Sabbatical next summer
Discussion
Hitting 50 this year and with 25 years service under my belt, i've managed to get myself a paid Sabbatical for next summer. Actual length still under negotiation, but no shorter than 2.5months.
I'm planning June, July, August when business is quieter and can be covered easier.
Will be me and the better half only, kids are old enough to look after themselves and are not invited (although they want to come!).
So, onto my ideas.......I've always fancied a U.S. West Coast road trip. San Diego or L.A. upto Seattle, then a possible flight to Vancouver, ending with a possible cruise around Alaska. Possibly take 1-1.5 months, then come back and get a few weeks in Europe with family and friends.
We love spending time in new places and exploring different cultures, so Far East also appeals.
What have you done? What would you do?
I'm planning June, July, August when business is quieter and can be covered easier.
Will be me and the better half only, kids are old enough to look after themselves and are not invited (although they want to come!).
So, onto my ideas.......I've always fancied a U.S. West Coast road trip. San Diego or L.A. upto Seattle, then a possible flight to Vancouver, ending with a possible cruise around Alaska. Possibly take 1-1.5 months, then come back and get a few weeks in Europe with family and friends.
We love spending time in new places and exploring different cultures, so Far East also appeals.
What have you done? What would you do?
I have done 3 major trips of late.
USA - 4 weeks.
California
Nevada
Arizona
Back to California
All the major sights Grand Canyon, Vegas, Hoover Dam, Yosemite, Napa, SF, LA, etc.
UK to BCN. 3 days there.
Cruise BCN > Miami 15 days.
Miami > Peru. 1 week
Peru > Mexico. 1 week.
Mexico > DC 1 week
DC > NYC 5 days
NYC > UK
Japan
7 weeks just travelling round.
A week ish in each of the major cities south / west of Tokyo and back to Tokyo at the end.
Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Kanazawa, Takayama, Matsumoto and back to Tokyo via Fuji.
Of the 3 trips Japan was the best. An absolutely incredible place.
The exchange rate is good at the moment (no idea next year) which made is good value too.
Vs USA which cost about 30% more for 4 weeks vs 7 weeks in Japan.
The only issue with Japan is it would be really hot and humid at that time of year. Mind you the states wont exactly be cool either..
USA - 4 weeks.
California
Nevada
Arizona
Back to California
All the major sights Grand Canyon, Vegas, Hoover Dam, Yosemite, Napa, SF, LA, etc.
UK to BCN. 3 days there.
Cruise BCN > Miami 15 days.
Miami > Peru. 1 week
Peru > Mexico. 1 week.
Mexico > DC 1 week
DC > NYC 5 days
NYC > UK
Japan
7 weeks just travelling round.
A week ish in each of the major cities south / west of Tokyo and back to Tokyo at the end.
Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Kanazawa, Takayama, Matsumoto and back to Tokyo via Fuji.
Of the 3 trips Japan was the best. An absolutely incredible place.
The exchange rate is good at the moment (no idea next year) which made is good value too.
Vs USA which cost about 30% more for 4 weeks vs 7 weeks in Japan.
The only issue with Japan is it would be really hot and humid at that time of year. Mind you the states wont exactly be cool either..
cinque said:
....upto Seattle, then a possible flight to Vancouver, ...
FWIW, they're only a few hours drive apart.Friends did similar to your idea and it looked amazing, but AIUI you do have to book well in advance for accommodation. I'm not sure, but I think I'd prefer a driving tour of northern Europe. (Our retirement plans involve both...)
Bill said:
cinque said:
....upto Seattle, then a possible flight to Vancouver, ...
FWIW, they're only a few hours drive apart.Friends did similar to your idea and it looked amazing, but AIUI you do have to book well in advance for accommodation. I'm not sure, but I think I'd prefer a driving tour of northern Europe. (Our retirement plans involve both...)
I also managed to bag a sabbatical when I was 50 and headed to Oz. If I was to do it again I'd spend a week in Sydney then fly up to Brisbane and get an AirB&B for a couple of months on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane. It's absolutely gorgeous up there, plenty of places/sights to see, great beaches and a lovely vibe to the place.
Alternatively, earlier this year we spent just over a month in Europe...a week each in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France. We were so not ready to come back to the UK and could easily have spent 2 weeks in each place. We took the car across and again rented AirB&B's and used them as a base to see the local areas...stayed in Theux, Black Forest, Bergamo, Lucerne and Dijon. I'd do that kind of thing again in a heartbeat.
Alternatively, earlier this year we spent just over a month in Europe...a week each in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France. We were so not ready to come back to the UK and could easily have spent 2 weeks in each place. We took the car across and again rented AirB&B's and used them as a base to see the local areas...stayed in Theux, Black Forest, Bergamo, Lucerne and Dijon. I'd do that kind of thing again in a heartbeat.
I would go around the world and recreate my travelling days from after uni, although that was almost a year in duration. https://www.trailfinders.com/flights/around-the-wo...
Would get myself a CRF250 and tour Africa.
Followed a young lad that did it in two trips storing the bike half way in SA then picking it up again for the return leg.
West Coast of the USA is good but I didn't feel like we missed much doing it in 3 weeks. Yosemite is amazing but SF and LA did very little for me, preferred SD and Tijuana.
Followed a young lad that did it in two trips storing the bike half way in SA then picking it up again for the return leg.
West Coast of the USA is good but I didn't feel like we missed much doing it in 3 weeks. Yosemite is amazing but SF and LA did very little for me, preferred SD and Tijuana.
We did a round the world trip in a month, could easily be extended to 2-3 months. I wish we'd had the time/money.
Singapore
Sydney
Alice Springs/Uluru
Palm Cove/Great Barrier Reef
Auckland - picked up campervan
Lots of places in NZ
Christchurch - dropped off campervan
Fiji
LA
Hoping to do something similar, but different places, in the next few years.
I'd love to do the mongol Rally but Mrs T isn't keen.
Singapore
Sydney
Alice Springs/Uluru
Palm Cove/Great Barrier Reef
Auckland - picked up campervan
Lots of places in NZ
Christchurch - dropped off campervan
Fiji
LA
Hoping to do something similar, but different places, in the next few years.
I'd love to do the mongol Rally but Mrs T isn't keen.
We've been lucky to do the New Zealand / Auz trip a couple of times. If I had 6 / 8 weeks (and a healthy budget!) would do it again, something like:
- break up the flight there with a stop over - maybe Singapore (we loved it, 3 / 4 days works well) or pick something a little different (eg we used Tokyo on one trip which also worked well)
- or as you have more time fly into somewhere like KL and then spend a week or two exploring - we did Vietnam, Loas and Cambodia in 10 days on a separate trip and loved it (could defo spend a lot longer there by 10 days worked well giving us a taste of each place)
- then onto NZ, we've campervan'd it a couple of times and had a blast, would suggest at least two weeks, ideally 3 from our experience
- then onto Auz, usual suspects (Sydney, Uluru, Great Barrier Reef - all very enjoyable) - probably 7 to 10 days (we really enjoyed it but didn't feel that we needed much more time)
- depending on you budget you could then come home the long way and stop off somewhere interesting on the way home
We also started mapping out a West Coast road trip and had booked the flights but a pesky thing called Covid got in the way... Given the time you have available I would love to fly into Canada (east coast), make our way across the country (train maybe), explore the Rockies and end up in Vancouver (was there a few weeks ago, great place) and then drive down West Coast. The flight from Vancouver to Seattle is about 28 mins! and then pick up a car and explore (We looked at driving from Vancouver to US but as a one way trip couldn't get a hire car across the border). Only thought is America has got flippin expensive (just spent four weeks there and felt a step change in cost from my previous visits and not just exchange rate driven). Bit of a random thought but it wouldn't be too far to fly down to central america to finish the trip off - can highly recommend Costa Rica (10 days would give you enough time to experience it - we did 3 places in 10 days and loved it)
have fun planning!
- break up the flight there with a stop over - maybe Singapore (we loved it, 3 / 4 days works well) or pick something a little different (eg we used Tokyo on one trip which also worked well)
- or as you have more time fly into somewhere like KL and then spend a week or two exploring - we did Vietnam, Loas and Cambodia in 10 days on a separate trip and loved it (could defo spend a lot longer there by 10 days worked well giving us a taste of each place)
- then onto NZ, we've campervan'd it a couple of times and had a blast, would suggest at least two weeks, ideally 3 from our experience
- then onto Auz, usual suspects (Sydney, Uluru, Great Barrier Reef - all very enjoyable) - probably 7 to 10 days (we really enjoyed it but didn't feel that we needed much more time)
- depending on you budget you could then come home the long way and stop off somewhere interesting on the way home
We also started mapping out a West Coast road trip and had booked the flights but a pesky thing called Covid got in the way... Given the time you have available I would love to fly into Canada (east coast), make our way across the country (train maybe), explore the Rockies and end up in Vancouver (was there a few weeks ago, great place) and then drive down West Coast. The flight from Vancouver to Seattle is about 28 mins! and then pick up a car and explore (We looked at driving from Vancouver to US but as a one way trip couldn't get a hire car across the border). Only thought is America has got flippin expensive (just spent four weeks there and felt a step change in cost from my previous visits and not just exchange rate driven). Bit of a random thought but it wouldn't be too far to fly down to central america to finish the trip off - can highly recommend Costa Rica (10 days would give you enough time to experience it - we did 3 places in 10 days and loved it)
have fun planning!
I'm envious of the OP, I only got an extra week of holiday for my 25th year of service, and it was 2020 so couldn't leave the house for most of the year, let alone travel the world.
With a couple of month's available I think I'd be looking to do a long term rental of an AirBnB/villa/gite/etc somewhere nice and 'live like a local' rather than traveling around for weeks on end.
With a couple of month's available I think I'd be looking to do a long term rental of an AirBnB/villa/gite/etc somewhere nice and 'live like a local' rather than traveling around for weeks on end.
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