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!

I can think of about 5 families we know who have gone on £15k plus holidays this Christmas and will probably do the same in summer. Just because you don’t know people who spend that, doesn’t mean that they don’t exist and that the OP is a fantasist.

She’s also not thoughtless for posting for holiday ideas on a holiday board 😵‍💫 I swear that some people actually look around trying to find things to be offended about.

Thank you! Appreciate it 😊

Honestly, it would be very very rare. I’ve never had clients affected - genuinely. This is mumsnet so you won’t believe me, I know that. I have clients there now that have trips cancelled due to weather and it’s the optimum time to go, it happens.

I’ve got clients that go every year in the summer holidays, as well as colleagues. If we were talking mid-late September/October then personally no I wouldn’t! But July August? I’d go.

Been to Maldives a few times in August, never had any weather issues. Maybe 1-2 times of rain in 13 days, jt rains for a short time and it’s immediately hot again.

OP was asking for ideas and suggestions, not judgement. It’s the holiday board and some posters are happy to spend large sums on travel/holidays.

we didnt spend that much as we were living in China and flights were therefore all short haul. You can stay at fabulous hotels in Vietnam, for example, at a very good price and it’s not an expensive country for eating out.

Congratulations for being able to withhold judgement - but for context it’s more money than I made last year after tax for the entire year! Forgive me for being appalled that a society exists where one mother can spend more in two weeks on a luxury item than another mother makes a year.

Depends on day to day outgoings as well as wages though - someone who has no dependent children and has paid off their mortgage will be able to spend a higher portion of their earnings on holidays, if this is their priority. I imagine OP's family are high earners but you don't necessarily have to be if your other outgoings are very low.

And some people spend more purchasing a car than I earn in a year…
we live in a capitalist society and inevitably some people have very large salaries/a huge disposable income surely you haven’t just realised that…

Newsflash: some people have more money than others.

I would suggest Thailand. We came here In feb and loved it so much we came back for new year.

@SchoolDilemma17 How was the Maldives, was there much to do aside from beach/pool? I would be worried about us being a bit bored!

I’m following this thread with interest, as also planning our summer holiday and want to go somewhere ‘different’ having done various countries in Europe over last few years.

@Rainyblue we went to the Maldives in April last year. Very beautiful and amazing food/scenery but other than snorkelling, there wasn't very much else to do and DD (then 10 ) got bored very quickly

Does this poster really think billionaires are more common than millionaires? Or really think that billionaires would only spend £18k on 2 weeks and millionaires couldn’t afford that? 😂 judge away but maybe it’s people like you who need to get into the real world…. The higher end hotels aren’t going to be empty are they, so clearly thousands of normal people spend this amount on holidays. Billionaires aren’t staying in these hotels.

You have to like water related sports tbh. We go for snorkelling (which is amazing) and only choose resorts with house reefs (a reef in easy swimming distance). You can dive, kayak, canoe, paddle board. Honestly it’s amazing and the sea beyond beautiful. But you are in a resort, no shops to browse, no towns etc. if you think you would get bored I would combine with Sri Lanka or a few days Dubai first or after.

also choose your resort carefully: some have more family activities (incl kids clubs and we go to those as we have small kids), others are more basic and cater for divers, others are more for adults on honeymoon etc

Kuredu is an island we really liked: https://www.kuredu.com/recreation/

I worked for billionaires and 18k doesn’t scratch the barrel. Eg a Christmas holiday in St Barths will be 150k for a 2 week villa, add staff, restaurants, 6 first class flights, spa treatments etc and you are easily on £300k plus. And that’s one holiday. Two months later is skiing in Switzerland, flying private etc

you really don’t have to be a millionaire to be able to spend 18k on a holiday.

@Linens is this a once in a lifetime spend of £18k? Just wondering, as that may change the advice people give you! I know someone who spent £17k on a holiday once, but it truly was once in a lifetime, so where they went was influenced by the 'once in a lifetime' factor.

I know! Tell that to @Banrockmystation 😂

you really don’t have to be a millionaire to be able to spend 18k on a holiday.

Of course not but you'd need well into a 6 figure income, which I know is pretty average on MN but much less so IRL.

There's obviously no problem with OP asking the question in the holidays topic - that's what it's about! but it is way above the average person's holiday budget. However on MN there are a lot of people with above average income so are able to offer sensible or budget appropriate ideas.

@Covidwoes no not once in a lifetime, we have roughly the same annual budget for holidays every year. However of course I would like it to be really lovely but it doesn’t have to be multicentre, see everything etc.

I'm Canadian and the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge isy favourite place to stay.

The food is amazing, Jasper is gorgeous, you can go horseback riding, rent a canoe, golf.

If you go to Vancouver I'd rent bikes and do Stanley Park.

Head up to Whistler and go skiing depending on when you go. I personally prefer the four seasons to the Fairmont up there.

If you go to Vancouver Island I also suggest going to Salt Spring Island and Galliano.

On the Island Oak Bay is a lovely area to stay in.

Tofino is a must see, it's absolutely gorgeous.

If you watch Pamela Anderson's documentary on Netflix ( I love her) she is back living on the Island and you can get a sense of how beautiful it is.

I know Toronto isn't often thought of as a huge tourist destination BUT I personally love it here and I grew up in BC.

One of the best things about TO is the food and entertainment.

If you like amazing food and are adventurous, you can find anything here. We are the most multicultural city in the world and the cuisine is incredible.

Renting an air bnb in the Beaches has a very west coast feel here.

My teenage son and I just took a "vacation " downtown and stayed in the Shangri-la and loved it. The location was great, incredible service, and the pool area is beautiful with individual cabanas.

That said if you do the west coast we don't have seafood like BC. The fresh seafood on Vancouver almost makes me want to move back.

If you rent/hire a boat you can catch crab yourself and eat it with butter and garlic. So yummy!

Your earnings, or lack of, are nobody else's concern other than your own.

Why should anyone else care that their holiday costs more than your earnings?

I can't afford that level of holiday but I think good for them if they can! If they've worked to earn that money they can spend it any way they like.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I thought people were exaggerating about Center Parcs but looked it up and some of their lodges in the summer are £11k a week! You would be so annoyed if it rained all week….

Wow that’s insane! You could go to the Maldives for that 😂