Suggestions for summer and oct holidays for 15 and 16 year olds please

[Holidayqueen1]

Hi everyone
I’m thinking ahead a bit! We have this summers holiday sorted ( Jordan) but looking for ideas for October this year and next and the next 2 summers.
we love travelling and have been lucky enough to have some amazing holidays with our son and really want to make the most of the ones we have prior to his GCSEs.

a bit about us:

I have an eye condition ( retinitis pigmentosa) which precludes me from doing any tricky walking ( we went to Peru last year and no way could I have managed the Inca trail for example)

i used to work in travel so happy to organise things ourselves

Our best holidays have been safari in South Africa, Peru, Canada, Cambodia and Sri Lanka and we’ve also loved exploring the western side of the Algarve and Silver coast.

We’d probably rather avoid the US and Caribbean- we like some time on the beach but don’t want a week at a beach resort.

really fancy the Galapagos, Costa Rica, also Tanzania and Zanzibar (although looking a bit out of our price range but any other places we may be overlooking?) We were due to do a tour of the golden triangle in India last Christmas but had to cancel due visa issues, Kerala could be an option? Our son really fancies Japan too.

thanks so much for your help!!

Costa Rica self drive was fabulous. Plenty to see and do for our teen lad. Vietnam (Halong Bay, Hanoi and Hoi An) was great too. We did the Garden Route in South Africa and then returned for Durban's beaches and a self drive around the Kwazulu Natal, taking in the battlefields as well as game reserves. We're riff to Mauritius this year - always thought it was a 'boring' beach destination but there's a rainforest, dormant volcano and Geopark to keep our son engaged. We always book independently too. Hope these ideas help.

Closer to home I've heard great things about visiting both Bosnia and Albania - watch the Romash Rananathan episode for ideas. The Croatian coast is beautiful.

Thanks both!
@broadsheetbabe yes we loved Vietnam too and our South African safari was in Kwazulu natal- stunning! Would be really interested in any Costa Rica tips if you have any you’re happy to share please?
@gogohmm thanks, will have a look! Love the thought of the Croatian coast and Bosnia, hadn’t even thought of Albania, great idea! Also thinking of Slovenia as a possible

We loved Jordan (it’s going to be hot in summer but sure you know that). We went in May HT and it hit 38.

We are off to Indonesian Borneo, Komodo, Bali this year. Doing a boat round south of Borneo and then a different boat in K National park. Ubud is volcanos, cycling, and other cultural stuff with sone RnR.

We are going to tour Costa Rica at Xmas (covid delayed trip) that seems to have it all and I’m really looking forward to it.

We’ve just booked Tanzania for 2024 and will travel north for the migration and wild camp, then go across to Zanzibar for some RnR

For October you have Morocco (we are going in May though) Egypt (going back next year) Oman - wish list for us. We have done Paris, Bruges, Amsterdam in October HT and kids enjoyed them all. Also a canal boat hold and that was fab.

Our best Summer trips have been Iceland, Peru, Namibia. Namibia is amazing for adventures and self drive.

We went to Japan a few years ago and loved it, but spring time. We’ve done other trips, but Summer is difficult for weather in some locations.

Kerala is on my wish list but Xmas is getting difficult after this year so will have to wait.

If I could only go to one place, I’d choose Japan, but summer is too hot for me. Is Easter difficult for Xmas?

*exams! … not Xmas 🙄

@sunset wow thank you! I know, it’s going to be v hot😳hopefully will be ok if we do things early and we have pools/ air con everywhere!

our son is doing an expedition with school to Morocco and we’ve been before but great idea!

wow your summer trip sounds amazing, we’ve been to Indonesia but Borneo is on my list, did you organise that yourselves?

egypt is a def possible- have you done a tour or sorted things out yourselves? Any suggested itineraries you’d do?

Namibia was an option until we read that Etosha is malarial, that put us off a bit bit I’d love to go and explore, it looks amazing!!!

easter could be poss for Japan next year, I just worry it’s going to be really busy with cherry blossom season…

im thinking atm

Egypt poss for oct half term

still debating Christmas!! We were looking at Namibia so will keep debating!

Costa Rica next summer

Possibly Japan for a week oct 24 half term, then we’re into exam territory 😱 so a massive amazing holiday outside of main summer school hols in Jun/ July 25

we’ll try to fit a weekend in Rome and maybe a few other European cities in as well and maybe a week in Europe next May half term too.

thanks for all the ideas!!

For Egypt this is the same sort of plan we are going with but not sure if we’ll self help, or use an operator
www.stubbornmuletravel.com/highlights-of-egypt/ I’d like longer but Oct is only a week for us.

For Indonesia we have used an agent as the boats we wanted and park access was starting to get complicated. We are going 2.5 weeks but time still feels short.

Namibia was so great, it’s excellent in August and very dry so the mosquitos were nowhere to be seen! I’m the nicest thing on offer usually and not 1 bite. We stayed in the wilds too and visited the san people, it was brilliant in the north, but the south with Death Valley and giant dunes and the skeleton coast to kayak with the seals added lots of variety.

I‘d not overlook Iceland, it was so brilliant too. The only thing that might be difficult is glacier walking, but other trips were fantastic, whale watching, hot water locations, waterfalls, quad biking, zodiac trip to a glacier wall, going inside the glacier, golden circle, geezers, Viking and volcanos, tectonic plates, overflowing rivers. The scenery is breathtaking, the moss fields look like bubbles, jet black beaches and blue glowing glaciers. I organised all of that ourselves and it was very straightforward.

If you have options of Easter or Xmas we did a self drive round Cuba and that was really cool. We did homestays in casa particular.

Easter and Xmas are a good time to go to Vietnam, as that was also a covid casualty for us and I’m desperate to go.

I like to travel and dream of travel!

Thanks. I’d love to go to Iceland but my husband doesn’t fancy it at all 🤷🏻‍♀️

Really fancy Cuba too but still issue with ESTAs thanks to Trumps legacy and we travel sometimes to US for work so that’s out for now.

we’ve been to Vietnam, it’s lovely but we much preferred Cambodia, again Easter a great time there!!

So many places, so little time!!

thanks again

How about Caucasia?

There's a recent great thread on here I'm following about Uzbekistan:

Uzbekistan

How about two holidays?
A Cruise if you choose the right cruise line they really do cater well for teens and an activity holiday in North Wales?
We did Iceland I had a good sober time but don't think we would return

South Korea is also good for Easter if you been to Vietnam. That’s another place I’d love to visit.

Costa Rica was amazing. We flew to San Jose. After an overnight stay, we headed north to Poas volcano. And then on to La Fortuna. Here, we visited a coffee plantation, sloth sanctuary, and swam in warm springs heated by the volcano! Our son did a zip-line over the rain forest, and we all enjoyed on a guided rainforest walk with obligatory wobbly footbridge! Then over to Monteverde for the cloud forest and more zip-lines! We then had a week in Dominical on the coast. Plenty of surfing, great food, amazing wildlife (more wildlife sanctuaries). It was a wonderful experience.

@broadsheetbabe which time of year did you go to Costa Rica?

Thanks all!!!!
uzbekistan really appeals, thanks for the link @Lykia

@Funf i have looked at cruises but I just don’t fancy one and nor do husband or son. Am sure they’re brilliant but not for us sadly. My mum lived in Wales and we’ve had some great hols there, so much to do and see!

@Sunsetintheeast Sourh Korea also somewhere I’d like to go as well as Taiwan, that was one which got scuppered due covid, although maybe not atm!

thanks for tips on Costa Rica @broadsheetbabe

lots to think about!!

Brazil?

Yes I fancy Brazil but husband not so sure!!! Will have a look, thanks.
bitten the bullet and booked flights to Japan for 2 weeks in October half term, v excited!!!