Exotic (But Short) Holiday Suggestions Please

[alicat]

Cuba - never been but heard good reports of it.

Morocco and Corsica both top spots too.

 

[Beebo]

Look at Kenya, stay on the beach for 3 days and do a mini safari for 4 days.

 

[EltonFrog]

Look at Kenya, stay on the beach for 3 days and do a mini safari for 4 days.

This is a very good idea, there some great places to stay in Kenya, amd great safaris too.

 

[middleagecyclist]

Of course it depends on the exact definition of 'exotic' but if you want something a bit different, less than 12 hrs away and well within your budget why not try SCUBA diving in the Red Sea? February is not a bad time of year either. If you don't dive already make sure to do the pool training in the UK pre holiday so you get the most of the undersea world when there. My wife was very dubious when we did it (me: 3000+ dives, her: 10 dives) but she loved it so much we did it again three months later!

 

[dellzeqq]

Orient Express Company travel from London via Paris to Venice every week, then 3 days in Venice with private launch from station to hotel on Grand Canal and private launch to Murano Glass Factory visit, travel on first class train to Florence then 3 days there, private limousine to Pisa Airport flying back to London... or you could get Orient Express back home.

We did that for a lot less than £2000 each including spending money for our 25th wedding anniversary though that was 4 years ago... it was fantastic!!

damn your eyes, Archie. I was going to suggest almost exactly that. The only thing I'd add is

- Venice - there are quite a few train options. http://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm#Option and I'd stay in Canareggio or on the Lido rather than on the Grand Canal. And a visit to Torcello is worthwhile, although it might be very chilly at this time of year
- if you go to Pisa the Hotel Victoria is lovely - get a room overlooking the Arno. And forget the limo - there's a train that goes to the airport, and the station in Pisa is lovely.

Otherwise...Beirut. Great food, lots of history, wild traffic and a cultural collision of eye-popping proportions.

 

[Durian]

Another vote for Mauritius here, beautiful place. Alternatively get a flight to Capetown and follow the Garden Route to Knyssna,many things to see including Ostriches at Oudtshoorn,or something similar to that spelling! great beaches aswell. Once in Knyssna get down to the oyster restaurants and knock some of them back with some chilled white wine.

Capetown is a great city to explore and not far from there you have the wine areas of Stellenbosch and Franschoek. South Africa is wonderful.

 

[ASC1951]

Myself and my OH both turn 50 next year and we've decided to treat ourselves to an exotic holiday rather than go down the party / presents route.

Rather than exotic in destination, how about memorable in activity? I don't mean a week's pottery classes in Stoke, but something you wouldn't normally do, in a pleasant setting. Learn to windsurf/dive/hang-glide/whatever. Paint. Yoga. Hot rocks...

If you want a holiday to look back on, I don't personally see the point of going halfway round the world to a resort with different foliage but the same drinks and atmosphere, especially if you are spending most of the time and money just getting there. I've always had my best holidays doing something rather than having stuff done to or for me.

Just to pull up one list at random http://www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/special-interest

 

[green1]

Depends what you mean by exotic. I'd go for a trip around Iceland, Can't get much more exotic than landscapes that resemble the moon.

 

[Archie_tect]

Moonscape? Tenerife is cheaper....

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Ilkeston. They've got a rec and a burger van and some other stuff.

 

[uphillstruggler]

Ilkeston. They've got a rec and a burger van and some other stuff.

thats it, i'm there

 

[Archie_tect]

I get it confused with Irmston.

 

[Hacienda71]

Brazil a couple of days in Rio and then up the coast to some fantastic unspoilt beaches, or possibly Cuba before it ceases being the time capsule it is in parts.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I had been thinking Iceland, but someone else has already mentioned it. My other thought (mainly because it is something I have done 1 day of, and would love to do the entire trip is up the coast of Norway on the Hurtigruten ferry and next year is the height of activity on the solar activity cycle so best chances of seeing the Northern Lights. But if you don't like the cold, it might not be for you. It would be a push to do it in 7 days, but just about feasible if you started at Kirkenes and came south - the return journey in winter is 5 days (6 going north).

 

[dellzeqq]

I'll second the Mauritius suggestion. Funnily enough, I am in Mauritius right now, albeit for work not a holday, and it is a very nice place indeed.

a person can go off a person..............