A non-Europe 2-3 weeks once-in-a-lifetime-ish trip with teens1

[PosiePerkinPootleFlump]

Looking for some recommendations....

We went to Namibia and Cape Town last October for 16 days, when the kids (teens) all had a 2-week October half-term. Hired a 4x4 with 2 roof tents in Namibia for a mix of wildlife and remote campsites. Then Cape Town for a few days at the end. It was awesome. No phones (no reception!), lots of time outdoors, animals, scenery and environment totally different to what the kids are used to etc.

It worked brilliantly - yes it was expensive but not nearly the prices some people talk about for non-Europe on here (flights London-Windhoek-Cape Town-London for the 5 of us were £3500, whole trip less around £7000 all included). I arranged it all myself but have been to both Namibia and CT before so had an idea where to go and how to organise - I can see organised self-drive tours come in at way more than this.

This was a long-planned special trip. We normally house swap or Airbnb or camp in Europe or the UK. If you were contemplating one-more-big-trip before the kids want to do their own thing, but hadn't got 10k+++ to spend, had 2-3 weeks and were probably constrained to school summer holidays.....what would you do and where would you go? I'd love to go to Costa Rica but don't think it is doable in budget. Youngest teen would love to go to Japan but same worry on £££. Would love to do India too but don't really know where to start for a relatively short time.

We’re doing Thailand this summer for two weeks (2 adults and 2 children) and it’ll come in just under 10k for absolutely everything (and that is staying in really nice accommodation and doing lots of different activities (e.g. days cookery school, day scuba diving, elephant sanctuary, tuk tuk food tour)). I have arranged and booked it all myself.

Well, that stole my thunder, as I came on the thread to suggest Namibia! It really is stunning isn’t it? I’ve had a lifelong love of the place since visiting at 18 and we are taking our teens back next summer.

The big factor for holiday costs outside Europe is flights. They are just prohibitively expensive for so many places. Maybe East Coast US? We love Boston and Cape Cod, but it’s not very adventurous. Or East Coast Canada? (Again, it’s arguably not the best bit of Canada)

I know this is Europe, but how about going further afield into Eastern Europe? DBIL lives in Belgrade and we’ve been lucky to travel around Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia. It’s a fascinating part of the world with so much to get to know. Bosnia is particularly beautiful. I also loved Armenia and Georgia which would be a true adventure!

@PosiePerkinPootleFlump

Would something like this be suitable, OP?

https://www.japanjourneys.co.uk/family-holiday

Thank you all. Eastern Europe could be a good shout and for some stupid reason it hadn’t even occurred to me to think about doing Japan by train. Thailand also appeals. Hmm, lots of thinking to do!

Thailand is fantastic or I’d look at Malaysia/Borneo.

Brazil was fantastic too.

Has to be Japan.

Vietnam is cheap, as long as you are ready for hot and humid weather. I think in summer you could do Hanoi and Hoi An. To keep costs down, just book the flights yourself and accommodation through Booking.com.

We did Costa Rica for 3 weeks around £6k for 3 of us (half of that was flights).
If you can economise on accomodation it's definitely doable. We did all the activities you'd expect but stayed in basic (but nice) places for around £50 a night.

Sri Lanka was much cheaper on the ground. Flights similar.
Same with Borneo.
Slovenia was great for closer to home - similar costs to UK but you can fly cheaply to Venice or Trieste rather than more expensive flights to Ljubljana. Seeing both of those was a bonus too.

All fab for teens.

We're thinking Thailand for next summer.

Thailand - move around to see different areas and mix it up, we did such a great mix of sights and activities, intern flights were very easy and very simple to organise for yourself

Thailand for sure. Easy to organise, great internal flights, covers all budgets.
my teenagers loved Bangkok and Samui, our favourite was Chiang Mai and Rai area.
We’re looking to go back. Went in August and had great weather too.

Depends on time of year for SE.Asia - we live there and currently rainy season in Thailand until end Sept although you may get some bargains in the shoulder seasons. Thailand pairs well with other SEA countries so can easily do a week in Cambodia, Malaysia or Vietnam. PADI training is popular here with teens too. Personally I’d be considering Japan but yes need to be savvy on costs. I’d also recommend Argentina - wine, riding and penguins!

The thing about going to Japan is that it would be quite unique and something I think they would always remember.

There's a possibility that they would go to other Asian countries such as Thailand under their own steam as they get older.

A trip to Japan as a family as teenagers would really be a once in a lifetime experience.

Re costs in Japan, with an exchange rate of £1 to 200¥, it hasn’t been so cheap to travel there for literally decades. Now is definitely the time to go!

We’re just back from Mexico at what could be the last holiday we have altogether for a good while. We did loads of activities, swimming with turtles, catamaran and snorkelling, driving ATV’s in the jungle surrounded by spider monkeys, swimming in Cenotes and underground rivers, swimming with whale sharks & dolphins (if lucky enough to see on trip), we did an all inclusive so Teens could have what they liked without blowing our budget. We stayed at a resort that had an abundance of wildlife.
The downside is depending on time of year, Mexico and other parts of Caribbean experience high levels of seaweed (Sargassum), it really isn’t nice, can be on the beach/In the water some days and gone the next, we were very lucky as all the beaches we went to were clean of it apart from last day when there was quite lot in the water and on the beach, the hotels do attempt to clean it up.

I was going to suggest the Garden Route but sounds like you've covered some of that. Have you considered Peru? I'm currently planning an autumn trip and flights are not too expensive. You could do your own independent route but also include an organised Inca Trail trek if you're all outdoorsy.

Japan is cheaper than you think - take a look! We loved it. Food in particular was very reasonable.

Thailand and Malaysia?

We just did Borneo which was amazing and very reasonably priced over there - issue is getting reasonably priced flights out. Amazing wildlife. Did Sandakan/ Sepilok and Kinabatangan river. Also done Costa Rica which was great for wildlife and rainforest and activities like ziplining from great heights. Flights should be cheaper there. Kids loved both.

Indonesia! Loved it there. Easy to island hop if you’re independently minded. Japan is amazing too and the trains are easy to use, but more expensive.

I think Costa Rica was pretty pricey compared to Asia.

Place marking for inspiration. Would love to do a similar trip to Namibia

Japan is really cheap once you get there
Love it and go each year- cheaper than most of Asia

Malaysia and Singapore. Fly into KL and do a few days in the city. Then options would be:
Penang
Melacca
Perhentian Islands for beach time (better than Langkawi if you go during British summer hols, Langkawi would be better if you’re going during Uk winter)

then over to Borneo, see orangutans, do a homestay in the forest

Then couple of (pricier) days in Singapore before you fly home

And/or you could include Bali in this schedule

How about Canada? Banff & Lake Louise are absolutely stunning. Never been so mesmerised in my life. DD had a fantastic time

Japan is currently comparatively cheap relevant to the usual cost due to exchange rates but food and accommodation is easily 3-4 times the price of Malaysia and often more in popular locations. You will struggle to spend under 10k if you are going as a group of 4 pax for 2-3 weeks whereas that’s easily doable in SE Asia