3 Best Holiday destinations and why ?

VTech

Ive thought about a thread like this for a while so here goes.

What are your 3 best holiday destinations and why ?

1) Napa Valley.
Peaceful, quiet, a complete removal from reality and although ive never yet cycled the valleys I will one day.

2) Cuba.
A remarkable place, again removed from western reality and incredibly friendly and vibrant.

3) Singapore.
Visually stunning, culturally diverse and although incredibly expensive, there are ways to get there, stay and eat at a reasonable cost giving a fantastic break.

Cleat Eastwood

1. Llandudno - the longest welsh word I can spell and great for days out.

2. Rimini - best cemetary ever - get your photo taken by Fellini's monument.

3. The Algarve - anywher along there - if they didnt speak funny the portuguese would be best people on the planet.

Ben6899

In no particular order:

1. Los Angeles/Hollywood/West Coast (you need a hire car): Diversity, great weather, great beaches, great bars, relaxing, hedonistic - depends what you want.

2. Japan with a JR rail ticket: pretend you're Rick Deckard hunting replicants in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto (!) or relax by visiting the beautiful temples and parks.

3. New Forest: country pubs, lots of wildlife and beautiful scenery. Great fishing and great cycling.

(4. Following the TdF narrowly misses out simply because, after a week or so, I get a bit fed up of emptying the motorhome's bog)

Cleat Eastwood

Ben6899 wrote:

In no particular order:

1. Los Angeles/Hollywood/West Coast (you need a hire car): Diversity, great weather, great beaches, great bars, relaxing, hedonistic - depends what you want.

2. Japan with a JR rail ticket: pretend you're Rick Deckard hunting replicants in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto (!) or relax by visiting the beautiful temples and parks.

3. New Forest: country pubs, lots of wildlife and beautiful scenery. Great fishing and great cycling.

(4. Following the TdF narrowly misses out simply because, after a week or so, I get a bit fed up of emptying the motorhome's bog)

Thats the winner right there

simonhead

1. Karnataka, India. The Biligirirangan Hills are probably the most amazing place I have ever been to. Stunning scenery and amazing people.

2. Barcelona, Possibly my favourite city just watch your pockets.

3. South West England. Spent a brilliant 3 weeks when I was 19 with 4 friends touring the South West in an old Renault people carrier. Went from campsite to campsite with no agenda or schedule and had a brilliant time.

pinno

Barcelona

The Highlands (of Scotland)

Somewhere where the weather is good with white sandy beaches, bikini clad women, palm trees...

Cleat Eastwood

pinarello001 wrote:

Somewhere where the weather is good with white sandy beaches, bikini clad women, palm trees...

Like I said, Llandudno

the playing mantis

im surprised you havent includeed LV vtech!!

im not well travelled globally, a fact i should make up for in the next few years, with my expereinces limited to the states and west and south europe, but have travelled extensively in england and wales, as such here is mine based on my limited world locations:

1. SoCal...and NoCal.. although only from SF down (i have never been further north, but sure its just as nice, redwoods, oregon, goonies, cloud forests etc) and plan to rectify that.
why:
great climate most of the time, great people, great vibe, so many things to do whatever the mood takes, city, country, coast, national parks, phoney america, tourist america, and proper america can all be experienced, great golf, great food, body boarding, nightlife, chilling, so many places to entertain you there, everythings is great. would love to live somewhere thereabouts at some stage in my life.

2. North Cornwall, specifically Trevose, and to a lesser extent Padstow (well the Padstow of my chilhood summer hols in the late 80's-mid 90's before it got abit ruined)

why: childhood memories, great beaches, scenery, country pubs, slow pace of life, good golf and surf, long lazy coast walks after dinner, rockpooling, messing around in boats, the seafood restuarant.

3. A Spanish Island, be it somewhere in the balearics or canaries. Villa in the hills, overlooking the coast, but near enough to some scummy night spot for the associated craic....

reminds me of first m8s holiday in our teens, overseas without parents supervision for the first time. Still enjoy such a 'lads' holiday and all the 'shenanigans' they entail! but in smaller doses now, as im getting a bit old for it (late 20's) so save it for stag do's or golf sun trips, heat, good beaches, relaxation or non stop partying, sleeping it off on the beach, waking up in unknown bedrooms, great waterparks, paella and ibirico ham, and other spanish foods, drinking in the archtypal english bar (as much as its cricngeworthy it has to be done). when i go on non 'lads' hlidays to them, i always miss that a bit a little, even though id get in trouble if i said as such!

this last one is a bit of a contoversial one as its not everyones cup of tea and will likely change as i mature and get older and more well travelled, but for now i include it, as i have so many fantastic and hilarious memories of my m8s and i from such trips that i have to stick in.

jgsi

Anywhere bar Alsager (trust me on that one)

team47b

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

3. The Algarve - anywhere along there - if they didnt speak funny the portuguese would be best people on the planet.

Don't go there, crap weather, rough roads, full of traffic, keep away

Todos nós falamos engraçado é para confundir os ingleses

the playing mantis

portugese taxi drivers...best in europe!!

upperoilcan

Canada (British Columbia) for it's sheer beauty and rugged outdoors.

Lake Garda,Great weather,scenery and food.

Rome, (Short break) amazing sites and buildings,great shopping,weather and food.

davelakers

Cuba.
Stunning, interesting, historical, friendly, hot...i could go on and on. The beautiful Caribbean without Yanks. Enjoy it before they are let in to ruin it.

New Zealand.
Just because.....

Ibiza.
Not San Antonio but away from the hussle and bussle its a stunning island.

CambsNewbie

California. Been lucky enough to have been a few times now. Best trip was a couple of years ago, fly to SF, stayed there a few days then drove upto Nappa Valley. Stayed in a lovely independent guest house, did all the wine tasting etc. From there drove to Yosemite national park which is just incredible. Another couple of days there before heading over to the Pacific Highway and driving down to Santa Monica with a couple of overnight stops along the way. Then spent a week in Santa Monica using it as a base to explore LA. One of my best holidays ever.

Mykonos. One of the most beautiful Greek islands. Mykonos town is beautiful with a maze of narrow lanes with a mixture of traditional Greek houses and shops/bars/restaurants built around the harbour. Very friendly people and very tolerant. Great restaurants and bars although can be very expensive. Great beaches from the more 'commercial' and busy to totally deserted. Very relaxed and chilled way to spend a couple of weeks.

Lulworth Cove, Dorset. We can take the dog, rent a cottage and have great walks along the Jurassic coast. Dog can swim in the sea and then loads of good dog friendly pubs to have good food and a few pints. Perfect!

VTech

the playing mantis wrote:

im surprised you havent includeed LV vtech!!

I love Las Vegas, so much so that I couldnt imagine a year going by without the pilgrimage but it cant make the top 3 ahead of the others.
I think with a top 3 it can always change though, as places by nature change. I used to love Majorca, it was the first place we used to take the kids but the last 3 years its been crowded by hookers from Africa so the wife doesnt want to go back.

I love miami, ive been many times and the kids love it, its within half a days travelling so not too bad and the weather is almost always perfect so great for the family, Sawgrass Mills is perfect for shopping and I can get my yearly fix of jeans and clothes at hugely reduced prices of the UK.

The canaries are great, 4.5 hours and your in paradise, Pourto Rico holds great memories for us and the wife is a fan of tenerife as her sister has a small villa there.
Fuerteventura is also a great place to visit and to be fair, no one does kids like the Spanish (no pun intended)

California is a great place, I love it but im not a fan of Hollywood or LA really, I find it dirty and over priced, full of people who either have too much to know what to do with it or people who have nothing pretending they do.

Im not a fan of UK holidays, I dont think there is good value for money in general, ive spent £700 on a 3 day break with the wife and kids to Brighton a few years back, thats just crazy, we didnt do anything out of the norm either. The same can be said for most seaside venues in the UK, I feel that in the UK people look to get what they can from this year and dont think about looking after you so that you come back the following year.

ballysmate

1 Tennessee
Beautiful scenery and a great place for live music. Broadway in Nashville has bar after bar where you can listen to live music, all country mind you. Then there is Beale St in Memphis. More live music, blues played indoors and out. Even if you don't care for country or blues, the atmosphere is incredible.

2. Amsterdam
No not just for the red light area, the whole city is fascinating, like nowhere else I have been. Brilliant for a short break.

3. North Devon coast.
Long sandy beaches where we took the kids when they were little. Can't beat it.

Davdandy

Rhyl

Grimsby

Wigan








Yes,i am taking the pee.Sorry.

Cleat Eastwood

Davdandy wrote:

Rhyl

Grimsby

Wigan

Or as I like to call it - childhood

ballysmate

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

Davdandy wrote:

Rhyl

Grimsby

Wigan

Or as I like to call it - childhood

Feck me! That's child abuse.

Davdandy

Ballysmate wrote:

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

Davdandy wrote:

Rhyl

Grimsby

Wigan

Or as I like to call it - childhood

Feck me! That's child abuse.

Totally agree,NO child should be subjected to Wigan.

Redhog14

Falkirk
Dundee
Kircaldy - at least they have a bike race here...

Barca
Cote d'Azur
Sweden - bit left field but was there last year and was really taken by it and very keen to revisit.

bernithebiker

1. Finistere, France - wild beauty, quiet roads, easy to get to, not expensive (see link below!)

2. Barcelona - great city

3. Majorca

4. Dominica in the Caribbean (where they filmed Pirates of the C....)

Whoops, that's 4, sorry!

the playing mantis

can any consensus be drawn from this thread?

Berni, when you say majorca, you do mean magaluf i assume?

Nancy Luger

Thailand - stunningly beautiful, lovely crazy people. And the food . . .

Italy - the sights, the culture, the lifestyle, pretty much everything about it.

and

Rome - everything about Rome, including the shopping. In fact especially the shopping, in particular the Gucci shop beside the Spanish Steps, the assistants in there . . . oh my god.

jouxplan

1. Vancouver and Vancouver Island Pacific Coast - beautiful and relaxed city and stunning scenery with some of the best sea kayaking imaginable.

2. Lets Gets, French Alps - perfect combination of mountains, good weather, lots of family stuff to do and tons of road cycling choices. Too many MTB's though

3. Applecross, Scottish Highlands - rugged beauty, a monster climb (for the bike)

richk

Exmoor
Dartmoor
Bodmin Moor

ballysmate

RichK wrote:

Exmoor
Dartmoor
Bodmin Moor

What's No.4 Broadmoor?

rolfrae

Isle of Arran "Scotland in miniature" - the ride round the island is stunning.
Haute Provence - weather, food, wine and amazing cycling.
Bormio in Italy, during the summer - Stelvio, Gavia and Mortirolo on the doorstep.

kieranb

Can't think of 3,

Number one: the Alps (France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland - dosen't matter) in winter and a bit of skiing (or snowboarding if that's your thing). Summer - hiking, climbing, biking (MTB/road) etc

Number two: The European med coastline, somewhere near some mountains for variety (like Croatia). Swim in the nice clear calm waters, relax in the cafes at night, go hiking/climbing for a change, visit some ruins etc.

Or anyother place that would fulfill those requirements.

None of my fav places would include shopping of any kind.

declan1

pinarello001 wrote:

The Highlands (of Scotland)

When the sun's out (which it is is for roughly 1.24 days per year), yes. Right now I want to move to Majorca - it's the 2nd of May and I had to call home for a new pair of gloves because my hands were about to drop off earlier...

neilrobins

Hong Kong, from metropolis with ferrys to mountain cable cars to Mediterranean style beach resorts. Incredible food, friendly people.
Capri, best for short relaxing breaks.
Abersoch, childhood memories, boats, fishing