Dream holiday where????

enzo7

Ok ive always said i wanted to go on a once in a life time holiday for my 30th. Its not till jan 2012 so ive loads of times to save. But ive no idea where??? my kids will be 5+6 and both in school then so we would be going during christmas holidays so 10 days or possible 14 days (would mean being away for xmas:().

Where would you go??? not keen on asia as i hated malyasia when i was there. But would like it to be hot. And also somewhere the kids would enjoy too. Any suggestions welcome:)

cfitz

Hawaii is fantastic. Beautiful beaches, brilliant weather, great hotels, good food, snorkelling...

Personally, I'd prefer an African safari holiday, but maybe that's not for everyone, and it might be hard work for the kids.

enzo7

Really luv the idea of the african safari had a quick look into it this morn and there is "family safaris" and i could add a week on the beach too.
Hadnt really considered this before as i though the kids maybe too young but going to look into it more and see i know dd2 esp would luv this as she is animal crazy!!! We all luv animals really. I found an irish company who are experts in this so will contact them.

Will also have a look into hawaii also if the safari doesnt work out.

Thanks for your reply.

8kvscdpglqnyr4

Africian Safari would be my suggestion too.
You can easily get an African safari in Tanzania for 3 or 4 days ... then quick flight to Zanzibar for 7 days on the beach! It's not cheap though!

enzo7

Would 3/4 days be enough to do the safari??? Its a once in a life time trip so im fairly felixable with budget (within reason:D). I was looking at kenya will have a look at tamzania also.It not till xmas/newyear 2011 or easter 2012 so ive around 2yrs to save. Kids will be in school so im restricted to school holidays.

cfitz

I did a 5 day safari in Kgalagadi, South Africa (the Kalahari desert) - in 5 days of relentless driving I saw most of what I wanted to see. I'd love to go back and spend much longer, but still you could probably see a lot in 4 days. We did it in a rental car with no kids though - on a guided tour you might see more in a shorter time and also you might bored quicker if you're not in control of the exploration!

preddy

enzo7 wrote: »

Would 3/4 days be enough to do the safari??? Its a once in a life time trip so im fairly felixable with budget (within reason:D). I was looking at kenya will have a look at tamzania also.It not till xmas/newyear 2011 or easter 2012 so ive around 2yrs to save. Kids will be in school so im restricted to school holidays.

+1 for Safari, Visit Cape town for a few days then safari was amazing trip.
3 days is plenty, one i was on in SA was 3 hours out at 5am till 8 then you rest all day by the pool and out again at 5pm for another 3 hours.
I used www.2by2holidays.co.uk for everything

enzo7

cfitz wrote: »

I did a 5 day safari in Kgalagadi, South Africa (the Kalahari desert) - in 5 days of relentless driving I saw most of what I wanted to see. I'd love to go back and spend much longer, but still you could probably see a lot in 4 days. We did it in a rental car with no kids though - on a guided tour you might see more in a shorter time and also you might bored quicker if you're not in control of the exploration!

Sounds amazing, think id rather stick to a guided tour with the kids though. 3-4 days would prob be enough with the kids anyway.

enzo7

preddy wrote: »

+1 for Safari, Visit Cape town for a few days then safari was amazing trip.
3 days is plenty, one i was on in SA was 3 hours out at 5am till 8 then you rest all day by the pool and out again at 5pm for another 3 hours.
I used www.2by2holidays.co.uk for everything

Will check out that site thanks. How did you find cape town was it safe??? You only hear about the horror stories:rolleyes:.

sally_09

enzo7 wrote: »

Ok ive always said i wanted to go on a once in a life time holiday for my 30th. Its not till jan 2012 so ive loads of times to save. But ive no idea where??? my kids will be 5+6 and both in school then so we would be going during christmas holidays so 10 days or possible 14 days (would mean being away for xmas:().

Where would you go??? not keen on asia as i hated malyasia when i was there. But would like it to be hot. And also somewhere the kids would enjoy too. Any suggestions welcome:)

You hated Malaysia??! :eek: Where abouts did you go? I was about to post it as my dream holiday!!

enzo7

I was in kuala lumpur i know there is much more to the country than that but really didnt like it, my bro hated it more we were dieing to leave.

Ive spent ages today researching the safari idea it def something i really want to do and i know the kids would luv it. The only prob is i read i should avoid xmas and easter as the prices are sky high:eek:. So may put it off until the summer time ill be 30 and a half:D. Also the kids will be 6+7 by then that little bit older.

shanagarry

Do have a look into doing a self-drive safari in South Africa, Kruger is probably the best. If you use national park accommodation it can be done very reasonably. Have a look at www.sanparks.org.za. You will be a lot more flexible if you have your own car, being able to take breaks whenever you want, and also being able to bring things like computer consoles etc to keep the kids entertained if they get bored. A good few of the camps have pools and they will meet plenty of kids there to play with, a lot more than at one of the luxury camps. You can book to go on guided drives as well at the camps. The only thing to be aware of is that it is absolute peak time so you will have to be ready to book as soon as bookings open.

As for safety in Cape Town, it's not something that should put you off coming to visit. Yes, there are some unpleasant areas, but as a tourist, your chances of ending up in them is virtually nil. The main tourist areas are as safe as any big city, once you take the normal precautions of not flashing jewellery, walking in quiet areas after dark etc.

Just as a reference point, I'm Irish and have been living in Cape Town for the last 2.5 years, with no hassle.

cynder

i had a 20month old and 3 year old and 9 year old and went to disney world florida for 2 weeks, my advice is DONT GO THERE. 17nov to 3rd dec

we had booked barbados all inclusive for 10 days at 6,900€. an hour later we got a phone call saying because of the baby they wuldnt except us, we could hower upgrade our room for an extra 2,000€ and they would accommodate us. we told them to stuff it. i really really wanted to go to barbados all water sports were covered in the all inclusive package and drinks and food and snacks. that was from the 1st of dec for 10 days.

we then went to disney florida and to tell you france was way better.

a good travel mag to look at is tropical holidays.

enzo7

shanagarry wrote: »

Do have a look into doing a self-drive safari in South Africa, Kruger is probably the best. If you use national park accommodation it can be done very reasonably. Have a look at www.sanparks.org.za. You will be a lot more flexible if you have your own car, being able to take breaks whenever you want, and also being able to bring things like computer consoles etc to keep the kids entertained if they get bored. A good few of the camps have pools and they will meet plenty of kids there to play with, a lot more than at one of the luxury camps. You can book to go on guided drives as well at the camps. The only thing to be aware of is that it is absolute peak time so you will have to be ready to book as soon as bookings open.

As for safety in Cape Town, it's not something that should put you off coming to visit. Yes, there are some unpleasant areas, but as a tourist, your chances of ending up in them is virtually nil. The main tourist areas are as safe as any big city, once you take the normal precautions of not flashing jewellery, walking in quiet areas after dark etc.

Just as a reference point, I'm Irish and have been living in Cape Town for the last 2.5 years, with no hassle.

Thanks a mill will def check that out, had ruled out the self drive safari but maybe i should look into it as an option aswell. Was thinking last night im going to stick to the xmas dates as the whole point in the first place was to go away for my actual birthday. Im going to book (where ever i decide on) as soon as bookings open , this is why ive started research now so ill have enough saved and ill know exactly what i want. Thanks again.

enzo7

grindelwald wrote: »

i had a 20month old and 3 year old and 9 year old and went to disney world florida for 2 weeks, my advice is DONT GO THERE. 17nov to 3rd dec

we had booked barbados all inclusive for 10 days at 6,900€. an hour later we got a phone call saying because of the baby they wuldnt except us, we could hower upgrade our room for an extra 2,000€ and they would accommodate us. we told them to stuff it. i really really wanted to go to barbados all water sports were covered in the all inclusive package and drinks and food and snacks. that was from the 1st of dec for 10 days.

we then went to disney florida and to tell you france was way better.

a good travel mag to look at is tropical holidays.

Thanks for posting i hadnt even considered orlando for this holiday but just outa intrest why didnt you reccomend it???? Was it just the dates you went or orlando in general??? I know xmas/new yr is the busiest time of year so wasnt really an option. We go to disney paris twice a yr and the kids luv it. Had thought about taking them to wdw but hadnt really looked into it too much.

Barbados is somewhere ive always wanted to go to, its shame it didnt work out for you guys. 2,000 was alot extra because of the baby:eek:

Leper

Enzo, You have the time, the choice and the money. Think of what you really would like to do and do it. Try Hawaii even

Pythia

I would think a beach resort would be best as the kids are still quite young and wouldn't appreciate a lot of things at that age. An amazing hotel with great pool facilities, slides, kids club, water sports and places to visit on excursions. There are some nice Caribbean ones. As I mentioned in another thread, the Dominican Republic is good value.

enzo7

im going to look into the caribbean aswell, the only prob with a beach holiday is dd1 hates the beach lastyr was the first time we took her that she didnt go crazy and at that she would only sit on the towel and watch her sis play. So beach holiday isnt ideal tbh but if there was other things to do it maybe an option. Tbh it doesnt matter where we go there not going to rem much about it or appreciate it. With the safari you can do 3 days and then combine it with a beach resort which has kids pool/kids club ect. They both luv the pool.

Some of you mentioned hawaii, i did look into it but the weather isnt great this time of year and tbh i would want it to be hot to go somewhere like that. Ive the holiday fund started anyway and its a fair while untill i can start booking anyway so ive plenty of time to make a final decision. The safari is def top of the list at the moment. Thanks again for all your replys.

magmay

Enzo, you are doing a lot of research and trying to get the best deals for the holiday of a lifetime. Dont get too hung up on the school holidays. To be honest in my opinion the children are still in Junior classes, they will not miss out on too much of the curriculum if you take them out of school for the holiday. The experience of travel and the amount they will learn and the confidence they will have gained over the holiday will definitely balance out any school days missed....Go for it....

finbarrk

Florida would be my choice. Less hassle with the kids compared to some of the other places. No point in going somewhere that doesn't suit everyone.
Plenty of elephants, etc. here to keep them happy.

http://www.centralfloridazoo.org/

enzo7

magmay wrote: »

Enzo, you are doing a lot of research and trying to get the best deals for the holiday of a lifetime. Dont get too hung up on the school holidays. To be honest in my opinion the children are still in Junior classes, they will not miss out on too much of the curriculum if you take them out of school for the holiday. The experience of travel and the amount they will learn and the confidence they will have gained over the holiday will definitely balance out any school days missed....Go for it....

Hi thanks, my birthday actually falls during the xmas school holidays. dont really want to take them out anyway as they will be in the irish school and they pick up the language in the first yr and dd2 will have just started.

enzo7

finbarrk wrote: »

Florida would be my choice. Less hassle with the kids compared to some of the other places. No point in going somewhere that doesn't suit everyone.
Plenty of elephants, etc. here to keep them happy.

http://www.centralfloridazoo.org/

Hiya ya im kinda considering it, i know the kids will luv it and there is always animal kingdom too!!! Tbh orland isnt somewhere id actually ever consider going to b4 i had the kids. But maybe if i added a few days in new york on the way home it might keep us all happy:D. It not exactly going to be the once in a life time holiday but maybe i could do it another time.

cfitz

enzo7 wrote: »

Ok ive always said i wanted to go on a once in a life time holiday for my 30th. Its not till jan 2012 so ive loads of times to save. But ive no idea where??? my kids will be 5+6 and both in school then so we would be going during christmas holidays so 10 days or possible 14 days (would mean being away for xmas:().

Where would you go??? not keen on asia as i hated malyasia when i was there. But would like it to be hot. And also somewhere the kids would enjoy too. Any suggestions welcome:)

enzo7 wrote: »

Hiya ya im kinda considering it, i know the kids will luv it and there is always animal kingdom too!!! Tbh orland isnt somewhere id actually ever consider going to b4 i had the kids. But maybe if i added a few days in new york on the way home it might keep us all happy:D. It not exactly going to be the once in a life time holiday but maybe i could do it another time.

Seems a shame that what started out as a 'once in a lifetime' idea has become a 'nice holiday that suits everyone'. Maybe I'm being inconsiderate, but I reckon it's your dream, it's your birthday - so once the money is sorted, all you should need are very small compromises to ensure it's an enjoyable holiday for the others. Enjoyable for the others, dream holiday for you.

caoimhe321

The town of Canaules in the south of France is my favourite family holiday location.
If you google canaules you will get a lot of information on this lovely part of France

enzo7

cfitz wrote: »

Seems a shame that what started out as a 'once in a lifetime' idea has become a 'nice holiday that suits everyone'. Maybe I'm being inconsiderate, but I reckon it's your dream, it's your birthday - so once the money is sorted, all you should need are very small compromises to ensure it's an enjoyable holiday for the others. Enjoyable for the others, dream holiday for you.

Ya your right, its actually alot harder than i though i would be!!!! besides rome and australia every holiday ive been on in the last 5yrs has been a "nice family holiday" ive been going to place id never b caught dead in 5 yrs ago namely spanish resorts:eek:. I think of all the suggestions the african safari is somewhere id go even if i hadnt kids or not.

enzo7

caoimhe321 wrote: »

The town of Canaules in the south of France is my favourite family holiday location.
If you google canaules you will get a lot of information on this lovely part of France

Ill def look it up for a future family holiday.