Mid May long haul

[Wanderlustnearorfar]

Hi all I’m looking for recommendations we are looking for a long haul destination for mid May. Any ideas we are open to all places. Any hidden gems thank you

Need more info than that! What kind of holiday/destination? What kind of budget?

We are open to all possibilities really sorry I should have added some more information.
We are 2 adults, fairly healthy and enjoy a mixture of things on holiday we don’t really enjoy lounging about all day every day. We enjoy both hot and cold climates and haven’t really travelled long haul have stuck mainly to Europe but are now in a position to. Our budget is around £2000 per person

The problem is, outside of Europe is rather a lot of the world, particularly if include hot and cold countries and being open to all possibilities! Your budget will rule out some options. Not deliberately trying to be unhelpful I promise, can you give us a few ideas of things that actually you’ve always fancied seeing or doing e,g I like the idea of going on safari, exploring a wilderness with lots of wildlife really appeals, I’d love to go round old ruined cities, take a train journey through fabulous landscape etc.

I can recommend off the beaten track in Virginia. We started in Philadelphia but you could start in Washington. Go down to Williamsburg, Virginia on the train. Hire a car. Look around this area. Full of history. Drive to Charlottesville via Richmond. Stop off at the stunning Virginia museum of fine arts. Truly superb! Look around the university of Virginia. It’s fantastic. Three homes of former presidents are in the area. Also the Trump Vinery! We then drove north on the Skyline Drive and South again on the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway. It’s stunning. All of this is very doable in May. You can fly back from Raleigh Durham. Or carry on down to Atlanta. Stay in lodgings. You would need to check out prices but if you are careful and don’t eat out all the time, you could do it. Few Brits around.

You could also look at South Africa. Money goes a long way there if you don’t choose expensive safari camps.

Are you tourists or travellers, would you say?

In May we've been to Chicago for a few days then hired a car and drove north into Wisconsin, to an area called Door County, very good holiday.

Other ideas in the US, fly to Boston, few days there then drive into Massachusetts and Connecticut, including Cape Cod. We did this earlier in spring but I'd imagine it would be even nicer in May.

Fallen in love with Ghana over the last week. Still a week to go. Can do a luxury break here for £2k per person. We will have spent about £2k in total for 2 people in the recommend luxury hotels outside of Accra.

What a fantastic country.

Japan. We're heading there (from Australia) in April. Its different, safe & incredibly beautiful, crazy & diverse.

Mexico
It’s beautiful, safe, you can have beach days, city trips, cultural sights, snorkelling and diving, nature.

Or Peru - lots of beautiful hikes, great food, friendly people, money will go far once you are there, great cultural sights.

It’s really difficult to do Japan for £2000 each. You would have to stay in very budget accommodation such as the pod hotels! What are your particular needs for this holiday?

Aus is much closer to Japan than the uk is! So flight is cheaper.

We went to Malaysia in May which I would very much recommend. Great food, wildlife, very friendly.

Hi all thank you for all your responses. You have given me lots of food for thought. I suppose I’m dithering a lot as I keep finding different options.
We are looking into the following although o think we may need to adjust our dates For the following year
Tanzania/Zanzibar
Alaska
Vietnam
Sri Lanka
Costa Rica
Thailand
If anyone has visited any of the above when did you travel?
@BIWI I would say tourists really as we are a little uncertain as we haven’t travelled extensively

I’ve been to 3 of these so can only comment on them (and in fact haven’t been to Tanzania since I was kid so just 2!). Your budget will go a lot further if you book things yourself rather than go with a firm - I appreciate though that this might be a bit scary if you’ve not done this before. It just might make the difference though between being able to afford to go somewhere or not!

We went to Sri Lanka last April - the monsoon season was just starting up. May is a monsoon month and the South West and South Coast (unless you don’t mind rain) are best avoided. The Cultural Triangle, Highlands and East Coast beaches are fine though. It’s a really beautiful country and the people are quite exceptionally friendly. Travel takes a while anywhere on roads so expect long journeys. We didn’t do them but there are some apparently exceptional train journeys through the countryside. I planned our trip myself and hired a transport firm and booked our hotels (either 4 or 5 star)through booking.com. It was a pretty cheap holiday all in without compromising on quality. If you aren’t that confident you may want to either talk to a travel agent or go through a tour firm but if you want some tips on how to do it yourself, happy to help!

Unlike Sri Lanka, there isn’t a great deal on the historical and cultural front to see in Costa Rica. No old ruined Mayan cities etc. It does have an interesting history and rather unique politics in the region which is interesting to know about (if that interests you, appreciate it might not!). San Jose is a bit of a hole. Where it does win is on the wildlife and spectacular scenery front - it’s a genuinely beautiful country. We did San Jose/Arenal/Manuel Antonio - again booked by me using local transport. If you like an active holiday then this is the place for you, whether it’s hiking, canoeing down rapids etc. That’s all easy to organise but again, if you don’t feel confident then look for outside help.

As a quick comparison, both are stunning visually. Sri Lanka has more to see on the history front. It also costs less to eat out and the food is a lot nicer! Both have beautiful beaches (although we couldn’t swim on our beach on the South Coast in SL). Costa Rica offers more on the adventure holiday front and getting from A to B takes less time sitting in a car! Both have big National Parks and a lot of wildlife so go and see wild elephants in SL or sloths in CR!

Again, if you want any help, happy too.

Forgot weather in CR - it’s the start of the rainy season but on the whole supposed to be good with the benefit of less crowds, reduced price accommodation.

Sri Lanka is amazing, your budget is plenty as long as you shun brochures. Flights are around £600 and a decent hotels runs at around £60 a night b&b. Just had lunch, amazing food and it was £1.50! Don't go to one place, visit different parts using train

If you want to do any form of safari in Tanzania, your budget is not enough. May should avoid the rain but Tanzania is a problem on DIY, in my view. You really wouldn’t want to miss the wildlife highlights and driving yourself would be tough.

I’ve been to southern India in Feb and I think May in Sri Lanka would be not a great time to go. Heading towards extreme heat and rain.

Last September we went to NW Canada but close to Alaska. I have also been to Alaska. May would not be the best time there either. It’s too early for bears but you might see orcas and whales if you are lucky. Again it’s a bit early. However the scenery is stunning. Most wildlife holidays start in June. Also Alaska is huge and I’m not aware of direct flights to Anchorage. Most people from the uk go via Seattle. Again, I don’t think £2000 each is enough for a bespoke holiday. You can hire a RV. You can use ferry’s. However it’s the USA. Towns are small. Its not cheap.

The good news might be that the giant cruise ships do go there in May and you would get flight and cruise within your price range. Do remember the trips off the ships are very expensive.

Re Sri Lanka, confusingly the monsoon season is different depending on where on the Island you are. By May it’ll have finished in the East, North & cultural Triangle while only just starting in the South West and South. We went in April (we moved around but mainly South and Central, it was certainly bearable heat with the odd downpour. Lonely Planet online has a guide to where to go in SL which month.

DH and I went to HK and Vietnam last May/June. We had a couple of days in HK then flew to Hanoi. The weather there was extremely hot and humid, took a bit of getting used to. Then we flew to Hue, and Hoi An, not as humid but still hot before ending up in HCMC where we had some torrential rain.
I loved Vietnam and the weather certainly didn’t spoil it for us as we didn’t see it as a sunbathing holiday but be prepared for a lot of sweating if you go in May!😂😂

Hi all thank you all so much for your responses I have only just seen all of these as it doesn’t Notify me. I think we are going to opt for Sri Lanka for next year and look into it and plan as there are some fantastic places and things we would like to do whilst there.thank you all for taking the time out to advise me it is much appreciated

This came up in my Facebook newsfeed - might be useful? familytraveller.com/holiday-destinations/asia/sri-lanka/sri-lanka-with-late-teens/?fbclid=IwAR0epUQUDID8jNtrsyhMXs7pVrb-FnCLxed5iWux3c_XdGFpmU6VvIWsObM

Basically, they travelled in June so May throw up some ideas for you! Nice article anyway!

I have a May bday and always try to get away then. On your list I've been to both Thailand and Sri Lanka. As others have said, avoiding the rains in that part of the world can be tricky, but in reality they're usually short bursts, but can be accompanied by humidity. I don't mind that tbh.

We stayed in Mirissa, Sri Lanka last year and loved it. Food was excellent and we really needed to relax so didn't stray too far from the resort except for a trip into Galle which was lovely. Very good value for money too. Thailand was fun too, stayed about an hour outside of a Phuket but got bitten to buggery in our jungle-y resort - to avoid this, stay closer to the sea. Enjoy!