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'd go to the Galapagos - maybe just for 1 week then do the rest living cheap in South America?

That is a hard decision.

My boss went to Hawai last summer and said it was THE best holiday they have ever been on, and they go on absolutely amazing travels. So this is very high praise for Hawaii. Him and family do lots of fab adventure/experience traveling.

Depends what you like doing? I am not bothered about accommodation so would rather have cheap accommodation and do amazing experiences.

If you fancy some 5* luxery then i'd go somewhere cheaper.

TBH if I had 7k to spend i'd top it up to 10k, sack off DP and go for a week heli-skiing by myself :-)

And fwiw, I totally agree with pp saying you don’t deserve that biscuit or the snarky comments.

You’ve saved more money than I’ve ever had but you’ve worked hard for it and you deserve to enjoy it. Don’t let others make you feel bad about it.

I don't now about where, but I would definitely travel! I think being in the same place for 5 weeks would either get a bit monotonous and be waste of your money, or you would get too settled and feel uprooted when it's time to come home again.

What are you really 'into'? Wildlife, culture, food, crazy life-risking experiences?

Or India and Nepal.

Well exactly Pom on one thread someone was saying they spend ten Grand on a two week luxurious holiday every year I can only dream of doing that but I get we don't all have the same budgets .

La la la la America!

Hire a winnebego and plan a road trip!

Your money would obviously go further in SE Asia but Hawaii and the Islands are stunning.

Myself? I would do a tour of China.

Maybe take a look at www.gadventures.com/

Touring the Galapagos would about £3k for both of you for a week, not including flights. It is the most amazing place in the world.

I would fly to Vancouver, hire a car spend some time on Vancouver Island and pop over to Seattle. Then drive through the kelowna wineries to Banff and the Rockies.

Or go to Belize or Costa Rica but for two weeks rather than 5.

Or just go interrailing in Europe - France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Czech Republic but just go where you fancy when you fancy and don’t bother booking ahead.

Thank you so much for the amazing suggestions so far, lots of food for thought.

Also, I am genuinely sorry for anyone I offended with this. Maybe I shouldn't have put it in AIBU. I know what it's like to worry about money all the time as I grew up poor and have spent a good few years struggling in the past. My situation has changed in recent years (both of us have good jobs now) but every day I feel lucky and know it could change again in a heartbeat. Again, sorry for being insensitive and I hope your luck changes too

I have to be honest, have done quite a few US road trips myself, and it’s my favourite type of holiday, but particularly with the weak pound at the moment I think you’d have to be budgeting extremely well to do a 5 week trip on that amount of money. Not sure how much RV hire is which might be an option, but don’t forget one way drop off fees if not starting/finishing in same location which can be extortionate.
Hotwire is good for discounted hotel rooms, especially used with betterbidding to get a good idea of the hotels.

You'd be bored stiff on Bora Bora for five weeks and I imagine it's mostly 5 star honeymooners hotels and not much else.

I'd go somewhere where you can live and eat cheaply and have a real adventure.

India and Sri Lanka

Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam

A road trip in the States. If you are going in Autumn the eastern states will be lovely, South and North Caroline, Smoky Mountains, Appalatian Trail, New England in the Fall. Rent a car and stay in cheap motels, or rent an RV that you can sleep in.

The posters giving grief and biscuits seem pretty bitter to be honest. I could only dream of having £7000 to spend on a holiday but good on op for working hard and saving for a trip of a lifetime. I have no advice OP as I'm not the traveling abroad type however I hope it's fabulous

I would do a safari, staying in luxury resorts and do a balloon safari. I've done a balloon safari once and it was amazing, I'd love to do it in the Maasai Mara during the migration.

OP Don’t apologise, you made it very clear in your title what this thread was about.

If people get upset after reading and make shorty comments, you have to wonder why they opened it in the first place.

Kew is updated where you decide to go and make sure you have an amazing time!

Again, sorry for being insensitive and I hope your luck changes too flowers

Don’t apologise! You clearly deserve it!

Definitely go to Asia. Singapore is really great. You could travel around japan. The people are lovely it’s really amazing. Me and dp went twice before we bought a house and settled down.

We've been to Hawaii for the past two summers running (Kauai and Big Island) - it's unbelievably beautiful but very expensive, even for an Air B and B. The price of food and drink is eye-watering as almost everything is imported.

That said, if you do one big shop at the start of each week (head to Safeway and get a Safeway card, it'll save you literally hundreds) and cook at home, you'll bring costs down massively. And although flights, accommodation and food are expensive, the walking and beaches are so divine that you don't need to pay for much else. If you can make the budget stretch and stay in places you're comfortable with, I don't think you'll regret it. Happy to PM some recommendations if you'd like.

That meant to say ‘do keep us updated!’ Don’t know what Kew is or why it needs updating haha

Wow you're going to have an amazing holiday wherever you go!

If i were you I'd go somewhere where you could travel a little and learn about cultures whilst still taking time to relax. My friend did route 66 and then went to Hawaii for a week. It was a 3 week trip. Id love to travel America and go to some different places, I fancy Nashville and going to the Amish country! (To nosey really and because i know very little but it fascinates me). Have a fantastic time!

crikey...I been thinking about posting for advice on what to do with 180K that recently turned up in my bank account, but seeing as someone planning to spend 7500 is causing people to cry / stick pins in the OP, I'm glad I didn't.

What I would say is that while the OP has worked hard for this break, there are plenty of others working even harder who haven't been rewarded that way. So 'good for you, you earned it' messages are a little unfair on those who also work their asses off to little avail.

btw my money is totally unearned and not the product of any endeavour on my part so if anyone wants to stick pins in me then go for it.

OH and I traveled south America for 3 months (pre kids, noway Could afford it now!!) with about £5-6k and did the works - including macchu pichu (sp?!), Most of the major cities, and a 3 week surf 'holiday' at the end... Would Totally recommend it, and with your budget you could have an even more fantastic time (we hostelled and bussed - you could hotel and fly, for eg)!

Also did North America in 2 months about 10yrs ago for £4k, including buying an SUV we could sleep in and camping gear, which would probably be around your budget in today's cash....

Don't think I would blow all that on just 5 weeks in Hawaii given all the options with similar scenery/opportunity for Adventure in poorer (ie way more affordable!) Countries, but takes all sorts....

Have a fantastic time whatever you choose!!

OP no need for an apology - it is your thread! If some people cant handle the fact that there will be others here with a higher income than them then thats their problem, not yours! Completely different if you had replied to someone worrying about finances.