What holiday would you say was great for a family with children aged 10+ ?

[NotMostPeople]

I'm struggling to find the perfect holiday and really want to get it right next year so wondered if anyone can help or we can pool ideas?

My three dcs are aged between 9-13. The oldest has been very bored on our last two holidays and I'm not sure if we should take this into account or just accept she's just at that age. I would like a holiday that's relaxing for the adults with great food, warm but not boiling and isn't full of Brits abroad looking for Ye Olde English Pub. The dcs like to make friends so I don't think renting a villa is a good option, it would be great to be somewhere where there are things for them to do. We have done the Keycamp French campsite thing and it was good but we would prefer not to be in a caravan. We have also done the 5 star hotel thing which was lovely for the adults but dull for the dcs.

Any ideas?

I don't have any ideas but I DO think you need to accept that 13 is 13 and they're very rarely happy with anything. "Getting it right" is impossible as so many factors can change that you're not in control of.

My advice is to please yourself and go where you want to...a beach and a pool plus other DC should be the recipe for success as far as pleasing the kids imo.

If they moan and they're on a nice holiday then they need a talking to!

You have to balance your dislike of Brits abroad with the DCs need to socialise. I have two teenagers and while cosmopolitan hotels would be my choice they find it frustrating when the other kids are mainly German/Dutch.
This year we had a cheap and cheerful week in Lazarote, AI and mainly British and Irish guests. Also a week in Majorca in a much better hotel but no other British guests. Guess which one they preferred?
What about 5* with activities?

Where did you stay in Lanzarote Secret Squirrel?

Tenerife
Centreparcs.

I second an AI in Lanzarote. Went to the H10 Rubicon Palace in June with DC 10 and 9 and they had a great time - it was the most relaxing holiday DH and I have had in a long time.

We had a lovely holiday in Majorca and the apartments were in a wonderful position just across the road from the beach and the restaurants/shops were 5 minutes walk.Lots of activities for older children i.e watersports,scooter/bike hire.Have a look at On The Beach.com and check out the Playa Moreia in S'illot, very reasonably priced.Swimming pool only small but when the beach is a stones throw away it really is not an issue.

We're always coming up with holiday ideas and then saying 'we'll do that when the Dcs are 10 or so'. The things we imagine doing (but may find are totally inappropriate when we get to that point) are:

Australia with a stop over at Hong Kong on the way. Then Sydney, followed by driving to more rural areas.

New York - Boston - Washington

Auschwitz

Thailand

Ladyemem It was HL Club Playa Blanca.
As I said, low budget 3* (but no football shirts). Spacious bungalows and lovely grounds and pool. Food as you would expect for the price, daytime activities for all ages. Evening entertainment as dire as usual when done by in house animation.
I think it cost us under £2000 for a week AI in school holidays.

Florida, cape cod or Louisiana and Mississippi.

1. Not Disney Florida but Tampa bay beach Florida, with a car visit NASA etc. panhandle is brilliant and gorgeous! Tallahassee and the emerald coast packed full of swamps and springs.

2. Cape cod is beautiful and again loads to see and do and relaxing, province town is lovely.

3. Louisiana full of history, music and culture. New Orleans is magical and really is fun. Maybe better when a bit older.

It's all like being on a film set, they'd love it.

What about a city break, or including a few days in a city into your holiday. Barcelona has loads of things to see and do for all ages. You could spend a few days there and then a few days in a relaxing hotel for the end of the holiday.

Lake Garda

We went this year and took the ds's but not teen dd. we will deffo take her next year as there was so much to do and see. We met lots of parents with teens having a great time.

It's very safe so they can wander off and do stuff
No nasty chav Brits abroad anywhere, or pubs showing only fools and horses etc
Lots of cities to visit nearby (Milan, Verona, Venice).
Ferries to anywhere on the lake
Gardaland (theme park if you like that sort of thing)
Swimming in the lake, or snorkelling, hire you're own boat and enjoy

We are going again next year, no where else has come close

Huttopia campsites in France are nice - they have two storey "cabines" as well as caravans/ tents etc... Which are a bit more spacious. Mix of Brit, French, Dutch and German families and kids made friends easily.

I would go for a mix of city and beach/lake/river holiday e.g. Barcelona + Sitges, or Paris + south of France. Plan for a few activities e.g. Kayaking, horse riding or off-road segway (plus theme park/waterpark
if you can stand it) as well as days of lazing and "cultural stuff" (...as my kids say..).

What do your DCs want to do on holiday? Can you work out a trip that has something for everyone?

Since our kids have been teens, we've done a variety of things. Don't know what your budget is, so apologies if any of these are inappropriate.

Thailand/Phuket (reasonable once you get there) and we did white-water rafting/kayaking around islands etc.. as well as hotel-flopping by the pool.
Dominican Republic All Inclusive - met some nice families with similarly-aged kids which diluted the amount of time we had to talk to each other!
Barbados - went with 3 other families and rented 2 villas. 8 adults and 8 teens from 12-15! Worked well, actually. Lots of water sports/beach stuff and opportunities for sub-groups to do their own thing too.
Self-catering cottage in Devon with our new puppy (so couldn't go abroad). Traditional British seaside holiday. Nice.
Yorkshire Dales (just short of a week. Hiking and so forth. Didn't get dd's vote, but she "tolerated" it!
California road trip - whole range of different activities to tick all our boxes - national parks, activities, theme parks, beach, shopping, pool etc..

What we've found invaluable, despite dh's annoyance about it, is to make sure they have laptops/access to wifi. It's kind of inevitable really, that teens want to stay in touch with their mates so, as long as you limit the amount they're on, it's a worthwhile trade-off to avoid them sulking for a fortnight from withdrawal symptoms.

I have just got back from my 3rd cruise and my young teenagers and myself had an absolutely fab time. We also find activity/sightseeing holidays work really well. My boys have grown out of swimming and beach all day but enjoy it for a few hours after doing something else. Holiday destinations that have worked for us have been Cape Town , Brazil and Argentina. We chose things to do in these places and had no moaning.