The Next Adventure

The itch to travel has started again!  My travel buddy and I are both feeling the bug to break the chains of the desk at our 9-5 jobs and to explore what the world has to offer.  We have been going back and forth throwing out ideas as to our next possible adventure.  She is of the mindset that we should get the really big trips done now when we are young, no family obligations, and the health to travel to exotic long distance locales.

Since our last trip to Iceland was a short trip (4 days) in comparison to the trips we normally take we wanted to go somewhere for a longer period of time.  First we discussed going to Italy.  I’ve never been, but my friend has so we were looking at places she did not go.  We first discussed going to Cinque Terre since it could be a place for the best of both worlds – hiking trails and beaches!  After looking into this trip we decided that it we would want to add on either the beginning or ending of the trip and all of the closets cities to visit she has gone to and would not want to visit again right now.  We also looked into going to Sicily, but looking at airfare and the travel time was a big deterrent for this time around.

The next location we looked into was Bali.  There appeared to be flights at reasonable prices and it would be again, best of both worlds – touring and beaches.  In the midst of looking into this my friend received a groupon for South Africa.  She sent it to me and asked my thought.  Honestly?  South Africa wasn’t on the top of my travel bucket list, but looking into the itinerary of the trip it definitely peaked my interest.  We decided not to go through the groupon, but to look into the tour company on our own.  We have had some friends use Gate1Travel on their trips to Iceland so we know they are a reliable company.  Both had good experiences with the company separately.

We wanted to go away when there is a holiday since it would help with saving on vacation days and we were able to find a tour departure date that would work with our needs.  In addition to being over a holiday it also encompasses a weekend so even less vacation days are needed!

The trip we looked at is for 8 days South Africa which includes time in Cape Town and also a game reserve for a safari.  We don’t usually go through tour company/groups when we plan our vacations, but looking at the itinerary there is a good mix of touring and down time to explore if we want.

We will be spending 4 days in Cape Town where we are opting to do the winelands tours as well as the peninsula tour which include stops at the botanical garden and Table Mountain.    We keep hearing how wonderful the wine in South Africa is so it will be exciting to tour the winelands.  Our next stop will be 2 days on a game reserve for a safari.  I can’t wait to see what animals will be out and about for us to see.  When we booked we were told not to get our hopes up to see any specific animal(s).  I just can’t wait to experience everything!