Travel goals! Advice for a lazy and intimidated traveller.

[TrippTover]

I have just turned 35 and have been making myself a ‘to do before 40’ list as I love a goal list! I have a few travel related ones on there and realised I have become quite a wimp and very reliant on DH - he does all the holiday planning and I tend to just go where I’m taken (we agree on a destination but when it comes down to choosing a hotel and flight, buying local transport tickets etc it’s too overwhelming and I just let him do it all 😁)

Anyway it seems I don’t like that about myself and want to be a bit more of a go-getter. Here are my travel related goals and some accompanying questions:

• interrail with the kids - I’d want to plan this even if DH does come. Probably in the school holidays due to my work. Kids will be maximum age of 6, 11 & 13. Would that be hell, or great, logistical nightmare, will I lose a child etc ?
• hike the Camino de Santiago - would love to do this ALONE! But I guess would be best to do some kind of pre planned itinerary? Am not fit at the moment so would need to do some training. Any pointers from anyone who has done it, to set me off down a good research path?
• Tulips in Holland - crowded & overrated ?
• go to chill part of Ibiza or equivalent - would love some recommendations
• Go to Giethoorn - only because I saw a nice pic of it once, no idea if worth it.

Thanks! Feel free to share your travel goals too although not sure I need to be tempted to add any more to my list 😁

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/holidays/5138573-camino-de-santiago

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5032932-2-weeks-to-go-to-my-big-solo-adventure-and-starting-to-lose-my-nerve

That 2nd one will be very helpful.

You could interrail but I always think it sounds expensive for what seems like a lot of train time and not much sightseeing or chill time. Herding a hormonal teenager, a tween and a primary schooler through busy stations would be my idea of hell. However, you might have delightful children and the right mix of personalities and family dynamics for this.

We went to Amsterdam in April…..we got a bus to the kuekenhof , then we hired bikes and cycled 5 hours round the tulip fields ( mainly on cycle/farm tracks, but some proper roads as well) ..l.stopping at little bars en route for a drink…the weather was a glorious spring day and it was one of the loveliest things I’ve ever done on a holiday…..I look back at the pictures and the fields are breathtaking

weve also been to Ibiza this year……we had a few days in Santa eularia, a couple of days in Ibiza town ( the old city is lovely), then got the ferry ( 20 mins) to Formentera and spent a week there…..the beaches are stunning.

We did Interrailing with a 13 year old - Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Salzburg.

It should be manageable even for three kids so long as you plan properly and have seat reservations booked so you all sit together. Berlin is actually very child/teenage friendly - two zoos and some great amusement parks. Plus the city's history is all around you so you can absorb it while moving around rather than having to drag them into museums.

Be prepared for the emotional impact of visiting central European cities - there are many memorials and plaques and it can tell on you after a fortnight.

For any sort of rail holiday, be sure to have a look at the Man in Seat 61 site. It's an absolute mine of information.

As PP said, the Netherlands in tulip season is definitely worth doing. I haven't done the cycling through the bulb region, but did spend a whole day at Keukenhof a few years back, which was beautiful.

I fancy seeing Giethoorn too. I've seen the photos too. Fortunately, as the Netherlands is a relatively small country with great public transport, nowhere is unreachable for at least a day trip, wherever you're based in the country.

Andalucia - the Alhambra in Granada, Ronda, Seville and Cordoba.
Cinque Terre and Portofino
Krakow - Auschwitz and the Salt Mines
Boating holiday on the Canal Du Midi/through the Camargue.

Amazing thanks for all the tips!