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!

But you can't search the number of Mumsnetters who open holiday threads for ideas or to give advice only to close them immediately because they are not within the budget they're imagining.

It is far more efficient to put exactly what you need in the title. If you feel upset by the fact that some people spend that much on a family holiday but you're struggling to pay the bills, then that's understandable, but just hide it or scroll onto the next one. Or if things are that much of a struggle, don't look through the holiday threads at all other than to do a specific search of budget holidays or to ask advice on a holiday that IS within your budget.

There was another post appearing at the same time as OP's which was asking if a USA trip was possible for 3k in September. Those details are also in the thread title. It's very helpful to people browsing and elicits more accurate responses.

A title of £18k for a family summer holiday is an extremely unclear requirement!

Really? Well it told me plenty.

did @grimupnorthnot ever come back to clarify…. how?!

I would do Costa Rica or Canada but three areas.

Just back from a trip with 14 and 11yr old across Sweden and Norway. We were surprised by lack of mosquitoes and ticks (which were a concern before we went). We saw virtually none, less of a problem than in UK. We had nowhere near this budget! -Flights are short and inexpensive and we stayed in airbnbs. Cost of living is high in Norway though. We did lots of outdoor activities in Stockholm archipelago and Norwegian Fjords, as well as visiting Stockholm and Oslo. Would really recommend!

@SilverySwift i am really interested - could you tell me a bit more about your itinerary?

Think about the Short Everest trek based on luxury lodges or a Helicopter tour of Everest base camp.
You can combine this with a visit to Chitwan National Park with jungle safari to see Royal Bengal Tiger, Asian Rhinos and many other endangered species.
You can also do fun White water rafting with camping in a pristine riverbank.

This is in Nepal. You can easily do a two-week holiday in Nepal.
You can also combine Nepal with a short trip to Bhutan.

@HimalayanDream at the risk of a derail, who did you travel with? Sounds great.

We recently returned from Spain having spent c11k for (part of) our holiday for 2 weeks in a high spec villa. I searched long and hard and this was the going rate for that standard of accomodation. So, 18k is not unreasonable for 4 people travelling long haul.

We are going to Aus/NZ for 4 weeks next year and we are up to 22k now. Travelling is expensive, but if you want to go you just shop around and pay what suits you and your needs.

To be honest, there'd probably be a lot less (negative/ unhelpful) interest in the thread if the price wasn't in the title. I understand why you'd feel it important but it does also draw the rubberneckers (me included) who can't give advice but are fascinated by the idea of being able to spend that much on a single holiday (and one of many each year).

Top of my longer haul/bucket list plans are: Yellowstone (next year), Canadian Rockies, Patagonia, Australian road trip. South East Asia is also ticking on my radar.

I’ve done I95 bottom to top, from the Keys all the way to Maine taking in Skyline Drive, Chesapeake Bay, Boston, Cape Cod and Deer Isle ME. This was years ago and I’d love a redo of the New England part of that trip.

Depends what you want out of your holiday, though. My family are nature lovers who can’t resist the call of the wild! A pure beach trip isn’t for us - although ironically this year we did an Outer Hebrides road trip and the beaches there were as beautiful as I’ve seen anywhere.

When my children were teenagers we had a fantastic holiday in New York and Vancouver/Vancouver Island. The two centre bit was recommended to me as it makes jet lag very easy by splitting it in two. And the activities in Vancouver were fantastic.

I wouldn’t risk Maldives for the summer. Easter holidays are a good time to go. I am also coming to the conclusion that the summer holidays are actually terrible time to go away. Europe is often too hot, weather not ideal in Caribbean etc. I’d do Mauritius for the budget- you get more for your money than Europe as long as you’d be happy on the right side and lower temps. The other thing to throw out there is mountains in Europe. I’ve been looking at something like this: https://www.sonnwies.com/en/family-hotel probably not right for the OP’s older children but there will be other luxury hotels that might suit.

I know lots of people on pretty average salaries saving for Disney who will spend £15-20k- it’s not that bonkers. The OP is obviously lucky to be able to have frequent holidays at that level but it’s not helpful for other people to tell her how to spend her own money. If she wants to spend it on holidays, why the hell shouldn't she.

This year we flew to Singapore for 4 days sightseeing and then onto Bali Ubud for a further 4 days. We then did a further 4 days on a boat around Komodo doing safari's, seeing mantas and whale sharks before collapsing on a beach in Bali for 4 days. The food and drink was beautiful and very reasonable. All in I think it cost about £15K but we did stay in expensive hotels in Singapore which added £4k to the bill. Could easily be done for £10k for 4.