Holiday Escape Plans to consider for The New Year

With year-end fast approaching, I have been thinking about holiday escape plans to consider for the new year. As a frequent traveller, I am always on the look-out for travel deals to destinations near and further afield. I can not wait to start searching for 5* accommodations, sleep in a hotel bed, order room service and being bougie for a moment. It is weird but that is one part of travelling that I am absolutely missing and can’t wait to get back to it.

Obviously, travel at the moment looks slightly different compared to previous years and we have to be cautious with our planning and consider government guidelines. I was fortunate to be able to travel during the summer and used websites like Reopen EU to read up on country-specific requirements and I think this will still be required in the new year. For those in the UK thinking about which holiday escape plans to consider for the new year, check out the government website for travel advice.

Disclosure: This post is commissioned by hotels.com but all opinions shared in this post are my own.

Holiday Escape Plans to consider for The New Year

Even though travel at the moment is somewhat restricted to most destinations, no one said we couldn’t dream. I am eager to travel like the next person so I am watching the news on the vaccine and countries opening up for tourism like a hawk. There are so many wonderful destinations both locally and internationally that I would like an opportunity to explore when its safe to do so. At the moment it’s difficult to know when we can travel safely, but we can dream about better travel times and plan ahead to revisit our favourite destinations.

Travelling is a huge part of my life and the last 9 months have been absolute torturous for someone like me who travels every.single.month. But I have had to adapt to the new norm and bid my time for when I can travel again. Being an optimist person, I am already thinking about the holiday escape plans to consider for the new year. As soon as my bucket list destinations open up and it’s safe to do so, I am jumping on the first flight there. In the meantime, I am going to share the destinations that I am thinking of and this will include those that I did not manage to explore this year.

Hanoi, Vietnam

At the beginning of the year, we had booked to visit Hanoi in February in hopes of escaping the cold weather. It’s our new tradition to always travel somewhere warm when it’s absolutely freezing back home, but a few days before we could board the flight, we received the cancellation notice. Obviously, we were gutted understandably but there wasn’t much we could do about it, we instead opted for a different destination.

We are planning to try our luck in the new year and hopefully, we shall be able to visit Hanoi. There are a lot of activities that we had planned for the previously cancelled trip including staying on a boat overnight and enjoying the views over the river. Our itinerary was packed to the brim for the 2-weeks we were planning to spend in Hanoi and hopefully, we can go in the new year.

Zanzibar, Tanzania

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to visit Zanzibar, as a kid growing up in Zambia, we heard so many wonderful things about this area. Zambia is a landlocked country and we have no beaches, so Zanzibar sounded like the heaven that we imagined it is as kids. I now have family who are from there and it makes sense for me to make a visit one day soon and explore it for myself.

Whilst I do not yet have an itinerary but I intend to spend majority of the time lounging on the beach, taking in nature and duking it out on the local cuisines. Over the last few years I have made it my mission to indulged on as much local cuisine as possible and I can not wait to sample what Zanzibar has to offer. Zanzibar is currently open for visitors, they are only doing temperature checks on arrival and no 14-day quarantine is being enforced.

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Grenada, the Caribbean

I recently attended a virtual press trip for Grenada (pronounced Grey-nay-da) and I can not wait to be able to travel to this incredible Caribbean island. I know exactly what I want to do during my visit, from visiting the chocolate museum to exploring the Belmont Estate, learning to dance and sampling the local cuisine. The island is filled with an amazing array of adventures that you can partake in and I still have the magazine and brochure marked with things I want to do once I am there.

Whilst the island is open for visitors, you need to ensure you take a covid test at least 7 days before your trip and you can only stay in government-approved accommodations for the first 5 days of your arrival. I think compared to other destinations this is better in terms of not needing to isolate for 14-days before you can actually explore the island. This I think will be the biggest challenge for most countries in the new year, do they keep 14-day quarantine requirement or remove it.

Riga, Latvia

Riga is one of the European cities I have wanted to visit for a long time, after visiting Vilnius in Lithuania, I made it my mission to visit all capitals in the Baltic region. So far, I have been to only one Baltic state and next year I want to make it to another state or both of the remaining states. There is something about Riga that speaks to me and I can not wait to explore.

So far my itinerary for Riga is limited as I want to be surprised and just take it all in but I do want to see their freedom monument as its similar to the one in Bratislava and also the house of black heads, I hear its a must visit. Obviously local cuisine is high on the list but also just want to sight see.

Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn is another city I would love to visit most especially during the winter months, even though I dest the cold, there are destinations which absolutely come alive during the winter months. I do not have an itinerary but I know I want to spend as much time as I can in the old town. There is so much to be seen and learned in the old towns and most European cities have old towns.

Sofia, Bulgaria

When most people (including me) think about visit Bulgaria, ninety per cent of the time its to visit Budapest and with good reason, it’s a gorgeous city. But I want to deviate from choosing between Buda and Pest and add Sofia in the mix. Did you know that Sofia is the largest city in Bulgaria and its also the country’s capital? If you didn’t know you know, give the city the respect it deserves.

Cork, Ireland

When its safe to do so, I am flying to Cork and just spend the entire weekend taking it all in because I think this is one destination that I have had on my life for 5-years and still not managed to venture over. What’s funny is when I was just about to book the flight to Cork, the travel ban with the first lockdown came into force and I couldn’t believe my bad luck. Everyone wishing to travel to Ireland (Cork) they need to quarantine for 14-days including passengers from Great Britain.

Shetland, Scotland

Shetland is not a destination that was ever on my bucket list until a couple years back when I watched the ITV drama with the same name. Even though it was a police drama, there was something about this part of Scotland that screamed for me to visit. I am definitely planning a trip there once its safe to travel and also, I actually want to visit the places in the drama.

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Portmeirion, North Wales

Over two years ago now we visited this part of North Wales that gives you the vibes of an Italian seaside village. Portmeirion was built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis is the visionary, designer and Welsh architect. It took over 50 years (1925 to 1976) to build and today it attracts over 200,000 visitors a year and offers complimentary guided tours. I shared a post on things to do in the part of North Wales as well as where we had lunch during our visit.

I am so excited thinking about all the holiday escape plans to consider for the new year. As a traveller, I want to hit the road again, grab those flights and explore new places sustainably but I also know I need to be patient and travel sensibly when things are safer than they are right now. Have you started planning any vacations for the new year?