelled around Mexico for 3 weeks for our honeymoon, so would love to take DS there although the violence has increased since we were in some parts and I'm a lot less likely to take those risks with DS. We've decided though to wait until he's a little older, that doesn't mean Butlins until then, but I know I'd be upset to spend 5-10k on a holiday DS tantrums and doesn't sleep through. We're going to efteling in the spring and Greece next September. We'll still hire a car, travel around a bit but some days will have to be beach/pool days which is not something we've really focussed on before.

spinachandchickpea · 07/10/2021 06:41

Barbados aparthotel or all inclusive on west coast and hire a car to tootle around. You don’t need an expensive hotel there; the beaches are everyone’s and the atmosphere is great. We’ve been for Christmas twice and it was a wonderful place to be. Perfect sun during our winter time. On the second trip we were walking along a beach on the west coast and my husband saw something come up through the sand. We stood still as over 20 minutes hundreds of baby turtles made their way to the sea. We just got lucky with that - right place right time. It’s a friendly island and you can do things like drive-in cinema with the locals. I love the place.

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