hols
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
Hi

I think a while Julia asked for some ideas for holidays.

One thing that I have been wanting to say for a couple of years is that I think a lot of the holidays are too long and subsequently too costly. I don't want to use most of my holiday days and money on just one holiday and I think as more women have to work longer this will apply to more people. For example I have wanted to do Route 66 for ages, but I am very reluctant to spend so many of my holiday days and money on it. As well I know JY pack in a lot into their holidays and  I always come back exhausted! So takin Rouet 66 as an example could you split it into three holidays - first part and then second part and a possible slightly longer the whole way holiday. This would also give a bit more time for some of the visits. This could also apply to the Roof of the World holiday. - What do you think?

Jaya
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi

I personally would not like to split the holiday into three parts as this means having to fly there and back 3 times and it would be as costly as one long one. In fact I think some of the holidays are too short - for example Kerala. When you are flying for hours to get to a destination, I rather have a few more days. Again, this is my personal view and I respect the fact that everyone has their own views.

Regards

Jaya

stu151
(Member)
Hi

I understand where you're coming from in terms of using up annual leave, but 6/7 weeks is pretty normal now, especially with the public sector or big private companies.

As holidays become more expensive, really I would like to see then become longer, NOT shorter, maybe by allowing extensions (either with JY or under your own steam). Cost of the flight must be a big element in any holiday, and I'm afraid I wouldn't consider going half way around the world for just a 7 day (or so) holiday.

Interesting to see what others think!

Stuart

BGray
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi sorry but I disagree completely! If I am travelling half way around the world, I want to see the best of the destination, especially when it takes a couple of days to get there and a couple of days to get home again!  Also I am unlikely to be going back to that part of the world again, so I definitely want to see as much as possible.  Yes, I do come home wrecked but happy that I haven't missed out on anything in the destination I've just returned from!  This is one of the main reasons why I continue to travel with JY - I think their long haul itineraries are excellent, fitting in as much as possible and yet having a reasonable amount of "down time." 

I also think JY have got it right with their Escape holidays - a couple of included excursions plus a selection of optionals, so that those who want to take it easy will still see the highlights but those who want to be kept busy and see all that the area has to offer can still do so.  In fact, there are a couple of JY long haul destinations that I think are not long enough - such as Kerala and Peru - and I will look elsewhere to do those tours as I do not want to miss out on seeing other highlights in the area.

All the best,

Bob

lesley07
(Member)
Hi

I agree with Jaya and Bob. I would prefer longer long haul holidays as I have also to factor in cost of a flight from Scotland and sometimes an overnight hotel.

Lesley

SarahS
(Member)
I agree that many long haul holidays are too short.  Airfares now account for an ever increasing proportion  of holiday costs. Add to that, the cost of travel to the airport,  and overnight stays for the inevitable early morning  flights. I am certainly in favour of longer holidays. That goes for Europe  as well. A bare six days at the destination often doesn't  justify the additional costs involved. It would be great to have the opportunity  for two or three extra nights after the main tour. On most European tours,  it could be without a tour manager giving the chance to just chill out, or explore independently. JY planners please give this some thought.
Drewpat
(Member)
Hi,

I think the long haul tours duration is just right, however I would prefer them to be slightly longer. For example the Australia 2018 extended tour itinerary which covers more destinations. I regret having not booked for this and did the Amazing Australia in March 2017, which was wonderful. As mentioned by others, why not visit all the must see places when travelled so far, thanks.

Drewpat.

nixon
  • (Member)
(Member)
Long haul full on tours definitely need to be longer, or at least offer add on with things to do, etc, when I went to NZ it wasn't till day 5 I landed there after getting to HGK etc...

So my vote is for longer tours to make the expense really worth the money for the value we are getting.

Cindy

mikew
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi,

I have to say that I agree with Bob, Jaya and others. I would definitely NOT want to see the duration of long haul holidays reduced because I want to see as much as possible of my chosen destination. Why fly halfway around the world to explore a particular country (or countries), and then miss out on some of the best sights that destination has to offer because of time constraints? It's a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned, and as Bob says, I might only visit that part of the world once so I want to go for it! A longer tour also allows for some free time to relax and enjoy ones surroundings.

I would also agree with Bob's assessment of JY's Peru itinerary - it can't compare with the longer TS version, and having enjoyed that wonderful tour in 2015, I can recommend it wholeheartedly.

Cheers

Mike

Hils
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi Hols,

I definitely agree with the others that JY should have longer, not shorter, long-haul holidays. On two occasions (Kerala and the Polar Bear trip) I have extended my time in the country by doing a "tailor-made" holiday which JY will do for you. To go to the other side of the world for maybe only 8 nights, is just not long enough. When I first started using JY in 2008, a large majority of travellers were of retirement age, and therefore were not restricted by time, but I appreciate that there are a lot of younger people now taking their holidays. Also, I have just come back from the Roof of the World, and this trip definitely could not be shortened - if you want to see everything, and have time to acclimatize. I am all for having Add-On extensions to trips and am not quite sure why JY did not do this for the Kerala trip, but Travelsphere do. Yes, Add-Ons do obviously raise the price of the holiday, but does give everyone the option of extending.

Cheers,

Hils

Donna1
(Member)
'hols' wrote:

Hi

I think a while Julia asked for some ideas for holidays.

One thing that I have been wanting to say for a couple of years is that I think a lot of the holidays are too long and subsequently too costly. I don't want to use most of my holiday days and money on just one holiday and I think as more women have to work longer this will apply to more people. For example I have wanted to do Route 66 for ages, but I am very reluctant to spend so many of my holiday days and money on it. As well I know JY pack in a lot into their holidays and  I always come back exhausted! So takin Rouet 66 as an example could you split it into three holidays - first part and then second part and a possible slightly longer the whole way holiday. This would also give a bit more time for some of the visits. This could also apply to the Roof of the World holiday. - What do you think?

Hi I want to say I agree with you. I have to ask permission to take more than 2 weeks off work together and so can't do it too regularly so means holidays like route 66 you mention or the now extended usa West coast tour are difficult for me but trips I'd like to do. I wonder if they could be split as you mention but with an option to also have it as one (ie people can do whole trip or join/leave at certain points) as I completely appreciate other people's comments on this post and do agree when travelling a long distance you want to get all can from that trip but for some of us it's just not a possibility.

Donna

hols
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
'Donna1' wrote:

'hols' wrote:

Hi

I think a while Julia asked for some ideas for holidays.

One thing that I have been wanting to say for a couple of years is that I think a lot of the holidays are too long and subsequently too costly. I don't want to use most of my holiday days and money on just one holiday and I think as more women have to work longer this will apply to more people. For example I have wanted to do Route 66 for ages, but I am very reluctant to spend so many of my holiday days and money on it. As well I know JY pack in a lot into their holidays and  I always come back exhausted! So takin Rouet 66 as an example could you split it into three holidays - first part and then second part and a possible slightly longer the whole way holiday. This would also give a bit more time for some of the visits. This could also apply to the Roof of the World holiday. - What do you think?

Hi I want to say I agree with you. I have to ask permission to take more than 2 weeks off work together and so can't do it too regularly so means holidays like route 66 you mention or the now extended usa West coast tour are difficult for me but trips I'd like to do. I wonder if they could be split as you mention but with an option to also have it as one (ie people can do whole trip or join/leave at certain points) as I completely appreciate other people's comments on this post and do agree when travelling a long distance you want to get all can from that trip but for some of us it's just not a possibility.

Donna

Hi Donna, Yes that is exactly what I meant  - a part A holiday, a part B holiday and a third holiday that would be both part A and part B as one holiday, so those that have the time/ money can do one long holiday but those who have to restrict their holiday could do shorter ones. This way both sets of people would get what they wanted - the one holiday would be longer altogether but the half holidays would not be 16 days but maybe 10.

Kezzer46
(Member)
Whilst I can understand both sides of the discussion... I think splitting the holidays as suggested, would end up making them more expensive. Holidays for single travellers are already very expensive compared to the companies that cater for couples or families. In addition I imagine it would be a logistic nightmare... and would mean that some holidays would be disrupted due to the different groups needing to get to/from airports, making sure everyone was at the right place for the coach etc.

In addition, there are also lots of companies out there that offer tailor made holidays based on the number of days you want to travel etc.

beckythesnakelady
(Member)
Hi,

I can see both sides to this - I don't see much point in flying around the world and not making the most of it. I was (still am) interested in the Dubai tour, but haven't made up my mind yet for this exact reason - 6 days (actually only 4-5 in Dubai) isn't very long considering the flight times and cost involved.

However, a lot of people (myself included) have a fairly average annual leave allowance - I'm reluctant to use 2-3 weeks all at once because then I have next to nothing left for the rest of the year. I would love to do the Australia tour but I just can't take that much time off work. I think it's down to personal circumstance really and a good mix of holidays of different lengths is probably a good way to look at it so people can choose.

Becky