Top 5 countries you’d recommend

[Stadt]

Was going to post it in the holiday thread but thought it’d be better an an individual one.

 

1. Ecuador & Galapagos - went with college and it was incredible. The wildlife and scenery was unreal 

 

2. Germany - what always strikes me is how clean it is, the average cities are still great and the everything is affordable.

 

3. Norway - Oslo was great, expensive obviously but superb scenery for a capital city. Really cool modern architecture.

 

4. Portugal - fantastic food, beer and views.

 

5. Spain - outstanding outside the tourist traps.

 

Eastern and Central Europe are up next for me. 

Edited 28 July 2019 by Stadt

[Kopfkino]

Cliffhanger for the fifth

[Stadt]

23 minutes ago, Kopfkino said:

Cliffhanger for the fifth

Accidentally pressed submit before the edit. The title was spelled wrongly an'all  

Edited 28 July 2019 by Stadt

[Soup]

The south of Italy holds amazing memories for me. Rough around the edges but still lives in the moment.

 

Spain has soul by the bucket load  ( if you disagree then.you've gone to the wrong place ). 

 

American in parts is just wow!  Would love to to retire on the west coast and just surf for the rest of my life.

 

Germany is nice but just seems a better version of England tbf 

 

Belgium. Been a few times but feel I shoud dig a little deeper. Very pretty 

[urban.spaceman]

1. Botswana. Amazing people, stunning scenery and unforgettable experiences with wildlife to be had. Go to Maun and Kasane. Drink Chibuku (at your peril).

 

2. Namibia. Ditto, with a slight German twinge that still lingers after a torrid history. Go to Etosha for the wildlife, the Fish River Canyon, and definitely DEFINITELY Swakopmund. So much to do and see. Drink Hansa and Windhoek - Namibian beer brewed to German standards that is popular throughout the region. I have my suppliers here!

 

3. Zambia. GO TO VICTORIA FALLS. Just once in your life. It’s ****ing stunning. Travelling between towns you’ll never see a bigger variety of things being transported via bicycle. Watch out for hawkers trying to sell you something (you’ll learn very quickly how to say no). Do the bunji jump. Drink Mosi Lager.

 

4. South Africa. Cape Town is my favourite city on the planet. Beautiful place with amazing people. Just go. Table Mountain is visible from practically everywhere but has a tendency to disappear on cloudy days. Castle is the local drink but the Namibian beer is more popular. Ask for 2M, which is from Mozambique. Craft beer is taking off as well, there was a bar on Kloof St that has a stout called FOKOF. It was good!

 

5. Hong Kong. I only spent a few days there but I absolutely fell in love with it. 

 

****ing hell I need to go travelling again. 

[leicsmac]

1. Korea - spectacular scenery out in the sticks mixed with all-happening urban life in the cities. Can see the mountains in eastern Gyeonggi-do and then have a night out in Hongdae the same day. And travel, food and drink are all cheap.

 

2. Sweden - aurora borealis. Enough said.

 

3. New England, USA - again, idyllic scenery, tremendous food and thankfully (at the present time) mostly removed from the fvckery going on in lots of other parts of the US.

 

4. Germany - for reasons detailed above.

 

5. Japan - wondrous blend of tech and culture.

[Costock_Fox]

1- South Africa. As said already, Cape Town is a sensational city. Wildlife, scenery, food and drink are all world class and I can’t recommend it enough.

 

2- Sweden. Had probably my favourite holiday in Sweden (and a couple of days in Norway) in the middle of winter.

 

3- Cambodia. Lovely people and plenty to see and do. Obviously everyone needs to go to Angkor Wat at once in their life time.

 

4- Spain. Every part I’ve ever been to has been brilliant. So much culture and the food is top notch.

 

5- Mauritius. Not just stunning beaches to chill out on but plenty of outdoor activities as well.

Edited 29 July 2019 by Costock_Fox

[SemperEadem]

1. Germany 

2. Croatia

3. Portugal

4. Poland

5. Norway

[Crinklyfox]

1.  India - it will be a culture shock, nothing really prepares you for it.  If you want to broaden your horizons, give it a go.

2.  Jordan - my favourite country in the Middle East, mix of Moslem and Christian cultures, I've always found the locals welcoming - and don't miss Petra.

3.  Mauritius - lovely place, great if you want to chill out

4.  Ireland - right on our doorstep.  If I couldn't live in the UK that's the country I'd go to.

5.  Australia - only been once but I loved it.  Would go again but for family commitments.

[Buce]

 

• Sri Lanka: If there really was a garden of Eden, then surely it was here.
• India: Not so much a country, it's more like a continent. All kinds of eco-systems, from deserts to jungle. A surprisingly huge variation of differing cultures, none of which are anything like our own.
• Turkey: It's such a shame that the only Turkey people see is the coastal resorts, it really does have everything - fantastic scenery, more archeology than you could shake a stick at (seriously, there is so much it literally lays around unnoticed; I was hiking there one summer and I would come around a corner in some remote mountains and there would be the 3,000 years old remains of an ancient town or temple - completely ignored and not even on the maps), and the most welcoming people I have ever met anywhere.
• Bolivia: Nice people, loads of pre-columbian archeology, and astonishing biodiversity.
• France (yes, really). Easily my favourite European country - surprisingly rural population, still living an unchanging, bucolic lifestyle long-since abandoned elsewhere in Western Europe.

[Soup]

Had a conversation with the misses only the other night about our holidays over the years. We came to the fact that in 25 years of travelling aboard we are truly awful at it haha.

 

We find a place we like and binge on it for years. Different places in the country but the same country. Really weird as we should've been round the world twice by now but nowhere near and will never get close. 

[Izzy]

1. New Zealand - Stunning scenery, four seasons in one day, the freshest air imaginable.

 

2. USA - Despite popular opinion, it's an amazingly diverse country with so much to see and do (and they love us Brits) 

 

3. Egypt - The temples and tombs will blow your mind

 

4. Italy - great beaches, great food, great weather, mental scooter riders

 

5. Scotland - right on our doorstep yet so many people haven't been there

 

 

[ozleicester]

4 minutes ago, Izzy said:

1. New Zealand - Stunning scenery, four seasons in one day, the freshest air imaginable.

 

2. USA - Despite popular opinion, it's an amazingly diverse country with so much to see and do (and they love us Brits) 

 

3. Egypt - The temples and tombs will blow your mind

 

4. Italy - great beaches, great food, great weather, mental scooter riders

 

5. Scotland - right on our doorstep yet so many people haven't been there

 

 

Planning for NZ in April 2020... love to hear your "must see's"

[bovril]

Five regions I'd recommend:

 

1) Abruzzo, Italy - Beautiful scenery, hill towns, good food, some good stretches of coast, and very friendly people. Nowhere near as popular as some other parts.

 

2) Central Anatolia, Turkey - Very desolate and evocative kind of landscapes, some incredible history reflecting its historical mix of peoples and cultures.

 

3) South-western Bulgaria and Northern Greece - Great mountain ranges (Pirin & Rodopi especially), interesting mix of cultures and religions, good food, some beautiful old churches and monasteries.

 

4) Kintail, Scotland - Some amazing off the beaten track walks. Some of the most beautiful landscapes I've seen, and you can walk for miles without seeing anyone.

 

5) South Tyrol, Italy - Haven't been to a place in Europe where civilization is so in step with nature. Very well set up for tourism. Incredibly relaxed place. 

[UniFox21]

1) Iceland 

A stunning place, with views and scenery you can only get up there. One of the best holidays I've had, would fully recommend.

 

2) Netherlands 

The capital is beautiful and the Hague looks brilliant. The place is just great all round for a few days or a whole week

 

3) Spain

Classic tourist trap but some parts are lush. Weather and your by the beach. Always a win there

 

4) Lisbon

Whether you're in the old or new city, there's loads to do and explore. Great food and weather and not usually to pricey.

 

5) Couldn't think of one 

[Voll Blau]

I'm not really that well travelled outside of Europe, and inside Europe I've mostly spent time in cities only which can often give a slightly misleading impression of the country they're in overall. But here goes:

 

1. Croatia - Unbelievably beautiful coastlines and islands in the area around Dubrovnik, which itself is a gem of a place. I'd really love to go back and explore more, along with some of the other Balkan nations.

2. Germany - Not really thought of as a holiday place I don't think, chiefly due to a lack of what we might think of as typical overseas coastal resorts. But a huge country with loads to explore, some banging cities and brilliant scenery (anyone who loves travelling by rail needs to do a trip up the West Rhine Railway once in their life). The beer's not bad either...

3. Barbados - A bit more of a typical pick I guess, but wonderful beaches, a tropical island and some of the friendliest people you could ever meet.

4. Ireland (Republic and Northern) - Beautiful and diverse countryside, and with Belfast and Dublin it's got two of my favourite cities to spend time in. Fancy seeing a bit more of the south now I've been to both twice. Obviously you don't always get the weather, but if you need that to enjoy a trip somewhere then you're doing it wrong.

5. Great Britain! - Was brought up mostly holidaying here as a kid, which at the time could be a bit embarrassing if mates were off abroad on pricier trips to sunnier climes. But looking back on it now, I've been lucky to visit so many brilliant parts of the country I'm from from Cornwall to Edinburgh, and so many other fantastic places in between. We do ourselves down a lot (I'm as guilty of that as the next man), but we really do live in a great country with so much to see!

Edited 29 July 2019 by Voll Blau

[Izzy]

1 hour ago, ozleicester said:

Planning for NZ in April 2020... love to hear your "must see's"

Ah man, where to start! Depends on how long you're going for mate.

 

We did a week on the North Island and a week on the South and these were the highlights/must sees:

 

North Island

Flew into Auckland - Sky Tower, harbor, bars & restaurants

Drove up to the Bay of Islands - stunning. Boat trips, dolphins, bliss

Drove back down to Rotarua - mud pools, traditional Maori village, awesome

Then to Lake Taupo - Bungy jumps, Hukka Falls boat ride on the rapids - crazy fun

Then to Wellington - great drive down then got the overnight ferry to Picton

 

South Island

Drove down the West Coast to Greymouth - quite exposed but I ate the best lamb of my life there

Then down to the Franz Jospeph glacier - possibly the most stunning scenery I've ever seen. Breathtaking

Mount Cook - amazing (we didn't have time to cruise around Milford Sound but you must do that if you can)

Down to Queenstown - went skiing, another bungie jump. Full of back packers and surfer dudes. Very cool place

Up to Christchurch (beautiful city) for the last couple of days then flew back.

 

You'll have a great time mate and you really can't go wrong whatever you decide to do. We'd love to go back once the kids have fvcked off and the wife would emigrate there tomorrow if she could.

 

What a place...

[ozleicester]

3 minutes ago, Izzy said:

Ah man, where to start! Depends on how long you're going for mate.

 

We did a week on the North Island and a week on the South and these were the highlights/must sees:

 

North Island

Flew into Auckland - Sky Tower, harbor, bars & restaurants

Drove up to the Bay of Islands - stunning. Boat trips, dolphins, bliss

Drove back down to Rotarua - mud pools, traditional Maori village, awesome

Then to Lake Taupo - Bungy jumps, Hukka Falls boat ride on the rapids - crazy fun

Then to Wellington - great drive down then got the overnight ferry to Picton

 

South Island

Drove down the West Coast to Greymouth - quite exposed but I ate the best lamb of my life there

Then down to the Franz Jospeph glacier - possibly the most stunning scenery I've ever seen. Breathtaking

Mount Cook - amazing (we didn't have time to cruise around Milford Sound but you must do that if you can)

Down to Queenstown - went skiing, another bungie jump. Full of back packers and surfer dudes. Very cool place

Up to Christchurch (beautiful city) for the last couple of days then flew back.

 

You'll have a great time mate and you really can't go wrong whatever you decide to do. We'd love to go back once the kids have fvcked off and the wife would emigrate there tomorrow if she could.

 

What a place...

Brilliant, thanks pretty much what we had in mind.. how long did you go for? (excluding the lamb  )

Edited 29 July 2019 by ozleicester

[RonnieTodger]

I'm not well travelled and only left Europe for the first time this year, but we did a 3-week road trip through California from San Diego up to San Francisco via L.A. and plenty of small towns along the way. By far the best thing I've ever done.

 

After that, I'd say (in no particular order):
 

2. Germany

3. Lake Como, Italy

4. Bruges

5. Cyprus

 

 

 

[Izzy]

25 minutes ago, ozleicester said:

Brilliant, thanks pretty much what we had in mind.. how long did you go for? (excluding the lamb  )

We only went for two weeks - one on the north island and one on the south. It was our honeymoon and we did 3 days in Singapore on the way there and four days in Bali on the way back.

 

Two weeks in NZ is the bare minimum I'd say. We could have done so much more and spent longer in some places but just didn't have the time. I think we did something crazy like 6,000 kms driving while we were there but it was a joy. Sometimes on the south island we were the only car on the road for hundreds of miles. 

 

Great memories. You'll have a wonderful time mate.

[cambridgefox]

1/ South Africa . Cape Town again favourite City I’ve visited 

2/Croatia Yugoslavia when I went!

stunning place

3/ Australia I was spoilt mainly as where I was staying in Sydney ( not the man) Northern Beaches,Newport 

4/Langkawi,Malaysia

5/ Thailand loved Bangkok,but you either love it or hate it.

Koh Samui.Relaxing and stunning 

 

placesI want to go

 

1 Costa Rica

2 Canada

3 Japan

4 New Zealand

5 Cambodia/Vietnam 

[iniesta]

1 Colorado - Denver, Palm Springs & Boulder - beautiful scenery, nature and very laid back

2 Argentina - great capital city, even better countryside

3 Serbia - slight bias as I have family there. Cheap booze and Cevapi, beautiful women.

4 Vietnam - stunning  

5 Italy - Bologna and Parma being particular favourites

 

 

 

[Buce]

1 hour ago, ozleicester said:

Brilliant, thanks pretty much what we had in mind.. how long did you go for? (excluding the lamb  )

 

You mean emigrating, Oz?

[urban.spaceman]

2 hours ago, ozleicester said:

Planning for NZ in April 2020... love to hear your "must see's"

 

1 hour ago, Izzy said:

Ah man, where to start! Depends on how long you're going for mate.

 

We did a week on the North Island and a week on the South and these were the highlights/must sees:

 

North Island

Flew into Auckland - Sky Tower, harbor, bars & restaurants

Drove up to the Bay of Islands - stunning. Boat trips, dolphins, bliss

Drove back down to Rotarua - mud pools, traditional Maori village, awesome

Then to Lake Taupo - Bungy jumps, Hukka Falls boat ride on the rapids - crazy fun

Then to Wellington - great drive down then got the overnight ferry to Picton

 

South Island

Drove down the West Coast to Greymouth - quite exposed but I ate the best lamb of my life there

Then down to the Franz Jospeph glacier - possibly the most stunning scenery I've ever seen. Breathtaking

Mount Cook - amazing (we didn't have time to cruise around Milford Sound but you must do that if you can)

Down to Queenstown - went skiing, another bungie jump. Full of back packers and surfer dudes. Very cool place

Up to Christchurch (beautiful city) for the last couple of days then flew back.

 

You'll have a great time mate and you really can't go wrong whatever you decide to do. We'd love to go back once the kids have fvcked off and the wife would emigrate there tomorrow if she could.

 

What a place...

Add to the North Island the Waitomo Caves. Glowworms. Darkness. Water. ****ing beautiful. 

 

 

There’s a backpackers + hotels nearby. They do 3 tours - walking, boat, or you can do an epic group tour going through the caves on a dinghy. It’s easy to do and mostly accessible so I couldn’t recommend that enough. 

 

Auckland, having lived there, is an unremarkable city to be honest. Very diverse, with some decent bars and restaraunts. K Road (Karangahape Road) is very, erm, interesting for a night out. Not much else to do apart from the Sky Tower. I don’t miss it. 

 

The Hobbiton set is also on the North Island if that’s your thing, though be prepared as it’s very expensive. 

[ozleicester]

5 minutes ago, Buce said:

 

You mean emigrating, Oz?

Tempted...