Longhaul recommendations for Summer 2017 holiday please!

[TheWildRumpyPumpus]

We are hoping to book a longhaul holiday for the Summer 2017 holidays, and have considered the Caribbean, South Africa, Maldives/Mauritius, San Francisco and Hawaii.

I cant get my head around the weather in various places, and where we are going to get the best mix of things for the children to do, good quality accommodation, and nice beaches etc.

A personal recommendation of travel agents and/or places to go would be appreciated!

Just a point to bear in mind, it will be winter in Mauritius and South Africa...

Yes I've worked that out from my investigations so far!

That's why I was hoping for some recommendations for places to go in Summer that isn't Europe.

We don't fancy Disney etc which the travel agents I've spoken to so far seem to want to push.

Florida keys, west coast of Canada, good time of year for a safari as not too hot and plenty of animals.

How about a few days in Singapore or Hong Kong then Bali, Sri Lanka, Vietnam..?

It might be winter in Mauritius and the Carribean, but if you have small children and dont want to be too hot the weather is great. A bit like a really hot english summer. high 20's to low 30's. You get the odd rain shower but it is warm, not like a rainy english day and it will be sunny most of the time. I used to do this when my DC were small and we had some great holidays in very smart resorts at really reasonable prices.

I loved Mauritius - you can fly overnight, it isnt humid and the time difference isnt a killer. We also did St Lucia (windjammer resort) which was fab.

Agree re Mauritius, great place at great prices.

Don't rate the Caribbean as much as Indian Ocean. Standards don't seem as high.

How old are kids and what sort of things do you enjoy?

Thanks people! We are definitely doing Mauritius in July, just trying to decide on hotel now.

We would like good range of activities both at the hotel (water sports, kids club, spa etc) and nearby for short day trips.

Looking at Outrigger at the moment!

Mauritius is beautiful and a fair bit to do if you like watersports/nature stuff.
Hawaii is amazing, a must is go to the big island to see the volcano, and if possible go to Mauna Kea at night to see the stars/planets. I saw Saturn through the telescope and it was amazing! The snorkelling on Hawaii is great as well as driving the islands. If going to Maui and a confident driver the Hana highway drive is a must. Oahu is great with Honolulu as a base as plenty of shops/restaurants but easy to get elsewhere

Mauritius we stayed at the Heritage Awali, can't recommend it highly enough, we had a fantastic stay, great food, great location, beautiful hotel and lovely staff

we went to Koh samui this summer with our teens, it was amazing.
quite possibly the friendliest place I've ever been to.

it didn't rain once, The sea was like a bath but the air temp was hot (35)

My friend went to Mauritius this July and the weather was cool and windy and consequently the pools were too cold to enjoy. The resort was good apparently but they wished they had gone in the southern hemisphere's summer. It was a very expensive mistake to make.

Also the snorkelling wasn't very good as the sea was murky

Ive been to Antigua, Cuba and Koh Samui in July /Aug with teenagers...beaches in Antigua were amazing, great for snorkelling and some excellent hotels very laid back vibe
Cuba great for culture/ music/ scenery ( food and hotels not as high a standard as other Caribbean Islands...but go there before its ruined by American cruise ships!)
Koh Samui, amazing culture and food, beautiful people and hotels, warm sea ( but not as clear or white sandy as Antigua)...but very hot and humid!
I've been considering Mauritius for next year but believe it not as warm in July/August as Caribbean or SE Asia

We've booked for Mauritius, the temperature that time of year (mid 20s) will be fine for us!

I was seriously considering Cuba, it's on the list for neXt time!

We are seriously considering Cape Verde...

would read some of the comments before you do this cheekymonk. seems like a good place to just sunbathe but not a lot else and can be boring for kids.

Hi mummymeister we have changed our minds and gone for a holiday village hotel in Kos. It was too risky!