UKC

Hello.

Even before we got engaged in February, my partner and I were hoping to get away for a break over Christmas and New Year - now we're looking forward to getting married in mid-October, that break has effectively become our honeymoon.

Due to work commitments, the only time we can realistically take the long break we feel like we need is at the end of the year - probably four weeks from mid-December to mid-January.

We had been looking at New Zealand, but a visit to Trailfinders has potentially trashed that - we're basically stuck with the highest prices for long-haul flights, especially Aus/NZ because of the timing, and that is likely to be beyond our means.

So, I'm just throwing this out to suggestions. Four weeks at the end of the year. We like the outdoors (C doesn't climb, but walking / hiking would be good), warm/dry weather would be nice but isn't essential, the idea of combining a busy exciting city with something quiet and relaxing afterwards would be good. (So, not too many demands then ).

Anyway, any tips would be extremely gratefully received.

Thanks.

In reply to J Brown:
Sod the expense - go to New Zealand - it's mint. Amazing variety of scenary, barefooted yocals and they put cheese in their meat pies.

In reply to J Brown:

Morocco? Not sure if the mountains are snowed up at that time of year. Peru as an outside shot?

In reply to J Brown:

Brazil?
Visit Rio at the start and end of your trip. Got to Lençóis, Bahia. Loads of walking, beautiful village with fab little restaurants, visit enchanted caves, go snorkelling in some of them, do some climbing if you can. Stay in this hotel: http://www.hoteldelencois.com/

In reply to Bob:

That was my first thought. I'd guess that the High Atlas would be snowy (but generally nontechnical). The Anti-Atlas probably wouldn't be. There's also lots of lowland stuff you can do like going for a camel excursion or whatever, and it's fairly warm even at that time of year. Marrakech is definitely busy and exciting - opinions are divided as to whether it's a fascinating hive of culture and trade or a big smelly shithole full of people trying to sell you overpriced tat. (I tend to the former view, myself...)

In reply to J Brown:

South Africa?

In reply to J Brown:

Japan?

Busy exciting city - tick!
Mountains and quiet peaceful nature - tick!

You also have the benefit of exploring and completely different culture and can go hiking in the mountains and visit temples etc that NZ can't really offer.

In reply to J Brown: Head to Hawaii with a stop-over for a few days somewhere on the US west coast?

T.

In reply to Removed User:

Make sure you drive fast enough though, the missus got pulled over for being 10km/h below the speed limit and holding up the locals.

In reply to galpinos:

Always felt like the speed limits in NZ were more set as a personal racing challenge, rather than a traffic calming measure.

In reply to J Brown:

Scotland? It probably won't be warm, but with the £1000 each you save on flights you could stay in a pretty nice hotel!

In reply to J Brown:

My honeymoon was (through Trailfinders) 3 weeks, consisting of:
Fly to Singapore for a couple of days - city
Fly Siem Reap - few days viewing the temples - culture
Drive down to Phnom Penh for a couple of days - city and culture
Fly to Bangkok for a few days - city and culture
Week relaxing on Koh Samui - beach
Home via Singapore.

If I changed anything/had the time/money, I would have loved to visit the mountains in Northern Thailand and included Vietnam.

In reply to JM:

Japan and China would have been next down the list for me, then India as an outside chance.

In reply to J Brown:

First of all, congratulations!

Flights to NZ are expensive, granted. A quick look on travelsupermarket and your profile (to see where you were based) and £1400 would see you and the wife on a return flight (Edinburgh to Auckland) for 4 weeks leaving on a random date in December (I think I picked the 23rd for whatever reason). Definitely go online rather than via a travel agency when booking flights

While that is a lot of money, from person experience of 4 weeks in NZ, the absolute best way of sorting accommodation and travel in one go is hiring a camper van. Camp sites are so well set up, and widely available, and even if you are off the beaten path, wild camping in a van is no great hardship. WAY cheaper then staying in a hotel, paying for all your meals in a restaurant, and hiring a car / going on individual tours. You also have absolute freedom on where you go and what you do.

I guess my message would be not to discount NZ based purely on costs of flights; it honestly is a country that is tailor-made for what you want to do. Oh, and if you and the missus can survive 4 weeks in a campervan together, you'll know your marriage is built to last

cheers!
rb

In reply to Stefan Kruger:

We were told by the copper that we should be aiming for 20km/h over in the corners minimum.

In reply to Removed Usermountain25:

#1400 for two? - Trailfinders quoted #1900 each. Thanks for the tips.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

Yes, we had thought about China or Japan to begin with. We had been put off by the fact it's be winter in northern China (Beijing) - but it might be worth another look.

In reply to J Brown:

There are some really good tips here. Thanks for everything so far.

In reply to J Brown:

Argentina! Buenos Aires is one of the great cities of the world and one of the safest in South America. Southern Patagonia is a must see for anyone with a love of the mountains. Several option in terms of flights that could give you a beach holiday at the end of it in Rio or Miami.

The run up to Christmas is an expensive time to travel long haul, but I found travelling out on Christmas Day saved me a fortune.

In reply to J Brown:
Oops, that price I quoted was per person not for two - sorry. Shop around though; that took me 5 mins online so you should be able to do beter than that.. Might be worthwhile booking flights from Edinburgh - London separately and then booking London - Auckland. That may well save a bit extra as well. This is what I did when the gf and I flew from Glasgow. Booking the whole lot in one go means you'll be flying Edin / London on a premium carrier rather one of the budget carriers, although if you are booking flights separately leave LOTS of time for the transfer!

rb

In reply to galpinos:

I got caught doing 104 kmph in a 100 kmph zone and got a $15 fine....shame the rental company charged me $50 to process it!

Still an amazing country and well worth a visit, thumbs up for Japan too, we travelled to the rural areas and its really interesting/lots to do

In reply to J Brown:

Cape Town.

Good choice of direct flghts or cheap flghts via Dubai or Istanbul. Great weather. No time change. Fantastic scenery, wines, foods, massive choice of hotels, B&Bs, friendly people, Cape Town is a fascinating and reasonably secure city, I wouldn't hesitate. You could spend a few days in the city then move around visiting the wineries and enjoying the stunning scenery.