Where would you go for a trip of a lifetime?

[Japril]

We have a maximum budget of £16,000 to blow on a holiday that the kids (they will be 14 and 11 next summer) will love and gives them some kudos - they have only been abroad once before!
Any suggestions of where to go? I wondered about the Caribbean or the Seychelles. Or should we do something more active? I would love to go to Japan but they are fussy eaters!
My husband is quite a nervous traveller so anywhere that might be considered potentially dangerous is out!
We are not having a holiday this year so daydreaming about something awesome for next summer is keeping me going!!

I would also do 2 great holidays I think with that budget. We did holiday of a lifetime last year though with similar budget due to a wedding too. West coast usa with primary age kids and it was amazing. Mine are good in the car which helps. I would personally love to go to Japan, African safari, Hawaii and Iceland too as well as australia and New Zealand- oh and Vancouver! I need to win the lottery ha! If it was up to my kids though it would be Florida and theme parks all the way. They’ve never been and prob never will with us due to cost but I know that’s what they’d absolutely love

A good question and I am considering changing my mind and doing two holidays instead. My original thinking comes from my amazing memories of the person we are receiving the money from who loved to travel and went to glamorous places/flew on Concorde/crossed the Atlantic on the QE2. I wanted to honour their memory and go to one of the places they had been to, hence considering the Caribbean and the Seychelles. They were a wonderful person and they would be thrilled we were going to go on holiday so it doesn’t have to be a complete homage to them.
I think I am going to price up Japan, a safari, Costa Rica and a few days in an American city followed by a flop on a beach somewhere.
I wish I had unlimited money as I would love to travel more frequently!

That reply was to @SheSeIIsSeaShells

If you are into cities/food/culture and are going in Summer then travelling up the pacific north west of the USA/Canada would get my vote. Portland-Seattle-Vancouver-Whistler and all the amazing countryside surrounding those places. You could stop in New York either en route out or back again.

Wildlife, either Costa Rica or South Africa. If you want easy to access, big animals and to combine it with a city (Cape Town is incredible) then SA. If you want to combine with amazing beaches then Costa Rica.

If you would love to travel frequently then don't blow 16k on one holiday. Especially as you have DC who can be overwhelmed and a brother who wants to do a joint trip.

Yes, the places mentioned are fantastic (apart from Dubai obvs, don't go there), but you can do so many trips with that money closer to home.

I would fly to Venice and spend a few days there, when it gets busy in the afternoon you can take the vaporetto to lido and spend the rest of the day at the beach. Or even stay on lido. Then get the train (1.5hrs) to Verona for a night and then on to Peschiera del Garda (10 mins on train) to a eurocamp to meet your brother. You can hire boats on lake Garda, take the kids to Gardaland with Legoland waterpark or CanevaWorld. Everything is on site for teens and the younger ones alike. You could do that trip over 10-14 nights for 5k easily.

Take your time, don't rush and just blow it all in one go. That's not what travel is about and I'm sure your relative would be happier with you seeing more and experiencing lots rather than one big "kudos" trip.

We are in a similar situation with 10k but no children to take. We have decided on Japan.

Our, now grown up, kids always talk about our holidays to Florida and the parks, and Greece where we had our own pool.

It depends on whether you are planning to go for the whole six weeks. If so, South America is a possibility as you could gradually acclimatize to the altitudes and do the main sights of the Galapagos and Easter Island as well. You won't have much change left over and the food isn't anything to rave about but it is definitely not the usual short, spendy holiday that could be squeezed into two weeks like most of the others are.

South Africa - safari & Cape Town. But your budget will be tight!

If you would love to travel frequently then don't blow 16k on one holiday. Especially as you have DC who can be overwhelmed and a brother who wants to do a joint trip.

This.

Imagine having a lot of smaller trips to look forward to!

My dream trip starts in Azerbaijan and then travels through the other 'stans' in central Asia - but that is niche.

At those ages I'd go to :

Florida, do the parks and then spend time driving to the Florida keys

California road trip

Safari

Id do Africa, should be in budget as I've just priced up at £6200. Fly to Namibia, across Botswana including canoe safari on the delta, then clobe national park, Victoria falls before flying to Mozambique for 3 days on the beach. Mine is fully independent but joining the canoe safari and clobe group trip (private for 2 was too much) I put it together for £5k less than the travel agent wanted!!!

How about Jordan? Lovely, simple cuisine, totally safe, very friendly. I have travelled quite a bit and it's possibly my favourite country. It is small but full of mindblowing landscapes: The Dead Sea, Wadi Rum (that looks like Mars), Petra, and desert ecolodges. Lots of history too of course.

Not long back from Costa Rica and wow what an experience 🐨 I would so recommend!

Madagascar. Love Lemurs and would love to see them in the wild

Canada and incorporate Knight inlet watching the Grizzlies

Australia! So much to see, so varied. Can go rural and city and in between. We went for a month and it was amazing. Started in Perth, went to Margaret River, then over to Cairns, rain forest and beach. Down to Sydney, then to a more rural area. Loved it.

@lankyhanky can I please ask why was Zanzibar awful? Always wanted to go there!

Maldives. It was bloody incredible.

If this was me - I’d be off to Florida… fun for all ages :)

We did the Seychelles when the DC were 15 and 13 - we travelled around 4 different islands and all loved it.

Also have done NYC + South America, again loved by all.

Antigua.

would love to go to Japan ❤️

Someone said Dubai - have been but can’t imagine that being a trip of a lifetime for anyone - sooo many other places to go in the world!!

Same for me, Japan.

Safari in Africa 100%. Watch blended, if it's as good as that film makes out I'd be going lol

If it will be a summer trip, then bear in mind how hot/humid places will be. Florida in the summer is really humid, for instance, Dubai (which is my idea of hell in any season) will be 40 degrees +.

Okay, so two autistic kids, 14 and 11 who won't enjoy anywhere too hectic and busy and you'll require downtime in summer for £16k. You could very easily spend that in California, which we did with our kids at 10 and 13. They LOVED it. We did a mix of cities and national parks, but it can be a lot of driving, depending on the itinerary you choose.

Costa Rica is supposed to be amazing (we're going later this year, so I can't comment on that yet), but for kids who don't want hectic it might fit the bill and you can keep your trip to say three different places to reduce driving time and increase chill-out time. It's the safest place to go in Central America and very popular with Americans, so quite clean and sanitised.

If nature would appeal, then take a look at South Africa, Namibia and Borneo as well. We have friends who've been to all three and raved about them.

If you're going to do a big trip over the summer though you will need all of that budget. The flights alone could well be £5k or more before you add in hotels, car hire, excursions and food.

New Zealand

Japan

Norway

You can take a look at the Exodus website for some family trip ideas (and costs).

https://www.exodus.co.uk/trip-search?activities=474&date_range=2024-08-01%2C2024-08-31&flight_inclusive=true

I often pick up brochures to nab ideas and then put together our own trips.