Holiday plans for 2019 (and beyond !)

Probably Northumberland again, been going every year for the last 18 with the odd break for extended family visits to New Zealand. Typically go to the same area in self-catering accommodation - Bamburgh. Stunning beaches, great food and drink, wonderful scenery and lovely walks.  

I was thinking of being a bit more adventurous this year - might get the bus up to Clapham or even Battersea.

As a retired gentleman of leisure,  every day's a holiday.     

We have 12 weeks of work starting on the house in May so we will be spending a lot of days out away from the noise,  and that'll probably be all the 'holidays' we will have until September.    

I've just got back from South Africa (for the umpteenth time)  but this time we were living high on the hog & not out in the bush as I (we) normally do (a specific request from the director of domestic affairs)  so next time its my choice & that just might include a self drive road trip to the north of Namibia or a road trip around Botswana,  but as the okavango flood is between March & August that'll have to be set for 2020.    

Planning for holiday(s) after the house work is WIP.    A long slow please ourselves tour of New Zealand in October & November with some added family time in Australia is favourite at the moment.       Might take a quick 2 weeks in the Caribbean if (big IF) the sargassum weed problem goes away.   Might have short break with friends in Dubai once I have a firmed up contract & start date for the house work.   More planning meetings scheduled.     

Jonners posted:

Probably Northumberland again, been going every year for the last 18 with the odd break for extended family visits to New Zealand. Typically go to the same area in self-catering accommodation - Bamburgh. Stunning beaches, great food and drink, wonderful scenery and lovely walks.  

Ah! Bamburgh !

Beautiful beach and castle. I was brought up in Chester-le-Street and the Northumberland coast was a favourite.

All the way from Alnmouth to the Scottish border we must have visited every beach going.

Whatever you decide, have a good time and let us know how it all went.

Couple of short breaks Upthorpe in Suffolk, February then a hotel break in Norfolk in August. Main holiday is Dominican Republic in April for some sun, whale and dolphin watching, deep sea fishing and relaxing, even more than normal.

Kevin-W posted:

I was thinking of being a bit more adventurous this year - might get the bus up to Clapham or even Battersea.

Steady-on! ????

Don Atkinson posted:

Jonners posted:

Probably Northumberland again, been going every year for the last 18 with the odd break for extended family visits to New Zealand. Typically go to the same area in self-catering accommodation - Bamburgh. Stunning beaches, great food and drink, wonderful scenery and lovely walks.  

Ah! Bamburgh !

Beautiful beach and castle. I was brought up in Chester-le-Street and the Northumberland coast was a favourite.

All the way from Alnmouth to the Scottish border we must have visited every beach going.

Whatever you decide, have a good time and let us know how it all went.

For many years we stayed around Embleton and Dunstan Crags and would walk past Dunstanburgh Castle to Craister for Crab and Whisky soup washed down with a half of Workie Ticket at the Jolly Fisherman. Last year it was a lovely place with a view of the castle at Bamburgh behind the high street. My wife and I are no longer together but I will take the kids there this year, pretty much guaranteed! 

We've had a fabulous 2018 - holiday-wise - spending the savings (not previously spent on black boxes) travelling within Europe: drives to Lake Como (incl. Stelvio Pass and Grindelwald) in June, and to Javea, Spain (via Cahors and Arcachon) in September being highlights ...

... and we'd like to consider Northern Spain (Santander and head west) this year.

But until we have some idea about Brexit I'm not willing to commit.  We we're staying in the Picos Mountains - Northern Spain - when the Jun 16 vote took place ... every holiday since then has cost us 15-20% more and I dread to think what will happen to Sterling this year ... 

We've had holidays in Padstow and nr.Canterbury, Kent in 2018 (Newbeggin-by-the-Sea in Sep 17) and will holiday in these Isles more ... but we've always found most accommodation etc. expensive (not so Newbeggin! )

Mitch

Planning on a return trip to Cascais in Portugal.

stayed ther last year in a fab hotel and decided we just had to return.

a little piece of relaxation heaven.

Another thread opportunity to piss off Chris_R_EPL !!

I've never been to New Zealand. Yet! But am off on a 'Wine-bore' trip there in February, so have added on some holiday time and racked it up to a month. Can't wait.

rodwsmith posted:

Another thread opportunity to piss off Chris_R_EPL !!

I've never been to New Zealand. Yet! But am off on a 'Wine-bore' trip there in February, so have added on some holiday time and racked it up to a month. Can't wait.

 

Good stuff rodwsmith, been 3 times - I think it's a bit like Wiltshire with palm trees. In terms of wineries, there's 1100+ and counting - like California the best ones don't export as they're not producing enough to warrant it. One of the things the wineries do really well is lunch and dinner, a lot of them provide Bistro or full-on Restaurant dining and the quality is great. I was surprised at how expensive it is though, only going to be worse with our exchange rates alas. If you've a choice, I wouldn't recommend flying out west. You'll need a stopover and that's usually LA where you'll be treated like cattle, horrible - my recommendation is to go via Hong Kong, Bangkok or Dubai with Cathay Pacific, Thai Intl or Emirates.

Enjoy - please give us a report when you get back.

Mike-B posted:

 

I've just got back from South Africa (for the umpteenth time)  but this time we were living high on the hog & not out in the bush as I (we) normally do (a specific request from the director of domestic affairs)  so next time its my choice & that just might include a self drive road trip to the north of Namibia or a road trip around Botswana,  but as the okavango flood is between March & August that'll have to be set for 2020.    

 

I went to South Africa about 16 years ago, drove the Garden Route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, great holiday - absolutely stunning country though not fully geared up for tourism at that time. Never felt entirely safe but came back with a lasting love for King Protea, Strelitzia and Ostrich Steak (one of the best steaks I've ever had was on a wine tour of Franschhoek). I particularly liked staying in the converted colonial-style lodges, most Hemmingway-esque and cheap as chips.

The Termagant and I are visiting Budapest, a city I love, in February for a week - staying with a lovely couple who live in a flat near the centre of town (Pest rather than Buda).

I am looking forward to eating lots of cake and meat and drinking lots of wine and coffee, as well as doing lots of walking and relaxing in the thermal baths at Gellért, Széchenyi and Rudas.

We are feeling very wary about booking anything in Europe after end of march, even without the thought that the Ł will plummet to new lows. But we have booked 3 weeks in Georgia (not the Drumpfland version, that country is completely off our radar) to sample the cuisine and the wine and perhaps the mountains, but not at close quarters. A short trip to La Gomera in early February to see some sunshine. Our annual trip to France  has been put on the back burner.  

I hope that sanity will finally prevail but after two wonderful holidays in Portugal and the French Alps last year we’ve elected to stay closer to home in 2019 - Dorset and Snowdonia. Here’s to the wet weather gear

I fly to the EU on business so let’s see how that works first. I also fly to the US regularly so let’s hope that nothing challenging happens there either!

Cbr600 posted:

Planning on a return trip to Cascais in Portugal.

stayed ther last year in a fab hotel and decided we just had to return.

a little piece of relaxation heaven.

That looks some hotel, no wonder you are planning to return !

Northumberland here too-in a few weeks. We hunker down in a nice cottage, walk on the beaches and have a winter recharge.

In March we are flying (for only the second time in 15 years) on a trip to Iceland. My wife has always wanted to see the Northern Lights and this was her choice to celebrate one of those birthdays with a zero in it.

Summer time; sea-kayaking NW Scotland around Kishorn/Torridon. We used to go here all the time to walk the hills but had quite a few years away before returning in 2018 to kayak and fell in love with the area all over again. There are less midges when you are on the water too!

Bruce

Kevin-W posted:

The Termagant and I are visiting Budapest, a city I love, in February for a week - staying with a lovely couple who live in a flat near the centre of town (Pest rather than Buda).

I am looking forward to eating lots of cake and meat and drinking lots of wine and coffee, as well as doing lots of walking and relaxing in the thermal baths at Gellért, Széchenyi and Rudas.

That’s an unusual way to refer to one’s partner! Does she like Budapest as well?

After some crack climbing training in Valle dell'Orco I'll spent part of the summer in the Mont Blanc region.
And hope to able to climb some hard routes on the Grand Capucin and other Tacul's satellites.  

Holidays or upgrade, upgrade or holidays. Seriously, with a daughters wedding this year we may want a holiday but it'll be unlikely. Still  we'll get rid of most of her clutter as she's just got on the mortgage ladder with a bit of help from us and moved from a one bedroom flat to a three bedroom semi! Rich 

Timmo1341 posted:

That’s an unusual way to refer to one’s partner! Does she like Budapest as well?

She went as a kid in the 1970s (her dad was a diplomat so she travelled a lot, and they lived in Vienna for a while) but not since, so she is very much looking forward to it Timmo.

Kevin-W posted:

The Termagant and I are visiting Budapest, a city I love, in February for a week - staying with a lovely couple who live in a flat near the centre of town (Pest rather than Buda).

I am looking forward to eating lots of cake and meat and drinking lots of wine and coffee, as well as doing lots of walking and relaxing in the thermal baths at Gellért, Széchenyi and Rudas.

On a bucket list of mine along with Vienna, Prague and Rome.

Off to my second home in Hong Kong in August to celebrate my Mother-in-Laws 90th birthday. Probably retire there at some point but depends upon the outcome of some test I am about to have.

ewemon posted:

Off to my second home in Hong Kong in August to celebrate my Mother-in-Laws 90th birthday. Probably retire there at some point but depends upon the outcome of some test I am about to have.

Hoping they find nothing but the music and love in your soul.

ewemon posted:

Off to my second home in Hong Kong in August to celebrate my Mother-in-Laws 90th birthday. Probably retire there at some point but depends upon the outcome of some test I am about to have.

Lucky you - I love HK and always built a few days there into the business trips I did to Shenzhen when I worked for Huawei.