Bucket list holidays with teens

[WutheringTights]

Awake with peri menopause anxiety and the latest is the realisation that we likely only have 4 or 5 summers left with our eldest. We’ve mainly holidayed in the UK since they were babies and done very little travelling with them because of other priorities. I’m thinking about what holidays we could do over the next 4/5 years, before they no longer want to come with us.

Currently considering;
California - went there before kids and it’s an amazing place, would prefer to go once Trump is gone though
Japan - never been there, know nothing about it but everyone seems to rave about it
European inter-railing - everyone I know who has done it, loved it

We are not beach people and don’t like it when it’s too hot. We like looking around places. We recently enjoyed a city break in Istanbul. DH and I travelled a lot pre-kids but never to beach resorts.

Where do I start? What are the best holidays with young/pre-teens? Thanks. Xx

Mine enjoyed Sri Lanka & Thailand. They also really enjoyed California (although there was a lot of time in the car). This was during Trump's first presidency & people kept apologising for his existence. That said, I now won't go until he's no longer president.

Thanks. California has been on my list for a while. I think they’d love it. I want to hire a Winnebago.

What is it like to visit Sri Lanka and Thailand? What kind of things did you do there?

Japan was awesome with teens and highly recommended, we also massively liked Austria staying in zell am see. Although I didn't go DH took teen into Budapest and came home via Istanbul travelling across Europe via trains

I've been in the same mindset. Going on a European city break tomorrow (hence insomnia now) and we have a Summer holiday booked too, all very much with the knowledge that it's probably DSs last. Our summer holiday involves a few stops including Zell am See (snap! @Landlubber2019 ) and a tacky beach resort at DSs request. As soon as we booked it DS was promoted to a different team in his sport and their schedule clashes with beach part of our holiday so it looks like he may not come at all. We are all gutted. We won't know for sure until the few weeks before but I'm sorry now I built it up in our heads as his last.

A few years ago we did the bucket list thing and in particular we wanted to do a big holiday, long haul. We proposed Thailand but all 3 kids were totally uninterested. It's really hard to balance different interests and personalities. Instead we booked more city breaks and in the past few years went at Easter to New York, Paris, Berlin and now Amsterdam. Then we've done a European sun holiday which they enjoy but usually we do a few days of cultural stuff before the beach.

I’ve been thinking long-haul because we haven’t done that with the kids, but, tbh, I haven’t really enjoyed many of our long haul holidays. Not enough to justify the price, anyway. I definitely want to take them to California, but I like the sound of your city breaks and I’m thinking that might actually be the way to go.

I think I’m saving New York for when they’re older teens, as a way of tempting them to come away with me!

Its also tricky because I feel like we did a lot of travelling before kids and I’ve half an eye on retirement, house deposits and university fees, so I’m struggling to justify spending megabucks on holidays at the moment. [Edited to add:] On the other hand, I feel like if we don’t do it now we’ll miss the chance, as they’ll soon be off doing their own thing.

Ohh following for post-GCSE inspiration!

Japan was amazing with my teen - we did it a few years ago during October half term and it wasn't as expensive as I had anticipated

Mine loved Iceland the best. We went in winter.

Japan is on our list

Favourites to date have been
Vietnam/Thailand
Singapore/Malaysia/Borneo
Canada
Iceland

Dependent on budget - safari! We've been 3 times and it's incredible.

Vietnam/Hong Kong was another brilliant trip.

Other than that we've done Japan, lots of road trips in America, Canada, India, Jordan and lots of Europe. I don't think we've ever had a bad trip - there's always something to do. Vietnam and South Africa would probably get my ultimate vote although it's a tough choice!

I would say:

Canada - Vancouver/Vancouver Island
Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong in one 3 week trip
Namibia - self-drive safari was incredible
Japan in summer

Ooo. Had forgotten Iceland. Thank you!

Other constraint is that we’re limited to two weeks max (ideally less) because of the dog…

Not currently but would recommend a USA road trip. We went with our teen at 15 and visited loads of national parks, including Grand Canyon. She was at the right age to appreciate it all, and it was one of the best memories of my life. However, won't go back til he's gone

I did this with my parents as a kid and it's still my favourite holiday memory of all time

Can anyone recommend a budget-friendly long haul destination that would seem like an amazing "bucket list" place but is actually quite cheap 😄 My daughter wants a post-GCSE holiday to somewhere TikTok-worthy but I'm broke

@XelaMwhat is the budget and dates?

Boating - narrowboat or Norfolk Broads (or even abroad, eg France).

Norway by train.

Ooh I am going to zell am see this summer with 2 teens. Good to hear

We are very keen to do Japan with our teens! Could I trouble you for a very high outline itinerary that you did? 🙏

My eldest asked to go to Athens. It was one of the best times we had as a family. We will also do Paris, Rome and whale watching either in Iceland or Norway. Other holidays to relax, we usually go to Greece as there are so many places and can mix beach with site seeing plus we love the culture. We can’t go long haul at the moment due to circumstances but if that and money were no object, I’d probably suggest Australia to them.

We last did California during Trump’s first presidency too, the political situation really wasn’t a massive issue back then and at no point did I feel uncomfortable. Many people were certainly unhappy with him but there wasn’t the distinct civil unrest that you see nowadays. Recently returned from the US and the difference in that time period is staggering. Hostile politics everywhere, you literally can’t escape it. I couldn’t wait to leave and won’t be back until he’s gone.

Mine enjoyed Guatemala, Sri Lanka and Georgia, but our favourite holiday was camping in Namibia. We hired a Toyota Hilux with two roof tents and drove around. The country is set up for camping, loads well provisioned sites. Etosha is amazing for wildlife, Shipwrecks on the skeleton coast are fascinating, Naukluft is great for mountains and the Sesriem canyon. The dunes at Sossusvlei are impressive and Deadvlei is awesome. Lots of great tours on quad bikes. Our teens loved it.

Currently on one. Teens are loving it, are engaging and really grateful. It's been lovely seeing them experience it and they can cope with the heat and lack of not knowing better than when they were younger.
We're in Malaysia for the Easter holidays. Kl, Penang and will finish in Langkawi.
However over the last few years we've also had city breaks in Rome, Amsterdam, Athens, Verona and Cassis which have all been a big hit.
Our last big holiday was a road trip - Washington, DC, New Jersey, Connecticut, Cape Cod and Boston. Which was amazing but wouldn't do that now due to politics.
I'm very grateful that we've been able to have these experiences with them as we too don't have many left.

Fly drive through Georgia and Florida - we saw and did so much in two weeks. You see a lot more when driving. We stayed in Atlanta, Orlando and Miami. Our kids were still primary aged. Would have preferred if they were teens. I dont think you shouldn't be panicking, you are at just the right age.

Definitely Sri Lanka