Looking for ideas for destination for dream holiday for me and dd.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Come to the conclusion that life's too short and as I have a fair bit of money saved up I think while dd is still wanting to come on holiday with me I'd like to take her for an awesome holiday.

We have fairly differing ideas of what constitutes awesome.

Dd's ideal destination is firstly one which doesn't require vaccinations. She'd like a nice pool, probably a beach and places to see, things to do.

I'd like it to be warm/hot. Safe. I'd like to see different cultures, sights, etc.

Some ideas I've got are Borneo, Vietnam, Thailand, Costa Rica, Nepal, carribean? But I don't know good places/where to go/what to do in those places. Oh and dd says she doesn't want to go anywhere there might be a tsunami or earthquake.

I wouldn't want to just sit on a beach for two weeks.

I'd like to go further than Europe.

I don't want to go Middle East or Egypt or turkey.

I'm leaning towards an escorted/organised tour. I've gone to Thailand in the past on my own with no plans and gone with the throw but with been responsible for dd and it just the two of us I feel I need some sort of safety net. But then all the places like Explore, etc are expensive and also they seem to rush from one location to another every day. I don't want to spend the holiday travelling as I want to relax.

I want somewhere with pool, and beach and rainforest/jungle with canopy walks, elephant treks, wildlife spotting, pony treks, ruined temples, breathtaking sights.

I'd be looking at spending approx 3-4k for the holiday plus food.

Another vote for malaysia, loved it!!

Malaysia!
Madgascar, if you like wildlife too. Awesome population of chameleons, from the tiniest one on earth to giant ones. Deserts to tropical forests.
Nogorogo crater in Tanzania
The Okovango
dH and I spent a week at the PhiPhi island village resort a couple of years ago. Went fisrt week of May (officially low season from May onwards). Paid less than half of usual rates and had one afternoon af rain and water visibility for scuba snorkelling was fine.
If you really want to push the boat out, bora bora of maldives?
Or what about a looooong road trip in the US?
Have a great time planning!

I saw that Explore trip, but you spend 7 out of 15 days travelling. I'm guessi g you don't spend the whole day travelling but is not my idea of relaxing so am now leaning more towards doing something myself rather than a guided/escorted holiday.

Will checkout Madagascar, they have lemurs there don't they?

Don't really fancy mainland Africa as I've spent a lot of time in Uganda already.

If you do Malaysia/Borneo/Langkawi then try and squeeze in Singapore as well. If you visit Borneo, stick to Sabah and Sarawak, dot bother with Brunei, it's very dull.

Australia is amazing for what you want. There are all the usual destinations in Sydney etc for the city sightseeing thing but if you fly up to Cairns and get a bus (loads of these on the internet via wotif.com/au) an hour north to Port Douglas you have a fantastic base for seeing the rainforest and incredible beaches, particularly at Cape Tribulation. I stayed there in a hostel, which was fine - clean and basic - but I think there are some smarter places to stay round and about. The great thing about Oz is how easy it is for what you get: it's properly exotic but everyone speaks English and there is excellent infrastructure. It's quite expensive when you are there because of the exchange rate but if you manage to get reasonable flights it makes the overall cost okay. I went this (British) summer and the weather was wonderful, sunny and warm enough for beach sunbathing and swimming in the sea etc but not overwhelming and sun cream worked fine with no sunburn worries.

I would say Sri Lanka but not stable atm.
many tropical countries would fit the bill, but most of them require vaccinations and malaria tablets.
So I would go to the Seychelles. No malaria there, and the giant tortoises- the size of a dining table on Bird Island are amazing. water is safe, enclosed within coral atoll, brilliant for snorkelling, turtle, dolphins etc.. It's a very safe place, the people are lovely, very friendly, low crime rate, no religious regime.
Seychelles are stunning beyond belief.

Notnow, funny you mention Cape Tribulation. I've just had something pop p on Facebook, someone I know is currently there. She'd gone to Australia but hadn't realised she was in Cairns area. It does look really nice and there's rainforest and beaches but no monkeys!

Madagascar looks out of the running. Expensive and foreign office say not to go due to political unrest.

We are doing the classic Costa Rica trip from Audley Travel: www.audleytravel.com/destinations/central-america/costa-rica.aspx

NoArmarni, that trip looks good. There doesn't seem to be as much travelling as on the other tours I've seen.

I've also found a Costa Rica company which will sort out all your transfers and accommodation. So you tell them what you want to do, they suggest an itinerary, you tweak it to suit. Then you make your own way there and they get you to your first hotel and when you're ready to move on they turn up and move you.

So Ill wait for a price from them as well. Sometimes though I think its cheaper doing an organised tour as they get better discounts, etc.??

I'm torn between Borneo/Malaysia and Costa Rica. Need to get some guide books I think!

I like the idea of Costa Rica been a bit less of a major touristy place though.

When are you going? If you can wait until Jan to book I'll report back to you after I've been.

I got lots of recommendations for Audley and they've been so helpful and given a really personal service

I'd recommend Thailand.

Thailand - spend a w/end in Bangkok and experience Chatuchak market and the big city vibe.

Then head north to Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai (elephant treks, jungle treks etc)

Then head to an island either on the east (Phuket, Phi Phi, Ko Lanta) or west coast (Ko Samui, depending on season) or to Hua Hin, which is a few hours outside of Bangkok for beach.

At 13, she might enjoy a spot of shopping and she will get plenty of that in Bangkok.

I just did Australia this summer and find it really expensive as the AUD$ has gone up against the £.

Don't you need vaccinations for places like Thailand?

Wasn't there a Mnetter posting from Chile a few days ago saying you dont need vaccinations to go from UK to Chile?

South Africa? Botswana? I'd go for Australia in your position.

Not in a hurry to book. We've already booked next summer holiday so really will be looking at Xmas 2014 or Easter or summer 2015.

I think dd may need to get over her fear of needles.

www.sunvil.co.uk/traveller/central-america/costa-rica/example-itineraries#mainContent

We used this company about 7/8 years ago. Good sample ideas depending on your interests.

Arenal is a must to see volcanos and cloud forest nearby.
We particularly enjoyed Lapa Rios on the Osa peninsula. Waking up with parrots, toucans and monkeys on door step. Wonderful isolation.
Your daughter might enjoy Manuel Antonio. Bit busier and touristy.

I love Malaysia, we spent about 3 months there 2yrs ago - although if you fly into Singapore I'd consider skipping KL - head to Langkawi or Perehentians (depending on when you go) for island life then head over to Borneo for orangutans.
Round the world experts have some great flight packages from the UK to SE Asia and then you can use airlines like air Asia to hop from place to place - or the trains and buses are good options - aero line buses have armchair style seats, the overnight trains are fun too.
But vaccinations are recommended - also good insect repellent, as dengue can be a problem.
We did a jungle package with Borneo Eco tours - we got picked up in Sandakan, taken to turtle island, then a river trip down the kinabatangen river for a couple of nights in the rainforest - it included a morning boat trip, & some guided walks.
We also had a couple of nights in royal belum state park which was good.

Cambodia has pretty much all of this.

I want somewhere with pool, and beach and rainforest/jungle with canopy walks, elephant treks, wildlife spotting, pony treks, ruined temples, breathtaking sights.

Costa Rica - very good choice.

Singapore. Beach on Sentosa Island, rainforest, botanical garden, British/Indian/Chinese history and influence. Lots of shopping. Jurong Bird Park, the Night Safari at the zoo. Afternoon tea at Raffles. Walk on the Grand Prix Circuit.

If you want to spoil yourself in Langkawi take a look at The Datai hotel.

Have priced up Costa Rica doing it ourselves and visiting three different places and reckon I'd need about 4k for it all. And that's not expensive accommodation either! So will start saving, reckon we'll go march 2015.

Hopefully school holidays, Easter time and their dry season.

I was looking at a nice Eco lodge on the Osa peninsular and it was $500 a night! I've had to adjust my ideas a bit!

Queensland in Australia, Great Barrier Reef, jungle walks (high in the canopy), little zoos, river boats, loads to do. Port Douglas is lovely, nice hotels there and it wasn't too expensive when we went. We managed two weeks and it wasn't much more than Asia. We spent a day in Singapore on the way.