Kids left home? Use your Avios for the trip of a lifetime

The destinations below suit couples travelling independently. All connect to the British Airways network without overly complicated routes, and each works best for an unhurried itinerary that’s simply not possible when travelling with kids. Here are some of the best holidays for couples who’ve just waved the kids off.

An African Safari

The African safari dream is much more achievable when you don’t have to plan around school holidays, family rooms and the terrifying Avios total for four seats in Business Class.

There are three entry points if you're planning an African Safari. Cape Town is our pick if you want the trip to feel like a proper grown-up escape. Give yourself a few days for good food, Table Mountain and the Winelands, then head out on safari. Couples also have more freedom to choose smaller lodges, longer game drives and properties that would have been a harder sell with children in tow.

Johannesburg is the main gateway to Kruger National Park, which is at its best between May and September when the dry season drives animals to waterholes and the vegetation thins enough to make sightings reliable. Better still, you’re not necessarily tied to the exact peak school-holiday dates, so you can be a bit more tactical with both reward seats and lodge availability.

Nairobi is the starting point for the Great Migration. The wildebeest cross the Mara River between July and October, but the exact action is never guaranteed, so flexibility helps here more than almost anywhere. The animals, annoyingly, do not work to your itinerary.

Note: Kenya requires a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate if you’re arriving from a country with a risk of transmission, so check the latest rules for your route before you fly.

South Africa also has malaria-free safari reserves, which can be a good option if you’d prefer to avoid antimalarial medication. If that matters to you, check the malaria risk for the specific reserve before booking.

Africa costs 198,000 Avios return in Business Class, with a cash component of £599 (around £499 from Nairobi). It’s one of the lower-priced long-haul redemptions on the British Airways network, which makes it a strong candidate as a first major Avios Business Class trip for couples who have not redeemed points at this level before.

Business Class also makes a lot more sense on this trip than it might have done when every redemption had to cover the whole family. You’re dealing with a long overnight flight, followed by transfers and very early mornings once you arrive. Starting a safari already exhausted is a false economy.

Key Tips

• Kruger is especially good between May and September, when the dry season makes wildlife easier to find.
• Private lodges are usually the first to book up, so aim for around six months ahead if you want a good choice and fewer safari vehicles turning up at the same sighting.
• The Masai Mara migration is best between July and October, with August and September usually giving you the strongest chance of seeing river crossings.
• Check the latest Yellow Fever vaccination requirements before you travel.
• If this is the safari you kept postponing while the kids were at home, do not rush it. Add Cape Town. Add the Winelands. Stay the extra night. You’ve already waited this long.

Japan

Japan is a great post-kids-at-home trip because you can finally plan it around Japan, not the school calendar. That means chasing cherry blossom season if you want it, swerving the peak crowds if you don’t, and spending enough time in each place to avoid turning the whole thing into a rail-based military operation.

Tokyo can easily keep you busy for a week, but the easy day trips are part of the appeal. You’ll find Hakone at 90 minutes from Shinjuku on the Odakyu Romancecar, which gives you Mount Fuji views, ryokan hot springs and the Hakone Open Air Museum.

Kyoto is just over two hours away by Shinkansen, but it feels like you’ve landed in a different version of Japan. Try to tackle Fushimi Inari at dawn, before the torii gates turn into a human traffic jam, and Arashiyama is much the same: go early, enjoy the calm, then feel smug when the tour groups arrive.

A ryokan is also an indulgence that becomes easier when you’re booking for two. Prices vary wildly, from around 18,000 yen per person per night at the lower end to 80,000 yen or more at the established inns in Hakone and Kyoto. Spring cherry blossom season and November foliage are the obvious crowd magnets, so book two to six months ahead if those are your dates. You’ll usually get more choice and fewer elbows in your photos outside those windows.

Key Tips

• Book good ryokans early in spring and autumn. This is one part of the trip where paying a bit more can really change the experience.
• The Odakyu Romancecar from Shinjuku to Hakone is not covered by the JR Pass, so budget for that separately.
• Kyoto also deserves proper time.
• Fushimi Inari and Arashiyama can fit into one day, but trying to cram the rest of the city around them is a fast way to turn sightseeing into an endurance test.

Japan will set you back 220,000 Avios return in Business Class, plus £699 in cash. This is one route where we’d be very tempted to spend the extra Avios. London to Tokyo takes around 12 to 14 hours, and Japan is not exactly a sit-still destination once you land. Starting the trip rested has real value here.

Buenos Aires

Want to go off the beaten track? Why not try the Paris of South America for a romantic getaway? It has the grand boulevards and old-school cafés, but also late dinners, proper tango, and a pace that makes you realise how aggressively over-scheduled most trips are.

We’d recommend spending Sunday in San Telmo. The Feria de San Telmo takes over Defensa Street with antiques, street food and tango that gets livelier as the afternoon rolls on. Bar Sur is the tiny, old-school option if you want something intimate, while El Viejo Almacén is the place to go if you prefer your tango with a bit more theatre.

La Biela café on Quintana has been a Buenos Aires institution since the 1950s and it’s right across the avenue from the famous cemetery, so it’s an easy stop when you want a slower afternoon with coffee instead of another checklist.

Puerto Madero is close enough to wander over from San Telmo. The star turn is Puente de la Mujer, Santiago Calatrava’s tango-inspired footbridge, which has become one of those landmarks everyone photographs for a reason.

The best thing about Buenos Aires is that you don’t need to rush it, which is why it’s great for a couple with no fixed obligations.

Buenos Aires costs 242,000 Avios return in Business Class, with a cash component of £670. It’s the highest-priced redemption on this list, but also one of the most rewarding ones in terms of what the city delivers for couples who enjoy food, architecture, history, and an unrushed pace of life.

Key Tips

• Bar Sur opens from 8.30 pm Monday to Saturday, and has only 28 seats. Don’t just turn up on the day. Book ahead to avoid disappointment.
• Save Sunday for the Feria de San Telmo along Defensa Street, then make time for Recoleta Cemetery, which is open daily from 09:00 to 17:00. International visitors need a paid ticket; unguided visits are free for Argentine nationals and residents. Check current ticket charges before visiting.
• Give Buenos Aires at least five days if you don't want to end up missing important things because of a lack of time.

Rio de Janeiro

It's never a bad time to shake a leg and put on your dancing shoes. While you're at it, why not start with the birthplace of the modern urban Samba?

The obvious sights in Rio are obvious for a reason. Christ the Redeemer is the big one, and the cog railway up Corcovado is part of the experience. The statue stands 30 metres tall, 710 metres above the city, and has been pulling crowds since 1931. It was also voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007. Try to book tickets and train slots for the cog railway through tremdocorcovado.rio seven to 10 days in advance during busy periods.

Sugarloaf Mountain is the other must-do, and we’d suggest timing it for late afternoon. It’s 396 metres high and has been running cable cars since 1912. Arrive around 4.30 pm to catch the transition from daylight to sunset, and the city lights turning on below. You wouldn’t want to miss that view.

The famous Selarón Steps are easier to work into a day around Lapa and Santa Teresa, and they’re much more fun when you’re not trying to shepherd a family group through 215 tiled steps while keeping everyone fed and hydrated.

As for beach time, Copacabana is the famous one, but Ipanema is the one we’d pick if you want to slow down and watch Rio happen around you. Then, once you’ve had enough sand, Tijuca National Forest gives you a complete change of scene without leaving the city.

Key Tips

• Make sure to book the Christ the Redeemer train well in advance in peak season, because those slots can disappear fast.
• Save Sugarloaf for late afternoon and catch the city at sunset from the cable car.
• The Selarón Steps are best tackled in the morning, before it gets too hot.
• Give Rio at least six full days if you can; you can thank us later.

Rio de Janeiro costs 220,000 Avios return in Business Class, plus £599 in cash. The flight from London is approximately eleven hours, depending on routing, so it’s one of the easier long-haul trips on this list to justify in Business Class.

Mauritius

A little sun and sand sounds just about right after years of packed lunches and school runs. The island includes different coastal areas that suit different types of couples. Trou aux Biches is a great pick if snorkelling is high on the list. The north-coast lagoon is calm and shallow, with clear water close to shore, so you don’t have to venture far to see much.

Belle Mare is quieter and a little more polished, with higher-end resorts and a proper open-ocean feel. Ile aux Cerfs is the classic East Coast day out, and we’d give it half a day. Blue Bay Marine Park is the pick for reef time in the south, especially if you still have enough energy left to do something before lunch.

Mauritius is one of the few long-haul destinations where doing very little is the point. There’s no need for the type of intensity Tokyo or Buenos Aires require. What it provides is a week at a resort with a good beach, good food and a coral reef within reach, which, for many couples, is exactly where to travel when the kids leave home.

Key Tips

• The window from May to November is best for planning a trip to Mauritius, as there's lower humidity and plenty of sunshine.
• Blue Bay Marine Park is a perfect stop for snorkelling, and you can hire gear locally.
• Ile aux Cerfs is easiest to reach on an organised catamaran trip from the east coast.
• December to April is hotter and comes with a higher cyclone risk, so May to November is usually the safer bet.

It's best to book early if you want to book a Business Class seat with Avios. Mauritius is a popular destination during the European summer, so the most sought-after dates don’t remain for long. A return in Business Class costs 220,000 Avios plus £599 in cash. The flight from London is around eleven hours, and Mauritius is only three to four hours ahead of the UK, depending on the time of year, so the time difference is fairly gentle.

Quick Look:

Final Thoughts

Bucket list holidays for couples are often the best use of Avios because you can finally spend the points on the trip you’ve wanted for a long time. If you’re wondering where to travel when the kids leave home, our advice is simple: pick the trip you kept postponing and use the points on the bit you used to talk yourself out of.

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