Help me find the best ‘last’ family holiday

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DC are in gcse and a level year. We’d like to take advantage of their early finish and do a last big holiday together last week of June/beginning of July. We usually do self catering in the uk or French campsite type holidays which is mostly cooking in the accommodation with 1 or 2 meals out. Mostly out and about holidays compared to beach holidays..
We’ve agreed that we can splash out and do an all inclusive type holiday (woohoo) but now I’m completely overwhelmed about where to go.
So criteria:

• somewhere nice but not intimidating - relaxed -not having to dress up all the time
• quiet (by quiet I mean no loud ‘entertainment’ or large hotels where we have to fight the crowds for sun beds)
• lots to do in resort eg water sports, snorkelling etc
• interest places to explore locally but nice pool/beach to lounge at
• all inclusive or equivalent
• can be anywhere in the world but fairly easy to get to (don’t want to have to take 2 planes, a boat and a bus to get there)
• at least two bedrooms- we like our space
• budget around £6k for 4 of us

Any ideas? Tempted by a cruise but not sure I want to enclosed with several thousand people vying for a couple of inches of pool water We love America but feel it would be expensive as it’s school holidays there Costa Rica maybe? But heard it’s rainy season? Caribbean- but maybe not enough to do outside of beach? Arrggh - help!

How long are you wanting to go for?

Are you wanting watersports etc. on-site and included at the hotel or would opportunities near by be okay?

Would two seperate rooms be okay or does it need to be a suite / apartment / interconnecting?

For the cruise option, it's key to choose the right line to suit your wants. You probably want a more upmarket line that's less crowded but the budget would probably only get that (in 2 rooms which makes a big difference on a cruise) for a week - how long are you looking to go away for?

At that time of year I would probably go to Greece or perhaps Gozo (great snorkelling) as end June is when the Med is at its best IMO. Personally I much prefer SC & eating out daily rather than AI and your budget would get a really nice villa (with private pool) near the beach & town.

Anywhere all inclusive means people tends to hang around the pool so it’s no different to the cruise ship. I’d book some thing like a private villa or apartment and eat out if you don’t want busy.

Mexico has some excellent resorts with watersports, diving etc and of course great beaches. It would depend on when you are going whether it would be in budget but I would say worth a look. Riviera Maya to Cancun has some of the best places to snorkel/dive

Ideally 2 weeks.
Really trying to avoid self catering as dh will start suggesting we do breakfast and lunch self catering and then we’re into supermarket shops and washing up plus it would be nice to give dc a bit of freedom to choose
activities preferably at resort again from a freedom ti do whatever point of view

Given the budget and time of year I would probably focus on Med, although Mexico might also work.

2 weeks at a decent all inclusive is going to be a bit difficult on £6k, although it depends a little on ages of DC.

Malta / Gozo is a good shout

Otherwise, Turkey is probably the best best for budget/facilities combination

Potentially also Kos, Rhodes, Crete - some great watersports resorts in Greece

I’ve just looked at prices for Mexico and I think that would be an option to put back on the table - but it’s worth thinking about the weather as June is in the wet season and there may be downpours / periods of showers.

2 hotel rooms, book B&B, then no alternative but to eat out! We usually have a big latish breakfast
( choose somewhere that serves til 11/11.30,) then might have an icecream or a snack for lunch eirher at the pool/beach/ or wherever we're sightseeing. Then out for a lovely dinner. I like to have a fridge in the room for water etc and for a drink to have on the balcony, pre or post dinner. We all get bored quickly no matter how nice the All Inclusive is, and like to get out and about.

Turkey, look at Club Marvey.

Neilson or Mark Warner?

I think for £6,000, 2 weeks, All inclusive in June/July, Turkey is going to be your best bet. You'll get more for your money. For your budget, is going to be Med or Turkey and with Turkey you'll get a better quality of resort for your £.

How about an upmarket or not too large a hotel on
a bed and breakfast basis and then go out for your dinner?
I love cruises but don’t think one would meet your brief.
The all inclusive hotels you could afford on your budget could end up being noisy and not fit your requirements.
Croatia or Italy could be a good choice.

Costa Rica would be a fab last holiday. But....you MUST go to several places. There's so much to do and see. It's quite pricey so to have all-inclusive type luxury you'd need to up your budget.
We did 3 weeks with loads of paid activities, but shoe string accomodation and self catering for £6K.
We went July/Aug. Rain overnight most days, but only 2 days in the daytime.
Have a look at intrepid or g adventures for suggested itineraries for Costa Rica and other cool destinations.

When mine were that age we did a Marella cruise.
Informal so no stuffy dress codes. All inclusive so endless drinks and snacks for the teens. Two cabins so you have enough space.
Every day a new place to explore, you can tour the sights or find a beach.
Lots to do onboard for them and you can join in or avoid it as you wish.

Thanks for all the suggestions - I think we might need to revisit the budget. I think we’re too used to cheap holidays!

I also think one of the things to consider is that the quieter hotels with fewer people are less likely to have lots of activities - unless you go high end / luxury.

I was very disappointed with the pool on the cruise we went on. It was really small. The pictures make it look bigger. Having said that we weee so busy we didn't really sit round it anyway.

If you were going to do a cruise id really research the ship / ports.

We did enjoy it though and a considering it for a "big" holiday we hope to take soon.

We were in the same position this year. Went to Madeira, Funchal. Quiet-ish hotel. Fab location. Plenty to do snorkeling, walking, boat rides, cable cars. We don't usually do hotels, but found a lovely 4 star. Not all inclusive though. Teens were happy, we were happy. 4 hour flight then about 45 mins transfer, so easy to get there.

If your kids like watersports you could check out windsurfing/ sailing resorts in Greece like Trek Adventures, Wildwind, Nikiana, Club Vass. They’re not fully AI but have restaurants on site and some offer food included packages. Maybe a week there and a week in a villa where you hire a car and do some exploring?

Or yes there is Mark Warner or Neilsons as a swishier version of this with tennis and cycling as well as watersports, budget may be stretched tho.

Totally different idea but a mountain holiday? There are catered chalets available, lots of activities, could tie in with a trip to Annecy or Lake Geneva.