Big trip in January suggestions?

[jacks888]

Hi all! We last minute found out DH would be able to get a week and a half off over New Years! We have no kids and are thinking of planning a last minute trip.

Any suggestions? I was thinking South Africa (though that seems tight to do everything I would want to do), Japan, Switzerland, or South America.

Any other suggestions? Want something with culture, we love to sightsee, and something not bitterly cold would be a plus.

[rupertpenny]

Japan and Switzerland will be really cold. Also, in my experience, daylight hours or lack thereof put more of a damper on a trip than weather.

I don't know about South Africa or anywhere in South America, but I would encourage you to look at SE Asia. January should be good weather and relatively inexpensive because it is between Christmas and Chinese New Year which are the HUGE travel times in the region.

Personally I really love Vietnam and I think it has it all: culture, history, the best food, beaches, mountains, lovely people, decent tourist infrastructure, and it is CHEAP.

[GilliC]

Most of my suggestions have been covered.

For South America, I was also going to suggest Buenos Aires. I really like Brazil for the scenery and the activities, but I find most of the places I've been have less cultural sightseeing than BA.

I was also going to throw out Hong Kong. I was there once in early January and thought it was cool, but comfortable. If you were willing to hassle with the visa, there are overnight buses to Yangshuo in mainland China, which is a very cool place. It was another early January trip for me.

This year we were in Cambodia at the beginning of January, and it was definitely warm, but not unbearable. I adored Cambodia (even more than Vietnam), but it's not a quick place to get around, so a week and a half (especially if that includes flight days) is tight. Vietnam has more infrastructure, so the timeframe is better, especially if you focused on the north or the south. Before crossing the border to Cambodia, we spent a few days exploring the Mekong delta (including an overnight on a refitted rice barge) that was incredibly interesting.

My last suggestion is India. It's really not a bad time of year to be in much of India. You would easily have time to do the Golden Triangle (plus a bit more like Udaipur or Jodhpur), since domestic flights are cheap and convenient for getting around. Or you could head down to Kerala and do a houseboat trip on the backwaters along with a few places like Cochin and Munnar.

[anna7602]

Another vote for Buenos Aires. It's a bit humid there that time of year, but there's a great holiday vibe in the air and so much to do in the city itself, plus nice day trips if that interests you.

[lb2006]

Oct 8, 2015 10:24:12 GMT -5 GilliC said:

Most of my suggestions have been covered.

For South America, I was also going to suggest Buenos Aires. I really like Brazil for the scenery and the activities, but I find most of the places I've been have less cultural sightseeing than BA.

I was also going to throw out Hong Kong. I was there once in early January and thought it was cool, but comfortable. If you were willing to hassle with the visa, there are overnight buses to Yangshuo in mainland China, which is a very cool place. It was another early January trip for me.

This year we were in Cambodia at the beginning of January, and it was definitely warm, but not unbearable. I adored Cambodia (even more than Vietnam), but it's not a quick place to get around, so a week and a half (especially if that includes flight days) is tight. Vietnam has more infrastructure, so the timeframe is better, especially if you focused on the north or the south. Before crossing the border to Cambodia, we spent a few days exploring the Mekong delta (including an overnight on a refitted rice barge) that was incredibly interesting.

My last suggestion is India. It's really not a bad time of year to be in much of India. You would easily have time to do the Golden Triangle (plus a bit more like Udaipur or Jodhpur), since domestic flights are cheap and convenient for getting around. Or you could head down to Kerala and do a houseboat trip on the backwaters along with a few places like Cochin and Munnar.

We just stayed in Jodhpur last week - at the RAAS (fantastic service and rooms at the base of the fort). We also stayed at the manvar desert camp for a night - it's a 2 hour drive from Jodhpur. Worth the experience

We also stayed in Jaipur for 3 nights at the Royal Heritage Haveli. It is an old hunting lodge and is BEAUTIFUL. In country flights were inexpensive as we flew Delhi to Jodhpur and then Jodhpur to Jaipur (& Jaipur to chennai)

[Deleted]

I'm the queen of packing in trips in a short amount of time, so which place would you prefer to visit? I think you could make it work for any of those locations if its a place you have been dying to visit. I'm sure we'd all love at least a minimum of 3 weeks to visit most locations, but that's typically not realistic for most Americans, so I work with the time I have. 

I used to live in South Africa, so I'm always encouraging people to visit as it's a beautiful country. I think 10 or so days would be fine. Spend a 3-4 days in Joburg and then 6-7 days in Cape Town. I don't think South Africa is the absolute best place for safari so if you're interested in safari, I'd personally save it for another trip to somewhere like Tanzania or Kenya. You could do 1 day on safari in South Africa though and then do the rest as I recommended. But overall I still think you'd have time to enjoy it if you've been dying to go to South Africa. 

[nabum]

Thailand!

[emilyinchile]

Oct 8, 2015 14:08:27 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Another vote for Buenos Aires. It's a bit humid there that time of year, but there's a great holiday vibe in the air and so much to do in the city itself, plus nice day trips if that interests you.

I am laughing at this understatement, but otherwise I agree with this I don't do humidity though, and I'm sure it depends on what you're used to.

I live in Santiago and obviously think Chile is great, but if you want to primarily stay in one place then BA will be a better bet. Santiago only days a few days, and then you'd want to do side trips - to the coast and/or wine country are both easy - whereas BA has more for tourists to do in the city itself. If you're big into NYE I would more strongly suggest Chile if you can get a reservation for somewhere to stay in Viña or Valparaiso. There's a huge fireworks show over the ocean that is pretty cool, but as a result lodging does sell out.

[kelley182]

Another vote for Thailand! I'm not referring to Bangkok, although you should go there for at least a day for the culture shock. My favorite areas were Chiang Mai and Krabi.

[Deleted]

One of our favorite week-long trips EVER was Lisbon, Portugal over New Years. It's a perfect time to travel because it's mild weather (light jacket or sweater, typically sunny). There were zero crowds, even at touristy spots. We rented at apartment in the Chiado neighborhood and walked everywhere. You can spend several days walking around the very different neighborhoods with different things depending on your interests (museums, cathedrals, shopping). There are several very easy day trips by train from the central train station (walking distance from Chiado) - we did Sintra to explore the medieval fortress and castle. H and I still talk about the local pastries - pasteis de nata. Great seafood, too!

For New Years, everyone gathers in the main square for fireworks and champagne. On New Year's Day, enough things were open that we could get out, visit the oceanarium and find restaurants.