Anywhere but Europe in August!

[petitdonkey]

Hi all,

We want to do a big family trip this summer as this could be a final holiday with all of the children. I’m driving myself mad looking at where to go!

Would like to leave Europe but it’s not the best time weather wise in many places. We’ve done USA many times and don’t fancy experiencing it with Trump..

I keep looking at Thailand or other parts os SE Asia but have been warned the weather isn’t great. Has anyone been at that time? Or Sri Lanka?

Basically, my request is, have you had an amazing ‘big’ holiday in August somewhere other than Europe?

• family of 5 - children 16, 18, 20
• a mix of days out/sightseeing with some beach chill time too

Would really love to hear from anyone that has done something that really worked!

(Has to be August as I’m in education)

Thanks in advance.

We’ve been to Thailand- Bangkok and Koh Sami. Bali and Malaysia -KL and Langkawi in August wethers been great. Samui and Bali were the best out of those 3.

We did Bora Bora at that time if year. Reasonable weather but not akin to a good day in Europe as it's a bit more humid. We flopped and dropped but lots of people were visiting lots of the south Pacific islands and spending 4 or 5 days in each. It's a long way though.

@Shudacudawuda
Depends on what standard of accommodation. Eating out is not cheap, especially in the harbour area of Halifax, but you can find cafes! We spent a lot! However we stayed in smaller boutique hotels, B&Bs and an amazing hotel in Halifax. A couple of places had kitchens so cooking was possible. I suspect there’s more of these! This was September so cheaper than August. We went with Audley Travel so look at their web site. We went for nearly 3 weeks too. However there’s definitely cheaper tours and you could definitely save money by DIY and staying in cheaper properties.

@Shudacudawuda

This was our itinerary. A bit more on the end but it was a lot of driving. You could cut bits out and cut down on the distance but depends on what matters to you. We didn’t think we would be going back anytime soon so did a lot. You could certainly miss our New Brunswick but we liked everywhere.

Thank you @TizerorFizz

Looks fantastic!

You’re not getting “beach chill time” in Nova Scotia. Loved Eastern Canada (except NB which is a mass of trees with one 7 hour long straight road through it). Plenty of direct flights still available for this August.

For a last big holiday with the kids I wouldn’t consider it though, that itinerary above looks ideal for a retired couple but that’s not what you want. Halifax and the citadel is great for a couple of days maximum, in Lunenburg everything closes by 9pm even on festival days, Annapolis Royal is one street and that’s no exaggeration, literally nothing there. As for Digby, excellent whale watching, excellent lobster, and a really off vibe with the locals. Strange little nooks in the back of restaurants where they just gambled on slot machines for hours. It was very odd. That said, beautiful scenery and walks and worth a visit but not with teens for a final holiday.

We are a retired couple (oh dear!) but it’s an example of where you can go. Not necessarily where you would stay. There are plenty of beaches! We didn’t stay in Digby. I did say the places we stayed at were boutique and B&B but we like character. The point about Eastern Canada is that it’s laid back. No we didn’t want endless beaches but Lantern Hill is right on the beach and Charles Cove has beaches everywhere. So it’s easy to tailor the trip. However it’s more back to nature with scenery, walks, little towns and history. It’s not Ibiza.

The other possibility would be Peru maybe? No beaches but a lot to see and unforgettable. Brazil - rainforest and beaches is worth a look too.

Nothing wrong with being a retired couple! I’m just trying to answer the OP. The teens would be likely bored stiff with NS. I found lots that I liked, have memories I cherish, but there’s no denying that weird vibe.

Digby and Lunenburg especially. I spent more than one evening people watching and wondering wtf was going on there! Montreal and Quebec maybe more suitable but again, the OP wants beach chill time so it’s not relevant!

It's luck of the draw a bit with weather in Asia, I've been to the Maldives in August a couple of times for short spells and the weather has been good, short showers here and there but not endless heavy rain. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law though got caught up in the heavy rain and flooding in Vietnam last August. I don't think it ruined the trip for them though, but they do speak the language, makes it easier to get plans changed. I believe Indonesia is drier than Thailand in August, being South of the equator. We went in early October time, but friends were there last August.

@CountryQueen We didn’t find anything wierd at Luneburg at all. It also depends on what dc want.

Our teens ours loved Peru and safaris. We did a few beach based holidays too but tended to do several areas and move on. They love art - still do. DD was 6 when she knew all about Van Gogh. So we tried to give them a mixture of culture and fun on holiday. Just a beach and pool always bored all of us.

I also think SA is good in August but you need to ditch the beach idea and substitute animals. Virtually no time difference though like Brazil.

Peru sounds like a good shout.

As for the strange vibe in Lunenburg, it’s harder to describe than Digby and Antigonish (fentanyl use or similar synthetics). More a false happiness. We went to a small town festival and one minute there was music playing, people mingling and dancing, beers being served and the next, everyone scarpered and the town was dead. At 9pm in summer. Bizarre. We left the next day. I can always I find something to enjoy wherever I go but that part of Canada is not somewhere I’d rush back to or recommend. I suspect the drugs issue is even more problematic post pandemic.

@CountryQueen There are drug areas in Vancouver too. We missed our street on a self guided walking tour and even I was a bit stunned! Simon Reeve was not wrong! There’s also a drug rooms in the Meatpacking area in Copenhagen but it’s still a popular place to go.

I think East Canada is great for a laid back holiday if that’s the type of family you have. Obviously water parks, theme parks and teen raves are not there!

Yes, it’s a global issue that’s for sure. It just didn’t sit right there, you’d have to go to the places we went in Digby for me to explain it properly. A weird spice/gambling going on whilst surrounded by beautiful scenery, whales and lobster pots! Not your average druggie on the street situation. Bizarre.

Great country for relaxed road tripping of course. We covered Ontario to N.S. via Montreal, Quebec and New Brunswick. Other than New Brunswick which really had a lot less to see, we enjoyed exploring all of the states and sights.

We liked Hopewell Rocks and the Fundy Trail parkway. It’s new and very good!

We went to Sri Lanka in August and the weather was lovely, rained twice, once for about 5 minutes and once for an hour in the morning. So many places to visit and lovely peopole.

Also in education so limited to school summer hols.

Sri Lanka, Borneo, Costa Rica and Vietnam have all been great

Sometimes overnight storms, but daytime weather is dry although humid of course.

Sri Lanka was my favourite - our route was Habarana, Nilavelli, Arugum Bay, Ella, Kandy over 2.5 weeks.
All on public transport but many people hire a car and driver. Very cheap when you are there so your money goes a long way.

Teens said Costa Rica had the edge but much more expensive - UK prices really.

Flights to all of those destinations would be similar in cost.

Would anyone share their Indonesia itinerary? Hoping to do a backpacking type trip this summer.

We did 6 nights Ubud, 4 nights Amed, 5 nights Gili T, 2 nights Rinjani (Lombok), 3 nights Selong Belanak, 2 nights Gili Gede and 4 nights Uluwatu in August 2022.
it was fantastic and we had no rain at all. The snorkelling was brilliant too.

@Wherehas2023gone - this is what I’m hoping to do next year. I’m hoping to dive Gili T and Komodo.
Did you have Bali as your start and end point?

Yes start and end point. Komodo would be great, but booking during covid made it quite difficult to plan flights. We loved Lombok and Amed is definitely worth visiting if you enjoy snorkelling.

We went to Mexico for two weeks in August and it was fantastic! An amazing mix of beach days, adventure and culture. Weather was great; we had one stormy day but that wasn’t even for the whole day.

Iceland -but could be busy then. I visited in October.

@SlimbearIsn't Iceland Europe? I’m not sure how busy it can get as it’s not a country will huge numbers of hotels, except in Reykjavik.

Sri Lanka is a good option, plenty of options as far as activities, culture, excellent food and not too expensive

Have loved all of these suggestions- thank you all for taking the time to contribute. It’s funny because I told someone yesterday we were thinking of Thailand and she immediately said ‘but isn’t it the rainy season’ which is why I’d needed reassurance from you all!

think we are going to do a very soft version of Thailand with little travelling- two nights in Bangkok then koh samui staying in two different places (we’ve never done more that seven nights in one place!)

hopefully it will inspire the children to explore more. Loved reading the suggestions about Japan and Canada but realised that’s a trip for just me and DH- five adults are never going to want the same itinerary.

i very nearly swung to Sri Lanka so maybe that’s next on the list!! The children had final vote!

South Africa and Namibia. We did a similar trip there and it was great especially for seeing animals.