Long haul (BA) cheap summer destinations

[AndyGWP]

Hi folks – I currently have limited finances but keen for ideas of where to book a long haul holiday for next year based on where I can use a BA 2 for 1 avios voucher departing from the UK in summer?

In the last few years, we’ve been to:
– Florida & Nevada / Utah / Arizona
– British Columbia / Alberta
– Vietnam / Cambodia / Singapore / Bangkok

We like a good mix of sun & relaxation, and activities (hiking / sight seeing etc)

Given our lack of finances, going east appeals but Bangkok (followed by local flights) seems to be the only viable destination (avoiding China / Hong Kong seems appealing at the moment) however BA aren’t currently flying to Bangkok.

Is there anywhere else that I’m missing which would fit the bill? ie. I’ve never been to the Caribbean – which seems good for the sun / relaxation, but I’m not as sure about the activities and financial impact!

Any suggestions would be most appreciated

[memesweeper]

Jordan and Egypt aren’t too far and won’t break the bank. Shorthaul planes on both routes though.

[NorthernLass]

What about Mexico? The Yucatan peninsula is a cornucopia of fascinating historical sites and costs are lower than in many Caribbean destinations yet you still have white sand beaches, scuba diving etc. AIs in Cancun/Playa del Carmen etc are very popular but it’s also possible to stay in an apartment and self-cater combined with eating out as there are numerous restaurants to fit all budgets. I’m assuming you can still do the day trip by boat to Isla Mujeres which is a nice excursion.

The Caribbean islands are all different but you would find what you want in several of them. They do tend to be more expensive as food and other things have to be imported but again you can find options to suit all budgets.

California has great hiking but might be a bit hot in summer – though I think less so in the north of the state.

[Michael C]

Malaysia via SIN? Beaches and hiking aplenty.
Direct coach from Changi airport to Johor Bahru = S$11.

[aseftel]

Michael C wrote:

Malaysia via SIN? Beaches and hiking aplenty.

Redemptions to SIN are pretty scarce but this was what came to mind to me too. Regional flights are pretty cheap though so I’d do that (and you can’t take a coach to Borneo or Penang).

If there’s wiggle room on the long-haul element of the brief, I’d take a look at Sicily/Catania/Puglia. It’s pretty cheap when you’re out there and ticks the boxes on sun/relaxation/activities. BA fly to Palermo, Catania, Naples, Bari and Brindisi.

[NorthernLass]

Another short-haul-ish option is the Canaries – forget about the touristy reputation, there are amazing places to hike and lots of other things to do and see. You can get an advance permit to hike to the top of Mount Teide at dawn which would be awesome! Also some of the cheapest eating options in Europe.

[degsy]

NorthernLass wrote:

Another short-haul-ish option is the Canaries – forget about the touristy reputation, there are amazing places to hike and lots of other things to do and see. You can get an advance permit to hike to the top of Mount Teide at dawn which would be awesome! Also some of the cheapest eating options in Europe.

+1. We’ve just come back from a week in La Gomera (a 50 min ferry crossing from Tenerife) – it’s a gorgeous unspoilt island with some stunning scenery.
Madeira too has got a lot to offer.

[Michael C]

aseftel wrote:

Michael C wrote:

Malaysia via SIN? Beaches and hiking aplenty.

Redemptions to SIN are pretty scarce but this was what came to mind to me too. Regional flights are pretty cheap though so I’d do that (and you can’t take a coach to Borneo or Penang).

If there’s wiggle room on the long-haul element of the brief, I’d take a look at Sicily/Catania/Puglia. It’s pretty cheap when you’re out there and ticks the boxes on sun/relaxation/activities. BA fly to Palermo, Catania, Naples, Bari and Brindisi.

I’ve done SIN-Penang by train a couple of times (with stop-offs) – fab trip!

[Michael C]

degsy wrote:

NorthernLass wrote:

Another short-haul-ish option is the Canaries – forget about the touristy reputation, there are amazing places to hike and lots of other things to do and see. You can get an advance permit to hike to the top of Mount Teide at dawn which would be awesome! Also some of the cheapest eating options in Europe.

+1. We’ve just come back from a week in La Gomera (a 50 min ferry crossing from Tenerife) – it’s a gorgeous unspoilt island with some stunning scenery.
Madeira too has got a lot to offer.

We were *forced* to go to Madeira in April, after other trips were cancelled/booked out, and absolutely loved it.

[memesweeper]

+1 for Mexico — had a fab time there many years ago, and my eldest had a ball a few weeks ago backpacking. There are plenty of bargain places and tons to see and do.

[NorthernLass]

We went in 2003 and did a week on guided tours of Merida, Chichen Itza etc then a week in Cancun in an apartment in a beach resort. I remember doing a supermarket shop and being awed by the size of the display just of different chili peppers, it was the size of the entire salad display in Asda!

OH did a cenote dive which he said was unlike any other dive he’s done.

[NigelHamilton]

Africa will seem cheap once you get there, as long as you avoid exotic safaris or the larger chain hotels which tend to charge near European prices. Check out Airbnb prices for villas as a comparator. If you’re prepared to spend out on the flight then BA flies to Nairobi (not of itself particularly recommended, but Kenya certainly is), South Africa if you can find Avios availability, and Mauritius to give three. Note that it will be “winter” in all these destinations, but the Kenyan coast and Mauritius will be mid-upper 20s, if not slightly higher in Kenya. We are flying to Mauritius on a 2-4-1 next summer in WTP, which cost 39,000 Avios and around £500pp.

[AndyGWP]

Some brilliant suggestions here – thanks to all for input so far.

I should have added that the preference for long haul is mainly driven by our journey time to LHR (or the free connecting BA flight on the occasions it doesn’t get cancelled 🤪).

We would probably get more benefit at short haul destinations by using MAN direct (but that would negate the use of Avios and those benefits that it brings – having said that, we are going Tenerife at Christmas though – but only using Avios / LHR because its so much cheaper)

Singapore –> travelling into Malaysia
Great shout and although I’ve done KL / Borneo, well Kota Kinabalu before, there’s a lot more that I can still explore there (though my friend is moving back there so I may postpone that for future free trips 🤔). As mentioned by @aseftel though, redemptions seem a killer for UK summer.

Mexico
I’ve never done Mexico but this sounds like it could be a really good option. Is Cancun the best option to fly into (I note that BA also fly into Mexico City). I’ll have to do some research into this and what car hire / travel is like (or are guided tours the best / most recommended / safest option?)

Re: the other options, thanks so much. I think there’s definitely potential with some of the short haul (did Funchal in Feb a few years ago – weather was superb, prices were fantastic and the Pico’s were brilliant. Can really endorse that). We have ticked off Mauritius too, but I’ll also look into Africa as it’s always appealed. I just get the feeling I’d want to do safaris etc and may end up spending more money than planned 🙈). Kenya sounds interesting though and I have a friend who goes out annually so may pick his brain on some of that. Thanks for the suggestion – I probably wouldn’t have considered it 🙂

[JDB]

@AndyGWP I’m a big fan of Mexico, but if you want to do hiking and other active non water sports, the summer is exceptionally hot and humid, although Mexico City (a great city to visit and good Avios availability) remains cooler year round owing to its elevation. As others have mentioned, the Yucatan Peninsula has extraordinary Mayan sites, but Cancun is now incredibly overdeveloped and thus more expensive and is the new Magaluf for young Americans.

[NigelHamilton]

@AndyGWP if you want to save money on safaris and have never done one before, then although (obviously) not as impressive as the Mara for example you can hire a car from Nairobi airport and drive to the Nairobi National Park which is only a few miles away, and then just pay the park fees. I can still remember going 30+ years ago for the first time as a wide-eyed 11 year old just marvelling at all the animals, and all the big 5 except elephant are there. Meru and Amboseli are authentic national park options (which are roughly on the way to the coast) and both have cheaper accommodation options. But basically, you will find that the more time you spend on safari, the more expensive the holiday is! The coast by contrast is not particularly expensive, has white sand beaches and eating out is cheap.

[bruinbrown]

This recommendation might be a bit much but based on your comment that you were willing to take local flights from Bangkok, I’ll add it. Have you considered Bali? You could get a BA Avios flight to Singapore and from there take a short haul budget flight to DPS. AirAsia offer flights from Singapore to Bali for about $150 per person (even cheaper from KUL and similar flight times but there’s no BA flights there yet) and take about 2 hours 30. Once you get there though it would definitely fulfil a lot of the requirements you’ve got. There’s plenty of great hotels and AirBnBs there for low prices. The food in a local restaurant would range from £3 to £10 per person, beer, coffee and other drinks are a little cheaper than the UK. Taxis are pretty cheap and are a few pounds for local journeys or £20 for longer trips, and bike taxis are even cheaper than that. There’s plenty of sight seeing and things to do.

[Peter K]

“We would probably get more benefit at short haul destinations by using MAN direct (but that would negate the use of Avios and those benefits that it brings – having said that, we are going Tenerife at Christmas though – but only using Avios / LHR because its so much cheaper)”.

You might want to check your maths. I was going to book the canaries from LGW this week, but when adding up fuel cost to travel there, car parking while abroad, 0.8p per avios used (nectar value) + RFS fees, it was only about £20 more per person to go from Man and have someone drop us off at the airport.

The flights with jet2 included a meal each way, seat selection & hold luggage. Overall I’ll save over 2hrs travelling each way for £40 total. Flight times were basically the same as BA as well.

[AndyGWP]

Thanks again for comments above – appreciated 🙂

[rashomon]

Hi AndyGWP – hope you don’t mind be jumping on this thread

I’ve managed so somehow secure 4 x CW outbound tickets using BA 241 for my fam of four to Singapore next August summer hols with an economy on the return (241 Avios). It was a ‘heck yeah!’ moment when I bagged those CW tickets though it was 1am in the morning so had to keep it down 🙂

Similar to your requirements looking at options for a good mix of city/sights/hiking/beach and stumped on where to fly out from Singapore … seems like so many options and would love to narrow and start planning.

Have visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Cambodia (Siem Reap) in 2019 and looking at similar but different places – Malaysia, Borneo, Bali and Ko Samui seem to be in the mix but that needs fine tuning. Would also look to spend a few days in Singapore either at the start or end of the holiday also (probably at the end I think).

Appreciate any pointers from those that have travelled these parts!

[memesweeper]

– central Vietnam: Hoi An, caves, Halong bay – weather can hold when the rest of ‘nam is wet
– fly to Krabi, Thailand, for Koh Jum Beach Villas

[masaccio]

Just come back from Honduras and Guatemala. Awesome holiday. Beaches, hiking, jungles, wildlife, ancient architecture.

Fly through MIA and look for AA from there. We got very good AA redemptions. AA fly
MIA to Roatan (RTB) which is a bargain redemption as cash flights are very expensive. West End in Roatan is outstanding beach with heaps of cheap places to eat.

Steer clear of Belize – awesome place but constantly ripping you off.

[masaccio]

Should add you can do IAH too but United flights to Central America are insane. As much as $2k return in economy.

[AndyGWP]

rashomon wrote:

Have visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Cambodia (Siem Reap) in 2019 and looking at similar but different places – Malaysia, Borneo, Bali and Ko Samui seem to be in the mix but that needs fine tuning. Would also look to spend a few days in Singapore either at the start or end of the holiday also (probably at the end I think).

I would’ve suggested Borneo (Mount Kinabalu – guides for this are compulsory so something to look into it, even though it’s a pretty straight forward walk ‘technically’)

Other than that, as per @memesweeper suggestions for me —> Vietnam

and thanks @masaccio for the MIA suggestion 👍🏻 – I’d be interested in your experiences of Honduras / Guatemala (where did you go / for how long)