Empty nest trip!

[AnSionnachGlic]

Our last of 4 children will be off to college next September ( hopefully!) so looking for recommendations for special holiday for just myself and dh. Plan to go September/October and would prefer sun! Have been to St.Lucia, Barbados, Mauritius, Florida over the last few years...with kids....so looking for somewhere different/special as we are back to travelling as a couple!

Depends what you like. Personally, I prefer shorter haul holidays to long haul.

Maybe try Rome, Sorrento, Sienna, Florence, Sicily, Dubrovnik, Barcelona or Budapest.

Enjoy wherever you end up.

Thank you Rasputin......was actually looking at Italian lakes as an option. Never been there. But have no clue where to start there!

Would a cruise suit you at all? Visit different places, lots to do or you can choose to not do much at all. Very low stress and good for just being a couple. You can choose to eat as a pair or join a larger table and chat to other people?

Have a look at Riviera Travel, their holidays might suit you. Or their itineraries might give you inspiration.

How about a Nile cruise?

We did a cruise round South America at a similar time in our lives. Part warm, part cool. It was fabulous!

We did a small ship cruise in the summer. It was amazing. So many places to choose from and it was so lovely as a couple.
Thinking of trying Tahiti next

Cyprus? Good mix of sightseeing and pool/beach time.

Italian lakes can already be unpredictable. I have a colleague whose mum lives there and when she vistied end of September/beginning of October is was a real mix of nice and sunny or cold-ish and rain.

I would look into Amalfi Coast or Sicily, maybe more a city break with a Spa hotel.

Asia? You need to see what is going into the dry season.

The Italian lakes are beautiful but weather is likely to be quite changeable once you are into mid September so no guarantee of sun if that's your priority.

Thanks for your suggestions.i see many are recommending cruises. Being honest, cruising hasn't really appealed to me as I hate the thought of such large numbers in close proximity or descending on various towns/ places. However might like to explore the smaller ships but not sure. Interesting to hear about the unpredictability of the weather for Italy in September/October, so might leave that for another time.

It was specifically the Italian Lakes I was suggesting may not be too good for the weather - perhaps because of the closeness of the mountains and being further north.

I have visited Rome, Capri and Sardinia at that time of year (so further south) and the weather has been lovely.

Pretty much anywhere in southern Europe is lovely at that time of year. In fact, it can still be extremely hot - Palermo was still 40 degrees in Sept this year.

It's a lovely time of year to visit the US east coast too. NYC, Boston, Philly, DC - all fabulous cities that you could pair with some time either on the beach or in the mountains. Fall colours tend to be mid-Oct if you fancy a trip to New England.

Do you want to fly and flop and be hotel based, or do 2/3 centres, or have a journey? What sort of thing do you want from your holiday, an adventure or a rest? What sort of budget, how long can you be away for?

If you're thinking about a cruise, have a look at some of the repositioning deals you can get.

Or the Hurtigruten could be an interesting option?

What about a river cruise?

Funny so many people say cruises. There is plenty to do on dry land.

how about interailing and visiting loads of European places you haven’t been to?

or Slovenia, Venice coastline?

or California? or Mexico? Sri Lanka? Prob best not to head towards Florida at that time of year.

@AnSionnachGlic We have had lots of holidays now DC have gone! Boarding then uni!

In no particular order: Western Canada in Sept for bears and whales. Vancouver Island is good but we sailed with only 12 guests in the Great Bear Rainforest. October in South Africa is spring. Lots to see and do. Cape Town, Winelands and Garden route all great. We have travelled in Kwazulu Natal as well. We have also been to California, Eastern Canada in early Sept, Argentina, Brazil and I can also recommend Peru and Ecuador. We really enjoyed Virginia and Carolina in the USA but be careful about hurricanes. Plus Utah and Colorado are both great in Sept/Oct. We have also stayed in Nice and driven to beautiful villages. Japan would be good then too. The latter two have superb food!

We would not do a cruise. Just far too big. However there are small ships and we have used ones with 100 passengers. They are expedition ships though. We’ve got Iceland booked for next summer. Norway in 2026. We don’t do beaches and baking hot weather. We like culture and wildlife.

@Newgirls I did a couple of larger ships when dc were young as they liked the dc clubs but now? Cannot see the attraction! The small expedition ships are great though.

My brother and family (all adults) went to Sicily in mid September and had amazing weather. It's Italy, but just that bit further south to get the sun a bit longer than the lakes.

Wow TizerorFiz..what amazing trips you've been on! Really looking forward to this new stage of our life. We have had great holidays together with our 4 children and I'm sure they'll be joining us again but it is nice not being tied to school holidays. We are going to Barcelona in few weeks time for a weekend ( to visit one dd) and have a house booked in Estepona during summer with our kids dipping in and out. I generally like city breaks for long weekends, but I suppose I wanted something bit special this time. We were in Barbados last June with 2 dc and in Majorca in August with all 6 of us. We are flexible with budget... big difference paying for 2 when we are used to multiplying costs by 6! Also think I'd like a mixture of sightseeing and relaxation and definitely some comfort! Might look at Japan as have never been. Also like the idea of the expedition small ships. Probably will go for 7-10 days. I know it is a nice dilemma to be in, but having no restrictions due to children etc makes decisions difficult!

Tizer can I ask what you would do:

end Jan/Feb
budget about £1500
10 days-2 weeks
ideally not a massive flight (10 hours max)
out of school term (yippe!)

haven’t done long haul in years so open to ideas. Hope this also helps OP.

@Newgirls Your budget is not great to be honest. Flights have gone up a lot. I’d probably look at a Nile trip and obviously you need to go south for better weather! Cyprus would be ok and Turkey. Not beaches but you could see some ancient sights. We have been to California in Feb and I loved it. Your budget won’t stretch though.

Yes, it feels liberating without DC!

Thank you x

i think my budget was for flights and some accom rather than food etc but even so, I need to start looking at prices and being realistic!

nile trip would be amazing (though a cruise again!!)

@Newgirls Thats true but smaller boats! In Feb I would also look at places that are way too hot in summer! I’ll always remember California in Feb. Blue skies, reasonable traffic. No queues. The Independent Spirt film awards were held on Santa Monica beach. Took photos of loads of stars. Most of whom I didn’t recognise but DDs did when I sent them home. Got a bit carried away!

Costa Rica?