Holidays 2026

PrincessFiona · January 12

laurathered said:

Solidgone said:

PrincessFiona said:

Gisappointed said:

PrincessFiona said:

Mexico in Feb
Gibraltar in March
Playa Blanca - April or Oct/Nov
Athens in May
Carvoeiro in June
One of the Baltic's capitals in Sept
Florida Keys or Playa Blanca in Oct/Nov
Maybe Cape Town in Dec

You won't get to Florida due to Trump appraisal of your negative political posts!

Negative how? Estas approved, as we are flying direct to Cancun in Feb and back via Miami

I think it’s a piss take that you are required to have an ESTAS even for transferring through USA. I was flying to Mexico City via Dallas and had to pay for an ESTAS. I Wasn’t staying and swapping planes!

Damn didn’t think about this. We are changing planes in Miami on the way back from Costa Rica. Our last ones have just expired 😡

CL can be so useful!

bolloxbolder · January 12

3 weeks in Costa Adeje, Tenerife starting Thursday week. Cannot wait. Much needed after recent divorce.

shine166 · January 12

Looking for suggestions for all inclusive (Tui type) holidays with a baby and 7 year old. Usually do airbnb and travel around but thats not going to be suitable this year, all new to us, so all suggestions welcome.

blackpool72 · January 12

shine166 said:

Looking for suggestions for all inclusive (Tui type) holidays with a baby and 7 year old. Usually do airbnb and travel around but thats not going to be suitable this year, all new to us, so all suggestions welcome.

When my kids and grandkids were that sort of age we spent many a holiday in Majorca or Menorca
Only a two hours flight from Gatwick and plenty of places to choose from .

ForeverAddickted · 9:05AM

Planning on doing a TUI Holiday to Lapland in December

Son is 8 this year, and is something my wife has always wanted to do for him, and feel we're fast running out of time now before he stops believing in Santa so going all out on a trip up there right before Christmas.

Had been planning the typical Camping trip to Cornwall in August but we'll probably cancel that now as a result. I'll no doubt go Car Camping to the Lake District as well at some point

Has anyone done a trip to Lapland before? - Any advice?

R0TW · 12:22PM

bolloxbolder said:

3 weeks in Costa Adeje, Tenerife starting Thursday week. Cannot wait. Much needed after recent divorce.

We go there the day you return (12/02)

IdleHans · 12:44PM

A week in a cottage booked next to Derwent Water in May. Haven't been up there for three years so it's time we returned

SporadicAddick · 1:24PM

ForeverAddickted said:

Planning on doing a TUI Holiday to Lapland in December
Son is 8 this year, and is something my wife has always wanted to do for him, and feel we're fast running out of time now before he stops believing in Santa so going all out on a trip up there right before Christmas.
Had been planning the typical Camping trip to Cornwall in August but we'll probably cancel that now as a result. I'll no doubt go Car Camping to the Lake District as well at some point
Has anyone done a trip to Lapland before? - Any advice?

Copied from the Holiday 2023 thread.

1. Start saving now.
2. Book a package with a reputable tour operator. Have a look at Ingham's or Canterbury Travel.
3. Don't do the the day trips that are available. Too much can go wrong, and you are likely to end up in Rovaniemi...). Do a minimum of three nights, and more if you can (5 is ideal).
4. Finnish Lapland is great - look at Levi Fell (The Levi Hotel Spa is recommended for on site swimming pool / spa - pack your speedos as swimming shorts aren't allowed and budgie smugglers (and bugger all in the saunas) are the order of the day), or Yllass. (but you will pay for it).
5. Don't go for the culinary experience or cheap beer.
6. Assuming you are going for the kids, make sure they are old enough to enjoy it. My recommendation is don't bother if they are under 6 or 7 as younger kids generally won't cope well with the cold (It is incredibly, incredibly, bitingly cold - it's usually still and dry and there is something magical about being in -35c watching the northern lights, but it is incredibly cold - your nose hairs freeze with every breath, your eyelashes freeze, your hair freezes. That said, swimming outdoors (see Levi Hotel Spa above) in that temperature is amazing.
7. Done well , it is a once in a lifetime, incredible experience.

ArmchairAddick · 2:07PM

Somewhere in March, probably Malta. Last years October excursion got binned due to family issues, so desperate to get away

Nearly went to Denia for a week's cycling in February but couldn't really justify the cost of both, didn't fancy explaining to the other half why we couldn't go away in March.

WSS · 2:12PM

ForeverAddickted said:

Planning on doing a TUI Holiday to Lapland in December
Son is 8 this year, and is something my wife has always wanted to do for him, and feel we're fast running out of time now before he stops believing in Santa so going all out on a trip up there right before Christmas.
Had been planning the typical Camping trip to Cornwall in August but we'll probably cancel that now as a result. I'll no doubt go Car Camping to the Lake District as well at some point
Has anyone done a trip to Lapland before? - Any advice?

I did it in December. Never again.

But not in that way, as you know it's ludicrously expensive and at times can feel a bit like Butlins in the snow.

HOWEVER, the kids loved it and I loved their faces - it's a great experience and they give you all you need in terms of clothing etc, but still take more.

After 3 years of saving, we're finally going to Florida this year. That's it.

CheshireAddick · 2:14PM

We're heading to Cape Town in March for my birthday. Any suggestions for trips, restaurants etc would be great fully appreciated. We are doing research ourselves but would welcome any suggestions from your experiences.

Some people have said how dangerous the place is and obviously we will be vigilant but again any experience with this would be appreciated too.

Cheers

Pelling1993 · 2:18PM

Got back from 3 weeks in Australia on Sunday morning. Woke up at 1am today and am like a zombie, never experienced jet lag like it. sleeping for about 16 hours on the plane felt good at the time but regretting it now!

Stig · 2:27PM

ForeverAddickted said:

Planning on doing a TUI Holiday to Lapland in December
Son is 8 this year, and is something my wife has always wanted to do for him, and feel we're fast running out of time now before he stops believing in Santa so going all out on a trip up there right before Christmas.
Had been planning the typical Camping trip to Cornwall in August but we'll probably cancel that now as a result. I'll no doubt go Car Camping to the Lake District as well at some point
Has anyone done a trip to Lapland before? - Any advice?

We went in 2007 and had a brilliant time. We went to Enontekiö with Transun, which was wonderful. Our kids were 8 and 13 at the time. I wouldn't take them any younger. TBH, I'd be surprised I'd any eight year olds really believe in Santa, surely by that age they are just playing along with the game, aren't they? For us, meeting Santa was something they enjoyed, but not the best bit. Ironically, that felt like something that could have been done in England. We preferred the more adventurous stuff, that we could never do at home. Snowmobiles and Huskies were our favourite things. Sledding was good. Reindeer rides were ok but felt a little sedate. Hope you all have a great time!

Athletico Charlton · 2:31PM

ForeverAddickted said:

Planning on doing a TUI Holiday to Lapland in December
Son is 8 this year, and is something my wife has always wanted to do for him, and feel we're fast running out of time now before he stops believing in Santa so going all out on a trip up there right before Christmas.
Had been planning the typical Camping trip to Cornwall in August but we'll probably cancel that now as a result. I'll no doubt go Car Camping to the Lake District as well at some point
Has anyone done a trip to Lapland before? - Any advice?

Went in 2019. The below is what I sent to another Lifer when asked some yrs ago ..

The kids loved it and had a wonderful time; they were super excited but super tired as we did quite a lot. We did the Tui 4 night/5 day trip to Luosto. It is about 80 mins from the airport in Rovaniemi.

Would i recommend going to Lapland - yes, definitely. Once in a life time and I would have always regretted not going but with a warning... is it worth the money from a purely ‘value for money basis’ - no. We are a Eurocamp/Cornwall cottage holiday family who usually seek value so when I spent several £’000 on 4 nights my expectations were high... the reality was an, at best, 2 star hotel (worn out sofa bed for double bed, so small we had to put the kids on it), buffet style dinner with kids option being chips and Onion Rings only on first night etc.

The experiences were always in groups and on the way to husky/reindeer extended rides the guide mentioned they had to change venue as there was a group of 200 Chinese in their normal venue which suddenly made me realise just how global a destination it is and you really are just a number.

When booking, check how long the experiences are- most are 2-4 mins unless you book longer ones. I knew this and had pre booked longer ones so not an issue.

The husky driving was superb, we did about an hour. The reindeers were good and my lad was convinced his was Blixen so it was great to spend an hour watching his excitement (he was 6 at the time whereas my 4 year old went straight to sleep!). We did a days skiing, loads of tobogganing, a night trip on Snow mobiles to find the northern lights which we saw faintly.

If i was advising a friend I would probably say ‘go, it was great but be realistic on expectations and go for 2-3 nights’. Subject to budget definitely do an extended husky ride and snow mobiles and if you can find it and afford it then see if it is possible to do a reindeer ride to a small hut with santa inside in a forest- i think that would blow a kids mind and be really special but suspect be very pricy.

I would not recommend Tui, I think there are better operators - Tui staff were generally poor and seemed like club 18-30 Spain reps going through the winter motions but that I guess is luck of the draw as to whom you get.

shine166 · 2:35PM

ArmchairAddick said:

Somewhere in March, probably Malta. Last years October excursion got binned due to family issues, so desperate to get away

Nearly went to Denia for a week's cycling in February but couldn't really justify the cost of both, didn't fancy explaining to the other half why we couldn't go away in March.

If you're looking at Malta, try Gozo. We went a couple of years ago and its a beautiful Island right next to Malta.

ForeverAddickted · 2:59PM

Thanks for the advice and tips on the Lapland Holiday everyone. From the options I've looked at, Enontekiö is where we'd be heading @Stig - I think likewise for me the rest of the 3-night trip would be the fun and interesting part especially getting to see the Northern Lights, rather than the Santa bit, which as said could be done anywhere here in England.

I presume when visiting in mid-December / close to Christmas that its going to be dark that far North the entire time?

Jaybinho · 3:00PM

shine166 said:

Looking for suggestions for all inclusive (Tui type) holidays with a baby and 7 year old. Usually do airbnb and travel around but thats not going to be suitable this year, all new to us, so all suggestions welcome.

Two of the better holidays we’ve had with our kids over the years were Tui Kerkyra Blue (Corfu), and the Royal Holiday Palace in Lara Beach (Antalya). Both were all inclusive when we went (2018 and 2022).

PrincessFiona · 3:19PM

CheshireAddick said:

We're heading to Cape Town in March for my birthday. Any suggestions for trips, restaurants etc would be great fully appreciated. We are doing research ourselves but would welcome any suggestions from your experiences.

Some people have said how dangerous the place is and obviously we will be vigilant but again any experience with this would be appreciated too.

Cheers

The hop-on hop-off bus is worth doing, there is even a small wine tour in Constantia.

Re security, just check out the areas that are a no-go and don't go there! Camps Bay and Hout Bay and Chapman's Peak are all great but there are plenty of other places. How long do you have, do you have anything organised and how far are you prepared to go/will you hire a car?

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens near Newlands are definitely worth a visit, as is Hermanus for whale watching. And Stellenbosch is only an hour away, if you have time - a little further you have the Franschhoek Wine Tram!

A lot of these are stops on the hop-on hop-off bus.

Will have a think about restaurants, but a few years since we've been there, so things may have changed. But we had a few favourites

CaptainRobbo · 3:38PM

Pelling1993 said:

Got back from 3 weeks in Australia on Sunday morning. Woke up at 1am today and am like a zombie, never experienced jet lag like it. sleeping for about 16 hours on the plane felt good at the time but regretting it now!

I once came back from Australia, went to bed on a Thursday afternoon and then slept through until the Saturday morning. 😴

DaveMehmet · 3:55PM

DaveMehmet said:

CL Arnhem tour in July, 10 nights in Medulin Croatia in August, the Canaries somewhere in October plus we'll have couple of days away somewhere at Easter, probably in the UK or France. Still got Christmas in NY to come in just over a month.

Can add Benidorm for a few days in September to the above to celebrate various 60th & 50th Birthdays (including a couple who are on here).

SporadicAddick · 3:59PM

ForeverAddickted said:

Thanks for the advice and tips on the Lapland Holiday everyone. From the options I've looked at, Enontekiö is where we'd be heading @Stig - I think likewise for me the rest of the 3-night trip would be the fun and interesting part especially getting to see the Northern Lights, rather than the Santa bit, which as said could be done anywhere here in England.
I presume when visiting in mid-December / close to Christmas that its going to be dark that far North the entire time?

"Grey light". The sun will not rise above the horizon but you'll get a few hours where its not dark. Be aware, no guarantee of Northern Lights...

DaveMehmet · 4:26PM

SporadicAddick said:

ForeverAddickted said:

Thanks for the advice and tips on the Lapland Holiday everyone. From the options I've looked at, Enontekiö is where we'd be heading @Stig - I think likewise for me the rest of the 3-night trip would be the fun and interesting part especially getting to see the Northern Lights, rather than the Santa bit, which as said could be done anywhere here in England.
I presume when visiting in mid-December / close to Christmas that its going to be dark that far North the entire time?

"Grey light". The sun will not rise above the horizon but you'll get a few hours where it’s not dark. Be aware, no guarantee of Northern Lights...

And no guarantee of no Northern families

Athletico Charlton · 4:56PM

CheshireAddick said:

We're heading to Cape Town in March for my birthday. Any suggestions for trips, restaurants etc would be great fully appreciated. We are doing research ourselves but would welcome any suggestions from your experiences.

Some people have said how dangerous the place is and obviously we will be vigilant but again any experience with this would be appreciated too.

Cheers

Went 15yrs ago for my honeymoon, wonderful trip to Cape Town and The Garden Route. Too long ago for meaningful recommendations I think but back then Cape Town felt safe at day, but at night was definitely a place you didn't want to walk around (get cabs, remove jewellery etc).

The harbour area was safe as lots of tourists, restaurants and security so you could walk around there ok at night. We tried walking back to our City centre hotel from the harbour the first night and promptly had a man attach himself to us talking about pulling a knife (he never did and I told him to f off and bother someone else). We got cabs after dark after that and it was fine.

My one tip, is get up Table Mountain as soon as weather allows. We didn't think it was an issue as expected good weather so didn't go on the first day (blue skies). The second day was cloudy so there was no view from the top (low cloud), the third was windy so the cable car was switched off! Missed the view which was a shame.

The garden route was great, my fav places being Nature's Valley and the less well visited De Hoop National Park. Simply stunning.

AllHailTheHen · 5:09PM

PrincessFiona said:

CheshireAddick said:

We're heading to Cape Town in March for my birthday. Any suggestions for trips, restaurants etc would be great fully appreciated. We are doing research ourselves but would welcome any suggestions from your experiences.

Some people have said how dangerous the place is and obviously we will be vigilant but again any experience with this would be appreciated too.

Cheers

The hop-on hop-off bus is worth doing, there is even a small wine tour in Constantia.

Re security, just check out the areas that are a no-go and don't go there! Camps Bay and Hout Bay and Chapman's Peak are all great but there are plenty of other places. How long do you have, do you have anything organised and how far are you prepared to go/will you hire a car?

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens near Newlands are definitely worth a visit, as is Hermanus for whale watching. And Stellenbosch is only an hour away, if you have time - a little further you have the Franschhoek Wine Tram!

A lot of these are stops on the hop-on hop-off bus.

Will have a think about restaurants, but a few years since we've been there, so things may have changed. But we had a few favourites

Echo a lot of these and went to most of the same places. Cape point/Cape of good hope as well. Drive down to it via the back of Table Mountain is lovely. Penguins at Boulders if you did a loop around.

One of my favourite ever meals was at La Colombe in Constantia. That was years ago and its moved to a new location but a quick look on Google and its still very highly rated.

mistrollingin62 · 5:11PM

We haven't had a villa holiday in Spain since pre covid.

I know everythings changed but hoping to find a villa for 2 with flights from Gatwick with transfers when there.

Mallorca or mainland.

Would really appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks.

SporadicAddick · 5:13PM

mistrollingin62 said:

We haven't had a villa holiday in Spain since pre covid.
I know everythings changed but hoping to find a villa for 2 with flights from Gatwick with transfers when there.
Mallorca or mainland.
Would really appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks.

Don't worry, the villas survived the pandemic

JohnBoyUK · 5:34PM

CheshireAddick said:

We're heading to Cape Town in March for my birthday. Any suggestions for trips, restaurants etc would be great fully appreciated. We are doing research ourselves but would welcome any suggestions from your experiences.

Some people have said how dangerous the place is and obviously we will be vigilant but again any experience with this would be appreciated too.

Cheers

We went last Easter (for the second time) and out there again for a wedding in the next 18 months (I'm doing the photography woo hoo!)

Restaurants, got a whole heap to give you, depending on what you like/don't like.

Day trips - we hired a driver with a minibus and he was bloody brilliant (who was recommended by our AirBnB host!) I'd thoroughly recommend him as he can take you on a number of tours, including all the way over to Stellenbosch so you can go and enjoy the wine tasting without having to worry about driving.

You need to go and do the coast drive, go to see Chapman's Peak (one hell of a road to drive built into the cliffs), then onto the Cape Peninsular and the Cape of Good Hope, then Boulders beach to see the Penguins.

We stayed in Camps Bay. Its the real 'posh/glamour' part of Cape Town, equivalent of Malibu using a LA reference. An Uber into central Cape Town, 15 mins away was working out about £3-4 at the absolute most. Ubers ridiculously cheap. One day we decided to go back to Stellenbosch direct from the V&A waterfront one lunchtime as the weather was poor and it cost us £35 return which was staggeringly cheap.

Its virtually impossible to spend money in Cape Town/South Africa. We went as a party of 9, 2 families of 2 adults and 2 young kids and the Mother In Law (we went for her 80th!). All of us sitting down in a michelin standard restaurant with 3 courses, 3-4 bottles of the most expensive wine on the menu and some beer and G&Ts was coming out at £200-250 for all of us. It's bonkers its so cheap. Its obviously expensive to get there but bloody hell its as cheap as chips when you are there.

You might want to check out Newlaands if you're into your cricket.
The Cape Town Aquarium is good if the weather is naff. You get to see Sharks!
The V&A harbour is worth a look around.

The national parks are good (as mentioned above).

My favourite restaurant recommendation to give you is the Pot Luck Club.

Wine tasting... you cannot go Cape Town without going Stellenbosch, you need to go to Boschendal, the wine and food is awesome. You need to go the Delaire Graff estate without fail. Beyond all else, the view of the mountains you get from the car park cant be bettered anywhere. The wine is stunning and so is the food. If you want a purely wine tasting without any of the faff and the best wine anywhere in South Africa, go to Meerlust. You sit in a courtyard and its so quiet you can here a pin drop. The Meerlust Rubicon is the best red wine you will taste anywhere in the world.

Something else to consider. Safari. If you arrange it before you go, there are a number of private game drives within driving distance of Cape Town. It'll mean you have an early start one morning, (usually about 4-5am for a 2hr drive) but its well worth it. We went Aquila when we was there last time and it was great. Not as good as the safari we spent 4 days on the Eastern Cape 7 years beforehand but it was very good, the kids and the MIL saw everything that day apart from the Cheetahs.

If you want some details of restaurants, the driver etc, just drop me a DM, more than happy to help.

(oh meant to say, safety-wise, as long as you stick to the main areas and don't go off piste and rely on Ubers, you'll be absolutely fine. Treat it like you would treat London!)

LargeAddick · 5:45PM

CaptainRobbo said:

Pelling1993 said:

Got back from 3 weeks in Australia on Sunday morning. Woke up at 1am today and am like a zombie, never experienced jet lag like it. sleeping for about 16 hours on the plane felt good at the time but regretting it now!

I once came back from Australia, went to bed on a Thursday afternoon and then slept through until the Saturday morning. 😴

Been to Australia four times over the years, never had any stop offs, never suffered from jet lag, my wife neither. We once landed and came straight from the airport to The Valley with luggage in tow. Strange how it affects some and not others.

JohnBoyUK · 5:51PM

Well, I'm turning 50 in March. Was asked whether I wanted a party or a nice holiday. Its was a no brainer really. Holiday it is.

Mrs JB originally wanted to go back to Barbados but it was working out extortionately expensive (with Premium Economy flights, 10 days at the Fairmont for just 2 adults, 2 kids was working out just over £25k at Easter).

So she went back to the drawing board and she came up with a brilliant idea of 5 days in Singapore staying at the Marina Bay Sands hotel and 11 days in Bali.

Along with the 4 of us, one sis/bro-in-law and my nephew are coming for the entire trip and then my wife's brother, other sis-in-law and 2 kids are joining us in Bali. Got 2 private Villas with our time split between Ubud and Seminyak along with staff, including a driver and private chef when we want to eat in.

Already on the countdown. Already got 3 restaurants booked in Singapore, along with afternoon tea at Raffles to sample the original Singapore Sling. The furthest East I've ever been before this was Dubai so its going to be a completely different experience for me and I'm really looking forward to it!

Mrs JB is currently researching a holiday for August and/or October half term.

Holidays 2026

Comments

Categories