Holiday to remember with teens

[Crocosmia74]

Both DH and I have big birthdays approaching and would like to mark the.occasion with a big holiday with our teenage kids.

Not keen on AI but equally we like a bit of comfort (no camping!). Had considered Costa Rica but it looks £££. Not sure on budget yet, that said. We go to Europe every year so are looking a bit further afield.

I like the idea of seeing interesting wildlife but am petrified of snakes.and similar (can cope with little Mediterranean type lizards). DH is coeliac which can be more complicated, but we both speak pretty good Spanish. Must be in the summer holidays due to kids' exams looming. Kids keen on beach sports, kayaking etc. Don't mind a bit of rain mixed in with hot weather.

Any recommendations, wise travellers of MN??

@House4DS did you book it all yourself, individually, or did you go with a tour companuy? Did you travel around Sri Lanka at all?

A friend did CR think it was around easter time with one teen and three older adult DC. The photos looked absolutely fantastic and it sounded like a major success and a holiday of a lifetime for all of them.

I think my holiday of a lifetime would be Canadian rockies with a horse trek! Or Cape Verde maybe. Sri Lanka is amazing but we've been loads as DH from there. Definitely book everything separately. You can get trains to many tourist places and then taxis or tuk tuks. Do not attempt to drive in Colombo!

We’ve been all over the place, but all of my kids have said that The Ardeche was one of their favourite holidays.

Stayed with Eurocamp, in a Safari tent- proper beds…

Loads of kayaking and jumping off big rocks into the river.

Our most successful family holidays when our dc were early to mid-teens (pre-Covid) were Canadian and US road trips.

My teen keeps asking for a trip to Japan.

@Meadowwild
Both trips we travelled around lots (3/4 nights per place usually), booked everything myself, used public transport.
Flights through ebookers.com, some accomodation on booking.com, others directly, activities booked locally.
My budget is (relatively) small so we did a reasonable amount of self catering in CR. SL food was so cheap we just ate out all the time.

We are currently on Vancouver Island as part of 3 weeks in BC. Our teens are loving it. It’s very easy driving, there is so much to see and do and the natural beauty is astonishing. You’ll have no trouble with special diets, and there are no lizards. Although I did see a wolf this morning!

Our budget was around 20k for 3 week with 4* hotels/cabins, eating out every day and lots of activities. I reckon you could do it for quite a bit less. There’s loads of surfing/kayaking and other adventure activities.

So do ours. I worry the heat and humidity in the summer though.

Thanks everyone! I am really liking the US or Canadian road trip idea.

We had an amazing holiday last year - 4 nights in Iceland and 4 in New York. (You can stop over in Iceland free for up to 7 days on Icelandair flights so it's basically the cost of flights to New York.) Such a contrast and both genuinely incredible destinations. Kids were mid-teens and absolutely loved all of it.

I'm just back from a family holiday in Italy that really didn't seem to work :(

I'm thinking the eldest dc might not come next year, which I'm not too worried about after this year!

We have another 2 teen dc who will need to come with us, but none of us like the sun/heat. 2 x vegetarians, 1 of whom is very fussy, ideally not a long flight, things to see and do, we don't do beaches or sun bathing, we like museums, culture and art, and trains :)

Could go mid June next year...

I feel like I got it so wrong this year. It's such an expensive mistake to make :(

Partner has quite a few BA points to spend too!

Ideally, b&b or self-catering.

I like the idea of Canada or new England but its a long flight

Scandinavia?

Road trip from LA to San Fran was a big hit with our teenagers but sooooooo expensive (we went in July) probably 18k when you add in spending money, Disney etc (two week trip)

I’m taking mine to a sporting event in the US as a holiday to remember. Is there a Thing, like sports/music/something you could work on as part of the holiday and a reason to go?

A road trip with teens sounds like a recipe for disaster in my book. And bear in mind they may have changed a lot by next summer

This sounds ideal. We have been to Iceland and New York separately at teen request, both absolutely brilliant holidays

I'd like that.
Or Iceland!

New England is a lovely place, with so much history and nature. It’s great for teens and I find US holidays very easy. We’ve enjoyed hoorays on Cape Cod, as well as Vermont and Acadia in Maine. Even on the beaches, it’s more about hiking, nature and adventure activities, not just sunbathing.

The flight from Boston is easy and not too long and the time change manageable. Much easier than the West Coast. A drive from Boston to Montreal, via Maine is a lovely holiday, with a great city at either end.

Norway is really expensive! Sweden a bit better.

Holiday with teens - Peru worked well for us. Ecuador and Galapagos was best ever. DDs liked Alaska cruise too. Depends what you want to sons. Yacht in BVIs was a winner too.

We've been to Thailand this summer with similar aged teens and all enjoyed it very much. We went because 2 weeks in Thailand was the same price as a week in Turkey. It is rainy season but a good mix of sun and rain, and everything is so cheap when you get there.

Thank you
I like the sound of that :)

I'd suggest Japan but you'd need to up your budget quite a bit. The teenagers would love it and it's an amazing country.

Thanks again everyone and good luck @user8800 I feel your pain, teens are tricky beasts when it comes to anything holidays.

We are thinking of doing this but always worry a little about the weather. Did you get much rain? Which areas did you visit please?