Maldives, Thailand or Barbados with a tween

A vote for Barbados! Submarine trip, Harrison caves, animal sanctuary/flower forest, plenty of water sports, snorkelling to see turtles and ship wrecks,
plenty to do other than sit on the beach all day.
I don’t know what your hotel requirements are but I loved the rostrevor hotel.

Have you considered Vietnam?

@Rubyandscarlett that Malaysian currency. Works out at about £1k a night I think. We went on a very good deal and paid a lot less.

Having said that I’ve got a feeling that February might be the end of the rainy season and I’d avoid that.

I'm surprised that there weren't signs discouraging guests from doing that.

It's not good for wild animals to get so close to humans - they can pick up diseases, become over reliant on people to feed them instead of hunting or foraging and can lose their natural, protective fear.

Monkeys can also become a real nuisance if encouraged eg can pester people for food who don't want to feed them and are intelligent enough to be excellent thieves.

It's about £5k per night? Or have l read that wrong?

Barbados is heaven if you like animals. We rented a villa and after a couple of days, we had the monkeys coming and eating from our hands. So many things to do and see and everywhere within one hour drive. The roads in land are...interesting, but people drive safely and very courteously.

The Maldives is beautiful but boring. Thailand is absolutely amazing and one of the best places I’ve ever been. I haven’t been to Barbados so no comment!

Thailand. My twin teens would be bored in the Maldives.

Had this place booked in combination with Song Saa in Cambodia over Covid but obvs had to cancel.

Song Saa in Cambodia is very Maldivian so if you wanted to combine Thailand and the Maldives, do a week in Thailand (or the Datai) and a week at Song Saa.

if money is no object, have a look at Iniala near Phuket. Depends what you are looking for but for supreme luxury I’ve never been anywhere that compares to one of their original villas.

I would echo how amazing this hotel is. The only place I’ve ever been that is better is the Maldives but I like doing nothing on one of my holidays a year!

Thailand. Maldives is stunning but not much do unless they’re into scuba diving.
Barbados is fine but basically a beach holiday. Thailand has more options to keep a tween busy.

The one I went to is Phuket elephant sanctuary. Look it up. Bathing with elephants is not encouraged and the elephants don't get anything out of it, it's more for the pleasure of the humans. This elephant sanctuary taught us that and that bathing with them isn't actually ethical, the best thing for the elephants is to avoid lots of human contact, you get to feed them but that's it.

www.phuketelephantsanctuary.org

Try this @Bedroomdilemmas113

https://spinthewheel.app/1rdH1UiV7D

Some of them are like that however the one I went to was entirely ethical (Phuket elephant sanctuary) you just need to do plenty of research

The west coast has the best and safest beaches on Barbados. Lovely to swim in and sunbathe on. East coast is directly off the Atlantic so unless you are an Olympic level surfer - not good for swimming in the sea ! But the scenery is great, quite rugged.

West coast also has the “vibe” lots of bars / places to eat and the best hotels tend to be on the West coast ( unless you go to The Crane). Plenty to explore and there are plenty of boat trips to snorkel / swim etc. Plenty to see on Barbados and different scenery depending on whether you are in St Lucy, in the “Highlands” or on the coast.

I’ve been to all 3 and on balance IMO probably more for a tween in Barbados than the Maldives and Thailand.

I've been to all 3 and for me Thailand wins hands down. So much to see, lovely people, amazing food and excellent value for money. I agree with others that the Maldives is great to chill and very Instagramable but if it's photos your daughter is after check out the Phi Phi Islands for a day trip from somewhere like Khao Lak. From Khao Lak I'd recommend trips to Surin or Similean Islands for snorkeling, turtle conservation centre, bamboo rafting, temples, etc. Do your research on the elephant sanctuaries as very few are ethical. Enjoy, wherever you go!

Oh, x-post! Hope you have an amazing time

Of the three I've only been to Thailand, but I think it would be great for a tween. As it's a very popular destination for yoga-loving vegan hippie types (not to be too stereotypical haha) it's easy to check reviews to find out about any obvious human or animal exploitation at tourist attractions. The only downside I can think of is if any of you are particularly sensitive to dirt or smells - it's generally pretty clean, but it is still a hot country where rubbish is left at the side of the road for collection and durian is a favourite snack!

Definitely wouldn't pick the Maldives, that sounds like a boring holiday to me and I'm an adult

If she’d like to learn to dive, Maldives. The diving is superb and if she does her certification it will keep her occupied. Otherwise, I’d choose one of the other two. There’s really not much going on in the Madives other than beaches & diving/snorkelling.

Same. Had many lovely holidays there with dds from very small to teens. Mind you they were water babies very early on, and very keen on water sports when a bit bigger.

I've been to all three and liked them all. Maldives is amazing but I think a tween or teen would be bored unless you picked a family resort.

Thailand is brilliant and cheap. We took both DC when they were 10 and 12 and they loved it. Probably one of our best holidays. Stayed at a Marriott in Khau Lak and stayed bed and breakfast so we could eat out cheaply in the main town.

I took DD to Barbados on a mother daughter week away when she was 12 and I really liked where we stayed ( Hastings) and we went to St Lawrence Gap for an evening for a change. We also did a couple of trips (monkey sanctuary/zoo type place and some deep underground caves). We also got up at sunrise on a Sunday to see the local race horses paddling in the sea. Hotel wasn't amazing but we still had a great holiday.

I took my 17 and 19 year olds to Barbados at Easter and we've loved it. Agree on the hotels (which is usually our preference) so we booked two AirBnBs with sea views (one was in a resort complex).

I've had some lovely holidays but I really liked Barbados. Felt very safe and they drive on the left so it's easy to explore the island. We did lots of snorkelling and boat trips, watched the polo, went on the rum tour, caves, fish fry.

It was also something like 7 hours on the way back due to the tailwind. Only minus is that the supermarket food was crazily expensive (£20 for a tiny pack of ham and £15 for milk). It's probably cheaper to eat out in some cases and there's some amazing restaurants by the sea.

I'd go back again in a heartbeat (and quite a different vibe to Antigua and St Lucia where you can feel a bit exposed outside the hotel).