1 month holiday - what would you do?
Discussion
Next year I'll have worked for my current firm for 10 years and as such get an extra 2 weeks holiday which can be used to make up a 1 month holiday. I normally struggle to take off 2 weeks each year so a month long holiday will be something very special to me and unlikely to be repeated any time soon.
I've got 2 sons who will be aged 3 and 5 years next year and money is quite tight at the moment, so I think 4 weeks in Australia might be too much of a stretch.
Anyone got any inspirational ideas of what we can do for a month - it'll be me, the wife and the kids. It will need to be during school holidays. My first thoughts were to load the car with tent and camping equipment and see as much of France as we can in a month.
I've got 2 sons who will be aged 3 and 5 years next year and money is quite tight at the moment, so I think 4 weeks in Australia might be too much of a stretch.
Anyone got any inspirational ideas of what we can do for a month - it'll be me, the wife and the kids. It will need to be during school holidays. My first thoughts were to load the car with tent and camping equipment and see as much of France as we can in a month.
Ooh. Kids make this a whole different kind of question. I know this sounds terrible, but have you considered palming the kids off on relatives and going away without them? They're probably too young to really remember it anyway...;)
France is probably quite a good shout but will be quite hot in the summer which will be annoying after a while. Have you considered going north? Germany has an awful lot of stuff to do, is bigger, and does have some quite nice beaches on the Baltic. Perhaps Sweden if you feel a bit more adventurous?
France is probably quite a good shout but will be quite hot in the summer which will be annoying after a while. Have you considered going north? Germany has an awful lot of stuff to do, is bigger, and does have some quite nice beaches on the Baltic. Perhaps Sweden if you feel a bit more adventurous?
Depends HOW tight money is.
Given a month's holiday with the family... I'd go mad!
France IS a good shout, you can get in green countryside, iconic cities, hot beaches and mountains all in one country, not that many can offer that in a manageable time period.
To be honest, with a limited budget (assuming petrol costs aren't going to prevent you travelling that far) I'm struggling to think of a better suggestion, although a trip across Belgium, down through Germany (taking in the Black Forest, maybe, Munich and the Alps) and Austria into Northern Italy (including Venice) might be a good option?
If you fancy a change of pace month, what about hiring a cottage in the Highlands for a month and just relaxing, letting the kids play in the garden? We spent one week in Lochaline some years ago, with a cottage right on the Loch side, it was wonderful.
M.
Given a month's holiday with the family... I'd go mad!
France IS a good shout, you can get in green countryside, iconic cities, hot beaches and mountains all in one country, not that many can offer that in a manageable time period.
To be honest, with a limited budget (assuming petrol costs aren't going to prevent you travelling that far) I'm struggling to think of a better suggestion, although a trip across Belgium, down through Germany (taking in the Black Forest, maybe, Munich and the Alps) and Austria into Northern Italy (including Venice) might be a good option?
If you fancy a change of pace month, what about hiring a cottage in the Highlands for a month and just relaxing, letting the kids play in the garden? We spent one week in Lochaline some years ago, with a cottage right on the Loch side, it was wonderful.
M.
Cheers for the thoughts, keep them coming. I only found out about the extra 2 weeks on Friday, so it's been sprung on me and I'll be doing lots of research over the coming months on what to do.
I guess money is not that tight, I just figured a 4 week holiday during school holidays for 4 people could start getting very expensive - we've been used to holidaying outside school holidays. Over the past few years we've hired a villa in Lanzarote which has worked out quite cost effective and I do already have a skiing holiday with the lads booked for next year. If someone is able to suggest something really special that might be costly I'm sure I could find the money - I just wouldn't dream of dropping £10k to spend 4 weeks at a Hilton in Egypt and I think the kids are too young for the likes of Disneyworld.
Much as dropping the kids off with the family for 4 weeks and disappearing to the Maldives sounds appealing I think that would be a non starter. Although I guess we could do 3 weeks with the kids and then disappear somewhere hot for a week without the kids.
We do have pretty much unrestricted use of a couple of holiday homes, one in the Lake District and one in Iceland, so I think hiring a holiday home elsewhere would not be that attractive and as we use these places regularly already, spending the time there would not feel that special either.
I like the sound of Germany and Belgium.
I guess money is not that tight, I just figured a 4 week holiday during school holidays for 4 people could start getting very expensive - we've been used to holidaying outside school holidays. Over the past few years we've hired a villa in Lanzarote which has worked out quite cost effective and I do already have a skiing holiday with the lads booked for next year. If someone is able to suggest something really special that might be costly I'm sure I could find the money - I just wouldn't dream of dropping £10k to spend 4 weeks at a Hilton in Egypt and I think the kids are too young for the likes of Disneyworld.
Much as dropping the kids off with the family for 4 weeks and disappearing to the Maldives sounds appealing I think that would be a non starter. Although I guess we could do 3 weeks with the kids and then disappear somewhere hot for a week without the kids.
We do have pretty much unrestricted use of a couple of holiday homes, one in the Lake District and one in Iceland, so I think hiring a holiday home elsewhere would not be that attractive and as we use these places regularly already, spending the time there would not feel that special either.
I like the sound of Germany and Belgium.
A month is a nice ammount of time to spend touring California, but to put it into context I wouldn't expect to get much change out of 2.5 to 3k at a guess for flights. But once you're there you could do it pretty cheap if you wanted to. Deserts, beaches, mountains, lakes it has allot to offer in a relatively small area.
Also South Africa has all the above but is cheap as chips when you get there. Kids and adults alike might enjoy a safari. Just some ideas, now that the Euro is a little weaker other than skiing Europe is starting to look more tempting for longer trips to me too.
Also South Africa has all the above but is cheap as chips when you get there. Kids and adults alike might enjoy a safari. Just some ideas, now that the Euro is a little weaker other than skiing Europe is starting to look more tempting for longer trips to me too.
I do love the idea of touring New Zealand, California or South Africa. South Africa would be my wife's dream holiday and something she's wanted to do for years. I just don't feel the kids would appreciate it and I know they'd definately not appreciate spending hours in a car.
Lots of thinking for me to do, and even more research.
Lots of thinking for me to do, and even more research.
JQ said:
I do love the idea of touring New Zealand, California or South Africa. South Africa would be my wife's dream holiday and something she's wanted to do for years. I just don't feel the kids would appreciate it and I know they'd definately not appreciate spending hours in a car.
Lots of thinking for me to do, and even more research.
My brothers kids would have been one and three and they loved it (certainly the three year old, not sure one year olds have much opinion on things). The three year old is nearly nine now and can still remember steering a boat across somewhere and eating Green Lip muscles the size of his hands.Lots of thinking for me to do, and even more research.
If your kids will be 3 and 5 next year, then i assume only one will be at school and only in their first year, you will be shocked at the difference in prices going during the school holidays and going outside the school holidays
4 week holiday in the school holidays will be best part of 10k plus spending money, why not split these weeks up into different holidays
I get bored after about 10 days on holiday
4 week holiday in the school holidays will be best part of 10k plus spending money, why not split these weeks up into different holidays
I get bored after about 10 days on holiday
snowy said:
If your kids will be 3 and 5 next year, then i assume only one will be at school and only in their first year, you will be shocked at the difference in prices going during the school holidays and going outside the school holidays
4 week holiday in the school holidays will be best part of 10k plus spending money, why not split these weeks up into different holidays
I get bored after about 10 days on holiday
In reality, the appeal for me is a month away from work. I struggle to take 2 weeks consecutively as it is, due to workload. With this, I'm sort of forced to take it off as a big break, which really does sound rather nice. We may just end up taking 2 weeks at the June half term and I take a week off either side, but 4 weeks abroad with the whole family does sound good.4 week holiday in the school holidays will be best part of 10k plus spending money, why not split these weeks up into different holidays
I get bored after about 10 days on holiday
The money thing is definitely a concern hence why travelling round Europe is quite appealing - spend 4 or 5 days in different campsites - mountains, beaches, lakes, cities, rural. If we end up somewhere crap, just move, if we end somewhere good just stay. Plus if we end up hating it or bored we can just drive home!
Any of New Zealand, SA, or the States would all be awesome I reckon.
I've just got back from a fortnight in the States. It was a great trip but bloody expensive overall and to make it worthwhile you have to cover a lot of miles, so I'm not sure it'd be ideal with very little 'uns.
NZ is stunning and you could realistically do the whole country in a month (we did both islands in 3.5 weeks). The scenery is relentlessly beautiful - it's like driving into a postcard - but again, not having kids I can't say whether that'd mean much to them.
I've not been to SA but if you fancy Africa I'd highly recommend Zambia. Lovely people, fantastic game parks and you've got Vic Falls which is awesome (in the true sense of the word).
I've just got back from a fortnight in the States. It was a great trip but bloody expensive overall and to make it worthwhile you have to cover a lot of miles, so I'm not sure it'd be ideal with very little 'uns.
NZ is stunning and you could realistically do the whole country in a month (we did both islands in 3.5 weeks). The scenery is relentlessly beautiful - it's like driving into a postcard - but again, not having kids I can't say whether that'd mean much to them.
I've not been to SA but if you fancy Africa I'd highly recommend Zambia. Lovely people, fantastic game parks and you've got Vic Falls which is awesome (in the true sense of the word).
snowy said:
If your kids will be 3 and 5 next year, then i assume only one will be at school and only in their first year, you will be shocked at the difference in prices going during the school holidays and going outside the school holidays
I doubt that applies to long haul trips? I've done trips in August and there was no noticeable difference in prices.snowy said:
I get bored after about 10 days on holiday
Go to more interesting places then We did Thailand for a month last Christmas,getting there is the expensive bit but choose when you go carefully it doesn't have to be extortionate,we go again in 2013 and the flights are half the cost of Christmas flights.
Thailand is very easy with small children as the Thais love kids and nothing is too much trouble
Thailand is very easy with small children as the Thais love kids and nothing is too much trouble
JQ said:
I do love the idea of touring New Zealand, California or South Africa. South Africa would be my wife's dream holiday and something she's wanted to do for years. I just don't feel the kids would appreciate it and I know they'd definately not appreciate spending hours in a car.
Lots of thinking for me to do, and even more research.
It sounds like you could be spending a good bit of time in the car regardless OP? In driving the garden route is popular in SA basically leaving Cape Town and travelling east. You can stop as often as you like to break the journey up, very geared up for tourism so there is a wildlife park or other sight every few miles it seems. And it’s all really cheap, found it much cheaper than the US for everything minus fuel.Lots of thinking for me to do, and even more research.
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