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.

Polar Latitudes. MS Seaventure. We were on deck 6. Around 130 on board. I think it can take 150. Fram is 250 so it’s quite a bit bigger. Not sure if it’s got stabilizers. They don’t say. The refit last year has made it quite luxurious though.

How about Cuba?

I really didn't enjoy Cuba, and got as sick as a dog.

It wasn't full when we went so it didn't feel crowded at any point. Tender operations were well organised so we never had to wait too long to do anything.

Fram does have stabilisers. It was very comfortable in horrendous conditions.

@JustWhatWeDontNeed Well
these holidays of a lifetime do have “costs”. The Drake Passage being the price to pay!

It’s the Drake passage that puts me off! And Cape Horn for the Chilean Fjords! I get seriously seasick when the weather is rough.

Galapagos is the best place on earth if you are a animal lover, adventure seeker or just interested in nature. Top tip get the smallest boat you can afford. I went on a 16 man catamaran felt like the only people on the planet.

Swam with sharks, close up to marine iguanas, saw volcanoes, went down lava tubes, played tig with a seal, saw flamingos, albatross chick hatched, incredible sea birds, sting rays doing belly flops, dolphins cresting waves- saw the Milky Way, shooting stars, lonesome George, tortoises in the wild.

It was incredible and I've been all over every continent including Antarctica and this by far was the best place I've been too.

Drakes passage for me was two days of hugging a toilet and bring battered by the roll of the boat- but wow it was worth it.

Two glorious weeks of perfect weather icebergs, penguins, breath taking views- but it wasn't as good as Galapagos!

Thankfully I don't get seasick. I'd stocked up on dramamine (over the counter in Spain) before I went though, as I'd never been in properly rough seas before. I stopped taking it after a few days as it made me groggy and I was fine.

You could be lucky. It was a 3 week voyage and we only really had 1 day of severe seas towards the end. In Antarctica the water was like glass in many places. I think stabilisers are very important for feeling less green.

High on my list but I want to do a 2 weeker (back to back itineraries), so it'll have to wait.

Plus I can't swim (don't ask) and I won't go unless I'm capable of getting in with the sealions.

@JustWhatWeDontNeed did you enjoy Svalbard? What were the notable highlights? How long was your cruise?
We are weighing this up at the moment, so love opinions.

@Applesaarenttheonlyfruit We did this around 8 years ago. We went in early July so light all night. We saw surprisingly few whales but lots of polar bears and cubs. Walrus are very engaging. You do not feel as remote as in the Antarctic and it’s not as dramatic but it’s easy to access from the uk. So no epic voyages involved! I really liked sailing along the edge of the polar ice cap. We had great lectures and some of our fellow passengers were a lot of fun. You can get fog though. As indeed you can in the Antarctic. We went with G Adventures and it’s a bit no frills but a well run outfit with good zodiac outings. We got a last minute deal. Polar bears are so exciting!

Was that with or without DC?

Yes, we did enjoy it. We went with Hurtigruten and did their "Circumnavigating Svalbard" trip which was around 10 days I think.

Definitely try and get to Pyramiden - it was an optional extra on our trip. It was a fascinating ghost town and you can see the Northern most Lenin statue...

We went on one of the last sailings of the year, which in hindsight was a mistake, as a lot of the birdlife had gone. There also wasn't much ice left, but this did mean we managed to go very far north (for the sake of going very far north). Polar bears are also a blessing and a curse - if you see them, yay, you've seen them. But you also then can't get off the boat in case they eat you

We also enjoyed mooching around Longyearbyen.

We did a couple of days in Lofoten beforehand which was also lovely.

Iceland still remains one of my very favorite places I've been to though, despite the lack of wildlife. Is there anything specific you're hoping to see?

In the Antarctic the ships doctor can help out with seasickness. We took patches and they worked for us on the Drake Passage because we weren’t doing much! If you take seasickness pills too early, or that are too strong, you might be drowsy and miss wildlife sightings. So best to get your sea legs and take what you need for the DP when the Dr tells you to. We were amazed at how well we coped but our captain sailed a less direct route to avoid the worst (purple on the satellite graphics) of the DP but not all ships will/can avoid the worst because of timings to get back to the mainland are quite tight.

10 years ago we did NY, then LA, then Hawaii for a week (Pearl Harbour was amazing) then San Fran (Alcatraz was our highlight plus Muir Woods), great memories!

Yes, we went to Hawaii's Big Island and it was great. Got married there

I don't enjoy the USA but did enjoy Alcatraz.

Polar bears and whales really. We have been whale watching a few times in various locations but not seen loads. All the glaciers and ice are magical and I love wildlife that’s truly wild.

We’d be taking the DC so need plenty of landings and kayaking to break the days up.

Our cruise had one or two landings a day and there were various optional ££ activities. We did kayaking, a rib boat ride looking for wildlife, Pyramiden, a glacier walk, there was an opportunity to camp on land overnight but we weren't selected for that one. There was also a cultural stop off somewhere. Definitely go earlier in the season if you want birds. I think we went mid August and they'd nearly all departed apart from the aggressive terns and one solitary puffin.

We saw some but not loads of whales and had one sighting of two bears, plus a dead one . There was less wildlife than I'd expected, but I think that's all down to luck really. I'll have to look through my photos tomorrow and remind myself - it was a while ago so you're really testing my memory

My best whales were in Antarctica (feeding humpbacks). I find they're best treated as an added bonus or they're liable to disappoint you.

How old are the kids? Depending who you go with they might be the only kids there. We're in our 30s and have always been amongst the youngest on the Hurtigrutens.

I think we went in 2015 for info.

OP sorry for hijacking your thread.

@Applesaarenttheonlyfruit Went without DC. Kayaking is usually several hundred £ and you do it instead of a zodiac cruise or landing. We haven’t seen it as an extra to keep you busy. You are either out and about or the ship is sailing. In our experience. We haven’t seen any Dc at the polar regions but we’ve not been in school holidays. It’s not a family atmosphere overall. Our trip to the Galapagos was and it was a family week (we were 1 of 3 families) on a small boat - 14 guests.

We have seen loads of whales in the fjords of the Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia. Lots of bears too. Humpbacks in Canada snd orcas. Southern Right whales in Argentina and saw orcas beaching to catch seals. Orcas in Alaska and humpbacks too. Very many whales off Monterey in California plus Baja California further south and seen many from Boston too. On land you can see them easily at Hermanus in South Africa. So if you want whales, these areas are better then Antarctic/Arctic as the whales seem more reliable in terms of feeding areas. Different species in the Southern Ocean though and we were a bit too early to see a lot. As you can see though, we’ve seen whales very close up and personal.

@Applesaarenttheonlyfruit Weather dictates landings in polar regions. You have to go with safety first.

Agree, Canada is probably your best shout for lots of whales. And polar bears too if you can fund Churchill - think polars peak a bit later than grizzlies though. So not sure if it's feasible to conquer all on one trip.

And @TizerorFizz is correct in my experience - kayaking and other optional side trips nearly always take the place of a scheduled landing on expedition cruises, they aren't as well as.

I'm toying with Canada for late next summer... you've now inspired me to start my research 🤔

@JustWhatWeDontNeed I had better disappear off this thread but if you want Churchill, it’s October. Grizzlies and black bears are best seen fishing in the salmon run in early/mid Sept. There are lodges that specialise in bear viewings. Tweedsmuir is great or Knight Inlet. The Great Bear Rainforest in BC is a remote area with fjord inlets. Totally awsome whale viewing all around the boat. We even saw whales sleeping and bubble net feeding. So if you go into this area you really get to know whale behaviour as opposed to a short 2 hour trip from a land base. GBR also has fantastic viewing of the rare Kermode or Spirit bear. It’s relaxing and a chance to unwind with nature all around you. Magical.

Having backpacked in Thailand in 1989 (loved it) and having beaches on islands to myself - and having returned about 8 years ago (unrecognisable), I wouldn't go to Thailand now. Vietnam likewise - you mentioned it before. Too late.