Planning a couple’s holiday after the kids have left home
THIS IS A COLLABORATIVE FEATURE
It sort of crept up on us really. There was no big fanfare. No countdown. Nobody saying out loud “you do know that you can now go on holiday outside of term time, and in fact you can leave the kids behind, don’t you?”. But this is the situation we now find ourselves in. Helping the kids plan their own trips with their friends or partners, and Mr B and I now booking our own.
I still remember our first holiday away together (when the kids were at their dad’s) and to be honest it was a bit of a disaster as I made Mr B sleep in the bath. No really, I did. You can read about it here: Mrs Starfish. We have come a long way in 17 years and try to make a bit more of an effort on our trips. Both in the planning and whilst away, to ensure we make the most of our time away, seeing and doing it all in case we don’t get a chance to re-visit.
We have just got back from Iceland together and loved every second, which means I am now thinking about our next trip this summer. I don’t really do spontaneous stuff (remember I am the person who looks at a restaurant menu as soon as we book it so you can imagine the planning that goes into my holidays) so I put a lot of research into the destinations. Travel sections of broadsheet newspapers are great for this because they often do “top ten lists” or “what’s hot now” pieces meaning you can hear about bars, restaurants and new hotels that you might not have heard about before.
It was reading one of those recently that made us really start considering India for a longer trip this year. So far we have only done long weekends, or a week in Europe (my thinking is that I can be home in a couple of hours if there is a disaster at home) but with the kids now in their twenties we are looking at a trip to India. Especially now we have discovered guided tours with Jules Verne . Based around themes such as the glories of Gujarat or the majesty of mahajaras they do all the hard work of planning the trip for us.
After all, as the next place for a couple’s trip, where could be better than the Taj Mahal?