Where should we go? It's been a really long time since we've been out and about, and the wanderlust is kicking in. We've been incredibly unplanned, but now that the holidays are approaching we realise that we have two options for a trip; over Christmas or over New Year. Or maybe both? We're presenting our ideas and we'd love your input. Where do you think we should go?
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ShareCity weekend or last minute trip?
Where should we travel? Should we choose a city weekend over Christmas or a last-minute trip over New Year? Or should we do both (if it's not too expensive)? Just after Christmas you have two days off, so right then it would work to go on a long weekend. I finish one job on 29 December and start another on 8 January. There's a whole week in between for travelling. Now it's just a matter of choosing!
A city weekend over Christmas
We have been thinking about Minsk. Belarus dropped its visa requirement earlier this year and as a Swede you can now visit the country for a maximum of five days without a visa, if you enter the country via Minsk airport. Our blog colleague Ladies Abroad has also written a really inspiring post with his top tips for Minsk.
We are also keen to visit Dublin in Ireland. Peter has heard that they have a wonderful Christmas celebration there, which partly takes place in the streets and pubs. That sounds appealing too! Do you know anything about these two destinations? What would you choose - Minsk or Dublin?
A last minute trip over New Year
We've also started looking into last minute travel. It was a very long time ago that we tested one, so we hardly remember how it works. If you look right now, you can find cheap trips - with departure within a few days - to, among other things, the Canary Islands and Morocco.
Is this type of travel also available over New Year and the week after New Year? What is your experience with last minute travel? Where do you think we should go?
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Lena - good for the soul says:
I had probably chosen the last minute over New Year because I did not like to celebrate Christmas elsewhere than at home. Sun and warmth and celebrating the new year would have been nice!
Hug Lena
14 December 2017 - 6:21
Helena says:
Doesn't sound too bad! Maybe it will be so! (If there are last minute journeys then)
14 December 2017 - 16:07
4000mil says:
A week feels more valuable than a few days. And it's the perfect way to prepare for a new job.
14 December 2017 - 7:19
Helena says:
True and true!
14 December 2017 - 16:07
Lisa / life from the bright side says:
Thinking both, of course 😉
But there's nothing wrong with a holiday before starting work.
14 December 2017 - 7:24
Helena says:
Yes preferably 🙂 If possible, let's see ...
14 December 2017 - 16:08
Sandra Lifsresor.se says:
Maxa! Be gone as long as you can. ?
14 December 2017 - 7:29
Helena says:
Hehe, agree with you! 🙂 Will see what is possible just ...
14 December 2017 - 16:09
Alexandra says:
I like Dublin, but have not been there in winter.
I would probably bet on a warm country anyway! 😉 If you book last minute with a specified hotel, it's really just a regular charter trip that you booked close to departure. If you book unspecified, you do not know where you end up and according to the tour guides I have talked to this about, if you take unspec. during high season, you must be prepared to end up in hotels that are remote and with some you may also have to change hotels / hotel rooms in the middle of the trip. On the other hand, if you travel unspecified during the low season, you often get to stay at the very best hotels.
I do like Fuerteventura 😉
14 December 2017 - 8:27
Helena says:
Thanks for the great tips, Alexandra, someone who knows a bit about the last minute! We kind of have no control 😉
14 December 2017 - 18:25
Nils-Åke says:
We have plans to head south after Christmas.
14 December 2017 - 9:09
Helena says:
It sounds wonderful! Have a nice trip!!!
14 December 2017 - 18:25
Maria says:
Roll the dice! A one weekend, a two Dublin... etc.
?
14 December 2017 - 9:40
Helena says:
Haha, funny idea! 🙂
14 December 2017 - 18:25
Mr Frank Olsen says:
I know nothing about either Minsk or Dublin, but I think I would try Minsk at this time of year. The weather can be a bit rough in Ireland at this time. In Minsk you get nice winter weather with 5-6 minus and snow 🙂.
The Canary Islands at this time... well, if you think 18 degrees is enough on a "southern trip" then OK. However, I want at least 25 degrees if I'm travelling to more southern latitudes 🙂.
14 December 2017 - 9:48
Helena says:
You may absolutely have a point about the weather in Minsk and Dublin Frank! Will think about this! 🙂 Understand your desire for at least 25 degrees as well, but by necessity I can accept 18 😉.
14 December 2017 - 18:27
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
With a new job in sight, I would have undoubtedly taken a week to warmer latitudes. The question is how many last-minute trips there are over the weekends?
Otherwise Ireland and Dublin attract us, but perhaps at a different time of year when there are wonderful walking holidays, 4-6 days, on your own with luggage carried between nights. Combining this with Dublin does not sound wrong.
It will be fun to see where you end up....
14 December 2017 - 10:51
Helena says:
Yes, it's just that if there are last minute trips? We think iofs type the first week of January (must be home until the 8th when work starts!) I can also imagine Ireland in the spring really, we'll see how it goes!
14 December 2017 - 18:29
Ama de casa says:
Throw a dart at the world map! Could be exciting... 😀.
14 December 2017 - 13:21
Helena says:
Haha, that sounds like an exciting variant! 🙂
14 December 2017 - 18:29
Henny says:
I think you should try Las Vegas, maybe not on a New Year's weekend, because then it will be completely insane in the city... The Christmas holidays may be too short. But sometime in the future.
I love this "Disneyland" for adults. Played on a one-armed bandit several years ago and made enough money for a trip to Hawaii. That time, and all since then, I only play for about £500. Suddenly it happens, they say.
Have a great, fun and relaxing holiday wherever you end up.
14 December 2017 - 14:50
Helena says:
Nice that a tip about Las Vegas comes from you, Henny! Yes, maybe a little fascinating to experience at some point! And wow, what a bargain you managed to make so you came to Hawaii too!!!! 🙂
14 December 2017 - 18:30
åsa in åsele says:
Difficult choice 🙂 Sometimes it is difficult to choose, I would love to visit Minsk and Dublin, but I have zero control over the weather, the climate, during the winter... going somewhere to freeze is kind of wrong this time of year.
I could actually imagine celebrating Christmas in a hotel in the mountains 🙂 .
YES, I am like that 😉 with various activities such as dog sledding, Icelandic pony rides.
14 December 2017 - 15:36
Helena says:
My guess is that Minsk is winter cold and Dublin more rain cold... 😉 Celebrating Christmas in a hotel in the mountains also sounds cosy! We probably wouldn't choose that for the two of us, but we have actually celebrated Christmas in Sälen once when we had Peter's sons and his brother and his family with us 🙂.
14 December 2017 - 18:33
Snows says:
Dublin is an amazing city in many ways! The average age of its inhabitants is one of the lowest in Europe, which is reflected in the crowds - there's never a dull moment in Dublin 😀.
14 December 2017 - 16:20
Helena says:
Interesting that the average age is so low, I didn't know that!
14 December 2017 - 18:34
Christian says:
Expensive with sun holidays over Christmas (and impossible to get a press trip!). So I would invest in Belarus and then take a weekend in somewhere warm in January when there is not the same pressure on travel!
14 December 2017 - 16:30
Helena says:
You have a point Christian ...! Let's see if we can squeeze in a sun trip at the beginning of January and be back for the 8th when I will start working ...!
14 December 2017 - 18:35
Anette says:
I like Dublin but for Christmas I would definitely try Minsk, it sounds very exciting. Make it happen 😉
14 December 2017 - 16:43
Helena says:
Thank you for your vote for Minsk! 🙂 We haven't decided yet... 😉 ...
14 December 2017 - 18:36
Ditte says:
Difficult choice! Dublin is always nice and a weekend, extended, in N.Y. is always exciting, but perhaps too expensive. In Morocco I have been once over Christmas and New Year but it was not a "hit". And it wasn't exactly a last minute, more like second to last minute. But another trip to Marakesch in conjunction with a tour of Morocco was better. As for sun and baths for New Year, it is perhaps more a question of how much you want to spend on the trip and where you want to stay. Oman, Dubai perhaps? Or one of the Canary Islands.
Great to see where you end up. Good luck to you!
14 December 2017 - 17:31
Helena says:
Thanks for your tips Ditte! The Canary Islands can work! Morocco maybe, but not Marrakech, because we have been there twice. We are thinking further! 🙂
14 December 2017 - 18:37
Marina says:
Well, you can never go wrong with "and" 😉 I have a feeling that no matter where you end up, it will be good!
14 December 2017 - 18:04
Helena says:
Both are not wrong! Well, possibly the price then... 😉 We'll see what we end up with, we haven't decided yet...
14 December 2017 - 18:38
Renate's travels says:
Many possibilities. 😀
I was just in Minsk and can recommend the city! I was very positively surprised. Over the New Year, the Christmas market is probably also open (it was closed when I visited), and there will be great festivities. The New Year celebrations are bigger than the Christmas celebrations in Minsk/Belarus, since the country was under the Soviet Union for so long, where religious celebrations were forbidden.
The city is beautiful in many ways, has several things to offer, reasonably good food, an exciting nightlife and a great big opera!
I'm trying to figure out if I should take a backpacking trip somewhere cheap and warm in January, or if I should go on a different type (and longer) trip in February. Not easy to figure out, hehe.
14 December 2017 - 20:01
Helena says:
Glad you can recommend Minsk! We are definitely considering... but haven't decided. 😉 Excited to see where you are travelling in the new year!
14 December 2017 - 21:58
Role o Carina says:
Take a last-minute week-long trip to Playa del Ingles!
Tenerife also works well, La Gomera, El Hierro!
Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, some good tips 🙂 .
Good luck...........
14 December 2017 - 20:24
Helena says:
Thanks for the tips! We'll see where we end up 😉
14 December 2017 - 21:59
BP says:
So for me the choice is very easy -Gran Canaria or Morocco. I mean both Minsk and Dublin at this time of year are not great, kind of like here at home today. Sun and heat is what matters, if I had to choose.
It was a long time since we took a last minute trip, but we have only very good experiences with the trips, and we often ended up in pure luxury hotels. However, I do not know if it is so easy with a last minute over New Year, but over Christmas you should probably find a trip.
14 December 2017 - 20:33
Helena says:
Gran Canaria and Morocco are definitely warmer. We just have to decide if that's what's most important... or something else 😉.
14 December 2017 - 22:00
BP says:
Me again: Morocco and Agadir are a great combo:-)
14 December 2017 - 20:34
year says:
What a great idea to ask the followers. I find all your suggestions interesting. Maybe I would hesitate to go to Belarus at this time of year. It can get extremely cold. But last minute travel is always tempting, wherever it is. So good luck and Merry Christmas and thank you for your perseverance with the blog. You are worthy of admiration.
14 December 2017 - 21:22
Helena says:
It's great to ask the readers when you don't know how to do it 🙂 We don't have to follow slavishly, but at least we get some good input 😉 Thank you so much for the nice words about our blogging!!!!
14 December 2017 - 22:02
Mr Jan-Christer Tholin says:
Johnnie Foxs Pub Dublin, Ireland is worth a visit, not many people find it. Transfer bus from down town.
17 December 2017 - 10:59
Liniz Travel says:
I prefer sun & beach holidays!!!!
Travelling on Christmas Eve can only cheap electricity on
New Year's Eve/New Year's Day check hugs
21 December 2017 - 22:49