Ideas for trips during dh's time off between jobs....

[boo64]

Ok I have a nice problem - dh is probably going to have 6 to 8 weeks off between resigning and starting a new job.

Money isn't a huge issue within reason (I know we are very lucky indeed) and we would like to make the most of this time to go away...
but we have our ds (21months) and we want him to be happy e.g not dragging him on endless flights!

So the questions:
should we go on one big trip stopping in a few different places ending up in say Aus?
or several trips with a break back home in between - maybe 1 in the UK, 1 in Europe and 1 long haul?

Any thoughts? We're looking at April/ May
so the weather should start hotting up in Europe and we can avoid school hols if we want to go longer haul.

If it was me I would go on one long trip focusing on one part of the world e.g. Asia or Africa. Time is on your side so you don't have to take endless flights, you can travel by train for parts of the journey, which is much better for the environment and a better way to see a place. Aim for a good mix of culture and beach. Best long haul trip we took with young kids was to South Africa, although we were there in November, not sure what weather would be like in April/May. Enjoy yourselves!

With a 21 month old I would be tempted to go and base myself somewhere such as Italy or S of France and just enjoy the time together. If you drove you could ensure you has favourite toys etc with you. I would go for a Gite through www.gites-de-france.fr or in Italy www.agriturismo.com (or is it .net).In fact thinking about it more I would go to Corsica.

Thanks guys - food for thought. I think my gut feel is to not try to do too much e.g. going to Aus as the idea is good in theory but the reality of jet lag etc might not be so good!

If we manage to postpone starting the new job til May the South of France could be lovely and we've never been to Provence...so maybe there.

But then again maybe a trip somewhere like Mauritius (been before, overnight flights, bliss when there!) could be nice.

thinking about it we have some commitments already so probably couldn't do a really really long trip the whole time.
Any more thoughts and ideas would be very welcome....

Well personally I would go to somewhere like Oz but only for a minimum of 4 weeks because of getting over the jet lag....

I would love to go to visit my brother in NZ who I haven't seen for 6 years but unfortunately the last time dh was in between jobs it didn't coincide with school hols.....

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I would base myself somewhere eg: Greece and then go and get to know the area. Island hop - (although not brill in April - May June fab)

or the same think in another country - get to know France, US

Hi Boo64
Have you decided what to do yet????
A x x x

Provence is gorgeous, somewhere near Aix would be lovely.

I really like the look of Chateau Rigaud.

I think we are going to do 2 or 3 short haul trips rather than one long one as the time off is punctuated by Dh going on a stag weekend, me going on a spa weekend (in revenge for the stag!), house guests etc.

Thanks all for helping me think through this!

If it was Dh and I who had this chance Dh would suggest that we go to Canada and travel around seeing different places/cities.

I would suggest NZ and Australia and travel around etc there.

We'd probably end up going to Canada as it's a bit nearer.

Canada is so wonderful - after uni I spent several months working and travelling on the East side and it was great. If you ever get the chance to do that tripI'm sure you'd love it!

Such a difficult decision - but a nice one to have to make!
If you decide on the South of France, let me know if you need any advice etc. Our villa has some great offers on for the weeks from Sat 14th to Sat 12th May, so just let me know if I can help at all .
xxx