Mid July hol, plenty to do and see, not rainy season?

[SixthSenseless]

Any recommendations?

We have one window this year to get on a plane just before the school holidays start, so can possibly afford a more exotic holiday.

Warmth and sun, culture and sightseeing, some activities.

Would S Africa be chilly? Thailand too rainy? Mexico - would prefer to avoid the reputedly touristy Cancun unless someone persuades me otherwise.

Budget about £1500 per person (flights and hotel, B&B), which I see is do-able for Thailand.

Any other ideas?

How would anyone feel about Bali this year?

We went to South Africa in July and it was nice weather but not sunbathing weather, it was jeans and t shirt rather than shorts

Dry areas in se Asia :
Bali
Java
Brunei
Malaysian Borneo
Hoi an in Vietnam, Hanoi ok, Sapa is too wet, not sure about hcm City.

ShanghaiDiva - thank you - can you recommend any [particular places in Borneo? Looks promising!

It depends where you are in South Africa, Cape Town would be a bit chilly (and potentially wet), Durban however is often lovely in July (and dry). I must admit we tend to go there in April.

If you go to Kota Kinabalu you can visit the national park for a tree top walk, hot springs and to climb Kinabalu. There is an orangutan sanctuary at the Shangri la hotel ( the one which is about 30 mins outside town) and it's run by the same organisation as the centre in sepilok. You do not need to be resident at the hotel to visit. There are lots of small islands you can visit from the jetty in kk - busy at the weekend though.
Kk itself is not particularly attactive (bombed by Japanese) and I think Kuching is nicer. Kuching is a great base for kayaking, orangutans in the wild and visiting long houses. Some nice museums and buildings in the town too. Food was excellent everywhere and good value too.
Easy to combine Malaysian Borneo with a quick stop in Brunei. Bandar is not very exciting, but you can do a nice rainforest trek from there.

Just a thought - are you ok with your DC having the required jabs for a more exotic location? We ruled out a similar trip for this reason but you may be bolder than me!