Planning a once in a lifetime holiday on a budget

lawtz04 · 17 July 2018 at 3:12PM

Hi all

My wife and I (and our 1 year old - will be 18 months by time we travel) love travelling on holidays but have a limited budget.

Fortunately for us we have a friend who has moved to Perth recently so we would have accommodation should we want to go there.

We are considering a once in a lifetime kind of trip, and wanted peoples advice not only on the money aspect, but their experiences of various countries and activities.

Obviously we would fly from London (unless by some chance it was a similar price from Bristol), and we would be keen to take in some or all of the below where possible:

Perth (no accommodation needed)
San Francisco (no accommodation needed)
Japan
Malaysia (no accommodation needed)
Thailand
New Zealand

We have no idea what this may cost as yet or the best order to do things in!

agrinnall · 17 July 2018 at 3:35PM

Do you really want to take your once in a lifetime trip with an 18 month old? They will hamper your ability to enjoy the trip, and they won't remember anything about it, a lose/lose all round in my view.

I'd postpone it until your child is old enough to play a part in the trip, I remember meeting a woman travelling with her 9 year old son in Nepal many years ago, and he seemed to be just about old enough to make it worth doing.

jackieblack · 17 July 2018 at 3:43PM

agrinnall wrote: »

Do you really want to take your once in a lifetime trip with an 18 month old? They will hamper your ability to enjoy the trip, and they won't remember anything about it, a lose/lose all round in my view.

I'd postpone it until your child is old enough to play a part in the trip, I remember meeting a woman travelling with her 9 year old son in Nepal many years ago, and he seemed to be just about old enough to make it worth doing.

My first thought also

EssexExile · 17 July 2018 at 4:02PM

I did my "Once in a lifetime" trip in 1978. I've done loads more since then. Don't try to cram it all in, you'll go again (if you enjoy it).

PompeyPete · 17 July 2018 at 5:03PM

.....and how long will you have available for the trip?

Voyager2002 · 17 July 2018 at 5:59PM

You can have lots of fun travelling with a toddler, and in many ways being with a young child helps you to make contact with local people and so experience the country in ways that would otherwise be impossible. So by all means take this trip, but do not think of it as "once in a lifetime", and of course do not try to cram too much in (and with a toddler, what would normally not be very much can soon become too much).

Thailand and Malaysia are very rewarding destinations and can be very affordable, particularly if you can be happy without alcohol. Even though you have free accommodation in Malaysia (KL?), do not be afraid to visit other places: hotels are cheap and there are plenty of attractions. I think that the island of Penang is a great destination, both for the city of Georgetown and for the sandy tropical beaches and forests that are a little further out.

In terms of flights, one logical routing would be fly to Australia with a stopover in the Far East, using that to visit Malaysia and perhaps Thailand. Getting from Perth to New Zealand would add quite a bit of cost and travel time, so maybe you could leave that for next time.

Alternatively, Air New Zealand flies from/to London with a stop-over in California, so this would be a convenient way to see San Francisco on the way. Again, getting from New Zealand to Perth and/or the Far East would be quite a trek, so again that might be something to postpone for next time.

How long will your friends remain in exotic locations? The offer of free accommodation in San Francisco is worth a lot, although as good guests you should probably be prepared to spend a fair amount on them in terms of restaurant meals and so forth. Free accommodation in KL is not worth so much (you can find nice places on Air BnB quite cheaply) so that is less of a 'one in a lifetime' opportunity. I have no idea about Perth, and never heard of anyone wanting to visit there. One thing is for sure: if you are staying in Perth you will not be able to do a day-trip to see the Great Barrier Reef and the Sidney Opera House: for that you would need hotels the other side of the continent!

ibizafan_2 · 17 July 2018 at 6:10PM

To be honest, I wouldn’t fancy doing long haul flights with an eighteen month old. Both of my sons were the absolute worst at that age, with one of them screaming solidly on a short flight to Spain, much to my complete embarrassment, and I’m sure the other passengers weren’t impressed! I travel to Australia every year to see said son and his family, and witness parents having a hell of a time walking toddlers up and down the aisles and not getting much rest themselves. Of course, you could be lucky, but I wouldn’t risk it personally and would save long journeys until much later.

sheramber · 17 July 2018 at 7:20PM

What is your budget and how long do you anticipate the trip lasting?

meer53 · 17 July 2018 at 9:07PM

I would split it into 6 holidays ! Way too much to do in one trip with a toddler !

blindman · 18 July 2018 at 12:32PM

lawtz04 wrote: »

Hi all

My wife and I (and our 1 year old - will be 18 months by time we travel) love travelling on holidays but have a limited budget.

Don't we all :cool:

Fortunately for us we have a friend who has moved to Perth recently so we would have accommodation should we want to go there.

Bit drastic to travel that far for a freebie IMHO.

We are considering a once in a lifetime kind of trip,

Looking at your destinations, it will be-HELL.

and wanted peoples advice not only on the money aspect, but their experiences of various countries and activities.

Obviously we would fly from London

Nope, better savings can be had if you start the flight from OUTSIDE the UK

(unless by some chance it was a similar price from Bristol), and we would be keen to take in some or all of the below where possible:

Perth (no accommodation needed)
San Francisco (no accommodation needed)
Japan
Malaysia (no accommodation needed)
Thailand
New Zealand

We have no idea what this may cost as yet or the best order to do things in!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

That list is effectively a RTW.

1. How much time have you got?
2. Budget?
3. Activities you all like doing?

Best advice
Just go to SFO for a short while (week\10 days) with the toddler and see how you get on with the travelling etc.

Then, next holiday do Japan for 3-4 weeks. Though this will not be cheap.

Then next holiday do Malaysia\Thailand-Cheap

Then Perth-Sydney-New Zealand.
5-6 weeks
Variable costs.

Or do them all 6 months

LHR-SFO-AKL-SYD-PER-KUL-BKK-NRT-LHR

Simples :cool:

Planning a once in a lifetime holiday on a budget

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