Lifetime trip for April: big birthday

[Medicimama]

I have a big birthday coming up. Would like to celebrate by going on a medium to long haul holiday for 2 weeks, maybe a little longer.

Will have DH and tween plus young teen with me.

The key will be decent weather in April. We can go from the end of March until about the 20 April due to school holidays. Would like to avoid monsoons/rainy seasons/anything over 35 degrees.

Likes: Architecture, sea swimming, food, landscapes. Art, museums, city breaks plus beautiful rural areas.

Dislikes: package tours, all inclusive, fly and flop.

Don’t mind: Animals, walks but not full on mountain hiking - though in saying that Northern Indian looks spectacular.
Never been drawn to safaris but won’t rule it out.

Scared of: adrenaline sports, skiing.

Not Down Under as we have family there and visit fairly regularly.

Open to anywhere! Have never been to Japan, Thailand or anywhere in south or Central America so keen on these too.

Is China too far, that would meet the brief?

Japan! It’s just such an amazing place with such variety. Megacities, sleepy rural towns, beautiful nature.

Google Sri Lanka climate and also Vietnam- both fabulous places to visit but climate can be quite regionalised so take note of the specific areas climate wise. Japan will be horrendously expensive due to prime Cherry Blossom season. Panama & Costa Rica could be good.

Japan is surprisingly affordable because of the weak yen. I’ll be going in April for the third year in a row. Flights can very pricy if you fly direct, but hotels in Japan are very reasonably priced. Attractions and eating out (well) are cheap. I’ve been out for dinner for 5 adults at an okonomiyaki restaurant in Osaka and the bill came to £7.50 per person, even with everyone ordering an alcoholic drink. Wild! The food and service were really good too.

Nope not too far. And a recent Race Across the World Series showed I had been discounting it for too long. I feel like I wouldn’t know where to start though!

Hope you have a great trip wherever it is!

I think once you have a destination decided upon, go to Trailfinders and hand over all the logistics to them. They are not a package tour company at all. You tell them what you'd like to see and where you want to go, they'll sort flights, accommodation, private driver if needed, local tours where necessary (and some are best seen with a local guide) and so on.

I only mention it because my sister and BIL are off to discover South Africa soon, and Trailfinders did all the legwork for them once they knew what sis and bil wanted to do.

Kenya is my favourite country. So beautiful and the people are lovely.

Oh and I've been to China. Such a huge culture shock, but fascinating nonetheless. Beijing, Tianjen, Shanghai, Xian and took the bullet train between cities. Amazing.

That was an organised tour with a group of friends and it worked out well, but Trailfinders could do similar so you could see things at your own pace and in your own time.

South Africa safari, Japan, Vietnam would all be recommendations from us. We've travelled a fair bit as a family and these would be our top 3 I would say.

I was going to recommend Thailand but it’ll be over 35c. Brazil?

I would love Brazil! In fact all of Latin America but feel I don’t know where to start. Any tips for a two week itinerary for anyone who has been there?

Thailand has long been on my list but perhaps best done over the Xmas period? Sounds like it would be too hot to explore and I wouldn’t want to just laze around a beach when there is so much to experience.

Japan has been on my list thanks to the falling yen. For the first time in my life it feels like it may be affordable! Though hanami season may pump up costs which is right when we will be there…

I went on a private tour with my family of four. We stayed in five places and travelled by bullet trains and planes. I’ve been to over 60 countries and it was my joint best holiday.