Holiday of a lifetime ideas

[wildwestpioneer]

If you had two weeks and a reasonable amount to spend on a holiday, where would you go?

We have a big anniversary coming up in 2025 and I've decided to have a holiday of a lifetime, we're mid 50s, fit-ish and have a good budget to work with.

No cruises or winter sports. It'll be hotels all the way so no back packing either don't mind things like rain forest trekking or horse riding in America so it's not all about the sun and beach.

That would be lovely, but be very careful about the time of year, the rainy seasons are quite brutal in Thailand and make some bits of the country not pleasant at all. Travelfish website is a great resource for Thailand travel and SE Asia generally, this page is about weather.

For two weeks I'd visit Iceland, go on hikes to volcanoes and swim in thermal pools.

For six months, I'd travel the length of the Americas. I'd start in Canada, spend time in Vancover, trek the mountain trails down the Pacific coast , visit the cities and desert. Then down through Mexico with all the fascinating ancient history. I might be wary of parts of Central America but I'd stop for a few weeks in Costa Rica. Then down through the Amazon to the tip of Argentina.

And I'd hope my knees would hold out through it all!

We're currently in Zanzibar having done a once in a lifetime safari in the Serengeti. It was on my husband's bucket list and I got it for his 40th. It was (and still is) AMAZING. We booked through Intrepid. It's largely camping but you can upgrade for not very much to get a hotel room. Seriously so amazing.

Thailand is ace also. Or the Philippines, I think that's the most beautiful place I've ever visited

Some of my favourite trips due to variety of experience have been

• Namibia, Safari, plus culture, plus sightseeing, and experiences (hot air ballooning over giant sand dunes, kayaking with seals)
• Peru - trekking, rafting, biking, history, food, culture and wildlife
• China - food, culture, history, sights, people
• Japan - history, art, culture (live sumo is fantastic), trekking, sights and just everything
• Indonesia - sailing, wildlife, culture, food, lovely people, landscapes

We always set out to move around and do and see as much as possible. We’ve visited over 50 countries and the above stand out for me.

We are heading for Galapagos and Ecuador or Norway and the Arctic next.

Island hoping in the Philippines would be fantastic too. Good suggestion!

Most amazing holiday I had was a safari.

I went to South Africa and it was just so beautiful. If I could go again and money was no object, I'd go to Cape Town and the winelands, followed by a luxury rail trip with Rovos and then end up on a reserve such as Phinda!

Other dream destinations for me are New Zealand, Bora Bora, French Polynesia and spending time around SE Asia.

Mine is Argentina the Falklands, Chili and Antarctica, got it bookmarked, costs £3600 each!

San Fran is a bit of a dump.

Closer to home:
Norway in the summer months
Zambia for wildlife
Myanmar for something totally different

One place I can personally suggest is amaya lake hotel on Sri Lanka combined with a hotel in Colombo and a beach side hotel (not been to the amaya one but they have one) Sri Lanka is really good for a 2 week trip because it's not too big.

@gotomomo
I agree Sri Lanka is beautiful but it takes forever to get from A to B on single lane congested roads.

I'd go to Japan - so much to see - the Golden Pavilion, Fushimi Inara, Nara, Mount Fuji, the Samurai trail, Hiroshima, the art island, the cat island, the snow monkeys, Zen gardens, going for an onsen , cherry blossom celebrations, maple leaf celebrations, visits to holy shrines, staying at a Buddhist monastery, crazy fashion in Tokyo, robot hotel staff, the bullet train, cable car over sulphur springs, buying silk kimonos in the geisha district, Ghibli museum, amazing food and markets, and that's just a fraction of what you might do.

I also want to visit Sri Lanka, the tea and spice plantations, monkeys and elephants, the shrines and beaches and plantation houses. It all looks so beautiful.

Absolutely adored Myanmar. It was in my bucket list and I was lucky to visit a few years back. We also considered moving there for DH job but couldn't get the salary package right.

A dream of mine is to travel on the Trans-Siberian express to Beijing, in first class with ensuite facilities...££££££

How about travelling through Canada by train?

@Isthiscorrect
Unlike anywhere I had ever been!
Pity the job didn't work it. What a fascinating place to spend a prolonged period.

Would recommend Costa Rica for wildlife, ziplines and rainforest.

Borneo could also work.

Loved Mauritius too, that is more beach / snorkelling / watersports based.

Cape Town - penguins on beach then onto safari

Time of year may make a difference - in our summer its not the greatest season for Thailand.

We had this trip booked a few years back as a family but it we had to cancel because of covid.

Favourite trips have been

Amazon eco lodge/ Machu Picchu/Galapagos but I think that took 3 weeks not two.
Yellowstone
Japan, highly recommended one night at least in the Gora Kadan hotel.

Laos with a beach stop afterwards or before. I think we were in Thailand before and went on to Cambodia afterwards but as part of a longer trip.

These were all family trips but would be great couples ones too.

I really want to go to Jordan but haven’t persuaded DH yet. Likewise with Alaska and Antártica.

We have a 25th anniversary coming up and are going to the Maldives. We’ve been before but this time we are going on our own.

@ChimneyPot
If you fancy Jordan (which is stunning) check out al Ula in Saudi. It's an area the size of Belgium full of carvings by the Nabeteans (who did the carvings in Jordan).
*and yes to everyone asking 'that' question you can drink in hotels in Saudi.

Got to be Costa Rica - I spent 10 days there in May and oh it was magical 🦥

We did similar for our honeymoon. We flew to Vancouver, hired a car then got the ferry to Vancouver Island, drove to Victoria, back over on the ferry to Whistler, then to Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff then Calgary. We timed it so we could attend the Calgary Stampede which was great, the atmosphere in Calgary was amazing.
I will never ever forget that holiday. I think about it often. We saved for a long time and went all out on expenses, we stayed in all of the Fairmont Hotels. Definitely one that we will never get to do again.

A friend of mine worked their. Her DH was an architect on one of the old buildings to convert to a luxury hotel. They were evacuated sadly as it was way too dangerous to keep living there.

We used the train a bit too

Anyone recommending Costa Rica, could you give more specific recommendations? Thinking of doing a blow out holiday next year with teens and debating between there and a safari (although that's an overwhelming number of choices too!). Also, ds can be a picky eater, I presume Costa Rica had caved in to the tourist palate?