My twitter and bloglovin feed has been full of these blogs, everyone has been desperate to share their up and coming plans for 2014. As I was reading through some I couldn’t help but feel I have a lot of plans for 201 but nothing concrete. Well this week that all changed and so I would like to share with you not only my plans for 2014 but where I’m actually going this year.
Scotland
If you are a regular reader to my blog then you will know that I recently moved up here for ten months and am desperate to see as much as possible in that time. For New Year I spend a night up in Arrochar on the West Side of Loch Lomond and this weekend I am off to Crieff – to get high tea at the Hydro and explore this beautiful little town. Aside from short weekend trips come March the boyfriend and I will be packing up my car and road tripping around the North for a week. Isle of Skype is high on the agenda, but where else would you recommend? I’m also hoping to get on the slopes before the snow disappears but that’s only a plan right now. Come summer I will have the Commonwealth Games to enjoy as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Australia
Bet you didn’t see that one coming? I certainly didn’t! Back in November I entered a competition on Gapyear.com – all I had to do was enter my best backpacking photo, easy. I was then selected as a finalist and had to make a video to sum up backpacking. I didn’t think any more of it after I saw how many views and likes the others were getting until a few days before Christmas I received an email to say I had been selected as the most creative winner! So come February I will be flying out with the other winners for a weeklong trip to the Gold Coast. It is somewhere I didn’t spend much time last year when I was in Oz so I’m excited to see some where new. Not only that but we will be doing activities and challenges for the week to see who the overall winner is of the: I’m a backpacker competition and I couldn’t be more excited.
Greece
Easy Jet had a sale at the beginning of this week and I jumped straight on the chance of grabbing a cheap flight to Europe. I certainly wasn’t disappointed when I found Glasgow-Kos for £130 return. I am not normally a person to book a flight without researching the destination for days first but this time I didn’t have days to research it. So just like that I pressed pay on the flights and felt very excited at finally heading to a new country. Having done some research since I have seen a day trip to Turkey or other islands is possible. As well as figuring out which parts of Kos are quiet and which part is for partying – luckily we are going in April before high season starts anyway. If you have any recommendations for Kos I would love to hear them!
Ireland
It feels disgraceful saying this but I have actually never been to Ireland despite living in the UK! This year my mission is to head over to Dublin for a weekend, nothing mad as I’ve head it’s a pretty pricey place. The flights from Glasgow are super cheap making it a more affordable destination this year and for me another new country. If you have any advice for a weekend in Dublin I would love to hear it.
Of course I will also be spending time at home in the New Forest and no doubt a trip or two to London will be on the cards. However come September I will be moving back to London to start a degree at Roehampton University – I finally accepted my place this week.
Some places that are in the plans but may not work out…
Iceland, Norway or Sweden
I am desperate to get to one of these winter wonderland countries, sleep in an ice hotel, see the northern lights and just generally appreciate the landscape. Unfortunately getting there from Glasgow does not work out so cheap nor would it be possible to visit for just the weekend (which is all the holiday my other half has left until August). I’ll cross my fingers and hope for the best – if not there is always next year.
France
When I knew we were moving back to the UK I thought we would visit France at least two or three times this year because it would be so close. Then we found out we would be living in Glasgow and suddenly France wasn’t so close any more. Furthermore my car insurance doesn’t cover me to drive over there. Still as my boyfriend’s mum has a cottage over there we are still hoping to make it over there at some point this year!
Baseball in Detroit back in 2011
America
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said I’ll go back since 2011 and it’s still yet to happen. I now have friends spread across the states from Seattle to Detroit and a week’s trip just won’t be enough. Factor in the cost of flights and a week seems even more pointless. This August/September we could potentially have three weeks to visit friends in America and possibly visit somewhere new too. Will I get there? I’m honestly not sure.
So there you have it, my plans and where I’m actually going in 2014.
Are you going to any of the same places? Or do you have any tips for me on one of these destinations? Leave me a comment below.
Sounds like you’ve got a great year coming up! Congrats on winning the Gapyear.com competition, it sounds like it’s going to be an amazing trip. And Iceland is incredible! Really, really incredible so I hope you manage to make it there!
Wow, sounds like so much fun! You are certainly making the most of your year, that’s for sure. And that’s so awesome you won the Gap year competition! If you’re interested, check out where we plan to go in 2014 >> http://double-barrelledtravel.com/planning-adventures-for-2014/
Looking like a good year! I would love to hit up Iceland, too. How awesome is it that you won the competition! Amazzzzzing!