A week holiday with grown up children, somewhere to explore with a beach too.

[Custardpudding]

Looking to go away a week mid September with our three dc before they fly the nest. We don’t often go abroad but looking for something nice /different that ticks a lot of boxes. Any suggestions please? We don’t have a budget cap and have 7-9 days to play with.
ideally would like somewhere warm, pretty to explore, amazing nature?but a nice beach too. We don’t want just a beach hol, so would like to go out to explore and then come back for a sit on a beach/ swim in a pool. One ds not keen on Just sitting. Another won’t walk far unless something amazing to see! It’s hard keeping them all happy! Nothing too commercialised …Any suggestions would be great please. I just want a special last holiday.

I've not been but the Azores looks like a beautiful mix of stunning nature and beaches

Cinque Terre in Italy. Base yourself in one of the local towns and use the train or boat to explore. Or Sicily - just researching a trip myself and there is loads to do.

Phuket

I wouldn't go to Phuket in September weather wise.
South of France ?

Israel! Tel aviv has amazing beaches, weather will be great, loads to do in the desert, Dead Sea is really fun to experience, so many options and will be a holiday of a lifetime!

No budget cap... safari then Zanzibar?

Sicily? We went with adult DC last September. It was more history than beach but we did have a beach day. One of our bases was Taormina where to can choose to be up in town or down by the beach.

Cinque Terre is fabulous, especially if you all enjoy walking.

Otherwise I would suggest a Greek island - we island hopped with our teens but a week isn't really long enough. There's always something to look at. Naxos was our favourite but you can't fly there, had to get a ferry from Mykonos. Have a look at Kefalonia, Chania in Crete?

I wouldn't go far if it's just a week. How about a European city with a nice AirBnb and good restaurants?

Barcelona, Palma, and Malaga (which is much nicer than its reputation) all have city + beach. Crete is also lovely, or another Greek island such as Santorini (though v busy!).

Sicily - base yourself in a beach town near Palermo, day trips to Palermo, Etna, Aeolian islands, tons to see and do and lovely food.

Egypt: Nile cruise with our Pyramids etc then beach break?

Costa Rica ... you can do a 2 part holiday, half in the rainforest, half by the beach.
And you might get to meet a sloth 🦥

Bali is great with grown up kids as you can do everything from spectacular chilled resorts, islands with great diving/snorkelling, hiking volcanos, exploring temples, driving through rice paddies, spa days, really good restaurants…. It is a long journey from the UK though.

Bali and Costa Rica are both beautiful but you need a lot longer to make it worthwhile, otherwise you waste a high % of the holiday just travelling.

For that time frame, I'd stick to Europe or North Africa.

How about Morocco? Marakesh is fascinating, Essaouira for a completely different coastal city and a couple of days on a desert adventure.

I’m still looking! Thank you for replies. Sicily looks lovely and I’ve looked at skiathos. I wouldn’t have thought of Sicily if it hadn’t been mentioned. We had originally planned two weeks so was looking further away but the dc haven’t got enough hol as they work too. We originally thought somewhere like Mauritius or St Lucia but not do able in a week. I’d thought somewhere different like Iceland or Switzerland or New York (somewhere to explore that they prob wouldn’t do again ) but one has dug heels in saying no I need a beach! He likes to swim. I don’t want sit on a beach much though. One of them likes to explore so I need keep them all happy. It’s hard! Will compare Sicily and skiathos or is there any other suggestions please? Thanks for your help!

Croatia
Sicily
Malaga
Lake Garda

All have places in land and nice beaches.

If you head to Malaga you can always stay in a coastal resort feungirola coastline as there's a great (cheap!) train that takes you all along to explore different places.

Ds and I often stay in Torreblanca and travel around.

Barcelona and Palma both have beaches and lots to see and do. I'm taking my teen to Barcelona in October.

When we went to Iceland one February we swam in the outdoor city pools (all naturally heated) every day. It was glorious; even our (then small) DC loved it, without having to spend a fortune on the touristy ones.

We loved it but wouldn't have thought it was enough for 7-9 days to be honest.

Chania region, Crete.

Chania itself is beautiful but the surrounding coastline and inland villages are, in a lot of places traditional Greece.

The mountains are completely spectacular. We did a day trip cycling from one side of the island to the other. The sound of cicadas and goat bells plus the spectacular views made it a fantastic experience.

Plus its further south so warmer weather.

Florida - beautiful Clearwater beach plus loads of other stuff to do if you don’t mind driving, the theme parks, Kennedy space centre, hover boats watching alligators. If you stay in the middle you can drive to all of those.