Once in a lifetime holiday?

[cjt110]

Where would you go?

We have the opportunity to have a holiday in Feb just me and DH. We have a shortlist of places but nothing final.

Our short list so far is Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mauritius. This gives an idea of what we are looking for - somewhere exotic, with experiences (Elephant trekking etvc).

We have a budget of around £2k and would preferably like to be all inclusive.

Please share with me your once in a lifetime holidays!

arethereanyleftatall I am going term time - I am a teacher! No difference in term time if you keep an eye on flights and if you book directly with the hotels.

Who do you fly with turnip? And where do you go via? (I presume you meant not during tt in your last post!)
We must be doing it wrong - we go saa via joberg (as its £7k for all of us direct) during the Christmas holidays. We fly 25th as its about £200 cheaper pp on that day, bringing it down to about £1k per person.

Why don't you stay at an amazing hotel in Ibiza for a week.
Or go to the W in Barcelona. Etc.
So much easier.

£1k per person doesn't get you much, that's basically the price of a mid-range week long European skiing holiday.

Also a week isn't that long to go LH.

I've been to the carabian for a week quite a few times, flight times and time difference are easy - but doubt you'd get that for £1k each.

If you've been to the Maldives don't bother with Mauritius. I've done both and the Maldives wins hands down. Great vibe in the Caribbean!

I enjoyed my 5* holiday in Mauritius (which I won in a competition). It's a 12 hour flight which I think is probably too long to go for just a week. Great as a beach holiday but apart from the botanical gardens there's not much to see. Also not sure if 2,000 pounds would be sufficient.

How about a luxurious hotel somewhere closer to home or are you wanting a sun holiday?

If you want hot weather and AI in February, how about Cape Verde?

Although, I don't think there is much to do outside the hotels, but unfortuntately, as others have said, you will struggle to go further on your budget especially as it's not really worth going so far for a week.

But I honestly think you don't need to go out of Europe to have a holiday of a lifetime. Canaries cruise?

Or what about touring the cities of Andalucia, Spain - one of the most memorable holidays that we've had. We did this last May and spent a couple of days in Granada, a day doing the Caminito del Rey Gorge walk in the mountains and the rest of the week in Seville, with a day trip to Cordoba. There's also Malaga, Ronda and Antequerra in the area, but we've been ot those places loads before. Well affordable on your budget, helps that flights would be much cheaper than the long haul options.

Greek island hopping or European city tour. Or Iceland, to do the geysers. Or St Petersburg.

Ooh, Iceland in February is a good idea, isn't that one of the best times to see the Northern Lights? That would be an amazing 'holiday of a lifetime' experience.

I am a wimp that would be worried about how cold and dark it would be though

I'm so happy to read about SA being recommended. I'm so proud of my country

I live in Cape Town and I love it so much. I moved back here from the UK and everyday I look at the beautiful views and think how lucky I am and grateful to be in such a beautiful part of the world.

On another note, there is actually good travel package all inclusive to visit game reserves, wine routes, Vic Falls and Cape Town. I have just secured it for our overseas clients but it's open for anyone.

It includes all internal flights, food and four star accommodation for two weeks and his around 3500 pounds for two people if anyone is interested. Disclaimer I'm definitely not a travel agent lol. But I managed to get this package for our clients and it's amazing value, in fact I'd love to do it if I wasn't here. If anyone wants the details and her email address please PM me.

Zanzibar is stunning. You could do a few days there, then fly to Mauritius. Happy and safe travelling.

arethereanyleftatall This time we are flying Manchester to Jo'burg with Qatar via Doha. We are spending half the time in Jo'burg/Pilanesburg area and then flying to CT with Kulula.

You really do have to keep an eye on the prices. A few days before the cheapest were about 700+ but I'd been watching for a few weeks, day in day out to wait for them to drop. If you're not in a rush to book then I advise watching the flights for the bargain! I flew Air France/KLM for £500 last year and Etihad about 3 years ago for £450.

Thank you turnip.

South Africa sounds good but I worry about security and crime. How is that currently?

Would be interested HairyMoose especially as I was born in Zambia and have never been to visit so if there was a way we could get there for a day or two that would be great. Family of 4 with two teenagers but we're up for a good holiday in early July next year. What is South African weather like then?

South America is pretty amazing.

Tell me more about Madikwe Jamie

Don't think I would go anywhere long-haul just for a week. Jet lag dreadful and you would just start exploring and then be looking to start trekking back home again. Could you stretch to 10 days at a push?

Thailand is wonderful, exotic, beautiful and lovely people. Maldives are stunning but not a lot to do.

To be honest though with just a week I would stay closer to home although Europe will be more expensive now with Brexit so your £2k might not go as far as before. Nice conundrum to have though!

Madikwe is really lovely - massive reserve with lots of different game including wild dogs. Up near Botswana.

I have read the previous posts; I am doing a similar once in a lifetime trip in january , I am 62 I have had a life changing event but-vietnam (ho chi mingh city)bang kok and hua hin (Thailand) are a dream for me. This is flights, hotel and b&b plus private transfers and luggage for one month. I am taking it on trust this will be my adventure it is what you make of it {grin}

I stayed in Tokyo for a few days in 2012 and I didn't find it all expensive. I booked a room through booking.com and ate in OK restaurants for about £10 for 3 courses. Hong Kong is fun for a week. I found Costa Rica expensive as they charge tourists much more than the locals. They think that all tourists are as rich as the Americans that holiday there. My son has Been to Thailand and loves it there and is going back again for 3 months in October. He says everything is cheap in comparison to other holiday destinations. Flights obviously vary in price, he found a lot of variations, cleared cookies when searching as the fares rose the longer he looked. He discovered this when a friend was looking at same website on a different computer and the price was much cheaper.

Here you go PennyAsset
I dearly dislike it when people slate a whole country as not everyone is the same but genuinely you have never seen behaviour like it. It's a constant problem where I live with people disrespecting religious sites and spitting on the ground in front of us amongst many other behaviours we consider preposterous.

Please watch this channel 4 news clip

For £2000 there's no way she's even going to get to half of the places you're recommending, let alone find accommodation and food.

Boston is the American city most like London. Admission to museums there is expensive, and the exchange rate is against you. I second South Africa.

Some of the options on here are as realistic as the MN chicken that feeds four for a week.

A week in both Zanzibar and Mauritius for £1k per person? 😂😂😂😂
Let alone the issue of visiting both places within a week