Family summer holiday with a budget of around 18k

[Linens]

Thinking ahead to 2026 summer.
DH and I, DS who will be 14.5 and DS who will be 10
I would like 2 weeks away somewhere. Looked at Mauritius/Maldives/Sri Lanka/Seychelles but seems it’s the wet season and maybe not ideal time to go?
I love European villa holidays but it’s just so so hot now and all the risk of wildfires….
Was thinking safari but I have been before and it’s not hugely relaxing, which we desperately need on our holidays.
We are doing Disney this year in October so probably won’t want to go again so soon. Going away in Easter is probably out as well as we will not be long back from Dis and October 2026 youngest will be sitting 11+ so it will be summer to go away.
I love going away in the UK and we will have a week away in UK at some point but the weather is unreliable for main summer holiday.
I did see a suggestion on another thread for Parnu in Estonia which I really fancied?
Anyone any bright ideas? I LOVE
holidays and booking them and planning and I’ve always got the next destination in mind but nothing is massively exciting me. I know 2026 is a long way off but I like to start thinking about things!

Am I the only one who thought that was a typo when I read £18k budget for a holiday?!

Australia?

Barbados. Hire a villa and enjoy exploring the island and food! The island is gorgeous. Go as early in summer holiday as you can.

They'd be bored in dives / Mauritius etc.

Costa Rica

Borneo

Us road trip or train trip?

I feel you! I'm so over planning 2025 holidays already 😂

We're doing a Banff/Canadian Rockies road trip in summer 2026 and hiring a motorhome to do so - it'll be really busy in places but I'm doing lots of research into quieter areas/parts of the national parks to go explore too. It seems ideal for older kids/teens (DS is 5, but I'm accounting for him loving all the outdoor adventures as well). Can easily do within £18k I would have thought (costing us probably £22k all in but there will be 6 of us).

Canada or Japan. Both on my wish list. Just waiting for my two to be older.

USA / Canadian multi centre trip.
France - Paris for a few days then train to the south.

You could do Japan and do one week in the cities like Tokyo and then do Okinawa which is a beautiful island similar to the likes of Bali etc

Or Rio in Brazil?

Dry areas in Asia in the summer : Borneo, central Vietnam, Bali, Java.
Have also been a couple of times to Australia in the summer: Melbourne cool, but dry, Perth mild and dry and Broome (north WA) dry season so nice and dry!
i have also been to Hanoi, HK, Bangkok, Phuket and Laos in the summer with some rain, but didn’t really affect the holiday.

Far East - Vietnam , Thailand or Malaysia- city and beach

No, not just you.

also had a great summer holiday in British Columbia: Vancouver, Vancouver island and whistler.
japan is very humid in the summer and the heat can be quite debilitating. I used to live in one of the hottest areas in China and even I was flagging in Osaka in July.

Butlins. You can stay all summer.

18k on one holiday? My goodness, I am beyond envious 😂

Japan is a great idea. But if you don’t want to go long haul what about Sweden/ Norway/ lake house kind of holiday - some of the islands plus Stockholm?

Canada sounds…. Interesting? Never really thought about it for a two week holiday, did a lot of backpacking in youth and always thought of it as a destination where you’d go for months…. But it’s piqued my interest.
Bali also sounds interesting.
Definitely not Japan.
Carribean I know nothing about, it’s always felt a bit of a hard work destination to me…. Hurricanes/grey skies/areas to avoid all concern me.

Love Scandinavia, heard it’s very humid and mosquitoey in summer though?

Why not japan?

Totally agree with previous posters re: Sweden. If you want a less ‘hot’ but still relaxing holiday look into luxury villas / chalets in mountain resorts - gorgeous in the summer and so many summer mountain activities.

otherwise North American lake breaks - Lake Tahoe has some spectacular rental properties right on the water with boats included - or Vancouver or Michigan are glorious

@ToastyCat Just sounds like a busy sort of holiday where we’d want to see everything and that’s not my vibe at this moment. Also heat and humidity also long haul flights when we’ve only got 2
weeks especially if it’s a sightseeing holiday and you’ve got to hit the ground running.

Me too. Do people really spend that much. My kids are in their 20s now we only went to the seaside in this country.

I love the seaside in this country and we will be going there as well.

Nope. That's a lot of disposable income. But I guess it depends how many people are going on the holiday and for how long.

EIGHTEEN THOUSAND POUNDS?

It's not just the £18k on one holiday but the mention of all the other holidays too.....