2026 travel plans

[SydneySwan]

Canada in April - +1 has a conference in Toronto and we will build out a trip from there.
Philippines in July / August.

 

[RooFlyer]

Toronto and we will build out a trip from there.

Kingston and the Thousand Islands is a nice day trip.

 

[OZDUCK]

Kingston and the Thousand Islands is a nice day trip.

The Thousand Islands cruise is great. We did it out of Gananoque which is a little over 30 km east of Kingston. We did the 5 hour one.

1000 Islands Boat Tours and Castle Cruises - City Cruises Gananoque

Cruise and discover the heart of the 1000 Islands, fairytale castles, millionaire cottages and breathtaking views along the St. Lawrence River, from Gananoque and Ivy Lea.

www.cityexperiences.com

 

[Tiki]

So far I have Solomon Islands (4-5 islands) projected for May-June-ish. We are thinking to fly to MUA but only served by Solomon Airlines and no points can be used except maybe my Chase UR from the States. Then QF HIR-BNE.

Then maybe a cruise to Vanuatu but must include Luganville/Santo because that is where the best birding is.

And I am sure I will be back to my 2nd (spiritual) home - Turkiye!

 

[n7of9]

Haven’t even started planning yet but World Cup in the US/Canada/Mexico is at the top of list

Poop! I have a Vancouver to Alaksa cruise booked smack bang in the middle of the World Cup dates. That makes my chances of rewards seats unlikely, and paid seats expensive. I think I'll cancel

 

[Melburnian1]

We have a Rhine river cruise booked on Avalon Waterways in April (Amsterdam to Basel). On the way we're planning stopovers in Istanbul and Paris, with a couple of days in Geneva at the end.

Two friends claim that Avalon Waterways is by far the best operator of river cruises in Europe.

One of these friends is 'dark' on Viking as when their cruise became a bus part way, they were offered a $1000 credit. As he said 'there won't be another Viking cruise for us'.

 

[RB]

We'll be in Periyar National Park in southern India when we wake up on New Years Day.
Our usual out of the country for Jan 26. Next year Wellington.

Then nothing else, so far.

I'll be without employment and the world is out there waiting. Not sure bAlt is feeling the same with a few years of permanent work still to go for him

Not sure if the list is out for 2026 yet but look out for dry days in the south Dry Days In 2025: A Complete List Of Non-Alcohol Days In India

 

[Human]

Two friends claim that Avalon Waterways is by far the best operator of river cruises in Europe

Well, this will be our second Avalon Waterways cruise and our reason for using them again is simple: how do you improve on perfection?

 

[RooFlyer]

Locked in so far, in March/April, back-to back cruises on Ponant expedition vessels through the Canary Islands

View attachment 438044

Cruise The Canaries, lands of contrast from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands - March 2026 | Ponant

In the Canaries archipelago, the volcanic islands rise from the Atlantic Ocean like mirages. In these lands of a thousand contrasts, lunar landscapes with crimson and ashen reflections, valleys covered in lush vegetation, craggy coves and sand dunes blend

au.ponant.com

Followed by a food and wine cruise around Sicily

View attachment 438045

Epicurean Delights: The Food & Wine of Sicily: from 11 Apr 26 to 19 Apr 26 | PONANT International

Epicurean Delights: The Food & Wine of Sicily: from Valletta to Sicily. Duration: 9 days, 8 nights on board. Theme: Timeless

au.ponant.com

Then in July, a cruise around the Greek islands, through to Sicily, Italy and ending in Nice also on a Ponant expedition vessel

View attachment 438043

Sweet Mediterranean Escape: from 17 July 26 to 29 July 26 | PONANT International

Sweet Mediterranean Escape: from Nice to Greece & Greek Islands. Duration: 13 days, 12 nights on board. Theme: Timeless

au.ponant.com

Flights will be on QR J ex CGK or SIN, with SIN awards to those points.

Any other trip if I can afford it will be to Saudi Arabia, particularly the north-west where another (smaller scale) Petra exists, remnants of the Nabataean empire (ElAlua/Hegra), but also Medina, which is now open to non-Muslins and of course Jeddah (been there before, for work). Incredibly cheap J airfares on Saudia Airlines

Was going to go back to Sicily for 4 days (max I could do) after the second Sicily cruise that ends in Malta in April but the dates and airfares just didn't line up getting out of Sicily and then onto a QR flight to SIN with Classic fare. I'm determined not to go above QR's Classic fare (no seat selection, but QFF Plat takes care of that), which gives SIN to many ports in Europe return in QR J for about $4,300.

Then realised that I'm back in the Mediterranean in July '26, so could do Sicily then. So I asked my travel agent to get me home from Malta - maybe via Rome (spend a few days there ...) and she said 'There's good connections to Milan and a well-timed QR flight MXP-DOH-SIN'. SOLD! Wanted to get to Milan some day.

 

[MARTINE]

The Thousand Islands cruise is great. We did it out of Gananoque which is a little over 30 km east of Kingston. We did the 5 hour one.

1000 Islands Boat Tours and Castle Cruises - City Cruises Gananoque

Cruise and discover the heart of the 1000 Islands, fairytale castles, millionaire cottages and breathtaking views along the St. Lawrence River, from Gananoque and Ivy Lea.

www.cityexperiences.com

Second that.
So funny seeing a person ‘own’ an island - a houseblock with a little bridge to the next one!

 

[Katie]

We'll be starting 2026 on a Disney cruise. A recent 30% off sale prompted us to pull the trigger on the cruise we were looking at.

Apart from that, I've told Mr Katie I want Christmas in Europe next year. We might need to be back before NYE for a family birthday, but we'll see.

 

[Seat0B]

#Japanuary 2026 is now booked. It will be a repeat of #Japanuary 2025. We will do 2 weeks skiing in Furano followed by a couple of days in Sapporo for Snow and Ice Festival and a couple of days in Tokyo. Hoping for a bumper ski season this time.

 

[MonteCristo]

A couple of 10-week trips in the planning stage.

Thailand for a week, then 6 weeks in Italy, and about 10 days in Malta and 10 days in Cyprus.

Then Turkey for a month, Jordan for 10 days, Egypt for a month, Oman for a week, and Thailand again for a week or so.

Off to Greece next week for 65 days, and will need to start booking flights for the first trip while we're away. Never been busier than in retirement, haha.

 

[RooFlyer]

A couple of 10-week trips in the planning stage.

Thailand for a week, then 6 weeks in Italy, and about 10 days in Malta and 10 days in Cyprus.

Then Turkey for a month, Jordan for 10 days, Egypt for a month, Oman for a week, and Thailand again for a week or so.

Off to Greece next week for 65 days, and will need to start booking flights for the first trip while we're away. Never been busier than in retirement, haha.

I sort of envy you being in the similar place for long periods. You can really stay and get the feel of it. I just need to keep moving moving moving and seeing more and more.

 

[Scash]

A couple of 10-week trips in the planning stage.

Thailand for a week, then 6 weeks in Italy, and about 10 days in Malta and 10 days in Cyprus.

Then Turkey for a month, Jordan for 10 days, Egypt for a month, Oman for a week, and Thailand again for a week or so.

Off to Greece next week for 65 days, and will need to start booking flights for the first trip while we're away. Never been busier than in retirement, haha.

Gotta love retirement . We’re in Greece / Greek Isles late May early June. Various places.

 

[MonteCristo]

I sort of envy you being in the similar place for long periods. You can really stay and get the feel of it. I just need to keep moving moving moving and seeing more and more.

We're young enough (40s) that we expect to be able to come back to countries if we enjoy them, or haven't seen enough of them - so we don't feel the need to rush. But there's also a financial aspect to it. Flying and transiting often costs a fair bit more than just spending a bit more time in places before moving on, and having fewer bases overall (but we still use a bit of a hub-and-spoke model to move around from).

Also find it gets tiring to just move on again and again. It's alright time from time. Eg: Have a 3-week tour later this year, which will have the usual hotel circus. But we really don't want to live 4-5 months of a year like that. Aside from the odd transit day, ideally we want to stay somewhere for at least 4 nights.

 

[MonteCristo]

Gotta love retirement . We’re in Greece / Greek Isles late May early June. Various places.

Might see you around then! We're going early May until mid July. Athens for 10 days, Crete for two weeks, and the rest of the time in the Cyclades.

Have a great trip .

 

[RooFlyer]

We're young enough (40s) that we expect to be able to come back to countries if we enjoy them, or haven't seen enough of them - so we don't feel the need to rush.

I’m in my 60s now and I must admit the rush rush everywhere is getting a bit more difficult to do. Now many of my land trips involve quite targeted excursions to a particular city or even a particular collection of ancient buildings. I’ve been to Spain quite a few times but never to Barcelona so I’m there for a few days coming up (zipping up to Andorra to have a look) but I’m also going to take a long train trip down to Cordoba and back which I’ve never been to just to see the mosque cathedral there.

I’m doing more cruises now than land trips too, which relaxes me a bit more and you get to see quite a lot

 

[Flyfrequently]

I’ve been to Spain quite a few times but never to Barcelona so I’m there for a few days coming up

Have you been to/ or considered Valencia @RooFlyer ?
We loved it, only 3 hours from Barcelona by train

 

[I love to travel]

Maybe a side trip on 6 June for the LHR lounge crawl?

Gotta love retirement . We’re in Greece / Greek Isles late May early June. Various places.

Might see you around then! We're going early May until mid July. Athens for 10 days, Crete for two weeks, and the rest of the time in the Cyclades.

Have a great trip .