First family holiday abroad with 12&11year olds, am I mad thinking of Tunisia in August?

[heavenlydevils]

Have searched for the answer to this question but haven't quite found circumstances similar to mine so thought I'd ask here. I apologise if I get this wrong, first time posting.

Due to our circumstances (basically ill health, work, house moves because of health and such) I have never had the opportunity to take my family on a holiday bar a few odd days in the UK. DCs are of an age where they would like to explore further afield (so would I to be honest!). So, we have made the decision to take the plunge this year. Neither myself, DCs or DH have ever been abroad (therefore, never flown and I am petrified at the thought of it). Having trawled through various locations we have found that Tunisia is within our price range and as we may not be able to go abroad again before one or both DCs decide they're too old to holiday with us (well, it has taken us over 12 years to get this far) I'd like it to be a little bit special, rather than just a pool in a complex somewhere.

We would like fly, somewhere hot and things for DCs to do when they're fed up of the pool and beach. Looks so easy written down but I'm finding this very hard!

So, my question is (bearing in mind I have no idea what I should be looking for and am totally inexperienced in this) would Tunisia be a suitable first holiday for us all (especially DCs) or should I be looking somewhere else before heading to the travel agents?

Hopefully one of you wise people will be able to help me make up my mind!

To be honest, I wouldn't go to Tunisia with kids in August as it won't just be hot, it'll be scorching. We went to Egypt in July once pre kids and we had to go anywhere at the crack of dawn then come back to the air conditioned room for the middle of the day.

Check the temperature and assess whether your dc could cope with it. Our 9yo is fine in very hot temps but our 12yo can't cope with it at all, feels very headachy and nauseous so I has a big impact.

Personal experience of Tunisia not great. I spent a large chunk of my holiday on the loo, despite being cautious as advised. Know several others who have had similar experiences, and a few who had no problems.

I'd recommend Turkey from a cost point of view. We've been back a couple of times now as it's cheap and cheerful and we love the food. Somewhere near a waterpark is our intention this year- the DCs loved it last time.

Yes, I'd forgotten that he trip to Egypt left me with an extra two weeks off work on return due to gastroenteritis!

Our kids loved Turkey too, although eldest still found it too hot. Lots to do, friendly people. Again, similar to Tunisia it's about 40-45oC so very hot.

Thank you both for answering, just the type of answers I was hoping for.

Don't really know how they would cope in the heat as I've only got UK weather to go by, not a great indication. Would like to minimise any chance of tummy problems as I'd feel awful taking them away and them having a really bad first experience. So, Tunisia has gone down the list quite a bit.

I shall have a look at Turkey, any particular area?

I have children a similar age to yours and find cruising works really well. Mine have out grown jumping in the pool all day and love all the activities on board the ships. You could look at ones from the U.k if you can't face flying. Cruises make a fab holiday as everyone gets a bit of pampering and so much is included. Room service breakfast and first rate shows in the evening are great.

if you have never been away before why not just head to france or spain, such a well trodden route, very low chance of failure.. you want to be able to explore, eat out, hire a car, get in to local life a bit, and france and spain are easy, in august you dont have to travel far to get good weather, whats the budget? how about camping??!

Hadn't ever crossed my mind to look at a cruise with kids, that sounds as though it could tick all the boxes to keep everyone happy! Will certainly be looking into that idea! Thanks

Spain also looks very promising, possibly easier to go on recommendations as i know quite a few people who have tried various places in Spain, can't remember anyone having any really bad holiday there. Budget is around £3000, so not the greatest budget but I am looking for 7-10 days so should be doable (just!).

Another vote to avoid Tunisia. That was our worst holiday abroad. It is way too hot in August.

Can I recommend Lake Garda in Italy. You will get lovely weather but it won't be so hot that you won't want to leave the pool. You can explore the lakeside towns by hopping on a ferry, go to Verona, visit Venice (a long day, but doable), eat food you will be familiar with and most of all enjoy the views because it is an utterly beautiful area.

Can you drive? We drive to France every year and love it.

Thank you all for your replies, had a long week so only just had chance to read them.
Update is that we completely ruled out Tunisia and booked a cheapish holiday in Turkey for end of August, seemed a easy, safe option for a first holiday, (was amazed by the huge price difference just by jiggling the days around a bit!)
Ended up having a lot of fun looking through all the places you'd recommended and I will certainly be steering the rest of the family towards a more adventurous choice for our next holiday (providing I make it through this one!), really like the cruise and camping in France ideas, no flying involved!

Thank you all very much, you've really helped me.

Turkey will also be roasting. Make sure you have aircon in the hotel room. I went to Turkey in the middle of September one year and it was over 38 degrees.