DH’s 50th - new year

[ShhhhhItsASurprise]

It’s my DH’s 50th at new year and it’s such a crap time to have a birthday that want to take him (and teen DD) somewhere special.

Had been thinking about Cape Town for 10 days ish but flights seem sooooo expensive. We need to fly back on 3rd January. I was thinking of spending £10-12k but flights are coming in at over £7k.

Does anyone have any experience of flights at this time of year? Are they likely to come down? And if not, where else should I be looking to take him?

It’s not his birthday in August though.

It needs to be over Xmas and new year. There are lots of wonderful places I would go in August. But this trip needs to be at that time.

We don't fix holidays around birthdays. We have a special holiday to mark a birthday but not at the exact time if the timing is wrong. We are very clear about where we want to go so timing matters. If you cannot afford SA in January, I'd go later. That's because I would really want to go there. If you don't care about the country, and anywhere will do because it must be early January, look at Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Jet lag guaranteed due to time difference. Or try Kenya as suggested. You are paying for long haul for a short holiday so why not make it a good one and spend longer there in the summer? Celebrate end of GCSEs and the birthday. Or do something like Christmas markets.

DH wanted to go to the Antarctic for a big birthday. In August. Impossible. So we booked when it was possible. It still meant something, We went to the Galápagos Islands for my 50th. Plus Ecuador. We took dc and my birthday is term time. So we went in the holidays . Didn't make it any less wonderful!

I appreciate your thoughts and suggestions, but it doesn’t really work for us for a number of reasons. (DH is mildly autistic and finds the expectation around big birthdays hard, so being away for them relieves all of that.) We plan on doing Japan at the end of DD’s GCSEs as the timing is good. Which is why I’d rather not spend a fortune on the birthday trip if I don’t have to, but I do want it to be something special to mark the occasion.

We hate Xmas so will swerve anywhere that majors on Xmas markets. And not the kind of people who lie on beaches reading books but would prefer somewhere warm and dry over somewhere cold in December. We always hire a car and explore.

I’m looking at Kenya as an option. Absolutely don’t want to go too far west or east in terms of time zones.

I don’t mind going at a different time for my birthdays - we did an August road trip for my October 40th because that’s when there was a total eclipse. But for DH it needs to be at that time.

@ShhhhhItsASurprise Personally I would not go to Japan in our summer holidays. It's very hot and humid there. For sightseeing it's not ideal. We too don't lie on beaches but as you are discovering, January limits options. We have hired a yacht in the Caribbean and that was wonderful. There's learn to sail holidays too.

You obviously have the southern USA - problematic for some now and a fairly big time shift. Otherwise you have Africa: North to south. If you do one flight this cuts out options like Botswana, Tanzania and probably Zambia. Kenya is doable as you say but you need to be careful with the itinerary. You could spend a lot of time travelling and not much seeing.

What about India? Some time difference but iconic. Personally I think it would be a bit whistle stop, but Rajasthan is possible. If you are adventurous, try a train journey. There's also heritage hotels there that aren't expensive. Or go further south for very good weather. Flights are direct to various cities but you would only get a taster.

I count myself lucky regarding flexibility!

She’ll finish her exams in May/early June, which I understood would be a good time to go to Japan?

I don’t know whether DH would enjoy India - his brother spends 75% of his time there working. He definitely won’t go anywhere near the States anytime soon!

(I’m water phobic so definitely no yachts!)

It needs to be over Xmas and new year. There are lots of wonderful places I would go in August. But this trip needs to be at that time.

I sympathise, I'm turning 50 a couple of days earlier, and I've given up on going further than Europe due to the cost. Hopefully it will be nice though.

@ShhhhhItsASurprise It was hot in May when we went to Japan. June is hot. It's cheaper then of course. Cherry blossom and autumn colours are peak seasons and nicer weather.

If you appreciate culture and amazing architecture, India is fantastic. Always choose a very good hotel though. The heritage hotels can be exquisite.

I think India sounds fantastic. The jet lag wouldn't be too bad, great weather and you could do the golden triangle or safari which would be memorable.
Just so you are aware re: GCSE exams, students are asked to be available until the end of the first week on June in case of resits, so probably wont be able to fly until at least 8th June. Its not as early finish as you think!

I know! Grew up in the southern hemisphere and my birthday then was not only over new year, but in the middle of the school summer holidays. So I have experienced the worst of both!