I really wanted to go in the spring (in fact the trip was originally planned for April of 2023 but we switched to Portugal) but we are already going to Italy in March for the Paralympics (niece is participating!) so are looking at late September for Andalusia. We are spending a few days in Ronda.
Just met a woman who raved about Butterfield and Robinson tours. Very active, small group, luxury experiences. She couldn’t say enough good things. They gave some really amazing sounding trips for active travelers.
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I have heard wonderful things about them also. But we don’t need quite their level of luxury. We would opt for a level down in most cases.
We love traveling and have taken many many vacations. Hard to pinpoint one perfect trip. Loved them all - for different reasons!
We are usually the do-it-yourself type. I research the place, the things we like to do and off we go. We recently went to Northern Ireland and I planned the route we were going to take, the stops and the hikes/walks/attractions we were going to see. Found a company that plans the tours for you - they were pretty much suggesting the same itinerary, you still had to drive yourself but the cost was about four times more! All they saved you was the reservation at hotels.
We spent a glorious week in Egypt as a family. I still made our own reservations for flights and hotels, but did use a guide and a van/driver to take us around some of the days. That seemed prudent, given the conditions in Egypt. A friend used a guide for the entire two weeks they were in Egypt - that would have driven my family crazy.
I guess my favorites would be Egypt, Cape town and the Kruger safari trip, Normandy, Switzerland, the Baltics cruise…
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I’ve been planning trips around Europe myself since the days of Let’s Go.. in the 1990s. So much easier on the internet!
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The best trip we’ve been on (and we have traveled a lot) was the Scenic cruise lines trip we went on in Feb to Vietnam and Cambodia. An interesting mixture of ultra luxury on a river cruise boat with only 65 people (not used to luxury, but boy was it nice) and very interesting and sometimes heartbreaking tours in that region of the world. Everything was perfect, people were so nice, and even though it was costly $8700/person), it was fully inclusive, only souvenirs were extra. And those were cheap. Unforgettable.
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I dunno, Cádiz, meh. Out of the several places we recently visited in Spain, Cadiz I could do without. Hoping you have Granada on your travel plan.
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We do! Two or three nights. Not finalized yet.
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My aunt (late 70s and extremely active) just did the Azores and spoke highly of it. Also Cape Breton Island. Beautiful scenery, good hikes.
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Make sure you make reservations of Granada. Even in April it was essential. We spent the entire day there and I think we still missed the inside of one of the less interesting buildings. We stayed at the Mirador which is probably the least nice luxury hotel I’ve stayed in. (Slow and unhelpful service, clean, nice rooms.) However it was incredibly convenient being within the Granada complex.
ETA I meant Parador. They seemed to be very understaffed.
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Several friends have stayed in the parador in the Alhambra and loved it. You must book far in advance. We couldn’t get reservations, but walked around the property which is lovely. https://paradores.es/en/parador-de-granada?utm_campaign=paradordegranada&utm_content=ficha&utm_medium=linkgoogle&utm_source=GoogleMyBusiness&utm_term=organico
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We stayed at a hotel right across the entrance to the Alhambra but I don’t think it was part of the complex. Do not remember the name. I think we definitely preferred staying up there to down in town. I didn’t love Granada as much as everyone else seems to, but for sure the Alhambra is a must-see. The mosque in Cordoba is also worth a stop, though we didn’t think too much of the rest of the town as I recall. Seville was the gem as far as we were concerned, even with the heat.
My aunt lived near Marbella at the time and we spent some time on the costa del sol. It seemed to me a naturally gorgeous coastline ruined by over development.
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We stayed in two paradors on trips to Spain–they were both amazing. As I recall they weren’t budget hotels, but worth the splurge.
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We stayed there there! It was splurge in our self-planned trip to London & Spain with the kids (who were in college, and on summer break). We thought it was great – nice to be right there so we could split up some of the time. H planned the entire trip well in advance. We went in late May/early June.
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What company is this?
Star Clipper - I sailed on the eponymous ship of their 3 clipper ship fleet. Cannot say enough good things about the experience.
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Most fun, relaxing trip if you like the water, snorkeling, and diving… rent a catamaran in the BVI’s. We used a company called Boats at Sea and went for a week. It came with the captain and chef… no cooking for me!
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I have a couple of friends who have done this and loved it. Another option for a similar type of vacation albeit further away is Croatia.
Did you fly in and then rent a car on the trips to Alaska and the Galapagos? We are into cruises but do love to drive, so this is an interesting possbility for us.
I was just going to suggest similar.We bareboat charter but I’d enjoy a captain and cook. We love the BVI for sailing ( chartering in the BVI this December) but our favorite sailing spot is Tahiti. The Moorings rents boats out of Raitea both bareboat or with crew. Sail to Bora Bora and enjoy it from the water. It’s our favorite island.
Once in a lifetime trip for me was a safari in Kenya. My in-laws planned a great trip. We stayed at small lodges with several having horseback riding as an option.
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