2014 Holiday Plans

[tonyh29]

Leg 1 finished of my trip

Malta I basically hired a car for a few days drove around the island and took in the sights .. The highlight being The Hypogeum , worth the trip to the island just to see that alone

Nightlife in St Julian's was good , some fantastic totty on view , mainly Italian tourists ... But all said and done also felt I was about 20 years to old for everything going on it was some god damn awful shite music being played everywhere , didn't seem to be any live band type places that new what rock music was ... Just thud thud thud of mindless bass

Next up was Athens , again culturally very interesting and being in a bar when Greece undeservedly won to go through to the last 16 was good fun... You got the impression things still weren't out of the woods economy wise ...Lots of riot police around by the political areas , there is still an air of unrest over there just waiting for a spark ... Guy we spoke to said he feels it will kick off again in October as currently everyone is on holiday for the summer .. Guess we will see

Next up was Albania , we all know about Albanians, lazy people who want to steal from us , indeed even the hotel owner in Athens pulled a face when we said we were off there and told us to hold on tight to our possessions

Never in the field of stereotyping has something been so completely wrong... The people were warm and friendly , everywhere we went you got a hello and a bit of small talk , no one trying to rip you off and no one trying to rob you every 30 seconds ... Heck even the taxi home from the bar at 3am on no meter came in at the 600 lek price we were told to expect to pay by our guide

Watched the World Cup last night out on the street at a football zone with beer stalls and food , great fun , everyone asking what team we support and asking why England are so bad

I'd say they actually love the English over there , probably one of the few places left that do !!

The women , once ignorantly voted the ugliest in the world by readers of FHM magazine ( 99.9% of whom had probably never even seen one ) whilst not up to the high benchmark the Russians set , were still very decent , they dress in the appropriate manner of short skirts and tight tops and show a nice pair of legs ... They aren't whoring themselves in the bars like most of the world either

As for the country itself , Butrint is a huge roman town , one of the biggest left in the world and very interesting more tourism will help them improve the site , but will also take away some of its uniqueness ... Lots of breathtaking scenery , nice med style beaches and lots of historical castles and ruins .. Nice 15 min cable car ride up to a point over looking Tirana yesterday

All in all quite impressed with the place ... It doesn't have a Pyramid or a St Paul's or a colosseum type "Wow " place but it's still has enough to keep you interested , well worth a visit but don't confine yourself to Tirana if you do

Flight back to England in 20 mins then home for a few days before starting part 2 and Iran

Edit : should also add that Albania is about 70% Muslim but not one head scarf or burka on view they even bury Muslims and Christians in the same cemeteries ... Maybe a few other countries could follow their lead

Edited June 29, 2014 by tonyh29

[Xela]

Were any of the countries new 'ticks' to your list?

[tonyh29]

Were any of the countries new 'ticks' to your list?

Malta and Albania were as will Iran and Azerbaijan be next week

Closing in on the 100 club , need to think of something special for it ... I seem to recall you can stand in 3 countries at the same time near Victoria falls ( zim , Botswana and Zambia ? ) maybe I'll look at something like that

[Wainy316]

Korea and Japan lined up for October.  Just need to go to South Africa and my 2014 holidays will have consisted of the last 4 World Cup venues.

[tonyh29]

Korea and Japan lined up for October.  Just need to go to South Africa and my 2014 holidays will have consisted of the last 4 World Cup venues.

Korea and Japan was the same world cup ,  or have you been to Germany as well this year  ?

[Wainy316]

Korea and Japan lined up for October. Just need to go to South Africa and my 2014 holidays will have consisted of the last 4 World Cup venues.

Korea and Japan was the same world cup , or have you been to Germany as well this year ?

Yeah I've been to Germany.

[decavfc]

Will be travelling around Europe in July, and then to Estonia in October for the England game (although Estonia not so much a holiday)

[donnie]

So far this year Ive done estonia, malta, thailand, cambodia and a short trip to vietnam.

Going to belgium (zzzzzzzzz) in 2 weeks for a couple of nights then want to do one more trip in September to either istanbul or marakech depending on how the flights work out. Im already planning next years trip to argentina, chile and peru which will hopefully top any trip ive done before.

[tonyh29]

Go with Istanbul ... Marakesh isn't fit to tie Istanbul's shoelaces , IMO

Istanbul is easily one if the best cities on the planet ( again IMO ) the history and culture is just second to none ... Side trips to Izmir , Troy and Gallipoli make it all the more worthwhile

Edited June 30, 2014 by tonyh29

[Xela]

Trying to organise a few lads weekends away for later in the year - its like pulling teeth!   That's what happens when your friends get married!

[donnie]

Go with Istanbul ... Marakesh isn't fit to tie Istanbul's shoelaces , IMO

Istanbul is easily one if the best cities on the planet ( again IMO ) the history and culture is just second to none ... Side trips to Izmir , Troy and Gallipoli make it all the more worthwhile

Thanks for this tony...was edging towards marakech only because Morocco is another country I can tick off my list but the more I read Istanbul sounds like an incredible place.

[tonyh29]

Trying to organise a few lads weekends away for later in the year - its like pulling teeth! That's what happens when your friends get married!

Tell me about it

We used to get 12 + on our trips overseas

Managed 5 of us for Kiev in September and 2 of them are now trying to get out of it whining about Russians and war zones

Did get 14 of us in Nottingham not long back tbf and they are all keen on another UK one so it just seems to be the expensive trips rather than their other half putting the thumb down

[tonyh29]

Go with Istanbul ... Marakesh isn't fit to tie Istanbul's shoelaces , IMO

Istanbul is easily one if the best cities on the planet ( again IMO ) the history and culture is just second to none ... Side trips to Izmir , Troy and Gallipoli make it all the more worthwhile

Thanks for this tony...was edging towards marakech only because Morocco is another country I can tick off my list but the more I read Istanbul sounds like an incredible place.

Marrakech has a town square which is quite vibrant at night but it doesn't have any wow factor as such... I did a days city tour once id finished my atlas mountain hike and it was a few interesting buildings , the bizarre and the old town add in visits that I didn't want to carpet shops , herb shops and tapestry shops and even with all that I was still in the coffee shop by about 3pm

I recommend the hiking though , did about 60 miles in 4 days of which the last day involved a 4 am start and hiking in knee deep snow to around 4200m and the summit of mt Toubkal

[Don_Simon]

Leg 1 finished of my trip

Malta I basically hired a car for a few days drove around the island and took in the sights .. The highlight being The Hypogeum , worth the trip to the island just to see that alone

Nightlife in St Julian's was good , some fantastic totty on view , mainly Italian tourists ... But all said and done also felt I was about 20 years to old for everything going on it was some god damn awful shite music being played everywhere , didn't seem to be any live band type places that new what rock music was ... Just thud thud thud of mindless bass

Next up was Athens , again culturally very interesting and being in a bar when Greece undeservedly won to go through to the last 16 was good fun... You got the impression things still weren't out of the woods economy wise ...Lots of riot police around by the political areas , there is still an air of unrest over there just waiting for a spark ... Guy we spoke to said he feels it will kick off again in October as currently everyone is on holiday for the summer .. Guess we will see

Next up was Albania , we all know about Albanians, lazy people who want to steal from us , indeed even the hotel owner in Athens pulled a face when we said we were off there and told us to hold on tight to our possessions

Never in the field of stereotyping has something been so completely wrong... The people were warm and friendly , everywhere we went you got a hello and a bit of small talk , no one trying to rip you off and no one trying to rob you every 30 seconds ... Heck even the taxi home from the bar at 3am on no meter came in at the 600 lek price we were told to expect to pay by our guide

Watched the World Cup last night out on the street at a football zone with beer stalls and food , great fun , everyone asking what team we support and asking why England are so bad

I'd say they actually love the English over there , probably one of the few places left that do !!

The women , once ignorantly voted the ugliest in the world by readers of FHM magazine ( 99.9% of whom had probably never even seen one ) whilst not up to the high benchmark the Russians set , were still very decent , they dress in the appropriate manner of short skirts and tight tops and show a nice pair of legs ... They aren't whoring themselves in the bars like most of the world either

As for the country itself , Butrint is a huge roman town , one of the biggest left in the world and very interesting more tourism will help them improve the site , but will also take away some of its uniqueness ... Lots of breathtaking scenery , nice med style beaches and lots of historical castles and ruins .. Nice 15 min cable car ride up to a point over looking Tirana yesterday

All in all quite impressed with the place ... It doesn't have a Pyramid or a St Paul's or a colosseum type "Wow " place but it's still has enough to keep you interested , well worth a visit but don't confine yourself to Tirana if you do

Flight back to England in 20 mins then home for a few days before starting part 2 and Iran

Edit : should also add that Albania is about 70% Muslim but not one head scarf or burka on view they even bury Muslims and Christians in the same cemeteries ... Maybe a few other countries could follow their lead

Im off to Albania this summer Tonyh29, did you manage to check out Saranda or Ksamil on your journey? And can you shed any light on how much things cost there? (By things i mean beer).

 

Also visiting Kosovo and Macedonia this summer, have you been to either of those place? You are fast becoming my VillaTalk Lonely Planet guide book!

[tonyh29]

Leg 1 finished of my trip

Malta I basically hired a car for a few days drove around the island and took in the sights .. The highlight being The Hypogeum , worth the trip to the island just to see that alone

Nightlife in St Julian's was good , some fantastic totty on view , mainly Italian tourists ... But all said and done also felt I was about 20 years to old for everything going on it was some god damn awful shite music being played everywhere , didn't seem to be any live band type places that new what rock music was ... Just thud thud thud of mindless bass

Next up was Athens , again culturally very interesting and being in a bar when Greece undeservedly won to go through to the last 16 was good fun... You got the impression things still weren't out of the woods economy wise ...Lots of riot police around by the political areas , there is still an air of unrest over there just waiting for a spark ... Guy we spoke to said he feels it will kick off again in October as currently everyone is on holiday for the summer .. Guess we will see

Next up was Albania , we all know about Albanians, lazy people who want to steal from us , indeed even the hotel owner in Athens pulled a face when we said we were off there and told us to hold on tight to our possessions

Never in the field of stereotyping has something been so completely wrong... The people were warm and friendly , everywhere we went you got a hello and a bit of small talk , no one trying to rip you off and no one trying to rob you every 30 seconds ... Heck even the taxi home from the bar at 3am on no meter came in at the 600 lek price we were told to expect to pay by our guide

Watched the World Cup last night out on the street at a football zone with beer stalls and food , great fun , everyone asking what team we support and asking why England are so bad

I'd say they actually love the English over there , probably one of the few places left that do !!

The women , once ignorantly voted the ugliest in the world by readers of FHM magazine ( 99.9% of whom had probably never even seen one ) whilst not up to the high benchmark the Russians set , were still very decent , they dress in the appropriate manner of short skirts and tight tops and show a nice pair of legs ... They aren't whoring themselves in the bars like most of the world either

As for the country itself , Butrint is a huge roman town , one of the biggest left in the world and very interesting more tourism will help them improve the site , but will also take away some of its uniqueness ... Lots of breathtaking scenery , nice med style beaches and lots of historical castles and ruins .. Nice 15 min cable car ride up to a point over looking Tirana yesterday

All in all quite impressed with the place ... It doesn't have a Pyramid or a St Paul's or a colosseum type "Wow " place but it's still has enough to keep you interested , well worth a visit but don't confine yourself to Tirana if you do

Flight back to England in 20 mins then home for a few days before starting part 2 and Iran

Edit : should also add that Albania is about 70% Muslim but not one head scarf or burka on view they even bury Muslims and Christians in the same cemeteries ... Maybe a few other countries could follow their lead

Im off to Albania this summer Tonyh29, did you manage to check out Saranda or Ksamil on your journey? And can you shed any light on how much things cost there? (By things i mean beer).

Also visiting Kosovo and Macedonia this summer, have you been to either of those place? You are fast becoming my VillaTalk Lonely Planet guide book!

saranda is near where Butrint is so go check out the roman ruins , worth a few hours of your time

Saranda is a little beach town , sort of like Benidorm but smaller and without the Brits ... Can take a ferry to Corfu for the day if you want a change.

Didn't go to Ksamil so can't help there ...

Beer was about 100 lek ( 175 to the £ at present ) in some places and about 200 in others ... It's pretty cheap though ... Kuglashe or Korca are the local brew , nice when chilled , minging once it gets warm

I'm hoping to do Macedonia and Kosovo later this year ... There is a train between the 2 but Kosovo station is a way out of town and needs a taxi when you arrive , same with the coach station I believe , I enquired about a hire car but was told you can't take it over the border

Check out lake matka in Skopje , looks worth a day trip and has a ice hotel alongside it

Plane for Iran pushing back now so have to switch to airport mode

Edited July 3, 2014 by tonyh29

[Stevo985]

 

 

Go with Istanbul ... Marakesh isn't fit to tie Istanbul's shoelaces , IMO

Istanbul is easily one if the best cities on the planet ( again IMO ) the history and culture is just second to none ... Side trips to Izmir , Troy and Gallipoli make it all the more worthwhile

Thanks for this tony...was edging towards marakech only because Morocco is another country I can tick off my list but the more I read Istanbul sounds like an incredible place.

Marrakech has a town square which is quite vibrant at night but it doesn't have any wow factor as such... I did a days city tour once id finished my atlas mountain hike and it was a few interesting buildings , the bizarre and the old town add in visits that I didn't want to carpet shops , herb shops and tapestry shops and even with all that I was still in the coffee shop by about 3pm

I recommend the hiking though , did about 60 miles in 4 days of which the last day involved a 4 am start and hiking in knee deep snow to around 4200m and the summit of mt Toubkal

 

I loved Marrakech, but I'd have loved it if I was there for 2 days as much as I did being there for 8 days (I think)

 

markets are great, night market especially. See a few mosques, have a trek up a mountain nearby and you've done it.

 

I'm sure there's more to do, but I didn't feel like there was loads I'd missed out on.

 

Great place, but as Tony says, there aint a lot there really

[Voinjama]

I know this is Holidays plans 2014 but for 2015 I want to go to Malia in July. If I start looking a year in advance will I get some amazing deals, or is it too early?

[Xela]

I know this is Holidays plans 2014 but for 2015 I want to go to Malia in July. If I start looking a year in advance will I get some amazing deals, or is it too early?

 

Magaluf this year, Malia next. Like your culture, yeah? 

[chrisp65]

I might well be stating the obvious to be people here, but an observation:

 

I use the hotel comparison sites to find a quick list of hotels in an area, then I phone them and book direct. I've never failed to get a better deal at an independent hotel by booking direct. Laterooms were offering a weekend at one place in 2 weeks time for close on £300 so I phoned direct and got it for £220.

 

Not the first time that's happened, in fact, I don't think I've ever actually booked through Laterooms.

 

This year is going to be a string of weekends away with a serious savings account started up for next year's hols which will be a bit of a big deal (comparatively for us anyway).

[omariqy]

Need to start booking up hotels for Brazil soon.  I was thinking of leaving it and doing it when I am over there but I don't think I will get anything cheaper than if I just booked online a month before.

 

As always tripadvisor is my friend!