Where to go 6.5 weeks school holidays trip

Borobadur and Prambanan temples on Java are amazing if you want a bit of a history fix.
Bali...as other person mentioned the north is amazing. North West at Pemuteran there's a marine reserve and the snorkeling is out of this world.
You can get good accommodation for not a lot of money and well above hostel standard!

Soooo exciting, this!! My dream! Personally I'd do long haul as you can do most of Europe if you get an odd weekend in the future any time. You won't get a chance like this again, so I'd go off the tourist trail and really experience a place. For me it would definitely be south east Asia. Cheap to travel around, and cheap to live. I'd be wanting to live like a local. Do tell us what you decide

I went to Northern Bali last year, Tembok. Very different to the south, much less developed. Wish I'd been able to spend more time there, it was amazing. Definitely recommend Bali, only problem is the traffic as their infrastructure isn't great for the amount of tourists, especially in the south.

I really can’t see see £3k per person for 6.5 weeks going very far unless you’re happy with shared youth hostel room from start to finish and graveyard flights @CATH007

Ubud in Bali
Seminyak
Sanur was ok, nothing to rave about

I'd have loved to explore Northern Bali but couldn't because of volcano advice when we were there.

Bali would suit your teens and likes for snorkeling, swimming and culture. We got stuck there 3 days longer than planned when flights were cancelled due to ash and volcano eruption. Something to be mindful of when planning trip insurance with Indonesia.

Japan is expensive and accomodation small! But staying in a Ryokan is a great experience. Okinawa is beautiful. Kyoto has so much to see, we hired bikes and cycled but could easily have spent longer there. Tokyo was busy. Try and check out when sumo is on and book well beforehand if you decide to do Japan. The fish market in Tokyo had the best, freshest sushi 😍

Seoul I wouldn't spend longer than 3 days really.

Guatemala is awesome. I'd love to do a Spanish course there! We did east coast Mexico, Belize and Guatemala and then back up into Mexico along the other side, which ticked a lot of boxes for culture historic/UNESCO sites, swimming, snorkelling and SUP and free diving through mangroves. Teens might like Caye Caulker in Belize, very laid back and chilled.

So many wonderful places.

Bali Indonesia etc

I did 6 weeks in Indonesia in 2017. As you know it's so cheap and easy to travel inbetween the islands. However once you're east of Lombok you're starting to need to think about malaria etc. We did Sumatra, Java and Bali. We were meant to spend more time on Lombok but only ended up flying back out of there to KL.

That budget would be a real stretch in Japan IMO. Does it include flights? It’s only £280 ish a day which even if it doesn’t include flights isn’t going to go far in Japan - you’re presumably talking about two hotel rooms, plus meals, plus trains (not cheap).

Japan is also very hot and humid in summer unless you go north.

The budget would be doable for China and much of SE Asia though. Or Central/S America. But if you need to cover flights in that budget you’re going to need to plan carefully. Long haul flights could be £2-4k of that budget easily.

Interrailing around Europe where you each choose a destination for a week, then the other 2 weeks can be a joint decision between you

I think your budget is ambitious for Japan etc. does it include flights? You’d benefit from moving around less as each flight will add up quickly for 4 fares.

No experience myself but South America has lots of Spanish speaking options and is typically budget friendly. Japan is wonderful but neither Spanish nor budget friendly.

I think as it’s summertime you’ll want to consider what sort of weather you’re targeting. Personally that would rule out anywhere southern Europe and unfortunately much of Japan. My kids are miserable in the heat. So I’d be looking into Northern Europe or South America.

Areas in Asia which are dry - Bali, Borneo, Java, central Vietnam
Have been to Japan and South Korea in July and the heat can be quite debilitating.
one year we did - Hoi An, Hue, Hanoi, Luang Prabang, Bangkok and then Hong Kong. Not everywhere was dry, but plenty to do during the odd downpour!

You’ll need to add in the cost of fines if you take two or three weeks of school time.

Ooo you sound like us in terms of what you like! I’m excited for you, what a fantastic opportunity and the ages of your children will be amazing!

I’d be inclined to spend the majority of the time in Japan, as there is so much to see, although it is meant to be more expensive than a lot of south east Asia. Seoul is high on our list, I’ve heard you don’t need too long there though.

We once combined Sri Lanka and the Maldives, with the Maldives we stayed on a local island instead of a resort though (no alcohol and be mindful of covering up outside of the tourist area but it is a FRACTION of the price!) it takes some planning but that could be another option for some amazing snorkelling trips.

Hope you have the most incredible trip whatever you choose!

Would something like this be of interest?
https://www.goeco.org/area/volunteer-in-asia/japan/family-friendly-wildlife-cultural-immersion/

Based on what you've said, I'd do Japan, south korea and then SE Asia, whichever parts seem interesting to you. China is also visa free entry until end of Dec 26, you could go to Yunnan province from Laos, see Tiger Leaping Gorge etc which is relatively inexpensive.

Maybe a real cultural immersion like this? https://farmerleaf.com/pages/tea-tour

For 6.5 weeks for 3 adults and one child…. Is that including spending money?

has your 15 year old not already started his GCSEs?

Boring practical point - check your house insurance. Most policies have a clause where you can't leave the property unoccupied for more than 30 days and if something happens they will reject your claim. You may need to arrange for someone to spend the odd night in your home or seperate your 6 weeks into two 3 week blocks. Sorry to be a downer (I know people who did similar came home to a burst pipe and insurance said no).

Alternatively you could have an amazing time travelling around Japan with short city breaks either side on the way there/back in Seoul/Hong Kong/Singapore!

I’d probably fly into one country and have a flight out of somewhere else and spend the time travelling between the two. E.g fly into Bangkok and out from Singapore. What kind of things do you all enjoy?

Or what about 3 weeks in Europe and then 3.5 weeks in SE Asia?

You could do something like drive France, Northern Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and fly from there to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia....would be a whistle stop tour but lots of experiences!

😍