Long haul for January?

[dabbydeedoo]

Hi everyone,

I've got some BA vouchers to use up soon and the amount is about £950, which should be enough to go almost anywhere - I can also top it up with cash if I'm slightly short. Would prefer somewhere with sunny weather, but not necessarily very hot, and not too hot would be better if it isn't a beach destination.

Question is, where to go? It's obviously hard in these covid times to plan ahead but I'm trying to get a handle on where the best options would be. I'd like to avoid anywhere with convoluted covid protocols like having to test on arrival (pre-departure test is OK) or be quarantined because of a positive case on the plane, so not Thailand (at least, not unless they change their rules). Would anywhere else in SE Asia fit the bill for a solo female traveller?

Also open to other destinations like the Caribbean (Bahamas maybe, St Lucia? St Maarten?) but not sure I'd enjoy that on my own...seems like more of a couples destination, but would love to hear from anyone who did go alone or anyone who might be able to suggest an island. Latin America also an option, if there's somewhere not too badly hit by covid.

[TuftyMarmoset]

I found this website helpful for planning: mytanfeet.com/ and did also book a couple of excursions through their partner agency

[TuftyMarmoset]

We spent quite a lot because we went for three weeks and also had specific things we wanted to do (mostly wildlife spotting so paid for a lot of guides) but you can definitely spend less - for example you can walk around some national parks on your own like Manuel Antonio or Cahuita whereas for others like Corcovado you do need to pay for a guide. There are hot springs you can visit for free, vs going to paid-for ones, you can go to the beach for free, etc.

[dabbydeedoo]

[quote TuftyMarmoset]@dabbydeedoo we didn’t rent a car but spoke to people who did and apparently it is quite expensive to do so. What we did is mostly used tourist shuttle buses - there are a few different companies and they can take you between most destinations. We went to loads of different places and it was great doing it this way as we didn’t have the stress of driving and could enjoy the scenery. We also took the public bus to a few places which was fine but a bit slower.[/quote]
I don't drive (medical condition) so I would have to use buses. Glad to know there's a decent system for that! Can I be cheeky and ask what sort of budget I'd need for excursions? Costa Rica seems quite pricey so just trying to get an idea of how much I'd need to spend on top of flights.

[dabbydeedoo]

@Hairbrush123

I am going to Brazil in a couple of weeks and your budget easily fits there. It would be summer when you visit Brazil and £900 would allow you to fly to Rio in Economy. You have to be flexible though to find the cheapest dates.

Good luck wherever you go!

Nice! Whereabouts are you going?

[TuftyMarmoset]

@dabbydeedoo we didn’t rent a car but spoke to people who did and apparently it is quite expensive to do so. What we did is mostly used tourist shuttle buses - there are a few different companies and they can take you between most destinations. We went to loads of different places and it was great doing it this way as we didn’t have the stress of driving and could enjoy the scenery. We also took the public bus to a few places which was fine but a bit slower.

[Hairbrush123]

I am going to Brazil in a couple of weeks and your budget easily fits there. It would be summer when you visit Brazil and £900 would allow you to fly to Rio in Economy. You have to be flexible though to find the cheapest dates.

Good luck wherever you go!

[dabbydeedoo]

@TuftyMarmoset

I’d suggest Costa Rica - we actually went in 2020 just before the pandemic hit and had an amazing time. It’s the right season and it’s a fairly developed country with quite a good medical system (the export of medical supplies to the US is actually a major industry I believe). I think flights cost us around £900 each in premium economy.

Yeah, have actually started looking into Costa Rica! It would be pricey as I'd need to spend on accom as well as the flights and I know it isn't cheap there, but have always wanted to go. Do you think it would be easy/fun to get around without a car?

[TuftyMarmoset]

I’d suggest Costa Rica - we actually went in 2020 just before the pandemic hit and had an amazing time. It’s the right season and it’s a fairly developed country with quite a good medical system (the export of medical supplies to the US is actually a major industry I believe). I think flights cost us around £900 each in premium economy.

[dabbydeedoo]

Oh, about time - I've got quite a bit of annual leave so probably two weeks or so? Although I normally prefer to only be away for 7-9 days. I could be flexible depending on what I decide to do. 7 days sitting on a beach is plenty but would probably be too little for exploring Vietnam, for example!

[dabbydeedoo]

@MirandaBlu

Can I ask a few questions?

(1) Is the £950 applicable to flights only, or possibly to other costs like accomodation, etc? If it's flights only, and assuming you can avoid the time around Christmas/New Year and travel later in January (after the 10th or so), Caribbean and Central American and Northern South American destinations (Colombia. Ecuador) probably won't use up your credit, unless maybe you can do a kind of multi-flight/stopover itinerary.

(2) How much time do you have for the trip?

I'm focusing on Latin America as I'm travelling here at the moment and so paying attention - for whatever help it may be! Things are loosening up. As it stands right now, I think Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay fit your criteria and would use your credit to its fullest. This is assuming you are fully vaxxed with an accepted vaccine; you mostly need to enter your details on line in advance and have a PCR test (Antigen is OK for Brazil) within 72 hrs before the flight. I'd probably consider a flight into Montevideo and out of BA, if that's allowed - check the current restictions carefully, but in normal times you can go easily between by ferry. Bolivia and Peru are also worth a look, if you're interested, but probably a cheaper flight.

Thanks for replying! The £950 I think can be spent on either just flights or a combo, and I don't need to use it all at once. So I could book flights somewhere for 600-700 pounds and then use the rest for a European city break, or I could go for the flight and hotel combo to somewhere like St Lucia and just pay a bit extra to make up the difference between voucher value and cost. I just think I probably get things booked sooner rather than later so I don't end up with an invalid voucher if things somehow take a turn for the worse again!

Sorry, probably should have said Argentina and Uruguay aren't of interest as I've spent a lot of time in them and they're also very pricey when you're there. I think ideally I wouldn't want to spend too much extra on top of the voucher value so somewhere relatively cheap would be good. I will look into Bolivia and Peru! I know they had some worrying variants in the area so I'll check out the covid situation there. Whereabouts are you? Travelling in Latin America sounds really exciting!

[MirandaBlu]

Can I ask a few questions?

(1) Is the £950 applicable to flights only, or possibly to other costs like accomodation, etc? If it's flights only, and assuming you can avoid the time around Christmas/New Year and travel later in January (after the 10th or so), Caribbean and Central American and Northern South American destinations (Colombia. Ecuador) probably won't use up your credit, unless maybe you can do a kind of multi-flight/stopover itinerary.

(2) How much time do you have for the trip?

I'm focusing on Latin America as I'm travelling here at the moment and so paying attention - for whatever help it may be! Things are loosening up. As it stands right now, I think Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay fit your criteria and would use your credit to its fullest. This is assuming you are fully vaxxed with an accepted vaccine; you mostly need to enter your details on line in advance and have a PCR test (Antigen is OK for Brazil) within 72 hrs before the flight. I'd probably consider a flight into Montevideo and out of BA, if that's allowed - check the current restictions carefully, but in normal times you can go easily between by ferry. Bolivia and Peru are also worth a look, if you're interested, but probably a cheaper flight.