Thailand or Vietnam?

[HeyDelRey]

I'm planning our first family holiday outside Europe

We'll either be going at Easter or August, as we have dc aged 14, 12 and 8 so are stuck with the school holidays.

I have backpacked in SE asia, albeit 20 years ago, but want to ease the family in. Which would you choose - Thailand or Vietnam?

We like an equal amount of beach and culture, and were initially looking at a week in Sri Lanka and a week in the Maldives. However - this was stupidly expensive and all the travel companies' itinereries made me exhaused just reading them - we're not a 'get up at 5.30am to see the authentic fish market, before a 4hr taxi ride to some caves' family....

Any suggestions?

Thailand is more heavily developed (though still lovely) and has more package holiday style tourism. Vietnam would be my choice. We took our kids when they were 10 and 12 - was fabulous. It was July and weather was mostly very good; just one or two downpours. Check out Selective Asia for suggestions.

Thanks Anne - we're definitely looking at Vietnam now, as Thailand had some terrorism problems last year and I don't want to risk anything going wrong as it's a bit 'holiday of a lifetime...

Would you consider Borneo? You can combine beach with culture and wildlife

Without a doubt Vietnam the mountains of Sapa are so beautiful, Hanoi has so much culture and is so atmospheric Halong Bay is a must see spend overnight on a boat if you can. Hoi An and Hue are beautiful. HCMC is chaotic and the Mekong Delta is a good escape. Prices for hotels are really reasonable.

You need to check the weather for Vietnam. Sapa will be too wet in the summer, but not sure about Easter. Hoi an is dry in the summer, but can be very hot - over 40 when I was there last year. You can visit the ruins at me son about 30 mins away and the old town is beautiful, especially at night. The beach at an bang is not too far away and pretty quiet.
Hanoi can have some rainy days in July, but there are lots of museums, great restaurants and lovely little shops yo keep you entertained during wet weather.
Hcmc is chaotic with insane traffic, but good museums and the tunnels are worth a visit.
Ha long bay is about 3 hours from Hanoi.
Sapa is about 5 hours, but you can also take the overnight train which is really slow, but good fun and you can have a sleeping car for 4 people. Sapa is great for trekking - but does not need to be strenuous.
I love Vietnam - food is superb, it's good value - lots of great small hotels- pretty IMO, except for a some taxi scams and the insane traffic.

I echo swimster's Borneo. Lots to do and beautiful country.

Other option - Cambodia. See the temples and then go off onto one of the smaller islands (Koh Rong Samloem good for families) and relax there.