# Making the most of a short holiday.



## Zozzer (Aug 13, 2006)

My wife can only take three weeks holiday from work all at once, so as I don't work, I thought it would be a good idea if I set off for some far flung destination whilst my wife is still at work, and my wife could fly out to meet me and I would pick up at the airport.

I'm thinking of places like Faro or Gibralta, or Salzburg or Krakow where she can get a direct flight from Manchester. 

But can I convince her it's a good idea, she's having none of it.

Anybody agree with me. ?


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## Morphology (Jul 23, 2010)

Personally i think that's a great idea - she gets to spend maximum time at your chosen destination, and you do the grind of driving the van there.


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## Addie (Aug 5, 2008)

We did 10 countries in 21 days back when we were restricted by someone dictating to us when we could/couldn't go on holiday. Probably not everyone's idea of a Holiday but we loved it: http://www.europebycamper.com/p/past-trips.html#2009

Your idea of flying to Krakow is a good one, Poland should start being a little quieter now and you're not far from the beautiful Tatra's in Slovakia where we were a few weeks ago with a good choice of wild camping or 'boutique' Dutch run rural campsites. (Diesel £1.08 too!).

With 21 days to play with you would be able to continue on to Budapest and then as far as you wanted - into Slovenia to Lake Bled or pop down to Croatia - maybe Pula. Many eastern european sites start their ACSI discount on 1st September.

All in all the above would be 680 miles (31 a day) with you doing the bulk of that (circa 1000 miles Calais to Krakow) in your own time.


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## aldhp21 (Aug 4, 2008)

Zozzer said:


> My wife can only take three weeks holiday from work all at once, so as I don't work, I thought it would be a good idea if I set off for some far flung destination whilst my wife is still at work, and my wife could fly out to meet me and I would pick up at the airport.
> 
> I'm thinking of places like Faro or Gibralta, or Salzburg or Krakow where she can get a direct flight from Manchester.
> 
> ...


Sounds like a great idea. I'd give Gilbrator a miss though. It's alright for tax free, but it reminded me of Slough by the sea.

What about somewhere near Malaga. Easy to fly to and plenty of nice areas within a 30 minute drive.

And if you still wanted to do Gibraltor it's about an hour and a half drive away.

Cheers
Alan


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

We've used a similar method for some years.

My missus can't do motorhoming and I can't do without it so we use the C Word - compromise.

Earlier this year I ambled off in my little camper and spent 3 weeks solo just wandering France - no plan. At the end of the 3 weeks my missus flew out to Marseille where I collected her and we drove to a gite we'd booked in Provence where we stayed for a week.

We then drove up to Dordogne where we had another gite for a week.

Then drove to Dunkerque with 2 hotel overnights on the way.

I get my campervan bimble and we both get some quality time together - it works for us.

We're looking at possibly the same process for Italy next year.


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## EEVpilot (Aug 15, 2010)

I think it's a great idea for people with work commitments - certainly when you want to reach far flung destinations. That said, the journey is part of the fun and enjoyment of motorhoming, so your better half would be missing something !!
Gibraltar is a good destination that allows you to be situated either into the Med, or southwest to Tarifa and the Atlantic coast (Costa de la Luz). Morocco is also easily available by ferry. One thing though, park up in La Linea and walk to/from the airport to save queuing to get in and out of Gibraltar.

Good luck persuading your good lady - your plan makes a lot of sense!

John


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## Zozzer (Aug 13, 2006)

The idea behind the Gibralta or Faro destination is that we have never been to Spain (not even on a package holiday) and never been to Portugal. So having met up with my wife, we could hop on a ferry to Morocco to spend a two or three days the back to Europe
and have a leisurely drive back home taking in the sights along the way. Not forgetting to call in at Andorra, then head for the Milau Bridge, and Oradour-sur-Glane

The other idea mulling over in my brain is for my wife to fly out Greece, and together we could take a leisurely drive back along the Adriatic coast. 

Krakow, we have already done this year and drove into Slovakia over the Tatra's. But my wife wasn't comfortable with travelling to Budapest or Hungary as she is terrible at geography and thinks place or always too far away. However she would like to go back if only to buy one of the geniune sheepskin rugs being sold by the roadside in the Tatra's I would like to back to finish the journey and go to Budapest, then onto Crotia which becomes part of the EU in 2013.

As you can probably tell, I'm the adventurous one of the family.
My moto is..... It's not that far.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Camper*

Hello Zozzer,

We have not done it with the motorhome, but did do it once where I drove by car to St. Tropez with the kids and Mrs. Came home from her weekend away to find a flight to Nice waiting for her.

I would choose French Cote D'Azur or Riviera for May/June/September :-- Manchester or Liverpool - Nice Airport)

Javea for October / November: - Manchester - Alicante or Murcia
Benidorm for Winter, Manchester: - Alicante / Murcia
Salobrena / Motril / Nerja for a quieter Alternative to Benidorm - Manchester Malaga (Granada is now open in Summer to international flights)

We have stayed in Salobrena and we managed 20c on Boxing day and the day after drove an hour or so up to Sierra Nevada Ski resort where it was -8c and coated in snow.

TM


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## andrewball1000 (Oct 16, 2009)

Hi Zozzer, I have a similar problem and have solved it the way you have suggested. Use smaller airports as it makes the pickup easier for you. The big ones tend to have height barriers and multi story car parks. You can park outside then drive in when you get the phone call or text. Plan an overnight nearby in case the flight is late. They will also be tired anyway.

I have used:-
- Rejus (Ryan air's Barcelona) to both drop off one friend and pick up another then driven to Nice airport to fly them back. Nice not OK for pickup
- Clisson a small station south of Nantes which is too large to pick up. 
- Clermont Ferrand Station to drop off. They went to Paris then home by Eurostar
- Limoges Airport to pick up.

I traveled for 10 weeks last year with 4 different friends who spent max of two weeks each with me. This year 5 weeks with 2 friends. It saves on fuel, ferries & driving. You can also fly them back if they get on your nerves. :lol:


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## rugbyken (Jan 16, 2006)

a mate of mine has a similar problem he's a teacher she's not, so when they holiday he set's off in the van a week earlier. and she flies out, last year she flew into portugal and home from france courtesy of ryan air £50 one way £21 the other.


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## wilse (Aug 10, 2007)

We've done this type of thing before. 

I set off Monday morning after dropping my other half off at work, then I headed for dover ferry, then met up with her at Nice airport on Thursday evening. 

While it might not be best solution if you are short on holiday and want to go a bit further it's a solution.

We were lucky enough to have a scooter with us, so I picked up my other half on the back  no waiting for baggage reclaim as it was on the truck when I left the UK, quick scoot back to the wagon, vin open. Happy days.

I figured we could do Portugal/Italy in a similar fashion... just finding the time to do it!

w


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## an99uk (May 12, 2005)

No, no, no, I think it is a terrible idea.
Why should one person get to travel around having a jollie whilst the other slaves at work. He should be home keeping the house tidy,the laundry done, the garden done, the shopping done, having the evening meal ready in order for the worker to come home and not have to "start again" with the chores 

I would be very miffed/jealous if I had to go to work whilst OH went on a jollie.............


Unless it was me that got to go away and leave himself to go to work :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Zozzer (Aug 13, 2006)

an99uk said:


> No, no, no, I think it is a terrible idea.
> Why should one person get to travel around having a jollie whilst the other slaves at work. He should be home keeping the house tidy,the laundry done, the garden done, the shopping done, having the evening meal ready in order for the worker to come home and not have to "start again" with the chores
> 
> I would be very miffed/jealous if I had to go to work whilst OH went on a jollie.............
> ...


It's not as if I'll be going out a month earlier than my wife, so there won't be much washing up to do when she gets to the MH. :lol: :lol:

Seriously though, thanks everyone for your input. My wife is now warming to the idea and dosn't think I'm crazy afterall.


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