Special holiday with children

[Thedoctorswife1]

I’ve posted before but have refined our search a little. We are a family of 4 looking for a special holiday for 2026. Our twins will be 5 going on 6. They are high energy.

what we’d like;

• semi long haul/ not Europe
• somewhere warm : ideally with a beach or pool or even water park
• wildlife or excited things to see or do.
• school holidays- England- this is not negotiable due to working in schools.summer would be ideal but would consider another time of year.
• all inclusive if possible
• kids club - they are very sociable and love making friends
• budget is around the 10k mark including transport but there’s wiggle room here.

so far I’ve considered Mauritius, Mexico, Caribbean. Not ruled anything out yet apart from the European ones.

please help!

Think about malaria, jabs etc. They are too young. Plus 8 hrs on plane not fun. Disney land or similar?

Plenty of children do 8 hours on a plane without an issue. I don’t think they’re too young.

other things are worth thinking about no doubt but we don’t want to do Disney for this trip.

Goa, Thailand as both have elephants and AI

I’d go for Mauritius at Easter or Christmas. Or Mexico or Thailand for more interesting excursions, but more jetlag and trickier flighte.

I don’t think it’s worth going long haul in our summer, at least until your kids are older. It’s rainy season in many parts of the world at that time anyway. The exception is Disney but you don’t want that (I wouldn’t either)!

So I think either go for winter sun or spend on a luxurious summer holiday in Europe.

Thailand is incredible with kids. DS has been aged 1.5 and 6, both fantastic trips.

No water park but Blue Waters in Antigua is great for all inc luxury that is family friendly too.

Why do you want a special holiday? Is it to celebrate a special event in your life, or there’s? That’s an awful lot of money to spend on one holiday, and the children won’t really appreciate it. To them, one beach looks very much like another, whether it’s Mallorca, Margate or Mauritius.

Sorry if this sounds negative.

It’s a special anniversary for us that year (summer specifically).

thank you for the insight re rainy season

I'm also tied to school hols.
Fab summer trips for us have been Kenya, Malaysian Borneo, Sri Lanka and Costa Rica for longhaul.
Never AI though and always staying in several places to explore the country.
Looking at Thailand or Indonesia for summer 2025.
Obviously kids have grown up across those summers, but Kenya youngest was 5.
Long flights are fine - I'd go for night ones if you have a choice. To keep costs down we've not flown direct. I kind of prefer it as a short layover breaks the monotony.

@Thedoctorswife1 It is not rainy season everywhere! It’s quite a long flight to South Africa, and, if you can do without the pool, there’s loads to do. If will be cold in the morning but game drives are thrilling. Just check where you go will accommodate dc. Kenya also has beaches and wildlife. Not sure your money will stretch but at least consider these.

Japan? At Easter so you catch the blossom

so far I’ve considered Mauritius, Mexico, Caribbean. Not ruled anything out yet apart from the European ones

Out of those, I'd say Mauritius is your best bet, weather wise, if you are hoping to go in the summer holidays. For the east coast of Mexico and many parts of the Caribbean, it's the hurricane season. While the chance of being in the direct path of a hurricane is fairly slim, my friends got caught in one in Mexico, and it was not a pleasant experience.

I know you've said you're ruling out Europe, but have you considered Turkey? We went to Belek. Many hotels there are fantastic, great all-inclusives, kids clubs, many have mini water parks and lovely beaches. We took my kids when they were 8 to 10, and we had a fantastic time. The weather is pretty much guaranteed (sometimes a bit too hot in July when we went). There are plenty of day trips to go on, including theme parks, waterfalls, and dolphin watching. In the evenings we saw turtles hatching out in the sands of the beach and crawling to the sea in the moonlight.

I would not try Japan at Easter with young dc. Caribbean isn’t hurricane season at Easter and prices drop. However your budget isn’t great. Maybe a holiday appartment? AI will cost a lot.

What about a cruise? With that budget you could get a nice cruise-line, probably a suite cabin on a fab itinerary see different places, fab entertainment and kids activities, plus good food you know they would like each day. Its also lovely for celebrating on for special occasions as you can have vow renewals, private dining, spa days, photography sessions, anything you like really!

You could do Greece, Croatia, Montenegro at that time of year, or possibly further afield singapore/thailand/malaysia