Once in a lifetime holiday ideas

[Starclocks]

DH and I have been saving for a once in a lifetime holiday for years. It'll be for us and our two DDs who will be 16 and 14 when we go next summer.
We've been lucky enough to have been able to save £250 for this every month for five years, so will have £15k. I can maybe add another £2k on top if I save a bit more each month between now and then.

Originally the plan was Disney Florida. We could do a fortnight there without compromising on anything. All the parks, good food, nice hotel. But the closer we get to it, the more I wonder whether it would be a waste when there is so much more of the world to see.

The kids do like theme parks, and we went to Eurodisney when they were 6 and 8, and had a blast. And I went and was amazed by Orlando as an adult 20 years ago, so I know it's not just for kids. But it's all so fake, and there is the Trump factor and America being such a weird place right now. As a family we have had some amazing city breaks in Amsterdam, Belfast, London, Edinburgh over the years. So we could go to an amazing g city like Singapore or Sydney (or both!). We also love animals and nature, and for this kind of money we could do something amazing in that space - Costa Rica, Borneo, places in Africa.

I am just overwhelmed by the choice and conscious that wherever we pick it will mean not picking all the other places! But this is a big deal for me as I have consciously saved to give us this one big family trip that we will never be able to afford again.

I realise that we are extremely lucky to have this problem. I dont mean to sound goady at all, and we really don't have a luxury lifestyle other than this one thing. It will be our first long haul trip anywhere. And I know that whatever we pick will be great, as all our holidays have been, whether they have been little trips in the UK or France, or slightly bigger ones like our week in Crete last year. But I wonder what gems the Mumsnet give mind can come up with as options.

I loved Sri Lanka. Had a private driver and do three or 4 places. Cities and beach.

Is this possible for £15k for 4 people?

If you went to Thailand you could stay in high end resorts for that money. And Thailand has everything - jungles, nature, tropical beaches, fascinating city and interesting historical sites, temples etc.

How about Vietnam with optional extra into Cambodia?

And oh yes Sri Lanka.

And Canada - from Vancouver over to the island (Tofino) or through the Rockies - absolutely stunning

I’d go to Japan again probably !!

but I find south east Asia is just way better value - you could bum around for a month for fuck all money doing it right - we spent 3 months in thailan, Vietnam, Cambodia, laos when I was on second maternity leave -

we were sometimes only paying 20£ a night for accommodation and food was super cheap as welll.

What kind of holidays do you usually like??

Well clearly, I've never been on it 😂 but the video looked amazing. They didn't mention the cost.

Our last family holiday in 2019 was a road trip around Ontario, Canada. Arrived Toronto, got a car, Niagara, great lakes, Algonquin national park, white water rafting, Ottowa and ended in Montreal. It was about £13k all in for 5 people, including spending money.

This is so hard to answer because Disney is my idea of the worst holiday ever. The pp who said split it up and have lots of lovely holidays is taking to what I'd do. But. If you love Disney, our views are useless

So many ideas, thank you all. I sort of wish I hadn't asked though because there are now even more choices! 🫣

We aren't after luxury. Would much rather spend the money doing stuff than staying in a really nice hotel. And we don't have luxurious tastes when it comes to food and drink either. A couple of treat nights maybe at a nice restaurant, but happy with street food and casual places / picnics most of the time. That saves us a lot of money. On our city breaks we are always in Premier Inns or their foreign equivalent, always nicking stuff from the buffet breakfasts to have for a picnic lunch etc.

It makes me sad that if we do go long haul then probably a third of the entire money will go on flights.

I would do a South African safari! You can do a safari, Cape Town and the garden route! Don’t do August sadly for Cape Town as it isn’t glorious weather…

I second the California or Hawaii trips, done both and both were amazing!

You're not wrong about the flights, but if you go somewhere relatively cheap, hotels and food won't be European prices.

Guatemala. Pyramids, amazing animals, great food, and history, both ancient and modern.

Safety is so so but if you take tours and stay in decent places, it’s fine.

Also the biggest pyramid in the world but that either helicopter or trek for days through tarantula infested jungle but I won’t until there’s a paved road!

We did 3 weeks in Japan for 10000. It's extremely cheap once you're there. It is quite simply the most amazing place. However, it does take a lot of research and planning. You could do the golden route taking in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto. I'd also recommend Hiroshima.

Agree re Sri Lanka or South Africa - lots to see and do and great food and downtime as well.

You will definitely manage really lovely places there on your budget - the drivers in Sri Lanka take you everywhere and are really reasonable.

Did you do an organised tour or do it yourself?

So so many things getting suggested here that will not be achievable for £15k for 4.

“Safari in style” was one - before the flight cost, and choosing the cheapest luxury lodge I could find we were over £20k for a 5 day safari in South Africa. And the flights are not cheap.

“Japan” - with 14 and 16 year olds you’re stuck to school holiday times - this means at least £8k on flights before OP has even chosen anythigg else and Japan isn’t cheap once you’re there.

“Hawaii” - same as Japan.

West Coast and lots of USA I think actually OP could achieve with some good planning. Or Canada.

Writing off the whole of Europe as another poster did was also a weird move. 🤣 You know for very many people we can’t just pop to all of Europe willy nilly and saving on long haul flights could be money well spent in some incredible ways closer to home.

Volcanoes, surfing lessons, turtles, rainforests, hiking, boat trips, amazing scenery. Beaches with wonderful snorkelling.
Fabulous cultural things to visit and learn from. (The right time of year you can go whale watching but not in the summer)
You could do a couple of days on Oahu and visit Pearl Harbor and then I’d spend the rest on Maui. Tons to do.
(Stay in an Airbnb much cheaper than hotels)

Weve done this for under your budget.

Fair point, just checked what we paid and spent and we only had 1 child with us who was 7.

You get all that plus not USA in Central America for a lot less money. And fewer tourists.

not Sure but it was a lot less than I thought it would be.

I was looking at Malaysia as weather is great all year round, for when dtds finish GCSEs but it’s so expensive (5dc including 19 yo dd). When I asked what DDs wanted from a holiday they said swimming, snorkelling and food. I’m thinking Croatia might be better then long haul for dh and I when dc are older and not joining us.

we enjoyed Florida (universal rather than Disney)
we loved Vancouver to Calgary (but have family there).
DDs favourite holidays are Canary Islands and Greece due to all the swimming. I wanted to go to Thailand but that doesn’t work with school terms very well.

We only spend just over 10k on our Japan trip too! We went outside of school holidays though and with a 2 year old which massively brought down the costs (no flight as she was on our lap for starters)

but once there it was easy to keep costs down 1 we had the rail pass so was easy to get around and we never went out for breakfasts just grabbed 7eleven bits

lunch we’d usually do bits on the go too

so dinner was the only main food of the day and it was possible to just get a katsu or a bowl of ramen pretty cheaply

we spent a bit on Disneyland for 2 days / 2 nights - was fun for us and worth it

I think you could maybe pull it off with some careful planning

i’m thinking of similar and Costa Rica really appeals

it was our honeymoon but a safari in the masai Mara was an absolutely incredible experience at the time and is another thing I’d consider doing with (older) kids