Travel resolutions for 2017 – my wishlist
​Every year, I insist I’m not going to make New Year’s resolutions… and then get sucked into the temptation to overhaul my life when January 1 rolls around.
Usually the goals are entirely conflicting too – be more organised, tick more things off my blog To Do list and have some more time for myself rather than working nonstop. Er.
Fortunately I can always make some travel resolutions for 2017 in the shape of a wishlist, knowing these are ones I want to keep. Although I might struggle to tick all of them off…
I do have a bit of a habit of setting goals and then forgetting about them – for 2016’s resolutions, I’ve actually gone some way to achieving them all, but I have to admit I hadn’t looked at the post or list itself for months.
Still I managed to visit more London attractions, keep travelling more and book at least one big trip before Minnie started school as well as a family trip, thanks to Burma and California.
I vlogged more too, ending the year with a burst of 24 different videos for Vlogmas including a set of 12 travel tips while the City Tripping linky celebrated its first birthday with a growing community of travel bloggers. We’re back again tomorrow, by the way!
So this year, instead of specific goals, I’ve got a wishlist of destinations – or at least the type of holiday I’d like to have by the end of the year with these travel resolutions for 2017.
UK travel resolutions
We visited 18 English counties last year, as well as London, all simply by exploring a bit further afield and heading to new places rather than too many old favourites. This year, I’ve got my sights set on a few more English city breaks.
York has been on the wishlist for a couple of years and inexplicably, I keep failing to book. Birmingham and Bristol are both very overdue a return visit for me as well, and Minnie has never been to any of them. Northumberland is still there as ‘somewhere I really want to go to one day’ too.
I’m also hoping to explore some more of Wales. I had a great recent weekend in Cardiff, and one of Minnie’s early trips was to Bluestone but despite it being the site of a lot of my own childhood holiday memories, we haven’t visited much over the past four years.
Fingers crossed I should have a visit confirmed before we’re too far into 2017 as well. Can’t wait!
Europe
First up, France – I’ve had three trips fall through in 2016, all for different reasons. Which means it’s now three years since I last visited one of my favourite countries. As it’s so close, there’s really no excuse not to hop on a ferry or Eurostar and at least have a short break.
Perhaps the gorgeous beaches of Brittany, inspired by the Pigeon Pair and Me, or the variety of Normandy, thanks to the equally inspiring Suitcases & Sandcastles – or wonderful Paris again.
Despite being hugely family-friendly and two countries I love, Minnie has never been to Greece or Italy either and I’m determined to make visiting one of the travel resolutions I do keep.
My last couple of trips to Greece have been island hopping – first as an impoverished student straight after university, more recently on a cruise with friends pre-kids, and I’m hoping to confirm a child-friendly island-hopping trip for this year. It might just be two islands, but surely that counts?
If that goes ahead, perhaps a short break in Italy – I wrote recently about why I’d love to go back to Venice, I haven’t been to Florence in over 20 years (eek!) while Learning Escapes keeps tempting me back to Rome with more than a few reasons about why it’s so child-friendly.
Lastly, I’m eyeing up Montenegro. Less busy than Croatia, its popular neighbour, it’s somewhere I’d love to explore: unspoiled lakes, picturesque old towns, it’s definitely a country that’s intriguing me. Although with city breaks like Split with kids, Croatia has its own temptations too.
Long-haul
Following our big Burma adventure, I’m really tempted to head back to Asia for another big trip. Vietnam has been on my bucket list for a long time, and after reading about Globalmouse’s trip as well as the fantastic holiday Phoebe at Lou Messugo had, it’s climbing higher than ever.
I really enjoyed going somewhere even further off the beaten track with my daughter though so I’m also very tempted by Indonesia and the Philippines, mixing a few different destinations at each to discover the culture and the beautiful beaches.
Realistically 2016 was an expensive year with two big trips, a house move and eight months of paid childcare (on top of the previous few years!) so I’m wondering if I might have to set my travel resolutions sights a bit lower and plan ahead for 2018 instead (not to mention plotting Borneo, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Belize. Among others. Hmmm).
So another alternative, which should tick the adventure box while being a bit more of a relaxed trip would be a beach holiday with a difference: somewhere where we can base ourselves at the seaside but still have plenty to discover.
High on the list is Mauritius, somewhere I’ve been wanting to go for years, while I’m very intrigued by the Cape Verde islands as well – with the bonus of a shorter flight to get there.
Or perhaps to get my Asia fix, a trip to Malaysia. I’ve been to some of the mainland where I had rather mixed experiences, but I’d love to see one of the islands – perhaps Penang or Langkawi, perhaps one of the less visited islands instead.
A cruise
It only took one cruise to make me a convert, and after our Caribbean trip three years ago, I’m as big an advocate of cruising with kids. As Minnie wasn’t even 18 months old last time, it would be quite a different experience this time – for starters, she could get to enjoy the kids’ club a bit more!
Rather than long-haul, somewhere around Europe would be great: maybe the Baltics, maybe the Eastern Mediterranean, both of which include destinations that crop up repeatedly on my travel resolutions.
One thing there’s no shortage of is cruise itineraries, and with more cruise companies focusing on families, there’s no shortage of ships which would be perfect with a four or five-year-old.
The reality? Well, let’s see…
The trickiest bit is going to be both time (drat those school holiday restrictions) and obviously cost. I’m only just getting used to the idea of planning much further in advance, after years of being able to be relatively spontaneous.
Who’d have thought I’d be contemplating where to go in October 2017 at this point in January… although in fairly typical fashion, there’s nothing booked beyond the next couple of weeks. Yet.
Where’s on your wishlist? Or do you have any travel resolutions for 2017?
Images courtesy of Depositphotos
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I hope you will manage to meet all your goal this year ! York is really a lovely town !
Thanks – and thank you for all the likes! York really should be something I can squeeze in, even if I have to postpone a few long-haul 🙂
Langkawi with is heavenly but I visited without children, drank sparkling wine at breakfast and lounged around. The food on Penang is pretty unbeatable too.
I have heard great things about the food on Penang. Sparkling wine on a heavenly island is tempting (although I might have to make it a sundowner…)
We beat you, not only have we contemplated we’ve gone and BOOKED for December (hello Christmas cruise ) I’d love to go to Vietnam but that’s a 2018 job here I think. We are however just back from Langkawi, beautiful island a little bit resort-y if you’re after that kind of thing (we were) we did the Perhentian Islands pre-kids and the water/snorkeling/desert island feeling there was incredible and much clearer! Right on with my list….
You organised human! I know one person who’s planning 2018, you’ve booked December… I’m still finalising February 😉 Looking forward to reading about your next cruise and thanks for the Malaysia tips too. Where to go, where to go…
There’s some fantastic destinations on your list Cathy. Enjoy getting some of them booked in soon. I think we’re going to be a bit restricted cash-wise in 2017. Getting back on the housing ladder is in the pipeline. I’m still going to sneak as much as I can into the calendar 🙂
Thanks! Moving house is always a bit crippling (and we may have to consider it again in a year or so) – I’m hoping that without those ruinous childcare expenses, I’ll suddenly find myself with spare cash aplenty.
Good luck with meeting your travel goals in 2017 – you have some great destinations in your sights. Hopefully adjusting to the forward planning works well for you!
Thanks! And definitely some tempting ones to motivate me to plan ahead.
I’m with you on so many! Montenegro, Costa Rica as well as a cruise is definitely high up on my list though. But for me 2017 is definitely going to be a play by ear year for me in terms of travel! Hope your wish list comes true!
Understandable! Hope you and the newest monkey get to venture out a bit (maybe leave Costa Rica for a while too though 😉 )
Fab ideas, love them all. So many on my list to, I think we may need to have a relaxed year this year to help our funding plans for 2018. I hope your wishlist comes true!
Thanks – and given your amazing plans for 2018, I suspect you won’t be missing out too much if 2017 travel gets scaled down a bit. I suspect I shan’t tick them all off in 12 months (hey, you never know) but hoping to make a good dent.
Lots of inspiring destinations here, I hope you get to as many as possible. Thanks for linking to my Vietnam trip, so glad it inspired you and very happy to see France is on the wishlist…I just wish you’d consider further south. We really do offer everything you could ever want in a destination!!!
I definitely need to get planning and booking – I will definitely get to Vietnam one day. And the south of France would suit me very nicely too, especially the lovely looking Lou Messugo. I think it’ll all come down to time – if I’m running out, the north is doable for an overnight stay (I have done an overnight stay in Nice before but it’s somewhere which deserves longer)
PS I meant to say “bonne année” happy new year to you! (But pressed the wrong button too soon!)
Bonne annee! Hope it’s a wonderful one.
Oh Cathy I am in agreement with you on so many of these destinations and holidays! My boys absolutely loved our recent cruise and we would book another in a heart beat;) I would love to see more of Vietnam, and Mauritius has been on my wish list for a long time too! Closer to home and not quite as exciting, I have just booked a surprise child-free wkd in York for my husbands Christmas present;) If you do visit Bristol btw let me know and I will pop along to meet up with you! I look forward to finding out where you decide to explore in 2017!
We are definitely on the same wave length 🙂 I’d love to think that in 2018 we’ve both got a bit further towards our wishlist – and Bristol should certainly be doable so I’ll definitely let you know.
Your list sounds amazing and i kept thinking how I would love to do those places too. Florence is on my list for next year and I think I’d just generally like to explore Europe a bit more as we always tend to want to go to far flung places. York is amazing and I love that it’s so full of history.
Thanks! There is so much I’d love to explore – or explore again. It feels a bit like travel is coming full circle: at first I stuck to Europe when I was a student, then further and further afield before my daughter came along, and now I’m looking more at Europe again. Never gets boring, for sure.
Great ideas. I’m just working on my 2017 wish list too. With our big Asia trip already booked to Bali, HK, Singapore, it’s about filling in the gaps and nailing some more UK sights too. Croatia and Montenegro is somewhere I’d like to go and I highly recommend Provence for a France break! Here’s to a travel filled 2017.
Thanks – I realised I’d left Seville off by accident too, just so much I want to fit in. Can’t wait to read about your big Asia trip…
I really enjoyed reading your post. I thought your post was beautifully written. Many thanks for sharing!
Thank you!