ideas for relaxing holiday
Discussion
Hi All,
The misses and I are thinking about going on holiday that involves nothing but lazying around in the sun etc, at the moment we are looking into the Maldieves or Barbados but we maybe over looking some other locations. Does anyone have any recommendations for the Maldieves? we would like all inclusive, and something thats pretty nice
Whats Barbados like? I have spent a month in the Bahamas which I found disapointing somehow.
Cheers all!
The misses and I are thinking about going on holiday that involves nothing but lazying around in the sun etc, at the moment we are looking into the Maldieves or Barbados but we maybe over looking some other locations. Does anyone have any recommendations for the Maldieves? we would like all inclusive, and something thats pretty nice
Whats Barbados like? I have spent a month in the Bahamas which I found disapointing somehow.
Cheers all!
Barbados was lovely when me and Mrs Ghost were there a few years back. However, there are lots of places that are "touristy" and you can avoid by not going on tours etc. We hired a Mini Moke for a few days and went off exploring the island and spent most of our time at the hotel being waited on whilst relaxing on sun loungers.
I am off here http://www.dreamsresorts.com/dretu/ on Saturday so will report back if it looks like it would interest you.
I am off here http://www.dreamsresorts.com/dretu/ on Saturday so will report back if it looks like it would interest you.
Did Maldives last year (Vilamendhoo) and Barbados just last month.
Vilamendhoo was picked because it's got one of the best house-reefs, and one really close to shore. So if you like snorkeling it's genuinely very good - saw a turtle just off the reef ~100yds from our water villa, saw black-tips swimming around the shallows, and had a stingray swim right under our villa on a couple of nights.
Island is beautiful, 1/2-day boat-trips (manta ray trip and whale shark / turtles trip) are well run and comparatively cheap (thoroughly enjoyed both, sunset cruise was quite nice too), service is moderately good but in a "policy" rather than "culture" type of way, IYSWIM. Water villas are very nice and well equipped, beach jacuzzi villas are the most popular, would avoid the garden villas. Beach is nice white sand, but not very big in places. For the money it should have been a "Oh yes" holiday, but it just dropped a little short.
Food was...OK. Buffet food, nicely prepared, reasonable variety...but nothing 'wow' - no shellfish at all while we were there, the fish permanently seemed to be one type of reef-fish (except for 1 day it was tuna), and for us (foodies) it was the biggest let-down. AI there isn't AI in the caribbean sense of the word, either, but it was (just) enough for us.
£4k total spend for 7 nights AI in a water villa, inc. airport parking. Flights were indirect with Emirates and the way back had a 6hr wait at Male and a 5hr layover in Dubai - 26hrs door-to-door, killed us, jet-lag wise. Would fly direct with BA (yes, I know...) next time.
Barbados we did on a little bit of a budget (£3k inc spending money for 7 nights, 4 AI @ Sugar Cane Club, 3 SC @ cheap 'villa' on outskirts of Holetown - properly good beach resorts there are £££!!! But we really liked the place. Drive on the left, speak English, can drink the water, the Bajans have a really nice way about them (most of them), great sense of humour. Much more character to the place.
Food was also much better - Sugar Cane Club a-la-carte is properly good, buffet nights passable only. AI included a variety of cocktails and they were quite happy to keep them coming, although often you had to go and fetch them. Two of the other restaurants we ate out at (~£90-110 for 3 courses for 2 plus a couple of drinks) were REALLY good - AA rosette quality, right on the coast locations.
Snorkeling was a disappointment by comparison though. Catamaran trip was very good albeit comparatively pricey @ US$110 each (bigger, better boat and good lunch provided though) - turtle snorkeling seemed almost too easy (turtles are habituated and associate boats with food now), reef snorkeling after was still a disappointment. Beaches are nice though, both West and South coast - almost as good as Maldives in the south, hit-and-miss on the West coast.
Conclusion:- Like-for-like they're probably similar costs - neither cheap! If chilling and snorkeling is a priority, pick Vilamendoo. If chilling and food, pick another Maldive. If sightseeing and food, or sightseeing and a bit of atmosphere / nice vibe / good bars, pick Barbados. Maldives also perhaps a little far for 1 week...Barbados just about OK (8.15hrs Barbados vs 11hrs direct Maldives).
Edit: Time of year will matter - wet/hurricane season in Barbados starts in July, IIRC. Maldives also have wet season, although there I think it's very tropical - all at once in the afternoon, then sunny again.
Alternatives: Seychelles, Mauritius, Belize or Grenada (both have VG snorkeling and beaches, Belize an up-and-coming holiday destination), 5* resorts in Morocco.
Vilamendhoo was picked because it's got one of the best house-reefs, and one really close to shore. So if you like snorkeling it's genuinely very good - saw a turtle just off the reef ~100yds from our water villa, saw black-tips swimming around the shallows, and had a stingray swim right under our villa on a couple of nights.
Island is beautiful, 1/2-day boat-trips (manta ray trip and whale shark / turtles trip) are well run and comparatively cheap (thoroughly enjoyed both, sunset cruise was quite nice too), service is moderately good but in a "policy" rather than "culture" type of way, IYSWIM. Water villas are very nice and well equipped, beach jacuzzi villas are the most popular, would avoid the garden villas. Beach is nice white sand, but not very big in places. For the money it should have been a "Oh yes" holiday, but it just dropped a little short.
Food was...OK. Buffet food, nicely prepared, reasonable variety...but nothing 'wow' - no shellfish at all while we were there, the fish permanently seemed to be one type of reef-fish (except for 1 day it was tuna), and for us (foodies) it was the biggest let-down. AI there isn't AI in the caribbean sense of the word, either, but it was (just) enough for us.
£4k total spend for 7 nights AI in a water villa, inc. airport parking. Flights were indirect with Emirates and the way back had a 6hr wait at Male and a 5hr layover in Dubai - 26hrs door-to-door, killed us, jet-lag wise. Would fly direct with BA (yes, I know...) next time.
Barbados we did on a little bit of a budget (£3k inc spending money for 7 nights, 4 AI @ Sugar Cane Club, 3 SC @ cheap 'villa' on outskirts of Holetown - properly good beach resorts there are £££!!! But we really liked the place. Drive on the left, speak English, can drink the water, the Bajans have a really nice way about them (most of them), great sense of humour. Much more character to the place.
Food was also much better - Sugar Cane Club a-la-carte is properly good, buffet nights passable only. AI included a variety of cocktails and they were quite happy to keep them coming, although often you had to go and fetch them. Two of the other restaurants we ate out at (~£90-110 for 3 courses for 2 plus a couple of drinks) were REALLY good - AA rosette quality, right on the coast locations.
Snorkeling was a disappointment by comparison though. Catamaran trip was very good albeit comparatively pricey @ US$110 each (bigger, better boat and good lunch provided though) - turtle snorkeling seemed almost too easy (turtles are habituated and associate boats with food now), reef snorkeling after was still a disappointment. Beaches are nice though, both West and South coast - almost as good as Maldives in the south, hit-and-miss on the West coast.
Conclusion:- Like-for-like they're probably similar costs - neither cheap! If chilling and snorkeling is a priority, pick Vilamendoo. If chilling and food, pick another Maldive. If sightseeing and food, or sightseeing and a bit of atmosphere / nice vibe / good bars, pick Barbados. Maldives also perhaps a little far for 1 week...Barbados just about OK (8.15hrs Barbados vs 11hrs direct Maldives).
Edit: Time of year will matter - wet/hurricane season in Barbados starts in July, IIRC. Maldives also have wet season, although there I think it's very tropical - all at once in the afternoon, then sunny again.
Alternatives: Seychelles, Mauritius, Belize or Grenada (both have VG snorkeling and beaches, Belize an up-and-coming holiday destination), 5* resorts in Morocco.
Edited by havoc on Friday 9th March 18:44
The wife and I were in the same boat a month or so ago - didn't want to do Thailand as we had both been a couple of times when it was less popular (I was last in Phuket 14 years ago !).
I agree with the comments about Singapore being too sterile - I felt the same.
So we choose for Vietnam. Had 3 days in Hanoi, just doing 7 days in Nha Trang and next Thursday we head to Ho Chi Min for the last 3 days. Really interesting time in Hanoi with the mix between modern and traditional Vietnamese culture - still feels pretty authentic although if you want to take photos of locals they all want money !
We're currently here in Nha Trang and would thoroughly recommend it for a relaxing time away. We've been pretty lucky in our travels having stayed in some great hotels and this ones certainly up there.
Looking forwards to Ho Chi Min next week !
I agree with the comments about Singapore being too sterile - I felt the same.
So we choose for Vietnam. Had 3 days in Hanoi, just doing 7 days in Nha Trang and next Thursday we head to Ho Chi Min for the last 3 days. Really interesting time in Hanoi with the mix between modern and traditional Vietnamese culture - still feels pretty authentic although if you want to take photos of locals they all want money !
We're currently here in Nha Trang and would thoroughly recommend it for a relaxing time away. We've been pretty lucky in our travels having stayed in some great hotels and this ones certainly up there.
Looking forwards to Ho Chi Min next week !
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