AIBU to ask where you would go for 5 weeks, with £7750.

[Dontforgetyourtowel]

NC as very outing! I will soon finish a 9 year long stint of work and study, and to celebrate my freedom (i.e. not having to study evenings and weekends ever again), my DH and I have decided to go somewhere, anywhere, for a period of 5 weeks, in autumn 2018 (we're in the UK).

We have been thinking Hawaii, 'do' all 4 of the main islands. He's quite set on it but I'm being indecisive..! My main worry (not really an appropriate word but ykwim) is that our budget is 'only' around £7500. This would need to include everything (flights, car hire, food etc.) for the both of us (no DC).

I did the maths and I know that we can go to Hawaii on that but we'd have to be very careful (airbnbs, cook our own food, only pick a couple of big budget adventures, and spend the rest of our time hiking and snorkelling). Imo we might be better off going to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Things are so cheap out there that we'd never really feel we'd have to budget all the time.

Where I really want to go is Galapagos or Bora Bora but I know that the budget most definitely won't stretch to that!

So I wanted to ask, if you had 5 weeks and £7750, where would you go? Inspire me! We love adventure, diving, sun, good food, nature and meeting people!

This isn't a stealth boast, we've pretty much been looking forward to this and saving for it for a good few years, scrimping and saving on everything else

I would tour around some places in America but you won't get much for that money I don't think. I'd cut the trip down to 4 weeks in order to have more spending money or save up a bit longer if possible.

We had a similar amount of money a few years ago. It was given to us after DFIL passed away on condition that it was spent on holidays/trips as he loved going away. We decided to go to Thailand for three weeks and travelled around a bit. I found reasonably priced flights/trains and DH found accommodation for us. We then went to South Africa a few months later and did a week safari and a week in a city. We know we were fortunate but it’s gIven is some amazing memories and we’ve done things/seen places we wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. Are you set on one long trip or would you split it if you can’t decide where to go.

Nice problem op! I would probably do an overland Asia trip though, China, Tibet, Nepal and india. Much cheaper costs.

I haven’t done the maths, but maybe you could less time in Japan? Also alway appeals.

One of my fav trips has been Hong Kong (city)- Borneo (jungle trekking) - Phillipines Boracay (sun sea sand) there's so much to see in Borneo and so many different philli islands to explore, it's also really cheap once out there. I do love Thailand.and Vietnam is on my bucket list. Good luck for your travels and well done on finishing your studies!

New Zealand!, you could see most of the country and have some left over for a return trip ( which you will want) Most people come out to NZ and love it so much they come back each year!

I don't think you have anything to apologise for op.

You have asked for advice on a holiday you have saved for, you aren't expecting anyone else to fund it and you say it's been years in the planning, in no way does the post come across as a stealth boast.

I really hope you have a great time

I'd go on a trip around the US. See how many states I could visit. I think you should decide what's most important to you - the place or the things you do there. If you want to go to Hawaii more than anywhere else in the world then go - it will be more than worth having to cook your own food and maybe not doing as many activities. If you'd rather DO things like a load of adventure sports and watersports etc then I'd look at going somewhere cheaper so you have more money to do things while there. Have a long think about it with your DH and see what's most important to you both. Will you regret not going to Hawaii when you have the chance more than you will regret not trying a load of different activities and experiences?

Thank you for all the lovely comments :)

Lucky you OP! Enjoy :) I would go Greek island hopping. See as many as I could, and just see where I ended up.

@dontforgetyourteatowel I’ve been to Hawaii a few times & I reckon you’d be able to be happy as anything on that budget. If there was a way of chatting to you about this I’d happuly give you my tips on cheap living out there. Do Hawaii - it’s magical!!!

Ooh a PM - let me know if you want any tips 😀

Mauritius. 1.5k on the flights, u can rent a beach house for 2k a month, 1k on car rental. Rest on food, restaurant, going out, spa sessions, deep sea fishing, hanging out in nice hotels for lunch/dinner. More than enough. In fact, u could even do a few short trips to other islands like Seychelles, reunion or Rodrigues.

I am very boring but I love the coast and countryside of the UK and have always said if I could afford to I would love to do a full circuit of the entire coast of the UK, islands and all. There is so much of it I haven't seen yet and it looks so beautiful on the telly (would probably skip Blackpool and Margate though ).

So what if this was normal holiday to op why should she have to qualify it.
If you have personal issues and you can't deal with other people's life don't come on threads like this or forums.

Op I think Vietnam etc as well, Thailand if you have never done it... So cheap once there.. You wouldn't have to worry about budget.
Or yosemite etc. But perhaps something to do once older and tackle Asia whilst younger?

user1492877024

This itinerary sounds amazing!

A long cruise-everything except excursions included-some offer free drinks packages as well.

We have been to Kauai twice and it is really our ideal break away. When you say the four big islands, I think you may be skipping this one and that would be a shame. Not an awful lot to do on such a small island so you don’t feel pressured into rushing around. A total break from real life. However, as others have posted, it is incredibly expensive, food shopping is painful. The Safeway card is a good tip, but a Costco membership is also a must! (You can join in the U.K. and use your card there as it’s international membership). We go once to stock up on drinks etc plus a few bulk food items for our entire stay and it worked out very well. We also don’t book a car for the whole trip. We do a few days at the start and a few days at the end or around planned activities and the time in the middle is total relaxation. Just walk to the beach etc. If you bear this in mind when you book your accommodation, it’s easy enough to manage.

Don’t bother with Hawaii. It’s quite beautiful but just another (not very good value for money) American state. For a 5 week experience there are more interesting places to go.

I'd do the south east of Asia starting with Malaysia, you'd get more for your money in SE Asia.

Is there any chance of either of you getting a weekend bar / restaurant job etc to add a bit more money to the pot? You've got another 8 months or so before you go.

I think I’d do Asia and a trans-Siberian railway. Perhaps japan. Bit of Russia. Something different. Perhaps Baltic countries and Lapland. Make it an epic railway journey (love Micheal portillo 😂)

In my mind I’d sit on a beach and get people to bring me drinks. For weeks on end. Bliss 😂

@Dontforgetyourtowel have you booked anything yet?

How about China? (This is copied, cut & pasted from a route my brother plans to take.)

Volunteer at a panda sanctuary for a week 🐼

Finn Air to Nanjing comes up reasonably well:

Nanjing South G2 10:09 to Beijing North Train 3h 39min 1023km ¥443.5

Beijing West to Xi’an North Train G8 13:20 1216km 4h 35min ¥515.5

Xi’an North to Chengdu East G90 15:01 3h 15min Train 658 km ¥263

Chengdu to Lijiang flight 1h 40min 887km

Lijiang to Dali Train K9688/K9685 09:28 1h 35min 159 km ¥105.5

Dali to Kunming flight 1hrs 330km

Kunming South to Nanjing South Train 07:25 2196km G1380 ¥876.5

Nanjing South to Shanghai Hongqiao Train G5 10:48 295km 1h 15 min ¥134.5

Total time traveling 30hrs
Total distance 6764km

Highlights:

Beijing - Tian’anmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven & Mutianyu Great Wall
Pingyao - Mianshan Mountain
Xian - Terracotta Warriors, Ancient Xian City Wall & Muslim Quarter
Chengdu - Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Jinli Old Street, (Leshan Giant Buddha bullet train)
Shangri-la - Jinli Old Street, Sumtsaling Monastery, Potatso National Park (Tiger Leaping Gorge en route)
Lijiang - Ancient Town, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Yufeng Temple, Baisha Mural & Black Dragon Pond Park
Dali - Ancient Town, Three Pagodas, Xizhou Bai's Houses & Erhai Lake Cangshan Mountain.
Shanghai - Yuyuan Garden,
Huangshan - Hangzhou East train station for 3 hours bullet train to Huangshan city, Huizhou
Nanjing - Ming Dynasty
Yangzhou - slender west lake & Five-Pavilion Bridge
Suzhou - Gardens
Hangzhou - west lake, Shaoxing
Fenghuang
Guilin - Li River Cruise

You could live in Thailand for 3yrs on that!