Jump to content
Rich & Ange

Holiday destination ideas! Please help

Recommended Posts

We are thinking of going away next xmas for our holidays, but I am not sure where would be good. We went to Disney for xmas last year and it was fantastic, but it is too soon to go again. There are four of us, 2 grown ups(!), a 12 year old and a 5 year old. The girls will be 14 and 7 when we go.

 

We want to go somewhere warm, not hot. Somewhere with things to do, we are not people who spend much time sitting still. We like to be active on holiday, our youngest tends to set the pace as she runs everywhere! It would be good to have somewhere where there will be some good shopping, as we do concede to going shopping for one holiday day! Other than that the only thing that is important is that there are NO kids clubs, we spend our time on holiday together!

 

Any ideas would be fantastic, we had thought about LA/San Francisco, but apparently it is quite wet at xmas time.

 

Thank you for your help :D

 

Angela

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What about the Red Sea resorts in Egypt like Sharm or Hurghada? Lovely and warm, super hotels, plenty of shopping, the diving and snorkeling is(superb). They have Xmas and New Year gala meals. You can do trips including jeep safaris and authentic tent things - it's fab!!!

 

:D

 

As an edit and afterthought dont do a Nile cruise as everyone I know who has been on one wasnt well. If you stay in Sharm or Hurgagda it's a day trip to Luxor for the Valley of the Kings and Karnak - both a must see. :shock:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, our youngest would love to go to Egypt! Not sure why, but that is something worth looking into. I think the temperatures in Australia woul dbe too much at xmas. I struggle to cope with temperatures of more than 25 c! That is why we live in the north of Scotland, we are lucky if it hits 20 c :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, our youngest would love to go to Egypt! Not sure why, but that is something worth looking into. I think the temperatures in Australia woul dbe too much at xmas. I struggle to cope with temperatures of more than 25 c! That is why we live in the north of Scotland, we are lucky if it hits 20 c :lol:

 

I have been in Dec and Jan but not actually at Christmas and temp is about 25 to 30 degrees. The sea at this time is however quite cool so any boat diving and snorkelling explorations need a wetsuit but these can be hired there at a dive centre.

 

I think it's a great place for that time of the year as it's not so touristy, there is plenty to do and see and it is a very cultural place to visit. I would suggest staying in a known hotel chain however. Even if you are not going to dive look at Regal Dive as they dont seem to charge as much as the more well known brochure names? I have stayed in the Hilton Hurghada 3 times with no food issues and at a very reasonable price! Good luck :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are off to Sharm in 3 weeks so I'll let you know what it's like. Some friends went at Christmas and said it was fantastic and lovely and warm :lol:

 

We are staying at Hilton Sharks Bay and it is very reasonably priced for such a well known chain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That sounds fantastic, will have to run this past the family and see what they say. The diving isn't much good for our eldest as she doesn't swim and hates the water. I am trying to find a swimming instructor, but no luck so far. She doesn't want to learn, but I have told her she has to! :evil: Our youngest is a water baby though, so she and my husband could enjoy it.

 

Jojo - let me know how you get on, would be good to hear. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jojo - let me know how you get on, would be good to hear. :)

 

I'll let you know as soon as we get back :lol: We deliberated for ages on where to go - there is a thread on here somewhere with a similar title to yours (from January I think). We can't wait to get there now. How old is your eldest daughter? From what I've heard the snorkelling is fantastic as the variety of fish species is so varied - this might be enough to tempt her into learning to swim

 

x

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've heard Dubai is a great place, warm, plenty to do (dune surfing, quadbikes, camel rides, shallow clean beaches) and the shops are fantastic!

 

Apparently it's quite 'westernised' - I don't mind like Benidorm, fish&chips after a few pints at the Red Lion sort of thing, but the type of place where women don't have to wear a veil.

 

OH wants to take us there soon (finances permitting). If anyone has been I'd like to hear your opinions.

 

Ana 8)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Barbados! 8)

 

Not too hot at that time of year and you couldnt find a more friendly little island in the West Indies. Plenty to do for all ages and a great place to discover by yourselves if you decide to hire a car. 8)

 

Its very safe with an extremely low/none existant crime rate and the folks there are wonderful, helpful and very chilled out. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've heard Dubai is a great place, warm, plenty to do (dune surfing, quadbikes, camel rides, shallow clean beaches) and the shops are fantastic!

 

Apparently it's quite 'westernised' - I don't mind like Benidorm, fish&chips after a few pints at the Red Lion sort of thing, but the type of place where women don't have to wear a veil.

 

OH wants to take us there soon (finances permitting). If anyone has been I'd like to hear your opinions.

 

Ana 8)

 

I lived in Dubai for 7 years. :D

 

It is a great place, and the temps in Dec are pleasant, hotels are fabulous, the facilities in every hotel are of the highest standard. The sea is a bit choppy that time if year - but all the hotels have fab pools.

 

It is westernised in the sense that you don't have to cover up - you could walk around in shorts and a strappy top, although I wouldn't advise going around the 'souks' dressed like that.

 

Pubs and restaurants serving alcohol are all attached to hotels, you are free to walk into hotels whether staying there or not, Alcohol is not available outside of hotels. And you'd have to get your fish and chips at the Red Lion - its really not like Benidorm :wink:

 

Also its not the sort of place where you walk from place to place or down a road - it's just not done.

 

It does have some fab stuff to do - Fantastic water park you could spend a day in, a day in the desert, indoor ski slope, but I imagine you could spend an awful lot of money on doing stuff during the day - and meals out could add on the spending money needed again.

 

I'm sounding negative, I loved my years there but I was earning tax free money and had no real outgoings - the villa, car, health insurance etc were all paid for by the company :D

 

My choice for a holiday abroad that time of year - Thailand :D Wonderful place, loads to see and do, and reasonable prices for stuff :D

I also second South Africa though, we went to Sun City which is a little OMG, but has the added bonus of having the Pillansberg National Park next door to it - we did a morning and a late afternoon safari drive, it was fantastic :D

 

Helen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Caribbean, definitely. Perfect at that time of year and there is a hotel for every taste. Jamaica is buzzy good shopping, dolphin swimming etc but touristy, ditto Antigua. St Kitts is a relatively unspoilt little paradise, and St Lucia and Trinidad are a bit of both. The Dominican Republic to my mind is no better than the Costa del Hell now :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our eldest would like Barbados as well. I suggested snorkelling to her and she thought it would be fun, so maybe we can get her swimming properly as well! :lol:

 

The OH and I got to a great place on the west coast of the island called Folkstone Marine Park - it is a special sectioned off area of the coastline where the coral and reef are preserved for snorkelling and scuba only. We go most mornings for an hour or two and there is usually only us and maybe 2-3 others there 8)

The water is so clear and we have spotted anything and everything from sea snakes to baby turtles and all the colourful fish you can imagine. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...