July 2025 - help please!

[Icantfindanewname]

Where would you recommend for 2 adults, 1 15 year old, 1 14 year old for 10-14 days, probably from first weekend of July next year? Yes, it will mean taking youngest out of school, BUT I've just had a clear post (second) cancer scan. We are doing Egypt this October, I would like somewhere else to make memories while I can. I've been lucky and travelled a lot, they have seen pools and beaches - both of which are great, but I would like something more. Ideally I'd like to keep the cost in four figures 🤔. I don't really know where to start. All ideas gratefully received 😊

When our kids were teens, their favourite holidays were cruises - we did two cruises with them on the Norwegian Getaway, and they loved them. There was a great balance of things to do on the ship, and places to see at the ports of call. It's given us some great memories.

I second a cruise. Mine loved it as teens. They were used to beach holidays and not big on sightseeing but the cruise gave the benefits of a lively pool hotel with days in lovely cities. We found Marella reasonably priced and informal.

I think it depends what you really want to see.

Lots of people recommend Thailand or Sri Lanke, safaris, Costa Rica, road trip in the US. Depending how good you are with DIY planning these things can be done cheaply.

We are currently looking at 3-4 center Scandinavia trip. DD and DH love Nordic myths and it's a while since we have been there, DD never has.

A cruise - to make it more than a floating AI you really need to do all the trips at port and explore. Not sure if it is really something I would see as so different form a pool/beach holiday.

A cruise - to make it more than a floating AI you really need to do all the trips at port and explore. Well, yes, that's kind of the point. It's an easy way to see lots of different things, while also having some relaxing time.

Not sure if it is really something I would see as so different form a pool/beach holiday It can be similar to a pool/beach holiday, or very different indeed. Quite what sort of day trips you do does of course depend on the itinerary. A Caribbean cruise can be quite beach based, but a Med cruise tends to have a real mixture of culture, city exploration, possibly beaches etc. Then there's cruises that visit colder climates - Canada, Alaska, Norway etc. Not really a beach holiday in that case. With many ports, you can just wander in to the nearest city or town and explore, others it may be better to take an organised tour. The beauty of it is that you can do as much or as little as you like.

Costa Rica is great for that age group, rainforest, wildlife, ziplines etc and should be doable in budget either in AI via TUI or similar or independently.

This year we did Borneo which would also recommend and independently could be done in budget but does require 2 flights and ideally the London to KL need booking early to get a better price, Sepilok and Kinabantagan are both excellent for wildlife.

Or if you are looking within Europe can recommend Arola Bears in Finland for brown Bear spotting and combine with other things, done all the Scandinavian countries. Cities Copenhagen and Stockholm are nice. Norway is beautiful but astronomical in price. Did Lapland in winter which is magical. Or Azores, we stayed at Octant Furnas which has lovely spa pools, hot springs, dolphins, beautiful scenery, can go from Stansted direct or via Porto or Lisbon. Can also island hop if you like remote.

Thank you all, so much to think about. I would LOVE a cruise, unfortunately my husband isn't keen. I already have two grumpy teens, I don't need a third with an arsy face!

Please keep the suggestions coming 😁

We (me, DH, DS aged 16 and D aged 12) have just come back from a fantastic holiday, staying 2n in Venice, 5n in Slovenia (Bled) and 7n in north Croatia (Rovinj) before flying back from Venice. We absolutely loved the whole trip, especially the combination of city, lakes/mountains and beach. Our favourite place was Bled and could have stayed longer there, but we really enjoyed the variety we experienced throughout the trip. DS in particular loved mountain biking and zip lining in Slovenia, and there's other activities avail like rafting and canyoning. Weather was great (around 28-30) the whole time.

Tempted to go to south Croatia next time just because it looks beautiful, tho thinking of Thailand next year. Trying to do holidays which are appealing to DS in particular!

That sounds great! How did you travel from place to place? Did you hire a car? We are planning a car free holiday fur next year so looking for ideas.

We hired a car. DH really enjoyed the drive up through the Alps to Slovenia. Apparently Slovenia is easy to get around using public transport though.

@Icantfindanewname What do your teens actually want to do? We did a couple of cruises but trips off the boat can cost an absolute fortune. Not all ports are near what you want to see. Trips can be really short and you don’t see much. So if DH isn’t keen, I do understand why.

We went a couple of times with Families Worldwide. Peru was amazing. I’m lucky that dc didn’t just want to have a pool and do nothing. They had wider interests and talk about the holidays they loved even now. Safaris were a huge hit. They liked South Africa. I know they cost a lot but talking to dc and opening their minds to new things can pay dividends. What about Iceland or Eastern Canada? For me, seeing more than a beach is now vital.

Two trips our teens absolutely loved was California then up to Arizona then across to New York.

Then last summer we did Florida Universal studios, Kennedy space station, airboat through the Everglades then finished with a few days of chill on the Gulf keys.