What has been your favourite holiday and why?!

[Groovytiger]

I need inspiration to look for our next holiday. I always love hearing real-life recommendations as opposed to pictures and blurb online/ in brochures.

I did fancy seeing the migration. But that sounds great too, I'm going to have a happy hour googling those suggestions and dreaming!

Zimbabwe - national parks Hwange and Mana Pools are magical safari destinations, Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya) was breathtaking, and Lake Kariba is stunning.

I agree. Zimbabwe is great. Mana Pools is very close to the Zambian border.

Travelling the west coast of America was an incredible holiday.

We flew with dd21 and ds23 to Vancouver and met dd26 who flew in from Melbourne. Time there then took a few days driving across Rockies to Lake Louise, Banff and then Calgary. Spent 2 weeks that area and then flew to Toronto and stayed there a week exploring, Niiaagra Falls etc. dd26 flew back to Melbourne and we continued on home. Best family holidays ever.

Holidays with old friends. Hasn't mattered where they've been, it's shareware been about the company

We did a Finnish winter family adventure when DC were teens at absolutely the right point in their childhood and had the best time. The following year (almost by accident) we did a trip to the same place in summer that was amazing too.

West coast of US ... San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, San Diego ... hired a car and drove all along the coast. Wonderful memories ... was years ago pre DC .

With our teenage DS ... probably Neilson holidays in Greece ... loads of activities for DS and DH and plenty of relaxing for me.

On my own ... Turkey with a girlfriend.

As a pp said, holidays are great at different life stages, I'm not sure I've really got a 'best ever' holiday.

Our honeymoon to Mexico.
It was utter bliss: total relaxation in an all-inclusive resort on the beach mixed with fun adventures & sightseeing.
And the best coconut ice cream in the world.

*in Mexico 🇲🇽

St Lucia.. when DH and I were young and newly in love and before we had kids!

Disney cruise around the Med with a few days in a Spanish hotel before. DC were 11 and 12.
Cape Town with my DC the year before.

Corsica , stayed hired a car and explored stayed in 3 hotels which were rooms above restaurants. Beautiful, quiet island.

My favourite wasn’t the most expensive but it was lovely. Got some cheapish flights to Thessaloniki and hired a car. Didn’t book anything apart from the first night then after that just booked for the following night, no idea what it would be like. But, it was amazing and some of the little places were like paradise. Just loved that holiday.

I flew to Italy in 2012. Once there we hired a car to take us to the property. The restaurants and museums we visited were lovely too. Amazing scenery as well.

Hong Kong, been many times, was my first long trip alone after my divorce.

Thailand, me & DP partied in Bangkok and Patong and then stayed in a beautiful Banyan Tree villa and I felt like a star 😍 it was the most spoilt I've ever been all my life

Pre-kid, no money 20 somethings: flew to Turin with our tent, hired car and made our way across the country to Venice, stopping off at agriturismos and cheap hotels along the way. Discovered Mantova was beautiful and stayed an extra night! Camped on the Lido and took the water taxi to Venice, well and truly falling in love with the place. This was early days of Internet, so it was all quite an adventure!

With kid: Eurocamp holidays, but our favourite has probably been at Norcenni Girasole near Florence, then 3 nights in an apartment in Florence itself (our favourite city 😍), then a couple of nights on the Tuscan coast. Yes, we all love Italy 😁

Thanks for posting this - I have loved reading all the responses. It’s interesting the range of types of holiday, and I love the fact that so many of us have been lucky enough to make these memories.

My favourite holiday was actually by myself in Scotland. I spent ten days driving around, stopping where I fancied and wild camping, running and walking up mountains every day or going for bike rides. I was blessed with amazing weather every day (somehow!) and just had a fab time.

Western Canada - Rockies and Vancouver Island. Absolutely beautiful, lots of wildlife, bears, whales and gorgeous scenery.

I think my favourite has to be when Dh and I spent 2 weeks in a little seaside town in the south of Crete.
We knew it would be pretty , but we were blown away by the natural beauty and how underrated it was.

We stayed in a little apartment, 1 minute from the beach. You could see the sea from the balcony and hear it at night. So clear and peaceful. The sunsets were incredible, tones of pink, yellow, orange, so many layers of colour.

The town had abit of a hippy vibe to it, hammocks in the trees, windy narrow streets, hidden taverns and cafes and a few little shops selling lovely handmade items or homeware.

There was only a small 'tourist' strip which had about 8 restaurants and bars, which was on the beach front. Stunning views and delicious food. We ate at every single one at least once and it nice to see some of the same people milling around too.

There was only one other British family there, that we met, most of the people there were Cretans who were on holiday, which I always think is a good sign! They were so friendly and welcoming to us.

We went hiking in the mountains and even went bouldering in one of the gorges. We hired a car for a week so we could visit other areas of Crete, I'm so glad we did that , as we got to visit some of the most stunning little villages and beaches we'd ever seen.

We would love to go back with DCs one day!

Ooh I love this thread, but where to start?!

Travel moments that stick in my mind include:

1. Very recent (November '21) holiday to the Maldives. First time there, already looking to return. Check out the Amari Havodda, especially if you like snorkelling. Next time we are going to stay somewhere closer to manta rays!

2. Galapagos Islands. Just otherwordly in every way. Booked a last minute cruise in the capital of Ecuador, Quito, and enjoyed 7 nights of exploring islands over and under water, including snorkelling with marine iguanas and hundreds of turtles. True untouched paradise.

3. Horse riding by Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador

4. Finca Barlovento in Colombia and crossing the estuary to enter Tayrona and see all kinds of birds and monkeys

5. Whale shark encounter off of Exmouth, Western Australia

6. Travelling for food. I scour through World's 50 Best and often will go to a destination specifically to try 'that' place - although L'Enclume in Lake District will always be a top fave.

7. The whole experience of backpacking Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bali, Malaysia, Borneo, Singapore) Latin America (Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico) and the States (California) was a real adventure.

Gosh now I need to book another holiday!

South Africa. I've been many times and each time it has been a completely new experience. It has so many things - history, culture, animals, geography, nature, nightlife etc. I never get bored of it.

Alaska, amazing

Merano in the South Tyrol.

Gorgeous scenery, loads of castles and interesting places which could be easily visited by public transport, the town itself was lovely, and nice mix of Italian and Austrian food.

Lake Brienz just outside Interlaken a close second. So much to do, and so pretty.

The Golden Triangle and Shimla, India
Chennai - Cochin was pretty great too
I loved the tour of Vietnam and Cambodia
DH would say Mexico - Starting in Mexico City and flying to other small towns and having guided visits to the pyramids and temples.
I also love Crete - the sun, the food and the people.