Around the World in 80 Days with Jules Verne

01 Jan 2019 • Jules Verne

Tourist walking up a dune, Sossusvlei, Namib Nukluft National Park, Namibia

What are you looking for from a holiday? Do you have any must-haves before you book? When it comes to our big getaways, we’re generally looking for something different to the everyday, from golden sandy beaches to sparkling blue waters.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for inhabitants of an island country, the one thing that most of us are looking for from our holiday is good weather. In fact, 82% of the 2,000 Brits asked listed this as the most important thing about going away.

Here at Jules Verne, we wanted to find out what else makes a perfect holiday for jet-setters. Are we all sun-seekers, or are we looking for the complete package?

If you’re planning your next break, you might be surprised to find out what makes the perfect trip for other holidaymakers.

Getting Active

While laidback, sedate beach holidays in the sun will always be popular, there are lots of us who place importance on getting out and exploring our chosen destination. Almost half of those asked enjoy participating in cultural activities, with 43% of us seeking to discover what the area has to offer.

We’re also keeping active during our break. Over a quarter (28%) have based their holiday around walking trips, and in particular we found that people from Norwich are walking holiday fans (58%), specifically booking their holiday with this activity in mind.

When it comes to the more daring and exhilarating activities such as bungee jumping and white-water rafting, however, we’re a little more reserved. Just 10% consider thrilling activities to be important when booking an escape, and men are twice as likely than women to want to try some of these while they’re away.

Tuck In

All that exercise will build up an appetite, and food is something that also scored highly on the most-important list for tourists. A whopping 72% of Brits are prioritising fine dining and delicious local cuisine above other typical reasons to travel, such as seeing wildlife (32%), and 17% have even taken a trip specifically to eat a certain type of food.

This tops the number of people who’ve been away for a music or sporting event (13%). When you consider that huge tournaments such as the World Cup in Russia and the Rio Olympics have taken place in recent years, it becomes clear that food plays a huge part in our enjoyment while we’re away.

Older Adventurers

It appears that holidaymakers in the older age ranges are the most adventurous, with those in their 40s being the biggest adrenaline junkies. People in the 40-44 age bracket (16%) are most likely to want to try thrilling activities.

Plus, more than one in 10 (11%) of 55-64-year-olds have booked a holiday specifically for an adventure activity – that’s 220 mature travellers attempting things like scuba diving and dune buggy riding!

Middle-aged Brits are the biggest music lovers, too. Those aged 45-54 are twice as likely than those in the 55-64 age group to be booking a holiday in order to see live music. Those aged over 65, meanwhile, are most likely to want to see wildlife, with 41% planning their journey for this reason.

The Sun Seekers

While so many of us are looking for good weather above all else, only 61% of Bristolians are prioritising this when booking their big break, compared with a huge 95% of Glaswegians, revealing that, generally, Scots are basing their holiday around the warmer temperatures.

Interestingly, while those in Bristol aren’t necessarily booking based on the summer heat, many are thrill seekers, with 22% booking adventure activities and adrenaline-themed breaks. Meanwhile, the most cultured travellers are Mancunians (60%) and Nottingham saw the biggest foodies, with 85% prioritising cuisine above all else.

Popular Bucket List Destinations

Whatever the reasons for wanting to get away for a week or two, there are plenty of destinations that will always remain popular. When asked, those surveyed revealed their top bucket list destinations, and the results threw up the odd surprise.

Travelling Route 66 topped the list of holidays. This was closely followed by New York, then – randomly – by Mars. Other popular locations include New Zealand and Australia; the Great Wall of China; and a trip to see the Northern Lights in Iceland.

Wherever you want to go for your next holiday and whatever you get up to, there are plenty of holiday types to choose from and locations to explore.

Food

Having the opportunity to travel not only opens your eyes to new experiences but can lead you to gastronomic delights. At Jules Verne, we have some great 'gastro' destinations, top of the list being Italy famed for it's simple but delicious dishes. For those wanting to experience something a bit different, why not head over to The Grand Tour of Morocco where you can experience the flavours of Berber, Arabic, Andalusian and the sub-Saharan as well as the wonders of the country itself from the Mediterranean right through to the Atlantic.

Walking

Unsurprisingly, many of the top walking destinations chosen by our panellists are within the Jules Verne portfolio of destinations.

Peru features high with the Lost World of the Incas while the Great Wall of China is covered within the Highlights of China.

Culture

Culture is at the core of our escorted tours around the world's greatest destinations including taking in the wonders of the Venice Carnival. South East Asia is well covered by the Grand Tour of Indochina where you take in the Mekong, visit the temples of Angkor Wat and see the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An.

Adventure

While our escorted tours are more gentle than some of the adventure destinations listed below, Jules Verne visit many of these countries for the extraordinary experiences our clients have had with us including the rose-red city Petra and Secret Morocco that takes you to the High Atlas mountains and to the foot of Mount Toubkal, North Africa's highest mountain.

Solo

At Jules Verne, we listened to our customers and have introduced no single supplement where the group is comprised only of single travellers on selected tours and departures. Solo travellers can enjoy many of our escorted tours that allow them to see a wide variety of the stunning destinations we cover.

Wildlife

Travel and the opportunity to experience not only new cultures but also be exposed to different climates and wildlife is naturally at the top of the list of many of the panellists we approached. At Jules Verne, our escorted tours let you immerse yourself in new adventures including one of our Latin American top sellers Splendours of Ecuador where you can see three different climates in one journey that includes the high Andes, the remote lowlands of the Amazon and the must see Galapagos Islands.

Music

Travelling for music and festivals is a growing phenomena - music aficionados will not limit how far they are prepared to travel to listen to their favourite music. Festivals are becoming not only larger, more open to all ages but are also huge cultural events - classics like Burning Man and Coachella will continue to grow in popularity.

Sport

It comes as no surprise that as a nation of sport fans, we would also like to combine travel with sporting events. New Zealand, the land of the long white cloud and the mighty All Blacks and while our Sri Lanka holidays may not be able to take in a Test Match, you are bound to see plenty of people playing what is Sri Lanka's most popular sport.

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