2019 Travel - Am I The Only One?

[artnbarb]

Just booking the last rental for this coming summer, so naturally my thoughts turn to next year! I was thinking maybe another transatlantic cruise from Tampa to Barcelona in the late spring (2019), then I thought we might fly to Morocco, spend a week or 2, then fly to Rome - until I discovered that it's 6+ hours to fly to Rome from Morocco! Somehow the idea that Europe is smaller just doesn't work in this case! Still with only 1 hours time difference, I guess it's doable.

Anyone else thinking ahead?

 

[Andrew]

it's 6+ hours to fly to Rome from Morocco!

The question there would be "where in Morocco?". I find 3 hours from Casablanca to Rome.

 

[artnbarb]

When I used Rome to Rio it told me 5 hrs 25 min from Casablanca to FCO, from Marrakesh 4.5 to 5 hours, changing in Barcelona. I guess I remembered the flight times as longer, but 3 hours sounds better than 5 1/2!

Where to I want to go? Marrakesh? Casablanca? Rabat? Fes? I know nothing about Morocco, so I'm like the person who asks "Where should I go in Italy?"

 

[Pauline]

@Kathy has been to Morocco. Some of their beach resorts are popular with Brits for winter holidays. A friend of mine went one summer and it was really hot.

I always get a guidebook to start planning. I still rely on them.

 

[Amy]

We will have our son's wedding sometime in the Spring of 2019, so were thinking of grabbing a winter flight somewhere warmer if the opportunity presents itself. And if our elder issues are under control, perhaps a long trip for the fall to include the Venice Biennnale.

 

[artnbarb]

I'm with you, @Pauline , I still like guidebooks. At this point Morocco is still just a thought, and if we did go, it would be sometime in May, so hopefully not too hot.

2017 and 2018 are odd years for traveling - we're doing everything all at once, rather than 2 or 3 individual vacations. It was weird to be gone for so long last summer, and in 2018 we'll be gone for 5 months. I think I'd prefer several shorter vacations but the thought of jet-lag is a downer.

 

[Pauline]

We did a few 3 month trips to Europe when we lived in the US and when we got home it was like being in a new house. I couldn't figure out where anything was or even where the light switches were. Still, it was nice to have a good long stay and avoid extra trips and jetlag.

 

[Pauline]

We will have our son's wedding sometime in the Spring of 2019.

 

[Kathy]

I would love to go back to Morocco! We flew from Marseille (direct) on Air France, about three hours. And we went in December, which was ideal weather. I would definitely check out the weather in thinking about when to go. We were there six days/five nights and were in Mararakesh, the Atlas Mountains, and Essaouira on the coast.

There were five of us traveling together, and I arranged our trip through https://www.journeybeyondtravel.com/. They worked with me to plan our itinerary and then booked our accommodations, drivers, guides. If not a private "tour," I would book a small group tour. I would not have wanted to travel independently in Morocco. I highly recommend Journey Beyond Travel. This was a very economical vacation.

 

[Cameron]

I went to Morocco, independent travel, when my son was four years old (30 years ago). We flew into Casablanca, picked up our tiny, old rental car and drove to Rabat for our first night.

Then, we stayed 2-3 nights in Meknes, Fez, (visited Volubilis as a side trip), Todra Gorge, drove through the pre-Sahara, Atlas Mountains, Ouarzazate, ending with a long stay in Marrakesh. That was before the Internet, so it wasn't the easiest trip to plan. But -- it was a great experience and you couldn't go wrong with a similar itinerary.

It had to be in June because my first husband was a school teacher and it was summer vacation.

 

[Anne]

2019 is on my radar too. My younger daughter and I are thinking of taking a trip. She isn't interested in sightseeing as much as just relaxing, hanging out in cafes/parks/piazzas etc and soaking up the ambience of a place. (She's a born slow traveller!) Florence is my heart's choice. But our destination may well depend on what pops up for seat sales. There are often very good fares out of Nova Scotia to Dublin....and I have an Irish sister-in-law, so could be fun if she and my brother could join us for part of our trip and show us around!

The closest I've been to Morocco is looking at my mom's photos from her day trip there, while on a group tour of Spain!

 

[artnbarb]

We did a few 3 month trips to Europe when we lived in the US and when we got home it was like being in a new house. I couldn't figure out where anything was or even where the light switches were. Still, it was nice to have a good long stay and avoid extra trips and jetlag.

I had that problem when we got home in November - we'd been gone for 7 months, from a house we'd only lived in for a year, and much of that year was also spent traveling. I still have trouble finding things I don't use very often!

 

[misstravelbug]

I am planning 2019 too! It feels good to be able to say "next year" now. We try to fly as much on points so need to book 12 months in advance.

We are still in preliminary stages of planning though. It's down to:

* The USA Norther East coast from Boston up to Maine in July/August. (we are Australian and have been to NYC and DC but never to Maine/Boston.)
* Penang and Thailand. Never been to Penang but love Thailand and have been 12 times, think we will live here one day.
* UK. We have travelled in the UK for over 9 months, but it was pre children. They have never been and we would love to go again. There is nothing more awesome than a British Summer. We would visit England and Scotland.

So a mish mash of ideas.

We are away for 8 weeks in Italy this year and will also do a smaller 2 week trip in Australia.

We have a wedding in 2019 in March in Melbourne, then escape the Winter months here with a trip in July/August for 6-8 weeks, depending where we decide to go.