Undecided any holiday booked for 2024 ?

Lots planned for this year...,

Just returned from Malaysia.

5th-26th March self drive road trip through Costa Rica.

26th April - 11th May SW Florida with our (adult).children to celebrate my wife's big birthday.

26th August-12th September - Vancouver island to hopefully see Grizzlies / salmon run.

October 2nd-14th - self drive to Mana Pools in the Lower Zambezi Valley.
 
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We are off to Zante in August, which will be our first holiday in a couple of years. Looking forward to it :cool:
 
We are doing Devon in July and our first cruise in September, Eastern Med and a bit into the Adriatic, Corfu, Malta, Sicily, Italy and Kotor
 
2 days in Washington DC then an 8 night cruise to Bahamas in April. Then a week in Cyprus to see family in August.

1 night solo trip to Hamburg in May and will look to add more short breaks
 
leaky5 said:
We are doing Devon in July and our first cruise in September, Eastern Med and a bit into the Adriatic, Corfu, Malta, Sicily, Italy and Kotor
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Richard



few tips to make your cruise more enjoyable ?

We love cruising . Book all your day trips out before you go, leaving it until you go on board and they will be sold out. As for drinks usually free at meal times and you have to pay any other time. Little trick order a second/third drink of what you want at the table before you get up from the meal and take it with you. Any shows on board get a seat early as the theatre gets full quickly.. If you decide to day trip by yourself don't be late back the ship will leave without you. Get back at least half an hour beforehand . watch on youtube pier runners.
which cruise line are you going with?
 
Nikon_Nick said:
We are off to Zante in August, which will be our first holiday in a couple of years. Looking forward to it :cool:
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I hope you're in a good place - we went 25 years ago and found it incredibly commercialised in places. Not saying it's bad, but if you like a more Greek experience then it may require some digging.
 
realspeed said:
Richard



few tips to make your cruise more enjoyable ?

We love cruising . Book all your day trips out before you go, leaving it until you go on board and they will be sold out. As for drinks usually free at meal times and you have to pay any other time. Little trick order a second/third drink of what you want at the table before you get up from the meal and take it with you. Any shows on board get a seat early as the theatre gets full quickly.. If you decide to day trip by yourself don't be late back the ship will leave without you. Get back at least half an hour beforehand . watch on youtube pier runners.
which cruise line are you going with?
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Thanks Bazza, we are using Marella for this. My wifes best friend is a bit of a cruise veteren, mainly on Marella as well.

We will be having a few sit downs with her before we go, Me and the OH dont walk miles these days (older legs) so we choose this one as most of the berths are right near the town and
we are happy to mooch around old cities
 
leaky5 said:
Thanks Bazza, we are using Marella for this. My wifes best friend is a bit of a cruise veteren, mainly on Marella as well.

We will be having a few sit downs with her before we go, Me and the OH dont walk miles these days (older legs) so we choose this one as most of the berths are right near the town and
we are happy to mooch around old cities
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The Man they Call G often performs on these cruises and worth seeing.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I hope you're in a good place - we went 25 years ago and found it incredibly commercialised in places. Not saying it's bad, but if you like a more Greek experience then it may require some digging.
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We are in a place called Argassi, and the town itself isn’t particularly commercialised; seems a fairly quiet little area. It’s about a 10/15 minute drive from the main Zakynthos town. Made sure to steer clear of the Lagannas? area which I believe is the typical touristy, clubs, drunk Brits kind of area :)
 
It was a long time ago. Just had a quick look on Google maps and I don't recognise Argassi, so may well be fine. Enjoy your break. :D
 
if going to sicily visit Mt Etna .We were there a week after a small eruption and the first to go back

kEOU0LO.jpg

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Went to Porto in Feb, going to Krakow next month & Madeira in November. As usual the camera will be the first thing in my bag!
Cannot wait for Madeira, i'm going with some other creatives with the sole purpose of exploring armed with our camera gear :D

A few Porto snaps below - my 35mm didn't leave the camera!

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chphoto said:
Went to Porto in Feb, going to Krakow next month & Madeira in November. As usual the camera will be the first thing in my bag!
Cannot wait for Madeira, i'm going with some other creatives with the sole purpose of exploring armed with our camera gear :D

A few Porto snaps below - my 35mm didn't leave the camera!
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I know a few creatives who went to Maderia last year and their photos were awesome. I'd love to go one day. Enjoy your trip!

I am off to the Isle Of Mull for a week of otter photography in June and then an additonal week in Glencoe, my fitness is that of a dying whale so I am anticipating a struggle getting to locations but I just have to leave that little bit earlier, and hopefully going to Albania on a herptological holiday.

2025 is going to be more of an adventure though, Greece for the Dalmation Pellicans, Thailand for reptiles and amphibians and Israel bird festival. Need to get saving!
 
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Flying to Jersey in July this year.
Not sure if we will need travel insurance? I'm 81; Mrs C a tad younger
 
Cordy said:
Flying to Jersey in July this year.
Not sure if we will need travel insurance? I'm 81; Mrs C a tad younger
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Yes get travel insurance everytime. Then no worries if falling ill abroad or even falling down and breaking a bone. Overseas hospital bills would bankrupt you. just check what the insurance covers first. What about flight delays or even flight withdrawn and you loose your holiday????? insurance should cover your loss. what about lost luggage and your not insured????

GET INSURANCE EVERY TIME if booked through a travel agent they can/ should be able to arrange it for you

My wife and I are booked with Saga this time who have their own insurance cover
 
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Isn't Jersey covered by the NHS though? Although it might still cover things live medivac flights back to the mainland etc (it has been a while since I did my travel insurance selling course, and the company I worked of didn't do trips to the islands). Obviously with insurance you would be covered if you need to cancel the trip, but at 81, the premium might be expensive.
 
Four nights booked in Princetown, Dartmoor in June. Haven't visited the area for around 15 years. Then later a week in Yorkshire.
 
15 years in Dartmoor? WTF did you do to get that? :p

Not really visited the town for several years but it does make a good starting point for exploration of the Moor in pretty much any direction.

If you're looking for lunch near Hay Tor, try Ullacombe Farm's café - you'll need to book, even mid-week.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I hope you're in a good place - we went 25 years ago and found it incredibly commercialised in places. Not saying it's bad, but if you like a more Greek experience then it may require some digging.
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We use to go twice a year to Tsilivi around 25-30 years ago and it was fine. But as with lots of places they built on all the open land to the beach and the opening of a McDonalds finished it off for us.
off to Kefalonia and Crete again this year. Both places far more traditional and not to many British!
 
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My fave place in Greece these days is Lesvos - feels like Greece did in the 1980s. We went to Crete - Rethymno - a few years back and couldn't believe how incredibly built-up the area had become.
 
I'm off to Lisbon next week. :) I went to Porto at the same time last year, so it will be interesting to compare the city's. Lisbon seems a lot bigger, and I'm not sure the photo ops will be as easy to find. Looking on Google Maps, a lot of streets are packed with cars, and there is a lot of graffiti. Hopefully some attractive locations. I'll see next week. ;)

I should at least get a bit fitter walking up and down the hills. ;) :LOL:
 
ancient_mariner said:
My fave place in Greece these days is Lesvos - feels like Greece did in the 1980s. We went to Crete - Rethymno - a few years back and couldn't believe how incredibly built-up the area had become.
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Yup, the 20 km of sea front around Rethymno is a touch overdeveloped these days! Head further West and things get better, although there are some areas best driven through rather than stopping in.
 
Nod said:
Yup, the 20 km of sea front around Rethymno is a touch overdeveloped these days! Head further West and things get better, although there are some areas best driven through rather than stopping in.
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We had a car while we were there and drove all over. We had hoped to walk Samaria gorge, but my wife was unwell. Even so, we did do some decent walks.
 
Nod said:
Yup, the 20 km of sea front around Rethymno is a touch overdeveloped these days! Head further West and things get better, although there are some areas best driven through rather than stopping in.
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I agree but Rethymno is a lovely place for three or four days. We are also staying between Rethymno and Heraklion, so east. Plaka and Elounda further east are also nice.
having been going to Greece a couple of times a year for 35ish years we have seen many places become overdeveloped but, on every island there are relatively unspoilt parts.
 
ancient_mariner said:
We had a car while we were there and drove all over. We had hoped to walk Samaria gorge, but my wife was unwell. Even so, we did do some decent walks.
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The Gorge is best done with an organised trip rather than freelance with a car. You'll be aching for a couple of days after the walk and having to get up to the top of the gorge to collect the car isn't fun! (Not from experience but from others who have done it - we did it with a trip.)
We stay a few km West of Chania city centre and always have a car for the time we're there, using the bus when we plan on a glass or 2 in town!
 
Santafe2000 said:
Love Zante, though its been a few years since I've been. Was thinking of taking my son there this summer.
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Ive never been, so am looking forward to it. Sitting at work, and just thinking...only 142 days to go :D

We will be hiring a little car for a couple of days while we are there, so we can see a bit more of the Island.
 
Nikon_Nick said:
Ive never been, so am looking forward to it. Sitting at work, and just thinking...only 142 days to go :D

We will be hiring a little car for a couple of days while we are there, so we can see a bit more of the Island.
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I highly recommend that Nick. Car hire is relatively cheap there and Zante is at its best when you escape the main tourist traps and explore the back roads.
 
Barcelona in a couple of weeks (well just outside) I went in 2018 and although it was nice, I couldn't really enjoy it, as I had just had a hernia op 3 weeks previous, so the walking killed me, so hopefully this one should be a lot better. Then a little tour of Italy in June, Venice to Florence then onto Rome and ending up in Naples, only for a couple of days in Naples though, I want to try get down to Pompei in that time, but will shall see.
 
TG

We went to Pompei way back in 2013 and the place was huge, no doubt since then they have uncovered even more. Seeing this really brings it home how disasterous it was with the volcanic ash falling down on them

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Body encased in solid ash

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Absolutely recommed Pompeii, and if you can, visit Herculaneum/Ercolano too for a slightly different feeling. We stayed across the bay from Naples (Vico Equense) in 2005, and if you can hire a car, the road that winds along the amalfi coast is also very picturesque. Florence and Rome are both quite fascinating too, and you know you're going to walk a lot!

Barcelona was interesting, but I've only been there for work a long time ago (1998).
 
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TG. said:
Barcelona in a couple of weeks (well just outside) I went in 2018 and although it was nice, I couldn't really enjoy it, as I had just had a hernia op 3 weeks previous, so the walking killed me, so hopefully this one should be a lot better. Then a little tour of Italy in June, Venice to Florence then onto Rome and ending up in Naples, only for a couple of days in Naples though, I want to try get down to Pompei in that time, but will shall see.
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How long is the Italian tour? I think Venice and Rome have lot to see, but then it depends on the type of trip. ;) I travel alone, mainly for getting pictures, and have found Venice and Rome have warranted multiple visits, Naples less so, and Florence only visited once up to now.

Naples is good for mainly what is around it imho, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Capri. I was disappointed by Sorrento, though many people seem to like it.

I liked the colosseum in Pozzouli. A lot more accessible than "the colosseum in Rome". Had lovely day hiring speedboat and going around Ischia. :) I would like to go and see the Castello Aragonese d'Ischia at some point, as I only went past it on the boat, and hired the boat from a different part of the island.

I would only do the Amalfi coast if I were driving, which I don't do. I was attracted to see Atrani from a live webcam, but would definitely like to see it after it featured heavily in the last Equalizer movie. ;)

I liked Pisa and Lucca, close to Florence.

Just some thoughts from my experiences of these places. ;)
 
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