Your most exotic places and any plans to visit others ?

We were due to go to India (touring around for 4 weeks) when Covid struck, haven’t rescheduled yet.

We are fortunate to have travelled to most places we have wanted to see, other than India and Argentina.

Don’t rule out Africa nanna8 it’s a fascinating and diverse continent.

It is such a long way for us now GrannyGravy13 I would just love to see some of the African animals and wish we had gone on a safari tour when we were younger.

Argentina, I'll always hold it in my memory as my number one destination, particularly loved Buenos Aires and the Iguazu Falls, truly amazing and awesome.

I've also loved the many places we've visited in the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia....sadly never made it to NZ that was an ambition once, but of late I've come to hate flying so it's probably off the agenda even though we have very close friends in Auckland and told them we would visit, but have met up with them several times in mainland Europe they miss the ancient world, so that seemed somewhat easier.

Mainland Europe most of it but particularly love Italy, real Spain as in the parts that haven't been ruined, France. I'd like to see a bit more of Scandinavia have only been to Denmark.

Sometimes I'm just grateful for the places I have seen. I love the thought of the destination, it's the logistics of getting there that increasingly puts me off.

I know what you mean about logistics! I don’t like flying much, either . New Zealand is only about 3 and a half hours by plane for us so we go there sometimes. Lovely country and so quiet compared with here.

Favourite place we've visited for me Venice. Five times. I'm obsessed with the place. Never been anywhere you could call exotic but have been to

Santorini
New York
The Amalfi Coast
Seville
Paris
Florence
Many others.

Place I would love to go - Venice again

I was due to fly to Melbourne end of March last year to visit our Aussie contingent, and meet DH in New Zealand a week later. Unfortunately I fell on our drive, broke my foot and injured the opposite knee, which rather clipped my wings.

For some reason DH is reluctant to book anything at the moment, I must work out how to get him to think it’s his idea 🤫

We won’t do long haul again, but last years Canada trip was amazing, especially Vancouver Island and The Rocky Mountaineer. I loved my road trip around parts of Turkey and parts of old Spain.

Now get my fix virtually following others

I’ve not done any exotic travel but have been to the US where we drove from San Francisco across the desert to Las Vegas and did a helicopter flight down into the Grand Canyon and then on to Los Angeles. Also walked up the Rock of Gibraltar several times, nothing special but priceless memories to me. I always wanted to go to Australia but that’s not going to happen now. Paris and Vienna and Thiepval to find my Grandfathers name on the memorial when I was much younger.

I was visiting Japan several years ago and went to a swimming pool with a Japanese friend. As everyone there were Japanese and were starkers so I had to join in as such too and I could feel the ladies eyes on me as I was the only English person there. I felt embarrassed at first but I soon got used to it and the ladies accepted me and to my surprise I really enjoyed it. It was certainly an interesting experience. My husband was in a male only area but he had to swim along with his Japanese colleague in a similar situation. It was certainly an interesting experience!!

We have been to the Maldives five times. We went to Vegas then drove to LA, on to Santa Barbara and ended in San Francisco. Next year we are going to Canada then driving across to Washington visiting Niagara Falls on the way, on to New York and then on to (my biggest bucket list item) Boston so we can visit Cape Cod and go whale watching.

I did that too Athrawes I was on a business trip with 6 male colleagues, so I had to go in on my own, at 5’ 11” I was so tall compared to the other ladies. We also rode the bullet train and visited Mount Fuji.
I also stayed on an island off Tunisia, Kerkennah, , a very basic holiday, in a hostel in Port Douglas on my own, holiday tagged on to business trips.
I’ve been very lucky seeing a lot of the world, much of it combined with business.

Am so glad we travelled to many wonderful places before my DH had a massive stroke which has left him disabled, no regrets, we have some lovely memories of travelling to Mexico, the US, Egypt, India, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Australia, and many European countries.
I hope others manage to fulfil their wishes to travel to far flung and exotic places, nothing like it to broaden the mind.

I'm actually in India at the moment, but sounds more exotic than it is! Visiting OH's family in Mumbai, been many times before and also travelled around other parts. Just worked out that this is 19th trip to India. Most exotic part was probably Kashmir.

We've travelled to a good few other places, but India continues to be fascinating. On the surface it's totally chaotic, mad traffic, hot, noisy, people everywhere. However, somehow it functions- transport, services, food in the markets. At the moment Mumbai is developing at an alarming rate with high rise luxury apartment blocks being built right beside slums.

The most exotic place I have been to was in Oman in the South West of the country at Salalah .
The place is tropical, surrounded by the Jebel , I was working out there but at Thumrait which was in the desert.
But I new a former RAF colleague who was based in Salalah ,and outside his accommodation, Bananas where growing, he used to pick them and make wine with the juice produced from mashing the plant .
Myself in the desert ,camels roamed freely sometimes in herds ,camel spiders and scorpions were the norm this was in the late 70`s before tourism . in Salalah itself I worked with a Indian colleague, he took me to Salalah to pick up some items , and had a local meal with him a soup with lime juice and a chicken curry,no rice you washed your hands before and after eating but it was a cheap meal.
Mick

Im first time in internet!

Haven't done anything long haul and probably won't in the foreseeable future due to DH's disability, but we really enjoyed Istanbul and Reykjavik and I would love to explore them again, always loved a city break and love anything with a bit of history, old buildings.

The most exotic yet scary place I’ve been to, is Colombia, in South America.
Would never have dreamt of going there if it wasn’t for the fact my brother and s.i.l,(teachers) were offered jobs there, on an exchange scheme, I think. They invited me over.
It was a 26hr travel-time, from Wales to Heathrow /Heathrow to Bogotá/ Armenia / rickety bus drive to my brother’s apartment .
It was an experience - there were guns everywhere 😳 security guards with guns even at the apartment block.
Beautiful country, some trees almost reaching the sky, lovely people, lovely food. I can go on and on……..

We are right off flying long haul nowadays but Japan was fabulous.

We stayed in an Onsen too but I opted out of the batheing. The best thing we did there though was visiting the Peace Park in Hiroshima. It was so moving. The Japanese people were so lovely.

I've no idea why, but I always find islands exotic destinations! So, even closer to home than the far flung places mentioned, I've enjoyed Scicily, Madeira, Sardinia as being unusual and captivating. 🏝

A little uninhabited island off the east coast of Malaysia where late DH and I spent a long weekend; slept on the beach, snorkelled, walked the beaches, marvelled at the moonlit nights on the beach, and the glorious sunrises and sunsets. This was 1970, engaged but not yet married. It was the most idyllic and most romantic holiday ever.

We have been fortunate to have travelled widely before DH's stroke left him in a wheelchair. All seven continents, but most exotic was probably the remote village two hours drive from the nearest town in Andra Pradesh in India. Our son was marrying a girl whose grandparents lived there, so we all went out fot the full Indian wedding. So colourful, although the bugle band playing the same music throughout the day was a little tedious! I would not like to repeat the walking barefoot on the hot stones round 3 different temples either, or some of the embarrassing faux pas I made during my mother of the groom duties!

Kate1949

Favourite place we've visited for me Venice. Five times. I'm obsessed with the place. Never been anywhere you could call exotic but have been to

Santorini
New York
The Amalfi Coast
Seville
Paris
Florence
Many others.

Place I would love to go - Venice again

I quite agree about Venice, especially out of season. When I went in January I seemed to be almost the only tourist.

I’ve been to Australia (Sydney and Canberra, and Lawson in the Blue Mountains). I don’t know if that’s exotic. Sydney suburbs are much like England, but with different plants and more sunshine.

The places I want to visit, but probably won’t now, are actually quite close to home - those amazing German castles like Neuschwanstein, and more of Germany generally. I can’t think why I didn’t do this when I was younger.

BlueSapphire. I also stayed on an uninhabited island off Mersing on the east coast of Malaysia but in 1969.
Truly wonderful.

“Exotic” is a difficult one to define really. We’ve been to some wonderful places but perhaps I’d put the following in that category:

Sri Lanka the year after the tsunami. We had a tour by private taxi because no one else turned up for it. I was the only person climbing Sigriya Rock with my guide and later on the trip we had massages lying on wooden slats over open fires.

Seeing whirling dervishes in Turkey, and all the hot air balloons over Cappadocia.

A tour of Cuba, some of which was way outside our experience.

Travelling on the Via Train sleeper across Canada, hearing nothing but the eerie whistles of other trains in the distance.

A stay on an eco farm in the Sahara desert. I didn’t know darkness could be so dark!

Riding the White Pass and Yukon gold rush railway in Alaska.

Death Valley, where we saw real cowboys riding into town and queuing at Burger King!

And yes, Buenos Aires with its tango halls on every corner, and the Iguassu Falls. To my shame, I’d never heard of the falls till we went to South America. They make Niagara look like a toy town waterfall.

I’d still love to go to Mexico and Japan, despite the fact that long haul travel isn’t something that appeals these days.