£10k and want to see more of the world? Where would you go?

[ForSaleChesterDraws]

Trying to think of a multi centre family holiday (couple of cities and a beach) with DH and 12 yo son in the summer holidays. Had thought about Japan, but alas, £10k isn’t enough. DH and I did Thai island hopping in our 20s, so would like to try somewhere else. We had wondered if we could do Vietnam on our budget, staying midrange hotels with air con.

I reckon you could do a country in SE Asia for £10k for 3 people if you're careful with your budget. Airlines have their January sales on at the moment, so you should be able to get a reasonable deal too.

https://www.flightcentre.co.uk/

You could do Vietnam in 5* hotels for half that amount

When I’ve done flight quotes to Vietnam, they are coming up at over £5000 for the three of us return to Vietnam, once you include luggage and a seat reservation. So many of the initial quotes for flights on searched are economy basic now.

Have you played around with the dates, or are you limited to specific ones?

Look at flying into Kuala Lumpur or into Singapore for a day and then onwards. The cheapest airlines are China Southern etc.

I'd go somewhere that was cheaper once I got there. Cambodia perhaps?

@ForSaleChesterDraws Costa Rica would be possible. There’s lots of ideas on Families Worldwide. I think you could look at South Africa. Kenya, Peru, Namibia and Mexico. These won’t be luxurious but are great destinations.

I would do some sort of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore combo.

I'd do some cities in Canada eg Vancouver > Calgary via the Rockies. (But that would be £10k in itself unless you just did one end) or I'd do one city then fly south to the US for warmth!

Or I'd sit on a beach in Barbados and chill at a luxurious villa on our own rather than a hotel.

So many options... so little time/money!

Worth looking at the Philippines for somewhere slightly different. Not sure on prices but I would think it's doable for that budget. Trailfinders are good for ideas and cheaper than a lot of places.

Vietnam is a good choice for your trip!
How many days?

Oh I was just going to suggest Japan, I live here 🤣. Is it really so expensive?

Other great places to visit are Vietnam - if you get to the countryside it's amazing and within your budget

Iceland - touristy but great for anyone interested in Geography, but probs too expensive again

Morocco - I feel that's better as a family than Vietnam tbh

KL, Singapore and Sentosa Island? There are “beaches” (with a great view of big ships at anchor).

Singapore zoo, night safari. Lots on Sentosa now - Universal Studios, go karting, skyline luge etc.

South America?

Or to pick one country then Argentina, a few days in Buenos Aires, then get a flight to Mendoza for a visit to vineyards and for if you are interested in any sports, horse riding, hiking, paragliding.

It will be winter there but still warm.

We flew into KL and out of Singapore- spent 5-6 weeks in Malaysia, once you pay the flights it's cheap to stay, eat and travel there, we spent under £10k and stayed in some lovely places.

@kiwiaddict From the UK, Iceland is a 3 hour flight. It’s easily within budget. Japan is expensive because flights obviously take a huge chunk of the budget. Travelling within Japan is not cheap, although there are budget places to stay. If the OP wants somewhere a bit more special, the budget is very skinny for Japan. Flights are taking longer due to not using Russian airspace. Cost has gone up. I would push the boat out for Japan and have done!

I think Japan can be done for £10k for three people. We’re going for two weeks in April. Group of 5 adults and cost for flights (into Osaka and out of Tokyo) and accommodation came to under £13k for bed and breakfast in mid-range Japanese business hotels with some room upgrades in that cost and obviously the added cost of one person having a room to themselves. Roughly £2.6k per person and we could have shaved some money off that by forgoing the upgrade to the premium rooms or by flying with a Chinese or Middle Eastern airline. The exchange rate is spectacular right now, so it’s as cheap as it’s likely to be for a while. Japan is also generally a very cheap place to eat, drink and visit attractions. A family of three could have a wonderful time there with £2.5k in spending money for a couple of weeks.

Attractions are super cheap by UK standards. Entrance to a zoo is usually less than £3.50, shrines and temples are mostly free, museums are usually under £5, even premium attractions like Teamlabs, USJ or Disneyland are really cheap by European standards. You won’t get to Okinawa for that money but in the summer you don’t need to go that far south to find nice beaches.

Thank you for some excellent suggestions! The Families Worldwide website looks really promising- other sites I’ve looked up seem to focus on the more luxury end of the market.

I’ve never thought of Singapore, but DS used to have a thing about the marina bay sands hotel. Have been to Barbados before and we’ve done Brazil in our summer and the weather really put me off going back again at the same time of year.

@Takoneko would you mind sharing more of your itinerary please? Which airline are you flying?

It’s very cheap once you’re there though. You can get a really nice hotel room for £100 per night, and food is super cheap (and delicious)

We’re flying Finnair to Osaka via Helsinki and then direct home Tokyo to London with BA.

Our itinerary is a bit unusual and I understand not how everyone would choose to spend their time. Nights 2-5 in Osaka, night 6 on a luxury sleeper bus, nights 7-12 in Tokyo.

Day 1 depart london
Day 2 Arrive Osaka- Oskaka sightseeing
Day 3 Universal Studios
Day 4 Nara morning and TeamLabs garden in evening
Day 5 Kyoto
Day 6 Undecided, somewhere in Kansai then luxury night bus to Tokyo
Day 7 Tokyo- Tsukiji, Ginza, Akihabara
Day 8 Asakusa, Ueno, Skytree
Day 9 Kamakura
Day 10 Disneyland
Day 11 Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku
Day 12 Disneysea
Day 13 Odaiba and Tokyo Tower travel to airport late evening
Day 14 Flight departs 2am, arrive back in London.

I had a quick look and you could get London to Tokyo and then Osaka to London flights 30th July to 13th August for about £1450pp, which is £500pp less than we paid for April. So a trip for three people is definitely possible for £10k. You can definitely do accomodation, travel between cities and spends for £5.5k.

July/August is hot and humid in Japan. Night bus? No thanks. It’s not race around the world travel for me. I’d save up and do it so it feels like a holiday. However others might love this.

I sleep like the dead so the night bus is fine for me. You’re in your own private cabin on the bus, so I’ll just put my pyjamas on and sleep until Tokyo. It costs more than the Shinkansen so not an especially cheap optio , although you do save on accommodation I suppose.

https://www.kanto-bus.co.jp/english/nightway/dream-sleeper/

Highly recommend Sri Lanka

Absolutely stunning island, with beaches, cities, forests and culture

Flights with Sri Lankan are reasonable and really good service

and the food there is absolutely fantastic

Kenya? Safari and then chill out on the beach in Mombasa?

I did galapagos, Ecuador and peru for that amount high season staying at spectacular hotels