Xmas sun holiday ideas? Tenerife? Thailand?

[strartingtotry]

So I've had a really hard year this year, I don't really like Christmas and I have been away for Christmas many years and love being in the sun instead of stuck at home in the cold.

I normally go to Tenerife or other Canary Islands but the prices for a lovely luxury holiday are around £1,000 each.

I will be going away with my 10 year old dd and I just looked at Thailand and I'm thinking I could maybe get it cheaper than the price of going to Tenerife!

I have always wanted to go to Thailand but am wondering if it would really be suitable for my dd. If I was going with another adult I probably wouldn't stay in a posh hotel and instead would go exploring but with dd I would want to stay somewhere I know is comfortable and safe.

Anyone else going to Thailand with children? Can you recommend the best way to book for example flights and hotels separately? Or package holiday?

Any great family type hotels you could recommend?

You would be lucky to get Thailand at Christmas for that budget. Long haul generally cheaper as a package as the flights could cost you nearly that much. We got good deal with Thomson last Christmas in Mexico. It was FAB 😎

Where in Thailand? Big place.

I'm not sure what part at the moment so I would need to look into which area is best for children.

How about Florida? You don't mention your DD's age, but there's Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World, etc. in addition to lovely beaches.

Sorry! You did mention DD's age. Disney and the rest are perfect for a 10 year old.

Thailand all the way. Head to Krabi not so hectic as some of the other places should be able to find a good hotel for around £40-50 per night but they do start in the low 10’s. Nice beaches/islands to visit few trips out to the surrounding areas eat off the tourist trail and that’s cheep as chips. The only thing you’ll find hard is finding cheep flights that time of year.
We went at Easter and ended up staying for 4 weeks because of the cost of flights during school holidays. Saved enough on the flights to pay for the hotels for the extra week

We looked at The canaries but didn’t look warm enough. Going to Barbados instead got a good deal but taking kids out of school so will have the Fine to content with

somewhereovertherain, we ate thinking of Barbados - where are you going, please?

St James booked an airb&b cottage and flight with Thomson cost is £2.5k for 4

Thailand is amazing for everyone especially children. I've often stayed in guest houses and standards are high. You don't have to pay a lot for accommodation. The locals love children and make a fuss of them.

Thailand is very easy, I would really recommend the north esp. Chang mai. It is much quieter than the south, you get more for your money and there is so much to do.
Like pp we mostly stayed in guest houses, they were clean, cheap and felt very safe.
It is a bit harder to guarantee nice accommodation for a fair price on the islands, it can be a bit hit and miss.

fwiw we didn't go with kids but am planning on taking them in a few years when they're old enough.

mother Where did you stay in Mexico? We've just booked there for New Year

We went to Thailand this year with our DC aged 11 and 8 and they have said that it was the best holiday ever ( although they hated the long flight)

We stayed in a very luxurious and family friendly resort and the price was similar to a fairly ordinary resort in Tenerife.

We went to Khao Lak and flew direct to Phuket as we wanted an easy journey.