Holiday suggestions - 5 teenagers, Christmas break, long haul.

[40somethingme]

Hi everyone, I’m looking for ideas for our next family holiday.
We have 16 days over Christmas and New Year this year, 5 teenagers and a budget of around 15k.
We would like to try something new and go long haul, have an adventure.

Ideally a multi centre holiday as we don’t want to stay in one place for two weeks, must be warm but not unbearably hot. In my head I imagine a city break, followed by some sightseeing and finishing with a few days on the beach/ in a villa to relax.
We love wildlife, good food, sightseeing. No sport holidays as it doesn’t suit us.
My initial ideas: Thailand, Costa Rica, Vietnam?

Any suggestions and itinerary ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I’ve been to Thailand twice, and I think it would be perfect for what you say you are looking for.

The weather will be good at that time of year, there is lots to see, plenty of wildlife, good (and cheap!) food etc.

Presumably you would be flying into Bangkok, you could stay there for a few nights and then travel around some of the islands.

What a great experience for teens.

Costa Rica ticks all your boxes and more (the more being adrenaline adventure if the teens are into that, zip-lining, rafting etc).

I've been twice and it's my favourite country on earth.

1.5 K with 5 teenagers won't get you anywhere,Canary Islands maybe....

They could get part-time jobs meanwhile for spending money...

We could go up to 18k, although I was hoping that with a self-organised holiday we could close in around 15k.

Sri Lanka would also be good!

Soory to put a bit of a downer on your plans, but do any of these teenagers have GCSE/A level mocks in January?

No luckily not this year!

Thank you, Thailand is at the top of the list at the moment. I might search for Thailand specific threads to look for itinerary ideas.

Costa Rica looks great but I don’t think we could do it on our budget.

Sri Lanka is a great option, compact in size too. Start with a couple of nights in Colombo, train to kandy, go into the cultural centre, then tea country, option for a mini safari then the beach, you can even surf. Ideal for teens.

Budget is more than adequate even with 5 star hotels.

The budget is 15k not 1.5k

Sri Lanka is a great suggestion thank you , I like the idea of travelling by train too, they would all love it.

Costa Rica, Thailand and Vietnam would all be amazing and great for your group.

Other options: Argentina, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka,

I'd go to Japan but £18k not enough for 7 teens and adults. It's amazing though. Not warm mind you but you could go via somewhere warm as a stop over. Abu Dhabi? Is Singapore warm in December.

Flights at Christmas to Thailand are between £1000-£1600 each. You might squeeze a package holiday for £2k each but that will be b&b. Beach cafe you’ll be paying £10-12 a head for lunch.

Have you looked at the families worldwide website? We found lots of ideas there.

Argentina is value for money while you’re there. Again the price of flights are ££££.

Half of your budget at Christmas will be taken up by flights , you’ll need at least 2 hotel rooms, unless you do an apartment. Logistically you’re looking at 2 taxis everywhere, or a mini van. Still doable with careful planning though.

Vietnam is not a bad idea at that time.

Quite a few people I know did family holidays with teens to Vietnam in the past few years, everyone absolutely loved it. You could possibly do a Vietnam/Cambodia combo.

North Vietnam at that time is chilly. Fine for sightseeing but you’ll be disappointed if you’re hoping for sunshine.

South of Vietnam will have better weather than the other two parts at the time you plan to visit.