Unless you are earning a pretty hefty salary, you will no doubt be planning your vacations at least 6-12 months in advance so that you can make sure that you have saved up enough money to take yourself, or your family, away for some relaxation, fun and sunshine. Personally speaking, I always like to try and do something a little bit special with my family, every 3 years, we will take budget-style breaks to a sunny climb in the years in between and then we go big.

For this reason I wanted to talk a little about some ideas for you to think about if you want to go on a truly special vacation next year, so that you have plenty of time to save up. Here then, are some of the awesome places that I have taken my family to in recent years, in the hope that you can gain some inspiration.

Vietnam

As part of an Asian tour which we did a few years back, we went on an amazing holiday to Vietnam and it was one of the countries which blew me away the most.  This country is packed with welcoming people, beautiful food and amazing history which is just waiting to be explored. I particularly enjoyed the buzz of Hanoi and whilst ‘enjoyed’ is possibly the wrong word, the memorials from the Vietnam war and the tunnels are a truly sobering experience which I would recommend that you do. The jewel in the crown for me was touring around Halong Bay which offered some of the most stunning views that I saw throughout Asia.

Florida

Heading to Florida with a family takes careful planning and plenty of saving if you want to do it just right. This US state offers you and the family that chance to have one of the greatest adventures of a lifetime with dozens of amazing theme parks, beaches, the Everglades and exciting cities like Miami and Orlando to enjoy. Florida does not come cheap however and if you want to do it in style, then now is the time to start planning for 2018.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Now that my kids are a little older, I wanted to take them somewhere special where they could indulge themselves at the beach and enjoy a cocktail or two with us at night. We love to relax by the sea and instead of just hopping over to an all-inclusive in Greece or Spain, we decided to go and see what the Caribbean had to offer in the Turks and Caicos Islands. There are not enough words in the English language to describe accurately how beautiful a place this is, and from white sand to turquoise waters, this place had the whole nine yards! These islands were exactly the image that I had in my head when someone mentioned Caribbean holiday to me and the service for tourists here is absolutely outstanding, great hotels, beautiful food and a landscape that is truly to die for, if you want Caribbean luxury then Turks and Caicos is for you.

What was the most special vacation that you have ever been on? Let us know in the comments below.