Where to go in February - interesting with some culture and some beach - anyway !

[lotsofideasnoideas]

Hoping to go away with DH for somewhere between 7-14 days in February. Flying from London, considered India and touring golden triangle and Goa with a tour operator with decent accommodation it was £4k each which i appreciate is probably right but over what i'm looking to pay for now.
Thoughts are do we leave it to January and look for a last minute Caribbean week or do we try and plan ourselves by booking a flight and booking our own accommodation in somewhere like Thailand ? Vietnam ? I know im farly last minute but never just booked a weeks holiday and literally looked the week before!
Not to be fussy but DH has said no to Tenerife/ canaries, Egypt and Mexico - no idea why!
Budget to £5k ish for the two of us. Flexible on dates in February. HELP !

We went to Athens.

not overly warm but was lovely. Swam in a thermal lake.

@Octavia64 that sounds interesting love the idea of Athens

Places I’ve been to at this time of year are South Africa, Brazil, Caribbean, Dubai, Qatar, Miami then a cruise, LA then a cruise, Cambodia and Vietnam on the same holiday, lots of different Caribbean islands normally staying in two different places.

I would go back to all these places.

Both your booking options work, leaving it to last minute would probably work better if you any a simple holiday such as 10 days in St Lucia staying in one place or something like that.

@FastTurtle when you did Cambodia / Vietnam did you use an agent to book the trip or did you organise everything seperately, I used to think even for Long haul doing yourself cheaper but sometimes it seems you get better deals getting hotels included.

Feb is a good time of the year for Sri Lanka. There’s a lot of stuff to see and beaches.

Ive been to Dubai, Miami, St Lucia, Belize and LA, Brazil was an option but someone said Rain forest too wet then and Rio expensive due to carnival and seems a bit unsettled at the moment. Has anyone done Costa Rica? guessing peru out of budget?
What are best sites for last minute deals ?

I booked with a company called Scenic, I stayed in Cambodia, then went on a cruise to Vietnam and then stayed there for a few days.

I do lots of my trips packaged up unless I’m staying with friends for a few days and then going in somewhere, I don’t find it more expensive. For example when I went to Cape Town a 8 night stay in a family suite in a lovely hotel with breakfast, flights and transfers for a family of 4 was exactly the same price as just the flights.

The trip t Cambodia/Vietnsm and a holiday to China in March were my two favourite holidays ever.

I just saw that you mentioned Costa Rica, I think that’s a good option.

My DB has done Hong Kong/Vietnam combo a few times that he’s booked himself.

@lotsofideasnoideas For the length of time you have, just look at one country. I’d definitely look at South Africa. You can stay in lovely guest houses and I’d try the Garden Route from Cape Town. Should be ample to see and do. I’ve booked myself because the guest houses aren’t offered by tour operators.

Sri Lanka would work. As would India. However both need 14 days as more jet lag than SA.

Oh yes - hadn't considered SA.

If you pick Vietnam, you can check out Phu Quoc island for beach time in South of Vietnam.