The I'm Going on Holiday!! Thread

[Neon Ignition]

edit by charlesr: I suggest not mentioning actual dates of holiday. Just in case someone joins the dots.

We've had some country/advice specific threads before but I thought it could be good to have a general thread where we could talk about where we're going, things we've stumbled across, post pics after we've been review destinations etc as a more general discussion thread. It's still soon after christmas but with the annual January Holidays sales and heavy promotion that companies insist on doing from Boxing Day onwards have any of you started booking your summer weeks up?

I've just started turning my head towards planning a holiday out for September time after, what will have been, a four year gap between holidays. Last time I did Vegas/LA Disneyland and swore it off for a while to see other places but after such a long dry spell and having not yet been away with my other half we've decided to redo the Vegas/Disneyland plan. It is however a tighter squeeze as we've moving in together in March so there's a lot of cost there and it's chunkily more expensive to go away these days. We're going to break it up with 5 nights in Vegas, 2 in LA and 7 in Vegas for a 2 week run there. Going to LA we'll be doing a 12 hour journey the long way taking us through Death Valley and up Mount Whitney which should be fun after a year of not driving at all.


We've just booked the LA hotel which is 5 minutes walk from Disney's gate. Fingers crossed it doesn't belly up as we haven't booked the flight yet!

[Neon Ignition]

A solid month later and arguably the biggest hurdle is now out the way as the flight has been booked. We've managed to nab direct flights so there's less to deal with and less travel time plus the return flight isn't till 5pm so there's no rushing around that day either. It's properly agonising clicking that confirm button, especially seeing the price break down and just how much actually is taxes etc.

The plan to do the elongated road trip is out the window too now as I have to accomodate the possibility of getting married whilst we're over there so it'll be a direct freeway job which at the end of the day is easier. My sister got engaged, organised her wedding and got married there in a 6 week window so I should be fine

Next up is the second hotel booking. I think I'm settled on which one as we need to keep costs down initially (plus she doesn't know anything about the whole wedding plan) in order to ensure everything remains covered.

[ETC]

I'm pretty lucky in that respect my best mate works for one of the big air carriers so i can usually get a cheaper flight due to discounts if will be wherever he says I can have a cheap deal for this year I guess not bothered where as long as its not Iran or Syria I'm quite fancying South Korea but will have to see how much $ it will be

[Neon Ignition]

Cheers Charles Didn't even think of that!

I'd definitely like to branch out location wise after this one.

[J0e Musashi]

My main holiday this year is in Sardinia. I think my Mrs. is going to propose to me when we are there. Corfu and Morocco have also been booked up.

[EJG1980]

Going to spend a week in Snowdonia in May. Staying in a 16th century house surrounded by mountains, water for the house supplied by a natural spring, should be very nice! Hopefully the weather is okay, it is supposed to be one of the wettest places in the UK!

[Adrock]

How much does that kind of holiday set you back HumanEnergy? I've got two kids, both very young, so I'm looking at doing some kind of domestic holiday if the funds allow it this year.

[ETC]

I forgot I'm taking the missus down to London zoo for her birthday next month that and got surprise tickets to see Sarah Millican and Bill Bailey warm up show hopefully that will keep her sweet for a bit

[EJG1980]

How much does that kind of holiday set you back HumanEnergy? I've got two kids, both very young, so I'm looking at doing some kind of domestic holiday if the funds allow it this year.

About ?750 to rent the house for the week. Works out quite well for a family as it's just a fee for the house, not per person. We wanted a lot of room so we went for house that sleeps eight even though only four of us are going (one in a wheelchair so the extra space makes things easier). You can get nice houses / cottages that sleep less for ?400-500 ish. This is the site we booked through.

[Taka]

Looking at one of the three following option for this year: 7 - 10 days in Tokyo, 7 days in New York, or 4 days in Barcelona.

Tokyo is proving rather expensive looking at flights and hotels for the other half and I are coming in at ?120+ a night for the ones we do want to stay in. Friends out there have offered we stay with them but I really don't want to impose on them. I was there previously on my own for about 8 days and had an amazing time and would love to share it all again with somebody this time.

I've wanted to return to New York for a long time; last time I was out there was a few months before 9/11. Other half has never been to New York before and cost wise, it's not looking too shabby.

Barcelona is the other half's previous stomping ground, having previously lived there. I've barely travelled around Europe and it would prove to be quite a cheap break for a couple of days.

[Neon Ignition]

Key sights I'm eager to see again:

[fuse]

This time next month I will returning home after a week in Tokyo! Due to the rather last minute nature of it I'm a little shorter on cash for it than I'd like to be, but I've done a decent job of curbing my gaming outgoings throughout Jan and Feb to give me a little extra cash in hand. As we're only there a week there won't be too much travelling outside of Tokyo but that can be saved for another trip I'm sure.

[Charlie]

Going to spend a week in Snowdonia in May. Staying in a 16th century house surrounded by mountains, water for the house supplied by a natural spring, should be very nice! Hopefully the weather is okay, it is supposed to be one of the wettest places in the UK!

Yeah, Snowdonia, generally speaking, is a very wet part of the country. It's stunningly beautiful though, more so in the summer, but even in when it's wet and windy it has a certain charm. I've lived here for over 10 years now and the landscape kinda resonates in your soul. Be sure to explore Llanberis and it's immediate area which is full of lakes and waterfalls and forests and wild meadows, and definitely walk up Snowdon (or take the train if you're lazy) as despite being somewhat tarnished by tourists the view from the summit is mesmerising and you should be able to see Ireland on a clear day.

[QualityChimp]

Key sights I'm eager to see again:

Wow! You're going to New York, Hollywood and Venice!

Hey, waitaminute...

[Neon Ignition]

*blows the thick layer of dust off the thread*

Sweet jesus, this was a depressing rediscovery. Seven years later and other than three nights spent in EuroDisney in 2014 I haven't been on holiday since 2012. With all the current new year advertising going on we had a little look at how we're doing and it looks like going on a proper big holiday should be doable... in about another 5 years...

4 if we sacrifice the idea of having another kid to the Gods...