Find me a destination!

[Ibrowse]

We want to go somewhere interesting in the first half of July this year. We like beautiful landscapes, forests, water, adventure, old buildings and culture, coasts, animals. Not interested in shopping, any women-unfriendly cultures, being hassled, deserts, disney-type things.

Flights and accommodation around 1-1.5k pp if possible. 10-14 days. Would like it to be more exciting than Spain or Greece!

We have no idea where to start to look so thought we shold ask on here . Thank you!

Following, but I would suggest Costa Rica, you might struggle on that budget but worth looking - has almost all of that except the old buildings (IMO)

Austria?

Croatia??
Malta

Slovenia?

I'd second Austria. Won't be as warm as the med but it's great for a family holiday. You could do a couple of days in Salzburg then head to the likes of zell am see for time at the lakes and mountains. It great!

Hmm. Hadn't thought about Austria or Malta. Have done the other European ones .
No sure we could do Costa Rica on our budget, but somewhere like that but cheaper would be absolutely perfect!

Any more suggestions?

I'd second Slovenia.

Alpine scenery and lovely coastal towns.

Corsica?

Lake Bled in Slovenia?

If that budget is just to cover flights and accommodation you might be able to do Costa Rica and its perfect for what you are looking for.

We did 14 nights AI at RUI Guanacaste about £6k for 4 of us in August and that included all food and drink which was excellent and waiter service every night if wanted, entertainment, pool, beach, kayaks, windsurfing, SUP and there were 5 racoons including 2 babies we saw every day, 1 coati and gecko on site, rainforest surrounding it. Trips to see active volcanoes, sloths, waterslide through jungle, hot springs, hanging bridges through cloudforest, ziplines etc though these add up - we did 5 for 4 of us and added another £2k. You could save by going somewhere self catering. Flights alone direct were £3k for 4 of us to Liberia with Thomson.

Alternatively doing Norway this year which also fits and flights there are incredibly cheap with Ryanair - around £50 each return plus luggage, seats etc. Fjords, moose safari, reindeer, forest, whitewater rafting etc around Voss, ziplines and trains e.g. Flam. We are flying into Stockholm first to do Wild Sweden animal tours beavers, moose, wolf and bear available but you may get some of these in Norway too. Novosol has good priced houses to rent, we have one with own boat around £100 per night incl all fees like cleaning. Holiday will cost c£6k for 4 of us for 2 weeks but that's including hotels, flights, £100 food per day, £100 activities per day, car hire 14 days, airport parking. So just flights and accommodation only about £500 each including 1 suitcase each.

Corsica. Definitely.

Laos and/or Cambodia. Flights might be more, but cheap once you're there.

@penguinPandas.
What was the weather like in August in Costa Rica?

Slovenia or the Azores?

Ihatethecold It was about 27C and sunny every day in Costa Rica in August but rained for about an hour a day at about 4pm, occasionally 4pm to 7pm and one thunderstorm. The rain is quite nice though as its rainforest - trips out started at 6am and finished at 4pm so never had rain on trips and 6am is 11am here with time difference so didn't need to adjust to timezone. Kids jokingly complained it was too hot and wouldn't have wanted any hotter as its quite an active place.

I don't know if we were lucky with rain as is rainy season though we all love the rain and it is often said its always late afternoon so you just adjust around it. It's also quite different 27C, sunny and rain to an English 12C, grey and rain. We did 15th to 29th August in Guanacaste. 15th is great day to arrive as its Mothers Day so was lots of red roses and special cocktails.

Swiss, Austrian or French alps in the summer are all amazing! Lots going on. Also, if you're in the uk - you can fly to Paris and take the TgV to the alps, which is a really lovely journey.

Romania (Transylvania)
Slovenia
Montenegro
Sweden
Sicily
Norway

These suggestions are grest, but I suppose I was looking for something further afield. Maybe not on that budget though?

Can anyone tell me more about Laos/Cambodia/Azores?

Another vote for corsica.

Azores is great - so much to do : hiking in the hills, boating in calderas, thermal springs and baths, botanic gardens, snorkelling in crystal clear waters, whale watching, scuba diving .. we had an amazing family holiday there. You can fly direct with EasyJet from Stansted to Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel. There are other smaller islands to visit but we found there was enough to do on the main island.

Have you been to Asia before? Cambodia and Laos are similar in vibe to northern Thailand (Chiang Mai etc, which might also be a good bet).

In Laos I'd recommend Luang Prabang for a few nights (on the river, lots of temples and watching people give offerings to the monks). Also, the capital Vientiene and possibly the Plain of Jars - although that's more of a hassle to get to.

In Cambodia, Siem Riep is amazing. It's the base to see the temples of Ankor Wat. You could spend at least 4 nights there. You can also cruise along the Mekong to Phnom Penh.

Phnom Penh is interesting, but obviously there's a very dark history. (You can go to the Killing Fields, but young kids might find it a bit much). I think there are beach resorts in Cambodia too, but I've not been.

The only thing is July isn't the best time for the weather. It might be quite rainy, although it tends to be short downpours.

Thanks @PenguinPandas.

Don’t mind a bit of rain. Costa Rica is on my list of destinations I have to visit.
I love the wildlife in Mexico so I bet CR is unbelievable.