holiday ideas for families with teens

[bemorelemmy]

Would love a successful holiday!

Daughter: 14, into hair, clothes, shopping etc but will be up for activities that involve jumping, climbing, swimming, roller-skating etc.
Boy: 16, likes skateboarding and would be up for most active activities and possibly a bit of history (might be pushing it).
both would want sun and daily pool access. Ideally wouldnt want to share pool though would enjoy visit to waterpark/fancy pool type thing. A daily pool that only had a few users might be acceptable.
In all honesty, their ideal holiday would be to stay at home, see friends and go on screens!!
That's not happening- want us to have a good time away- but where?
I'd like sun, good coffee/food and history/culture as would partner, but might be difficult to accommodate all our disparate wants. very broadly, if the kids are happy, we would be (that might be a bold statement!)
They get on fine with one another if they have to.
they like bowling, arcade games and playing pool (prob like every other teenager)
Thanks for any ideas.

We're doing a train holiday: Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm :) plus a week in a lodge. But it's costing 10k for four of us for 18 days...

We usually do a week in a French gite and a week in a Spanish villa, both with private pools. We do sightseeing locally. Always things to suit everyone!

It was a blow out holiday for big birthdays so we did 3 weeks although plenty of people do 2. We flew to San Francisco (did tour of Alcatraz as well as all the other sights), drove to Yosemite for a few nights (amazing, we LOVED it!). Drove back to the coast to Monterey (went whale watching and to an awesome aquarium). Then pootled down the Pacific Coast Highway all the way to San Diego, with overnight stops at Cambria, Santa Barbara and Laguna Beach. We just drove through LA as weren’t that bothered by Universal and Disney etc or Hollywood stuff but most do stop there a few nights and we probably would if we went again.

we finished with 5 nights in San Diego which IS America’s finest city, there is just so much to do. Flew back from LA (on business class, as a one off treat.)

im not even going to tell you what we spent. 😱but it was a one off. We did all share a room though to save costs. Probably would be more difficult to do that if you have a boy and a girl. I have planned a 2 week return trip for much cheaper to N California including Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes, and and it is way cheaper, it is possible to do it to a budget. But food has gone V expensive there. But my eldest has started uni and while he’d love to come with us and we would pay for most of his cost he’s not sure of his availability. So this year is looking impossible. I’m desperate to go back though.

if you want to do some fantasy US holiday planning I highly recommend joining a FB group called “California dreamers and west coast wanderers.” Someone on here recommended it. Be warned. You will see everyone’s photos and read their itineraries and get hooked on the idea of going. I joined it with a view to planning 2 years ahead. (We had to save up 😆). Planning that holiday became almost a hobby, we loved all talking about it as a family.

BEST. HOLIDAY. EVER.