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

OP, I’m very excited for you!! Can I recommend SE Asia. Cambodia is a must and the islands off the south coast are stunning with plenty of diving opportunities. The people are wonderful. It’s like I would imagine Thailand was before the masses descended there. From there it’s so easy to do Vietnam, Laos etc. and super cheap! You might even have some change left over!
For those giving OP a hard time, don’t read these posts if they piss you off so much. I know what it’s like to work full time and study on top.....it’s bloody hard and this lady deserves a break. Enjoy OP

Personally I'd probably spend it on a two week trip to Florida and blow it all at Disneyland as DH and I love it there (went for our honeymoon!)... but I appreciate that probably is probably an acquired taste

I agree with previous posters, a road trip around USA would be amazing, Route 66 would be incredible! My brother spends a lot of time in Texas for work and he says it's amazing there too.

Ignore the negative comments, you have nothing to feel bad about. Everyone has different incomes and budgets, that's life!

I saw a motorhome holiday advertised on trailfinders that was a trip round the National parks in California and the Grand Canyon in a motorhome. I think it can in at about 1400pp for 10 days, so I think you could do it for cheaper if you were doing it for 5 weeks without kids. If I was going to California, Id also go to San Fransisco for a city break and Vegas, so you'd have the desert bits as well as the city. San Fransisco is my favourite city in the world!

One of my favourite regions of the world is East Africa.

History and magical places of northern Ethiopia, and the breathtaking Simien Mountains;
The unsurpassable Masai Mara of Kenya and it's southern coast south of Mombasa;
Savannahs of Tanzania and the sublime islansds of Zanibar and Pemba...

I mean just extraordinary. I've had the luck of being in that region a lot over the years for work, but in 2012 I used all of my savings to take my mum out for a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Unforgettable.

If I had the money now, I would do the antipodes for sure.

I had 5 weeks in SE Asia as well about 15 years ago now. I went to Thailand, Vietnam ( which is beautiful) Laos and Cambodia, and back to Thailand for a week on Koh Samui. I also had just finished studying and it was the holiday in between me finishing my course and starting a job. I had no kids and went with a friend. I wasn't rich, but I had saved up for it and we stayed in some grotty places. My kids love looking at my photos and I can tell them about all the things I saw. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, and I wouldn't feel guilty about it.

New Zealand? Could camper van it?

We are looking to do this in a couple of years, just take the summer off and go. Will be looking for ideas :)

I thought about Ethiopia, senza - I agree it's a memorable destination. Not much diving though! I think Kenya might be a bit unsettled at the moment.

I'd do island hopping in the Cook Islands. Mix of cheap accommodation with self-catering to save and then some splurge nights in a couple of the amazing hotels.

Aitutaki is where I'd splurge in particular.

Not 100% sure how the budget would hold up but reckon you could make it work if you planned well.

I visited years ago on a shoe string and it's my dream to go back.

Oh and yes, have a bloody amazing time whatever you decide!

Australia. Buy a vw camper van and explore. Go and dive the great barrier reef before its gone. Sell the van at the end of the trip.

India. You could do a mix of über luxurious hotels and cheaper but still nice hotels for that sort of money and see a lot.

Oh and stay in a luxury hotel in Sydney for the first five days!

Diving in Zanzibar is pretty fantastic! It's actually where I got my PADI qualification.

Ethiopia is for the mountains and the history. It really is magical. The standing stones of Aksum, the stone hewn monoliths of Lalibela.. just incredible!

Kenya for the wildlife; there is no where better.

Tanzania for some wildlife, landscape, and the indian ocean!

Mexico. Food is amazing and cheap. Travel is cheap. Accommodation is cheap. It has the Pacific coast, jungle, mountains, Caribbean coast and amazing history

Another cote for Vancouver Island. It is AMAZZZZING! Victoria & Nanaimo especially

I would do New England - beautiful that time of year. We went many years ago and I would love to do it again.

Aw man, I love this thread, and there's some bitter people out there! £7750 on a holiday to spend anywhere in the world sounds an amaaaazing problem to have.
Seeing as I barely have enough spare cash to scrat up the pennies for a night in the local Travel Inn down the road, I'm going to live vicariously through this thread instead.
(Also google mapping some of the places mentioned, and reading up on them and their cultures.)

Firstly, bloody well done on completing studies etc that have taken nine years. What an achievement!!

If it was me, I'd do simple and go Greek. I'm ridiculously in love with Greece though and spend hours planning our retirement there when DS has flown the nest and is settled/self sufficient.

We did nine weeks there pre DS and it was just utter, utter bliss. Saying that, we know a LOT of people over there (after holidaying there for so long) so it was a lot of socialising and island hopping.

Good luck and enjoy whatever you decide!

I've just RTFT. I would also add that if you want kids in the future, go somewhere you wouldn't necessarily go with them. I'd happily chuck my 6 and 9 year old in a camper van and drive them across California, but I wouldn't take them to India I don't think, or SE Asia without going 5 star all the way ( which we cant afford, so we won't be going) I really regret not going to a friends wedding in Japan before we had kids. We would have had to cut down a bit to be able to go then, but new, there is no way we would be able to save up enough to buy 4 tickets and accommodation to Japan.

So......looking at the things you like.
Diving: Sipadan (off Borneo) is simply amazing. Just a quick Google will show you what you're in for.
Then I'd do orangutans and turtles in Sandakan...also Borneo. Perhaps a trip to KKinabalu and a climb up the mountain.

Fly to Singapore and splurge at a fabulous hotel. The Fullerton perhaps and the obligatory gin sling at Raffles if the Long Bar is back in action.

Then onto Cambodia and Laos which have been mentioned already plenty of times. I'd skip Vietnam personally. It's not as cheap as you'd imagaine. If you go to Laos....don't miss the Plain of Jars up in the north. Such a strange other worldly place.

Maybe finish with another splurge in Hong Kong at the end.

Miss the days of living in SE Asia!!

I would either do Vietnam and Cambodia, such amazing places. Angkor Wat has got to be one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. The top gear Vietnam special inspired me to want to go there (should I admit that on here?!) but it’s fab.

Or a trip to NZ, another absolutely spectacular place. You could easily do a camper van trip there to offset the expensive flights (air NZ are fabulous by the way). Probably my favourite place I’ve ever visited.

California is really good, but personally I don’t think trip of a lifetime good, but then everyone is different.

100% Canada for me. Never been, but desperate to go! And maybe pop into Alaska too. Dream trip.

Whatever you choose to do OP, have an incredible adventure!

An American road trip would be pretty special. I live in the Midwest, if you want any travel ideas, PM me! And congratulations on coming to the end of your studies!

Road trip around USA but depending on route might not be most value for money. Also, don’t do Route 66. It’s not the most interesting route. We did part of it on our route but there’s so much more to see. We did 21 days from las Vegas - Death Valley - Sierra Nevada - Yosemite - San Francisco - highway 1 coast - Palm Springs - Grand Canyon - Las Vegas. I loved it, but it was expensive. We stayed in cheaper motels (accommodation in California is often pricy), hired a car (this plus motels was still cheaper than a camper). We were around £4k for those 21 days inc a grand on flights, which is about £140 per day on accom, food and excursions, car hire. That’s within your budget. We weren’t particularly careful, averaged around £80 a night on accommodation but that ranged from $40 in Las Vegas to $140 in Santa Barbara

If I go back I think I’d want to do more of the mountains and deserts. Probably Arizona, Utah, Colorado. A great resource is a forum called Road trip America, it’s full of itineraries and great tips. Trip advisor forums are also useful for destination tips, Thorntree for road trip route planning.

I did five weeks in SE Asia a few years back. Flew into Hong Kong, then Bangkok, around Thailand, the islands, Laos, Malaysia and back from Singapore. I think your budget is plenty for that if you don't want high end hotels.

I wouldn't do the US options suggested. I live in the US now and road trips are the kind of things you can do when you're older/retired. The US is very sanitized! Roughing it a bit in less developed places is the kind of thing you do when younger IMO.