Hi All,

Here at Just You HQ we’ve spent a bit of time daydreaming about our ideal holiday destinations – all in the name of work, of course – and we’ve come up with 10 Just You holidays that take in some of the most exciting places in our 2014 brochure .

So then we thought we’d turn to you to hear your thoughts about what makes a destination truly special. If you'd be willing, this is what we'd like you to do...

1. First, we’d like you to select your top three holiday destinations from the above list. It doesn’t matter if you’ve visited these places or not – you can base your choices on your own experiences or simply consider how highly they rank on your wish list. Then just click ‘Vote!’

2. We know that many of you have already shared your experiences in the reviews section, but we’d love to hear a little bit more about the aspects of these destinations that really get your heart pumping. What iconic sites, experiences or other qualities make them extra special? Have you been lucky enough to visit any of them already? Can you share any tips or personal highlights you picked up along the way? It would be great if you could share your photos with us too – just email them to community@justyou.co.uk.

And of course, feel free to let us know if there are any dream destinations that we’ve missed off the list. You know we always appreciate your feedback!

Look out for the results of the poll, along with a selection of your comments and photos, in our upcoming 2014 Dream Destinations booklet.

All of the team at Just You look forward to hearing from you soon!

Kindest regards,

Julia

And the boring (but important) bit... Sometimes we are so pleased with your comments and photographs that we may choose to include them in brochures and as part of our promotional campaigns. We reserve the right to do this, but please let us know if for any reason you do not wish us to do so.

Istanbul is on my list for this year and India too. Where is everyone else going? Who have you voted for??

It am very lucky to have achieved my dream holidays which were

Kenya Safari

Australia Ayres Rock

USA...

Any where else I see in this world is a fantastic bonus...

I voted for 2 out of the top three choices.

Eric

In the mid 1960s I had the privilege of interviewing Lionel Greenstreet for a GCSE history project which I had named Exploration of the Continent of Ice. He had been one of the crew of the 'Endurance', the ship which had become trapped in the ice and sunk before the expedition leader, Shackleton, could start his attempt to complete the first crossing of Antarctica some 100 years ago. He told me of the dramatic loss of the ship, the journey across the ice man-hauling the small boats which they would later launch into the sea, their amazing landfall on Elephant Island and their survival against the odds before the final rescue. I was hooked! In the years since I have followed jealously the trips made by adventurers, scientists, soldiers and celebrities to Antarctica and the South Pole. The nearest I have been is to Lyttleton in New Zealand, where I spoke to some sailors whose relatives had crewed the tug boats used by many of the polar explorers, and nearby Quail Island where the ponies and dogs were quarantined. As I say - Dream on!

I voted for Venice - my first holiday abroad after 25 years without a passport! I stayed there, on a boat moored near St Mark Square, for 5 days, loved it and still want to go back to continue my exploration. Fond memories of getting lost along the narrow alleyways and finding the way ahead blocked by a canal at every turn, great excuse to ask for directions in cafes and bars along the way, watching residents and tourists go by whilst having a coffee or drink at outdoor tables, the amazing churches and the art history in churches and museums. The water taxis and buses along the canals - leaping on and off before the barrier was swiftly closed!

New York City - I first went on a city break one December (a good deal at the Waldorf Astoria no less - room was standard but the hotel amazing!) to enjoy the decorations and festive atmosphere and was wowed. Viewing the city from the Empire State by day and then the Rockefeller Center at night. Taking a cruise round Manhattan. The decorated shop fronts on 5th Avenue, the wonderful, often animated, shop window decorations. First time having pancakes with maple syrup! Second visit as part of the JY 'New England and Canada in the Fall' trip (how did we manage to miss Paul McCartney's gig and the Banksy sale????) and still want to revisit!

Third choice was India which I do hope to visit, along with Nepal, in the future. Not sure how I will react to the constant hustle and bustle, noise and the multitude of people, but looking forward to a totally new and different experience.

Trying to think of three places has made me realise I need to write my own list to help focus my mind on where I want to visit next!

Have fun with your choices!!

Of the 11 JY holidays I have done, India is number 1! Incredible India - you either love it or hate it - I loved it! Everyone smiles at you, however poor they are. The sounds, the smells, the colours, the food! The Taj Mahal is the most beautiful building I have ever seen - anywhere in the world. The boat ride on The Ganges at dawn in Varanasi - an experience never to be forgotten. Luckily we saw tigers on all 3 game drives - one came right beside us! I have about 2,000 photos of the whole trip and can certainly send some over, if required. You published one of mine from Vietnam in one of the recent Discover magazines.

Cheers,

Hils

I voted for New York. After doing Route 66 with JY in October 2012 I've fell in love with the USA. Going to Florida with a member kf my family in April and hoping to do New York with JY in September.

Paul

I've voted for the Golden West because its still the best JY holiday I've done and I've done some good ones.

Of the other holidays on the list I'd like to one day do China & Peru.

Jan

From a personal view, Texas and Dallas is a big place that i'd love to see but your tour includes New Orleans which has no interest to me at all, now a holiday that would include Southfork Ranch which is not included in your Texas tour, would be great, also instead of New Orleans in with this tour i would like to see places like Graceland and The Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee, but hey that's just me being selfish!! Have JY ever done ranching holidays?

It's been so interesting to see where in the world you'd travel (or have been) from our top ten.

We've really enjoyed reading why you've picked various destinations - so please keep those comments coming in. Hils, we shared the photos that were submitted for the magazine with the creative team and they think they are great - if you have any more that you'd be willing to share, please send them in!

Vietnam raced into a commanding lead over the weekend but both Peru and America's Golden West are creeping up there - we can't wait to see which tour will come out on top.

Many thanks,

Julia

Think having a Poll like this is a great idea but reckon the results are somewhere near what I would expect.

As this is about dream destinations it doesn't surprise me some of the more adventuras worldwide destinations are at the top. However in reality a lot of them are out of peoples budget for example I'd love to do the Australia trip with all the add ons but that would take my holiday budget for the full year (still do the lottery though).

In me breath I'm not surprised the European destinations are at the bottom of the Poll.

Think it would be a good idea following this to do 3 other polls :-

1. European

2. World Wide

3. North America

Just my thoughts.

Mick

We're on the same wave length - as we now have the functionality, we're thinking of doing a few more polls for the community!

Kindest regards,

Julia

Like many other on here USA tops my list - I would love to do one that takes in the battlefield areas of the American Civil War as that area has always been a fascinating read for me and think seeing the history of it would be fantastic

Best wishes

Anne

Yve

Cheers,

Bob

AUSTRALIA ( 2013 )

KENYA with safari & masai mara ( 2008 )

my favourites of having been or about to do