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Got a fair amount of leave for the forthcoming year which means I could have 4-5 weeks off in the summer for the family holiday.
In previous years, we've driven into Europe (France, Germany, Austria Slovakia) but i've never had that much time before.
Looking for a bit of inspiration really. Kids will be 13 & 7. We're into walking, cycling etc.
I think we can either go the France/Spain route or head into Eastern Europe. We'll be camping btw and I don't think we can afford Scandinavia.
Throw some ideas at me!
Czech Republic
I always fancied a trip down to Santander from Plymouth*,but never got round to it
I liked the idea of getting so far South on the ferry.
* [i]I worked there for a few years[/i]
Volunteer with an agency in South Africa. You'll have a great time as a family mon-fri, and it will be hugely rewarding. Sat-sun, take your pick, go to game reserves, climb in the Drakensberg mountains, (try the amphitheatre back packers for great value family accommodation) scuba diving and some of the best cycle (long distance) racing in the world.
Look at the iMfolozi MTB Challenge, http://www.wildseries.co.za/imfolozi-mtb-challenge/, just for starters.
You can rent quads from Underberg and drive up Sani pass into Lesotho, or go via Landy if thats your thing.
Bit steeper to get there, but cheap as chips at the mo once you get there.
@sangobeggar - what do you mean - volunteer for an agency? use my holiday time to work for free?
@fasthaggis - I motorbiked from Bilbao to Alicante a few years back and enjoyed it. Thought about ferry but it is approx £800 which I think is pretty steep!
@molgrips - like the Czech idea. I've been looking at the map and am thinking about Belgium > Holland > North Germany > Poland > Belarus > Ukraine > Romania > Hungary > Slovakia > Czech Republic > Germany > Luxembourg > Belgium or direct to Romania & Bulgaria and back via Croatia, Italy & Switzerland etc.
Morocco.
Ferry from Southern Spain -
It is a whole different world.
Work for free - why not. One of the best bits was being able to get to know the locals a bit better, rather than fly through the "sights", get some nice pics and go home. We live in a global community, why not contribute to it in a different manner.
OK, so you have to approach it with a different mindset than you would sitting on the beach/riding/drinking beer or whatever, but its not all about getting a sweat up and busting your wotsits for however long.
Plus your skills may be just what a local group need to get off the ground successfully, or expand them into areas they have never even thought of.
I'm no ti-dyed, long haired tree hugger type (nothing wrong with that BTW, before the anti-troll brigade kick in). I was however just lucky enough to have some really nice hols in some pretty exotic places, until we decided that they were pretty unfulfilled experiences, and gave volunteering a go. We have never looked back.
Not for everyone though, some of the stuff you get involved with is pretty horrendous, so you need to do your research before you go.
Carpathian mountains in Romania.
Slovensky raj in Slovakia
Lake Balaton in Hungary.
Norway!
Wild camping is fine anywhere as long as you're more than 150m from the nearest house and it's not cultivated land.
Take your own food and some booze*, swim every day in the fjords, stop into campsites with pay showers when you need one and just pay for the showers.
Can be done pretty cheaply, and you could get to the far north and back i that time without it being too much of a mission.
* booze - there are import limits, you can obviously be cheeky, we weren't checked. If they do find more on you than you're allowed, they confiscate the extra it or you pay the duty on it rather than throw you in prison, so not the end of the world.