Best holiday ever

[Mumma]

What was your best holiday ever? Where did you stay and what made it the best!

(Our holiday to Egypt has been cancelled - looking for alternatives!)

Sorry to hear that OP.
Why cancelled? Can you not go different dates?

Elounda in Crete for me.

Or longer haul, I loved Peru.

Building work at the hotel apparently... we are really restricted with dates so it's not been possible to reschedule.

We were going to coral sea in egypt which had a load of a la cartes and swim up rooms. Im hopeful we can find something else though.

Is this elounda breeze? Xx

https://eloundavillage.com/

We stayed here

I loved Sorrento, its lovely in its self but there is also Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Versuvius for brilliant days out, but I do like an educational trip, this might not be your priority.

Other hotels?
Our best holiday was Egypt, 4 yr old had her birthday on the train from Cairo to the South.
We did the archaeology and history. Hired a car in Cairo and booked the trip with local travel agent when we were there.
it is possible everything works somehow.

Definitely my once in a lifetime Peru trip.

I did book a package with a more prestigious travel company and it was money well spent. All transfers, some meals & excursions were included. Our tour leader (a local guide) was very organised and managed to get us to all the popular tourist spots before the big crowds arrived. But somehow he never made us feel rushed or that we had to get up far to early!
On reflection it was probably the small group (8) and very knowledgeable tour guide that made the trip special

I usually do DIY holidays around Europe... so this trip was different.

On my DIY trips, I have to vote for Rome - just an all round amazing place! Been there twice... and counting!!

I loved Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi) and Borneo. Great variety - city break, island/resort type hol then jungle/orangutan sanctuary.

Hmmm - 7 of us on a boat on the Canal du Midi - through to Camargue to Beziers. How we never sunk the bloody thing... 😂Breakfast with the flamingos and wild horses was amazing. With dd, the best was the Dordogne, gite complex with pool - so much to do.

Puglia, in Italy, with a group of 11 good friends, two generations but all adults in a gorgeous masseria with loads of room, stunning views and a lovely pool.
It was very laid back, people could go off on their own or in groups and no-one minded one way or another. The walkers walked, the runners ran, the swimmers swam and everybody loafed about.

I had a wonderful week with an ex in Northern Cyprus. It’s far less touristy than Cyprus and other similar Mediterranean destinations (one day we went to visit the ruins of Salamis, which are proper Pompeii-quality beautifully preserved ruins, and we saw one other person in about four hours) so feels much calmer and the beaches more spacious and pleasant; it’s also significantly cheaper both accommodation and food wise, and the food is largely organic and rustic and excellent quality. Lots to do from staying poolside if you rent a villa, the beautiful beaches, or travelling around the island to various towns, villages and historical sites. The partitioned capital of Nicosia is also a fascinating experience.

Longer haul so perhaps not kid-friendly: Phuket. DH and I had a glorious fortnight there, one week in a luxury villa with amazing pool in the Siriat National Park with friends and then a second week just the two of us in a little studio above the main street at Kata Beach. The two very different parts were part of what made it. We ate some of the best food I’ve ever had, visited a non-abuse rescue elephant sanctuary, hiked in the jungle, kayaked, sea-seam, snorkelled, and enjoyed sitting on the balcony of our studio in the evening just drinking Thai beer and watching the bustle go by.

A few:
Langkawi in Malaysia (as mentioned by PP)
Paphos in Cyprus
Vancouver and British Columbia

@Mumma Re Egypt, check "discoveregypt"
They created a tailor-made package for us - Cairo, Luxor, Nile & Nasser cruises.
Couldn't fault them, & a very good price.

Well, Egypt was my worst holiday, so I’d say you’ve dodged a bullet there!

I was in a Tui branch yesterday and some poor agent was battling with their HO about the exact same situation as the OP, sounded like a nightmare.

We have booked Mexico for August

We did a three week Europe/Italy trip last year and I loved every minute of it. We spent a week driving to Puglia, a week in Puglia in a trulli with my parents and brother and his partner, and then a week driving home again. We stayed in hotels/guest houses on the journeys.
We stopped in:
Riquewihr - 1 night
Argegno (Lake Como) - 2 nights
Ancona (well, on the hills outside) - 1 night
Puglia, near Ceglie Messapica - 7 nights
Nr L'Aquila - 1 night
Tuscan hills - 1 night
Turin - 2 nights
Dijon - 1 night

Absolutely beautiful trip, some days we stopped in interesting places for lunch (like Modena) or sometimes just stopped at roadside cafes.
Highlights were definitely Puglia which I adored and Dijon which was stunning. Turin we stayed in the Hilton in the old Fiat factory and walked the test track on the roof. We went for a private boat ride on Como for my husband's birthday, and near l'Aquila we stayed in an old converted monastery.
Ate incredible food (the risotto cheese in Puglia aas to die for, and I've got a coveted couple of bottles of balsamic from oir lunch stop in Modena).
The memories and photos will last a lifetime.

Costa Rica
Safari in Kenya

They both beat the Maldives.

Australia seeing the wildlife and Great Barrier Reef
After that Costa Rica again wildlife, rainforest, ocean kayaking etc
Also South Africa penguins on beach / Table Mountain
Within Europe Lapland at both Christmas and summer then saw brown bears in wild.
Azores Spa hotel and like massive botanic gardens

Was also a bit underwhelmed by Maldives

Safari in Zambia - so good I went twice.

Three weeks road trip in New Zealand - so good my mum promptly booked her first ever solo trip (for three months!)

I have been to 36 countries and my month traveling around Thailand was the best thing I've ever done! But I think my one month trip to India & Sri Lanka in January 2024 might top it .. we shall see!

Another vote for Costa Rica.

I went to Costa Rica last year and loved it, but I've seen better. I like that you get the rainforest and a nice city in places like Malaysia, so for me, Asia is better.

I've enjoyed different locations for different reasons.

-Bali for beaches
-Ljubljana for weekend city break
-Germany for castles
-Costa Rica for wildlife
-Egypt for archaeology (but horrible otherwise)
-Canada for just fun driving/scenery
-America for gluttony
-Athens for bakeries (I'm a big fan), wasn't thrilled with the rest of it
-Vancouver for filming locations (omg, so much fun!, but horrible otherwise)
-London for museums and culture (give credit where it's due!)

Couldn’t pin it to one best holiday

1. Ghana
2. Thailand
3. West Coast of Canada
4. Sweden
5. St. Maarten

Costa Rica for me too, for the scenery and wildlife.