Holidays 2004?

Society Travel & Tourism
1

I was wondering where some of you are spending your sommer holidays?

Lets say not the usual pakistan tour but something different.

I want to spend a week or two somewhere different, kind of a delayed honeymoon vacation, but I cannot decide where? I am in Europe.

So some of these destinations came into my mind:

Tunis, they have good offers and packages, price not so expensive.
Morocco, same as Tunis
Egypt, great places to visit, would want to see the pyramids, price bit expensive.
Cyprus, err maybe not, how the political situation there
Spain, maybe not a good destination right now because of terror
Italy, Rom ??
Greece, ? Someone told me Athen is quite a polluted city.

I want something relaxing, not the usual beach and club tour, but some sightseeing, some cultur, especially nice tropical sceanry and friendly people.

Any suggestions ?

2

Sana and I will fly to Paris for a week (in June). :insha:

I´m sooooo looking forward to it. I´ve never been there before, though.

3

Wales.

4

karachi, dubai (not sure) and london (uk).

5

I have been to both sides of Cyprus on separate trips. Reunification talks are no obstacle to tourists. Actually, after the Berlin Wall, Nicosia is the only divided city in Europe. I would see it while, it is still so. Cyprus is your best bet for culture plus the usual scenery etc. All the touristy places are by the shores – Larnaca, Limassol in the south and Kyrenia in the north. I am not sure about who’s allowed to cross the green line right now. If you do go to the North (via Istanbul) you may ask your passport not be stamped. People are friendly, but you know how the Mediterranean sun effects mood-swings!

Actually, right now, nothing should impede one from going to Spain. The terrorists have succeeded in making a point and moved on to their next target. Anyways, besides Madrid, Palma, Sevilla, Malaga, Valencia or even places in Portugal would be a good alternative. Last November, I asked about Ryanair in this forum, and you guppies gave me the nod. I flew into Reus (Ryanair markets Girona and Reus as Barcelona), I found them worth the passing-through.

Greece? I don’t think they even have enough affordable beds right now, because of the Olympics.

I haven’t been much in the French Rivera, but I hear it is worth a visit. Then there is Malta, but its best off-season. I discovered North Africa is best to visit, when humidity levels are bearable.

I am going to Iceland next month for a reunion with some of the Antarctica fellows – not the tropics, but definitely looks like a place to unwind and see some nature.

6

** * :insha: provided things go to plan, the summer i’ll be spending in stoke-on-trent, England ** *

7

I'm going New York for a week, Insh'Allah :-)
Just gonna do all the touristy things.

In Europe my fav. list would be:

Grenada - Spain
Prague - Chech Rep.
Athens - Greece
Moscow - Russia

These are the places I haven't been to yet, but hopefully within the coming few years I will visit them.

8

saadia baji, pakistan northern areas? why dont u guys plan a mountain climbing trip...i wana do that inshallah :D

ive heard spain is really beautiful

abt myself..if i'm lucky and able to get a chutti i'll visit pindi...inshallah :)

9

If you want culture, history and some exotic flare, then I would highly recommend Morocco. I've heard from different people that Egypt is extremely over-populated (Cairo area) and polluted. Tunis is just as appealing as Morocco. I think the tourist industry in Morocco is a bit more developed than Tunis. I would pick one of these two.

Greece is great as well, but I would only want to go to the Greek islands cause the mainland is always full of tourists (from what I hear). Then again, same can be said about the islands ... they just look so tranquil and peaceful though.

Morocco or Tunis .... loads to see, lots to do and great food and music! There is a lot of Moorish history in Morocco .... lots of Arab influence ... I think it is fascinating.

10

Thanks all for the suggestions!

World Citizen, Cyprus is certainly a beautiful place, so I’ve heard before, thanks for giving a nice descripition, well for now I am leaning towards North Africa, which is in your opinion is the best time to go there, keeping in mind it should not be too hot, just tropical weather and when is the humidity levels bearable ? I might be going somewhere around mid june, so how is it then?
Btw you are right about Malta, Ibiza, Monaco all these places are best off season, I dont want to go somewhere and be with many tourists.

Have fun in Iceland.

Mehnaz, you know what I want girly :slight_smile: yes I want all that plus I want the place, not to be an artificial holiday resort, like these clubs, with nude tourists in every corner, but something which merges with the nature, where I can explore things and be alone, I know I’m picky. So you have just convinced me even more that, thats what I wanted. Now I am looking at some packages, have you been in Tunis or Morocco, you sound as if you have been there.

Irem, I would love to go for a mountain touring trip, but not this year as I have been to pakistan this jan. maybe next time when I am there.

Shinno, NY, thats great, I want to go there again, maybe sometime later, pity that we are not going now as the flights and the dollar rate is so low as never before.

Suroor, Umer, Shahreen, LUC, Irem have fun during your holidays.

I just love sommers. :sunny:

11

Saadia, I haven't been but I am actually looking into going to Morocco sometime either this year or next year inshallah. I want to go to Marakesh .... and just like you, I do not have any intention of going to a resort. Just do some research on Casablanca, Marakesh, etc. Algeria is also a fantastic place ... too many choices in Northern Africa ... let us know what you decide.

12

You are right Mehnaz, too many different places in North Africa, let alone in Tunis and Morocco, I will let you know, and in meantime if someone has a place to recomment in NA, would be great.

13

Hawaii.

14

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by SaadiaB: *
Thanks all for the suggestions!

World Citizen, which is in your opinion is the best time to go there
[/QUOTE]

I would say October, November - but thats just me, cold weather lover, someone who endured sixteen summers of Lahore.

It should be fine. Typically summers are warm and dry and winters are wet.

Have fun and share your pictures.

15

For me, this year's summer, its a cruise to the Bahamas (coming up in 2 weeks) and then a week in London (wedding)/Paris. Its been a long time since i spent some time in Europe.

16

Cyprus is lovely for those who are into drinking or being a beach bum . i agree scenery and coastal drives are nice ,along with a couple of ruins but other then that its boring for us asians. We cut short our hols there by a few days and ran back home. but then again that was our experience. plus the food was grim :disgust: :disgust: unless you are into pizzas with an egg on top yuck
i recommend saudi for shopping ,umra and eating now thats 3 in 1

17

Cyprus is lovely for those who are into drinking or being a beach bum . i agree scenery and coastal drives are nice ,along with a couple of ruins but other then that its boring for us asians. We cut short our hols there by a few days and ran back home. but then again that was our experience. plus the food was grim :disgust: :disgust: unless you are into pizzas with an egg on top yuck
i recommend saudi for shopping ,umra and eating now thats 3 in 1

18

Cyprus is lovely for those who are into drinking or being a beach bum . i agree scenery and coastal drives are nice ,along with a couple of ruins but other then that its boring for us asians. We cut short our hols there by a few days and ran back home. but then again that was our experience. plus the food was grim :disgust: :disgust: unless you are into pizzas with an egg on top yuck
i recommend saudi for shopping ,umra and eating now thats 3 in 1

19

aysh, another good suggestion, I didnt think of Saudi, a Umrah is a plus in all.

But I was wondering, isnt it better to do a Haj before you do a Umrah, like some people say, if you do a Umrah then its a must to do Haj, not that I don't want to do a Hajj.

Actually I am not the beach bum type either, for me it would be too boring and I cann't take the summer heat also.

20

Not really .as far as i know Umrah can be done at any time in life and hajj and umrah aren't linked. jeddah is fab for all the shopping and gold in the world as well as all the eating places at inexpensive prices. Makkah and medina are off course a great experience. Personally i like medina much more. so yeah i would highly recommend it.