Anyone any major trips/holidays planned in for this year? Do you book it all yourself (flights/accommodation etc) or use a travel agent? Any tips or sites recommended other than the usual Skyscanner, Trip Advisor etc?

I'm looking at doing a couple of weeks in the USA later this year, maybe using TrekAmerica - anyone have any experience of using them or going on any of their organised holidays?

Managed to syncronise the wifes shifts and my days off (which are now too numerous to count) on two occasions last year, that is we were off work for two successive days in October, so we went to The Lake District, which was nice.

Having not renewed our passports last September and having no intention of doing so despite having two invitations to spend time abroad in 2015 I suspect that the old shift synchronisation will not play ball again and I'll have lots of lazy days off to myself again.

Lifes been good to me so far.

Lake Garda & Venice in May for a week and a diving destination in October (malta, Red Sea or might try Croatia).

Hopefully stay at home or go to work.

2 nights in Istanbul, then cruise around Greek isles & Turkish coast in June. In October, 2 nights in Dubai then cruise from there to Singapore with stops in India & Malaysia, finish off with 2 nights in Singapore. Hopefully a few long weekends away around the UK when shifts allow.

Up to Pitlochry to see my dad's sister.
Over to our kids in Prague.
Hopefully some time on the Dalmatian coast.

Don't know how I'm gonna do any at present mind b'cos I've got no fooking money!
I will find a way.

According to the right wingers you should be able to do this easily ,especially if on benefits, and not worry about it at all.

Enjoy

I'm going to sign back on again just to guarantee I can afford such ventures.

Considering going away on a lad's holiday, but to be honest we want to go off the beaten track ie, Magaluf, Ibiza, Zante etc, but still find somewhere in Europe that still has a decent nightlife.

Decided against the US thing, and booked myself a couple of weeks in Sri Lanka in November.

Anyone been there before, and have any tips/recommendations about getting around and what to see & do that might not be on the usual review websites?

Italy booked for August. The latest series of Italy Unpacked swung it. Has to be one of the best travel programmes ever to have been aired.

No doubt there will be loads of long weekends with trips to see friends and the glut of weddings that come with being a 30 something. Already got weekends in Hawes, Derbyshire and Southampton in the diary.

I went in, I think it was 2007. We did a week of touring, with a driver driving us, and then a week on the beach. Traffic didn't seem that difficult, apart from being horrendously busy in Colombo and Kandy. It's great scenery so take a good camera and plenty of memory card space. A disappointment for us was the lack of facilities for eating and drinking out, with most of that being confined to hotels. You should certainly visit the inland highland areas, and a tea plantation and old factory, and the the elephant orphanage too.

Really want to go back to South East Asia but can't decide where

Think it will be Vietnam or Cambodia for me next year, in April or May

We have been going to Santa Ponsa on Majorca for October for the last few years, nice, quiet and totally relaxing. This year our eldest is getting married in the middle of October and with rellies coming from across the globe going away has been put on hold. No way am I wandering across for a week or so, I will just get chilled down and miss Oktoberfest and then fighting to get back on the Ryanair 737-900 for home.

So looking at some winter sun in Jan/February2016 for a few weeks ...............

Cambodia is incredible, love the place! It's such a fascinating place and yes it's not the most developed country in the world but the history & charm is incredible

If I can find some cheap guest houses to stay in, then I think Cambodia could defo be next on my list then - just one of those places I have always fancied seeing.

If anyone is thinking of going to the U.S., I can't recommend North America Travel Service highly enough. Used them several times over the years and everything has been perfect including their assistance when our flights home were delayed and cancelled due to bad weather and airline cock-ups.
All their staff (in the Leeds office anyway) are very knowledgeable about the US and will find you ways of doing what you want with whatever type of budget you've got.
They've got branches in Leeds, Nottingham, London, Manchester, Barnsley & Edinburgh.

Two very different recent holidays:

Butlins in Minehead -
Went with the brother and his family and absolutely loved it. You just feel like the kids are perfectly safe anywhere in the place and there's enough to keep the adults happy too. Some of the shows are a bit cringeworthy but some are surprisingly good.
We went in "Silver" apartments which weren't very spacious but did the job as you don't spend much time there anyway. I would say not to bother with paying in advance for food. It wasn't very good and I think you're better off either with takeaways, using the food outlets on site or cooking your own in your apartment.


New York -
Loved every minute. Obviously there's some iconic things to see like the Statue of Liberty etc but I just enjoyed walking around, going to a few bars and taking in the atmosphere. It's difficult to explain, it's just a feeling of an atmosphere, but I loved it.
A few little tips though, don't bother actually going on to the island that the Statue of Liberty is on, when you're on it you don't actually get a great view of the statue! We got some cracking views of both the statue and Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry.

Don't, unless you're desperate just to say you've done it, go up the Empire State Building. You get better views, and IIRC it's a bit cheaper and has smaller queues, from the top of the Rockefeller Centre.

Visiting the UN might not be everyone's idea of fun but I'm a geek so I loved it.

Don't bother visiting the USS Intrepid (aircraft carrier on West side of Manhattan) it's expensive and a bit rubbish.

If you're flying in or out of New York don't use the taxis to get either to or from the airport. They're expensive and rather uncomfortable if there's more than 2 of you or you're 6ft+ tall. There's a perfectly good bus shuttle service to the airports in and out of New York. Or, if flying out of New York, your hotel concierge can book a "black taxi" that is effectively a pre-booked taxi service but in a much nicer, more spacious car that was actually a bit cheaper than the regular "yellow taxis".

Pretty much matches my experience. NYC is an amazing place and you could spend a lifetime exploring, but the tourist traps are just that.

Been several times on leisure, and unfortunately had to do the Statue of Liberty twice and Empire State twice (the express tickets were worth skipping the queues

), amongst others, and I have fond memories of a brass band tour which took us to the top of the Twin Towers in about 1990 and to the UN, which was an amazing experience not least because we met Bill Clinton.

What you say about having a walk is spot on. The last 2 times I've stayed with a family member working on Broadway, which meant I had plenty of time to myself. One of my favourite walks was Upper West, past the Intrepid, up through Hell's Kitchen, through Theatre District and probably on to either Little Italy or the Village, stopping for a few slurps and nibbles on the way. The backstreet places are the best by far, I'll never forget an Irish bar in Hell's Kitchen where the locals made me very welcome apart from a loudmouth prick who got all "Ireland for the Irish" aggressive because I was English. That is until I told him not only was I part Irish, I had relatives over there and had visited many times - unlike him, who had never left the USA. He got shouted down. That was a great night.

Philly is worth a visit, as is Boston, but NYC is a unique beast.

Quote ="Mike Oxlong"If I can find some cheap guest houses to stay in, then I think Cambodia could defo be next on my list then - just one of those places I have always fancied seeing.'" Mother home Inn in Siem Reap (www.motherhomehotel.com) I stayed in 2012 and hotel was class. $100 for two of us for 5 nights. Plus they organised our trips to Angkor Wat for us

Quote ="Mike Oxlong"If I can find some cheap guest houses to stay in, then I think Cambodia could defo be next on my list then - just one of those places I have always fancied seeing.'" Mother home Inn in Siem Reap (www.motherhomehotel.com) I stayed in 2012 and hotel was class. $100 for two of us for 5 nights. Plus they organised our trips to Angkor Wat for us

Quote ="Lawrie L"Mother home Inn in Siem Reap (www.motherhomehotel.com) I stayed in 2012 and hotel was class. $100 for two of us for 5 nights. Plus they organised our trips to Angkor Wat for us'" Cheers, duly noted and appreciated! Just hope I remember about it in a few months when coming to book! What time of year did you go? I've been to Thailand (Koh Samui) at the end of April/early May and the weather was pretty much perfect - temperature-wise, and avoiding any heavy rainfall, so would like to get the same for Cambodia.

Quote ="Lawrie L"Mother home Inn in Siem Reap (www.motherhomehotel.com) I stayed in 2012 and hotel was class. $100 for two of us for 5 nights. Plus they organised our trips to Angkor Wat for us'" Cheers, duly noted and appreciated! Just hope I remember about it in a few months when coming to book! What time of year did you go? I've been to Thailand (Koh Samui) at the end of April/early May and the weather was pretty much perfect - temperature-wise, and avoiding any heavy rainfall, so would like to get the same for Cambodia.

I was in Cambodia in June time which is round about rainy season. It was about 30c and humid but apart from a few showers it was class!

Ill try find hotel we went to in Phnom Penh for you. It was like a modern business man's hotel but for 2 of us cost around £100 for three nights

Hotels were cheap as chips over there and food,drink etc was mental. We went to a restaurant in Siem Reap in which two courses (friend had steak as a main) and two big mojitoes cost $24. Food was out of this world

Had a quick look this morning and dry season seems to run October to April, so should be bang on for when I'm thinking.

Cheers again for the hotel info, and any/all tips. Did you do 2 weeks there or were you travelling around SE Asia?

Sounds a lot like Thailand, price and food wise - I came back with loads of money and was surprised as how cheap it was to eat & drink there!

Weather is pretty similar to Thailand, although only really 2 "seasons" as such rather than 3 in the Land of Smiles: dry (October to late April) and wet (May to late September). Temps vary in the season, but March, April, May and June are the hottest of the year with temps in excess of 35°C. Very Humid in March and April, coolest between October and December (if 24 degrees is cool!)