Travel
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Where to go on sabbatical?
in Travel
Woo hoo!!! So after many, many years of hard work and working holidays, my DH is going to take a 5 week sabbatical next summer!!!!!!
We want to take a big trip. We'd like to decide within two weeks where we want to that we can start planning .
So here's the breakdown:
It would be DH and me, our 3 kids (ages 9, 7, and 1 year) and we'd most likely need to bring my mom to watch the baby while we do non-baby stuff.
I'm REALLY into history and castles/ruins/archeologically/culturally significant sites.
DH would love to do a dive or two overseas.
We're thinking it would be more cost efficient to rent houses.
Suggestions?
I'd love Spain, South of France, Switzerland but I'd love any other ideas!
Re: Where to go on sabbatical?
Since you mentioned that you are interested in castles/culturally signficant sites I think England/Wales/Scotland would be an excellent choice. With five weeks you could see so much that Great Britain has to offer, although I have no idea what sort of diving would be available here. I also think Great Britain is a great option for the kids as there will be no language barrier for them and there are so many great museums, parks, and tours that the two older kids could participate in.
I definitely think renting houses/apartments would be the way to go. With as much time as you have I would highly encourage you to do as many one week stays as you can.
Aside from Great Britain, I also think France would be a good option. I spent 4.5 weeks in the country a few years ago and saw so much of the country. My favorite areas included Normandy, the Loire Valley, Dordogne, Provence, Alsace, and Paris.
Spain would be great as well since there are so many amazing areas to visit but it will be super hot in the summer.
Italy is another option. Lots of wonderful cities and regions to visit.
Wherever you go I would recommend renting a car for the smaller cities/regions (avoid them in the big cities though) so that you can get off the beaten track.
I have a list of all my blog entries on Europe here, although I don't have anything from my trip to Great Britain.
i'm thinking the mainland and greek islands would fit your requirements.
My train of thought:
getting 5 weeks isn't going to happen all that often, so I'd like to go somewhere where I really need as much times as possible or where it's such a long or expensive flight that it feels more "worth it" to go longer
(this has changed slightly since moving from Chicago to San Francisco, but....) flights to Europe are pretty cheap so I can go fairly easily often so much as doing a few countries in 5 weeks would be nice, I could just do a few trips of 10-14 days each in the next 2-3 years
I'd want to go somewhere where "slow travel" is more of a requirement. In Europe, I feel like I can easily get around from city to city in an hour or two. But in some other places, trains and short cheap flights aren't as available, so you have to drive or take the bus, so exploring those places on a short trip is lesss feasible
So for that reason....with five weeks I personally would choose:
Southern Africa - South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana
Australia & New Zealand (with maybe a few days in the islands)
China and Mongolia (maybe even extend to Russia via the Trans-Siberian)
Southeast Asia - Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand
Right now I'm leaning toward the Trans Siberian, and summer would be the perfect time.
THANK YOU everyone!!! These are exactly the responses I need. These are great talking points for DH and I.
DH was born in London and lived there for several years so he feels like he's "been there, done that." But the rest of us would enjoy visiting GB since we've never been.
But I'm also loving the "slow travel" suggestions, so exotic!
Thanks again for the responses, I'm getting really excited to start researching!
OP - my husband is one month into his six-month sabbatical, and we are currently 3.5 weeks into our first of two 5.5 week trips; we are in Venice, the 9th stop on a 13-city Europe itinerary. Now, granted, we are just the two of us without kids, and I thought I'd just share a few thoughts with you so far:
-While we really enjoy, and are enjoying, Europe, after a while you get kind of tired of looking at the same ruins / archaeology / churches / whatnot. So, then you need to find something else to do - for me and DH, this has been lying on the beach; drinking a lot; reading; shopping; and long dinners. Given that he just started his sabbatical, it's a nice way to relax, but there are definitely times when we have gotten kind of bored, because each city feels pretty much the same. We've also done a lot of wine-tasting trips.
-If we had it to do all over again, I think we'd have done somewhere different besides Europe for such an extended period of time. We are glad we did it and we hit most of the spots left that we wanted to see (I feel like I won't have a pressing reason to come back to Europe soon), but I would agree with PP who pointed out that you can use the time to visit somewhere else more exotic.
-Think about both the weather and the environment you'd be going to when you're traveling. We're in Venice right now; I would not want to be dealing with a stroller in this environment (maybe you wouldn't mind, but the bridges/stairs would be obnoxious IMO). I would also not want to be in a place where there is no option to hail a taxi if you really just want to go home. Also, think about what the interests/attention spans of your kids will be and pick cities accordingly.
We did the following itinerary:
-Lisbon, Portugal (city experience)
-Lagos, Portugal (Algarve coast; beach)
-Seville, Spain (city)
-Cordoba, Spain (town - not very big, would not go again)
-Granada, Spain (city, but kind of boring - only went for the Alhambra)
-Barcelona, Spain
-Nice, France
-Monte-Carlo, Monaco
-Venice, Italy
-Lake Como, Italy
-Cinque Terre, Italy
-Milan, Italy
-Amsterdam, the Netherlands
So far we have not found the travel between these countries to be a pain in the butt - we've used bus, train, plane, and helicopter.
In September we will set off for 5.5 weeks in Australia / New Zealand. Again, you'd want to think about weather (it will be springtime when we travel), and what your kid's interests are. We will be doing city, beach, rainforest, hiking, Uluru, and the Great Barrier Reef. I'll be happy to share my thoughts on that trip once it is done in October. Once we get back to the US, I plan to finally start that travel blog.
Congrats to your husband for taking some time off - my DH is loving every day of it so far!