Spec me a holiday destination

[Kingy]

I've got 7 weeks until I start a new contract, and am looking for a nice relaxing holiday destination for me and my better half in the meantime.

We both like English food and culture, but would like it somewhere a little warmer for a fortnight or so, so no Far Eastern exploits are on the agenda. Not massively fussed about sightseeing, but would like a nice hotel, good food (reasonably priced beer, so the Emirates are out), close to a nice beach / with a nice pool. Not interested in going clubbing, but some sort of nightlife/entertainment would be good. I'd love a crack at Jet-Skiing, and swimming with dolphins would be good too. Kids, or at least badly behaved kids should be avoided at all costs.

I've not been abroad much, and am completely ignorant on what to expect in different locations, but am trying to build a shortlist, which so far includes (in no particular order):-

Florida
The Carribean (sp?)
The Canaries
Gibraltar
Cyprus
Malta
A cruise

Are there any places I should add/remove to/from my shortlist?

Am we likely to need a visa, or can we rock up with a passport and explain that we're on holiday? Are there any vaccination requirements for any of these places?

Any hotel reccomendations or other ideas would be very welcome...

 

[Kingy]

Might be worth posting a budget

I'm not really sure...

We've had a few cheaper holidays to Cornwall, but I've been working a lot over the last few years, and the opportunity for a fortnights break hasn't come up often. Now it has, I'm inclined to throw what's required at it to make it special.

A case of champagne taste and beer money I'm afraid. On a cruise I'd like a balcony, and in a resort I'd pay extra for a nice location and a sea view.

I can't afford 5* in Barbados, but setting a price usually means spending hat amount regardless. If 3* Barbados is great then brilliant, but if 5* Dominican Republic is just as good and cheaper, then I'm open to that too.

I'd love a Med cruise (maybe not at this time of year though?), but a P&O balcony is going to run to the thick end of £2k each I imagine. That sort of money is probably best case though and would depend on getting some good RKH news next week.

Our normal Cornwall holidays are usually ~£500-£700 each for a week, and great as the are, we'd need to be incredibly lucky weather/temperature wise at this time of year.

 

[Kingy]

Why not experience some different culture? Take the opportunity to broaden your horizon's?

I've absolutely no interest in that. Happy to be labelled ignorant or small-minded or whatever, but I really don't care. I've no interest in new languages or ways of living. I quite happy with a copy of the telegraph, a cold European beer, and epic surroundings.

I don't want to learn something new, I'm tired and want to relax somewhere nice and warm (but not HOT).

 

[Kingy]

From your list, Cyprus. Full of fat tattooed English people and has mostly 'English' food. Failing that, Benidorm in Spain.

Forget Florida imo, brits in Florida is so cliche, there are so many much better states imo, try the lesser visited states, Wyoming, Ohio, Virginia, Montana and in particular Colorado

Maybe I'm creating the wrong impression?

I don't want a cheap or chavvy holiday. (I know how that sounds, but I honesty don't mean to sound like an arse). If what I've posted has portrayed a desire for 8for1 pitchers of Fosters, and being surrounded by people whose every other word is "innit", then that was entirely unintentional.

It's Friday evening and it's dark. It's 7pm. That's crap. I'd like to have a BBQ but it's too cold. I'd like a good steak, but I want it on my doorstep so I can have a drink. In the morning I'd like Sausage Bacon and Eggs cooked for us, and washed up for us. Then I'd like to go for a splash in the pool and chuck a ball around. If I could swim up to a bar for a beer / shade break and a little peace, that'd be very nice. If we felt doing something special and there was the opportunity to have a play on a Jet Ski or a swim with Dolphins, that'd be lovely.

If that is cliche, then I despair, but continue anyway...

What is in Wyoming, Ohio, Virginia, Montana and in particular Colorado that makes it a better bet than Florida? Genuine Question, my Geography is shockingly poor.

Thanks for the replies...

 

[Kingy]

Well I didn't say you were cliche. I said that brits in Florida were. Often stacks of them plodding about in flip flops, wearing I love Florida tourist shirts, getting plastered.

As to what is in the states I mentioned, peace and quiet, tranquility, stunning terrain and locations, more of a feeling of seeing the real us country rather than the tourism centric us. All depends what you are looking for really. I was going on you saying a nice relaxing vacation, rarely have I been as relaxed in life as I have been in the rockies of Colorado or the forests of Wyoming.

Sorry, I didn't mean to appear over sensitive, it just narks me slightly that things have got to such a state where a holiday that doesn't embrace new horizons is by default a chavvy disrepectful affair. You're right of course, but we're looking for a relaxing zero responsibility break, not a zero respect for others break...

Cheesy shirts (or preferably cheesy Hawaiian shirts), flip flops and being mildly inebriated for much of the time is very much in scope, but that's not to say I want to promote the 'going overboard, brits abroad' disrespect for others that (I think) was implied in some replies...

A mate of mine swears by the rockies, and the occaisional dog walk through a nearby forest is very nice, but one of my great passions is digging a huge hole (or re-channelling pools of sea water) on a sandy beach, preferably followed by admiring the finished product of such an epic display of manliness with a beer/meaty snack...

 

[Kingy]

Broaden your horizens and try new things, or your love of everything homely will make any holiday you go on the same as any other week off.
But, here is one for cyprus.
Villa w/ Private pool.
http://www.jamesvillas.co.uk/cyprus/coral-bay/morfo-3881/

Works out at 791PP for 2 weeks in march. Flights from gatwick.
Taxi from airport or car hire I'd imagine could be done through the villa company.

Cheers for the link. Looks very nice but I'd rather be closer to the beach, and I've always thought the Villa thing makes much more sense if there's more than just a couple going...

I'd ditch Gibraltar - two days would see it all IMHO. We spent a day there two years ago and wouldn't hurry back.

Arse, I thought Gibraltar might be good given the forces presence out there.

Would be nice to check out the sort of place we could dream about buying a business and moving to... Long distant dream that though...

Go to the Caribbean man. Cyprus is too expensive and geared up for young peeps these days. The idea behind a foreign holiday is you eat the local food, not your typical English grub (sounds rich coming from an Irish man) but hit the Caribbean and bring a decent camera with you Holiday of a lifetime!

See even in Resturants over here, I almost always order something I know I like rather than try something new.

What's the food like in the carribean? Anybody been to the Dominican Republic? Or is it Barbados or nothing? Any other good islands out there to look out for?

When we went to Egypt a couple of years ago we just went onto Trip Advisor and found the best rated hotel we could afford, so we'll probably do that again, but I'm just after some ideas atm.

I need some sort of flowchart/questionaire where I can put in what we're looking for, and have it spit out a shortlist with a summary for each location.

Are travel agents generally worth bothering with, or am I just going to walk into a sea of polyester clad dollies flogging whatever carries the greatest commision?

 

[Kingy]

Try a cruise. I did not like the idea, had one and would like to do another (when money permits). Not cheap, but you'll enjoy a good selection of food, some top chefs feeding you, and a good selection of bars to relax (think my ship had 7). Bonus you get to dress like james bond, and see many different places.

See the cruise thing sounds ideal in some respects. Familiar food, an english feel, and entertainment etc, but it has too major flaws:-

I don't want to dress up every night.
Digging a huge hole on a boat is likely to be hard work, and would probably annoy the Captain...

Ideal temps would be around 25oC, which might be asking a bit much of the Med in March/April? Is the Carribean good around this time of year? ie, is there a 'season'? When does it start to get windy over there?

 

[Kingy]

Ok, hadn't realised that part of the country is having Easter School Holdays from the 8th of April, so we're looking from 28/03 to 08/04...

I've had a look at some average temperatures for March/April, and I think the Med is giong to be too cold. So Florida / Caribbean is looking favourite...

 

[Kingy]

http://www.breezes.com/resorts/breezes-grand-negril/

I had a fantastic holiday there.
If I had up to 2k per person to spend and no kids I'd go again in a heartbeat.

Looks nice, but vaccination issues so close to flying out ruled out the Caribbean in the end.

Having realised that the Canaries are North West Africa, rather than Spain, and are a few degrees warmer than the rest of the Med, we decided that short haul was best this time round, and to spend what we saved on flights, on extra nights away.

The top rated Canaries Hotel on Trip Advisor was affordable as it was only a four star, so we've booked that.

Managed to save £850 on the hotel via LowCostHolidays.com instead of Thomas Cook etc, and found some cheap flights too. QuidCo is awesome too, as 6% cashback should be coming this way too, which was a nice little bonus.

17 nights relaxing in the sun, can't wait...

Thanks to all that helped..