'Once in a lifetime' trips?

[TubeLover]

Have any of you been on any trips you would consider 'once in a lifetime' trips?

I'd like to take my DH somewhere we will likely never be able to (afford to) go again for his 30th in 2025 and I'm looking for some ideas.

Places that we considered 'big' trips that we've already been (aware this is subjective, and these arent once in a lifetime for many people), are New York and Toronto/Niagara Falls

Japan-I’ve never been anywhere like it. A completely different, fascinating culture with the advantage of being a first world country so not confronted with endless poverty. The temples, forests and cities are amazing. My favourite was Kyoto (traditional hotel) and Nara-sacred deer wander around completely free. Supposed to be once but we’re planning to go back.

@HesterRoon It's the only other place on the planet where I would consider living. The only other place I've ever felt 'homesick' for (though Venice comes close)... if that makes sense. I've been twice but it's not enough.

@TheBirdintheCave I do work out the itineraries. I assume you haven’t had bespoke travel? They just do the bookings and get cars and organise theatre tickets etc. So we just say where, when and what. I know exactly what I want. Although in the Antarctic, good luck with DIY!

@TizerorFizz Nope, I'd consider it a waste of money as I can plan trips myself :) And I'd never go to the antarctic as I don't like the cold! 🥶 Have been to the arctic circle in January though 😂

I've probably had mine, Norway, Northern Lights trip, just amazing .if I get the opportunity win the lottery I have a long list, Canadian Rockies, Hawaii, China, Japan, Bali, Thailand..

@TheBirdintheCave I guess if you do have the money it’s nice to buy a bespoke service. I don’t consider it a waste. I consider it money well spent and we get to what we want and a holiday is tailored tk
our needs. It’s important not to overcrowd wilderness areas. The Falklands was lovely weather.

I'm taking my two daughters to Japan for their (DD1's 30th and DD2's 20th) birthdays this year.

this but with Giraffe Manor, I will probably do another safari in my lifetime but I doubt I’ll ever return to GM because £££ but it was breathtaking and I’ve stayed in all kinds of £1k+ hotels.

Same! We tried to use a famous provider to organise our safari and found it cheaper and better to do ourselves. She couldn’t get us availability for Giraffe Manor as it’s a 2 year waiting list. We stalked the website and found a cancellation and got it - we saved thousands. We had private chauffeurs everywhere. In a world of technology, it’s easy to do yourself now as long as you’re willing to research and find the answers!

For our anniversary we went to Canada. We spent a week in Toronto which is truly the most lovely city we've ever been to. We then spent three days in Niagara, the falls were outstanding and we did it all; the cable car, boat ride, zip line, tunnel tour. Niagara itself is a bit tacky but our hotel was lovely and it's all so contained up can just wander around the whole time. The rest of the time we were in Canada was spent traveling around the local area. Definitely a different type of holiday to what we usually do.

@DurhamDurham you've just described our honeymoon! Agree, beautiful places and definitely memorable. Although we did falls for 3 days, then Toronto x

@TubeLover Breathtaking isn't it. You can't describe the falls to do it justice. Toronto the cleanest and most friendly city we've been too. What a lovely honeymoon. I had to wait for our 25th wedding anniversary but it was worth the wait.

We are going to Korea this year.

The furthest we have ever travelled. We are spending 5 days in Soeul, we are planning on visiting Deoksugung Palace, Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gangnam-gu, then travelling south, to Ulsan by high speed train, and having a hire car to explore a different region and some countryside for 5 days.

I am nervous exited about it, we are hoping the cherry blossom season is still going when we get there. It is meant to rival Japan's.

Unfortunately at the time we couldn't take that much time off work and now they don't run the tour due to political and logistical problems , but in the footsteps of George Orwell Wigan to Pyongyang by rail including tranSiberian train would have been fantastic. https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48472092

@Cowboybuilderwoes What famous provider?

We stayed at Giraffe Manor before it was modernised. More like a house party and not many were staying. Around 20 years ago. So a great experience and a fraction of the cost now. Some agents won’t have contracts with all hotels. Therefore we add our own in when we cannot get what we want through the agent. So we sometimes pick and mix.

Botswana every time. Though £6k is likely to be tight to do it.

@TubeLover To get to Botswana, you normally go via Joburg. Botswana is about the most expensive safari destination you can choose. Mostly camps are small and exclusive. You can go by road from Joburg or fly up to Maun. You really won’t get Botswana for £3000 each.

You might be far better off staying in SA as you can reach safari areas from Joburg. Hire a car. There is a lot of choice but safari camps and lodges are all inclusive with game drives included. None are cheap but Kruger has the least expensive. If you can find a tour based in SA who price in Rands it will be cheaper.

Yeah I think safaris are out of the question due to price. One day though!

Another fan of Japan here, we did Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hakone, Tokyo. Spring blossom in Kyoto was amazing. Inside Japan booked private guides for us in the cities; a really nice way to visit the temples and Zen gardens.

Have also done:

Tanzania: safari with luxury camping, hot air balloon ride over Serengeti, personal 4x4 driver/guide

Vancouver and cruise to Alaska to see glaciers, small plane landing on glacier near Denali mountain, dog sledding, whale watching

Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and Route 66 (including Bryce and Zion)

Morocco: Marrakech to Fez with personal driver, including visit to Ait Benhaddou, staying in a cave hotel in Atlas Mountains and Sahara camel trek with overnight stay in the desert

Australia: Melbourne, Sydney (including sky diving and climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge), Uluru, Port Douglas (Wilson Island: really secluded, max 18 adults on the island), Tasmania (canoeing on Dove Lake at Cradle Mountain was a highlight)

New Zealand, South Island only: Milford Sound, hot air ballooning in Christchurch, helicopter ride + ice hiking on Fox Glacier, helicopter snow landing near Mt Cook, dolphin and whale watching in Kaikoura

Egypt: Cairo, Alexandria and Nile cruise to visit temples in Luxor, Aswan, etc. with private guides (Egyptologists)

I would love to visit Iceland and South America. Any quick tips/links to itineraries/tours to Galapagos and Peru?

Do you think 2 weeks train journeying through Europe and staying in nice hotels would be a big waste? We've still to see lots of EU cities like Amsterdam, Vienna, Prague, Rome, Venice x

I have been looking at Japan cruises...not sure about the budget though. I didn't really look since I know I can't afford it! Over 6k though I'm sure.
We went to Australia for 3 weeks (but 2 would be fine) and stayed in Sydney, the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley. Was an amazing trip but we had 3 preschool kids so you would definitely see a lot more variety, and skip a lot of the wildlife parks and play areas!

This is more likely what we would do. The cities are all so different and you can have many holidays in one...history, nightlife, spa.and relaxation, beach...it would be truly memorable.

We spent a month in Thailand over Christmas last year for less than that. It was wonderful!

We’ve been to all the cities you mentioned but, being UK based, tend to take small breaks to visit each city/region rather than one train journey to see them all, for example:

2 weeks self drive road trip in Germany (we mixed up the Castle Road and Romantic Road) plus Luxembourg

2 weeks in Italy (Rome, Florence, Pisa, Pompeii, Venice) by train

1.5 weeks in Andalucia (Seville, Granada, Cordoba and nearby mountains) by train or bus

1 week in Finland (Lake Inari)

1 week in Portugal plus Galicia

It seems like it'd be a lot of travel for the amount of time in each city to me, you'd barely scratch the surface of each of them. You don't need to do them all at once if you're only about 30!