Holiday for 15DS after his sister ran away

[Moomoola]

Hi , we’ve had a bit of a time since Xmas when our DD vanished from home to live with medicalised f to m partner and their mum. Thanks mns who have been so supportive!
now we are all exhausted and need - some sort of holiday, that’s a bit unusual, where DS, DH and I won’t be rattling around thinking of DD.
DS is 15 and has been hiding in computer land, so could do with a bit of confidence building. DH knackered and stressed, I need distraction/adventure too as I’m fed up with DH!
i guess I’m thinking of some sort of adventure that’s tame enough but stops us thinking of DD.
we have 2 weeks. Not massive budget, but reasonable.
sorry to ask, brain is frozen with overwhelm.
many thanks.

Oh that’s a possibility! Flights are not too insane either!
im going to be a pain, but have you any recommendations for places to stay?
sorry to be so needy, it’s wierd, but I am finding it very hard to make decisions. I seem to have lost confidence or I’ve lost me, if you know what I mean.
researching Iceland now.
Europe and turkey all look good, but we are not good in hot cities - and I don’t want to be trudging round cafes and museums with bored teen.

Iceland is a good shout. Not cheap though. Drive around the whole island. It's stunning. (Great if your son is doing georgraphy too! )

What about Japan. Flights are expensive but it's surprisingly cheap,when you are there if you want it to be. It's very hot there over summer but that means it's out of season.

I love a road trip! I find a mix of driving and having time to do different activities in nature along the way very therapeutic.

Iceland’s ring road is an amazing experience! It is pricy though, our budget was £200 per person per day. I’m sure it could be done for cheaper but it isn’t a cheap destination at all.

Other road trips you could consider:

Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland
Vienna to Geneva through the Alps
Paris to Berlin
Bergen to Tromso
Stavanger to Bergen
Romantic Road, Germany
Alpenstrasse, Germany
(Romantic Road and Alpenstrasse can be done together as a longer trip)
EN2, Portugal (known as Portugal’s Route 66)
Route Napoleon, France
The Fairy Tale Route, Germany
San Sebastián to Santiago de Compostela

Teen DC really enjoyed Ghent and Bruges.

We used the train to go between, lots of waking, cycling, shopping, boat tours, amazing food and STAM museum was cool enough to not bore.

Oh thank you so much!managed to get hold of DH and he has announced he doesn’t want to go to Iceland. Or turkey. He likes Italy or is thinking ferry to Holland and drive about there with a tent in case.
a few weeks ago he dismissed eurocamp at Venice because he doesn’t like camping. Grrrrrr.
We did think Japan at one stage - as a f**ck it holiday. I’m amazed it’s cheaper than Iceland!
thank you for all your help.those road trips - and everywhere- look amazing.

Hoping you find something that suits @Moomoola Maybe not for now for another time, Northern Ireland is easy to get to, get around & you can pack loads into a day. You don't have to think much & we don't have anywhere near the amount of traffic as most of England.

I'd suggest looking in your local paper or go to an actual travel agent, (how old school!) to ask about organised trips. I know where you are about making decisions & someone else doing all that is enticing. A friend recently went to Italy & did so much, I was amazed at all their photos & it turned out it was an organised trip offer from the newspaper. I'll definitely be looking for something similar when I get the chance.

Morocco!!
companies do tours of the country, you do Marrakesh, touring the Atlas Mountains, four or five stays in very different types of accommodation, awesome and something for everyone.
Beautiful country, lots of history and culture but also plenty of chilling in the most beautiful riads

I remember your tread previous thread. Hope things are a little calmer. You definitely need a lovely holiday. 💕

If you all need a bit of chill out time after all the stress I would do a week exploring great European cities maybe interrail then a week chilling somewhere where you can relax, read a good book, swim, maybe somewhere with activities for dear son like water polo. 2nd week get a good hotel with sea views from your balcony, stroll out for the evening. If you go a bit upmarket for this stage you can avoid the madness and maybe do budget hotels first week as you would be living out of a suitcase anyway. Get central hotels though so once cases dumped you are free to stroll out and enjoy the great cities. Hope you find something ideal for you all. We have had teen family trauma since Christmas in our family so know how much it takes out of you. 💐

Italy is wonderful and ideal for a split towns and city part and chill out part. The chill out could be on lake Garda instead of coast then you have easy day trips on the lake to other parts of lake them back for a bit of chill out. There are so many wonderful places to visit on the busier week. It's made me think I quite fancy something similar in Italy.

Personally id only go to Japan. I LOVE Japan, the food is really nice, theres SO much to do and see. You can go go karting around the city or to an ONSEN or to the arcades and funky cafe, and if he is a computer guy then your DS will probably love it as they are Tech city, is he into anime or cartoons? then he will also love it for that

Also i love the Katana workshops and the Sumo wrestling workshops, they are super fun

Do you think your DS would like to be with other teens OP? I'm just thinking that anything you do as a three, there will be this DD-shaped gap, whereas if you did a group holiday with other families there wouldn't. Exodus, Intrepid, Families Worldwide, KE Adventure - there are quite a few adventure travel companies that do itineraries specifically for adventurous families.

For something based in this country, do you think your DS might like to have a go at Geocaching? (What is Geocaching? How to get started. (gagb.org.uk)_

I have really enjoyed Letterboxing on Dartmoor (the precursor of geocaching) for many years (I appreciate how sad this makes me sound). I'm not really into Geocaching myself but my brother and his teenage DC really enjoy it.

Hope you enjoy whatever you decide to do. You've really been through the wringer and deserve some happy times. Best wishes to you. x

I’m looking to go here next year, with 14 & 16 year olds, to learn sailing and windsurfing.
It’s expensive for us, as we’re normally camping in the UK, but it’s actually a pretty normal budget for most families, I think.

https://seafarersailing.co.uk/beach-club/nikiana/

Where would your ds like to go? I'd go to Borneo, or on Safari if it's a f**k it holiday. Africa has a special quality in that it makes you present and nothing else really seems to matter whilst you're on a game drive experiencing the wonders of nature and it's wildlife.

I hope wherever you go you have a fantastic and relaxing time.

The Netherlands do make for a great holiday and it’s a lovely time of year to go!

Some recommendations that might be enjoyable for you:

Efteling - extremely cute theme park but has decent rollercoasters for teens. Really nice woodland lodges on site to stay in.

Duinrell - theme park and water park with some rollercoasts and good water slides, also has lodges/ a holiday park you can stay in

Amsterdam - one of my favourite cities! Great museums but also other attractions if museums aren’t wanted. The Artis Zoo is a really excellent zoo, can easily spend a whole day there. Lots of good food. Can rent a boat and explore the canals. Across the river there is a swing ride thing where you can swing out and see a great view of the city. Great atmosphere for just wandering about.

Rotterdam - another great city. The view from the Euromast is amazing, they’ve also got a ride there which takes you up to the top and you can abseil down the tower if that takes your fancy! I think there used to be a zip line too, not sure if there still is. Full of cool architecture. The central market is full of interesting food and has a great atmosphere.

Den Haag (The Hague) - such a lovely city, different vibe to Amsterdam. Again plenty of musuems if you want. You can rent bikes and cycle out to Scheveningen on the coast which is a nice seaside resort. There’s a pier with amusement arcades, a ferris wheel, a zip line along the length of it, and you can bungee jump off this tower thing. There’s also an aquarium and the beach is really lovely.

Iceland is great for an adventure!

You could try something like this:

www.croatiafamilyholidays.com/teenager-activity-holiday/

If you're all reasonably fit, what about climbing Kilimanjaro? Or a long walk like the West Highland Way or something in the Alps?

Have a look at chamonix or the Swiss alps? There is lots of different things, plenty of walking including some more adventurous trekking. Air always feels very healthy to me.
having said that I’ve read everyone else’s suggestions thinking ooh do that one! No that one sounds better!
I would second going to a travel agent or if you have a great friend who is good at travel see I do they will help you.
there’s a level at which if DH isn’t finding i, or organising it he is just going to have to suck it up.

anything with horses is also good & can be healing.

My DS went to Japan with the school a few years back and loved it. It was totally, totally different in every way and would be a brilliant distraction.

It sounds like you've had a super stressful time of it, and well deserve a fab holiday!
I'm going to suggest Dubrovnik, gorgeous walled city with lots of activities to do around it. Water sports activities, island hopping, boat rides.... we stayed about 10 minutes bus ride outside the city and it was so peaceful. Lovely hotel with a pool and on a (stony!) beach which was perfect for those days when you just want to flake out.
We went in early June and weather was lovely, not too hot, but I believe it gets a lot hotter later in the summer (not sure when you're planning on going away).

I can't recommend Vietnam enough, people, food, history, culture...

I'm just back from Turkey. Had an amazing time but it was beginning to get uncomfortably hot. It was in the higher 30's my last few days.