Family long haul

[Wheretonext26]

We have 2 children (4 and 7) and are looking for ideas for our next long haul Easter holiday. We like a mixture of adventure and relaxation - so one week of exploring and one week on the beach. To give you an idea, some recently trips we’ve done are Costa Rica, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and a few Caribbean islands. No budget for flights as we go quite budget once we’re there. Where should we go next..?

Malaysia definitely ticks those boxes! Our kids loved it at a very similar age to yours. Gorgeous beaches, so much to see and do, wonderful wildlife, incredibly friendly people and amazing food!

That’s great to know as we’ve been looking at Malaysia. We’d love to include Borneo but thought it might just be a bit too much to pack into 2 weeks. Any recommendations of things to see/places to go?

Vietnam was lovely and very friendly. Lots to do but I was on an adults cycling trip so not best placed to advise on what to do or see with kids. I think there are some threads on that though.

It’s a dream destination for us but we wondered whether it’s better to wait until the children are older and can appreciate the history a bit more?

Possibly but I think there’s an element of that in every country. Just been to Rome with 18yo and he was more about the rugby/pizza/pasta/beer than the culture!

We did Kuala Lumpar, Langkawi and Penang. We'd also love to do Borneo but, like you, we thought it might be too much to pack in. The beaches in Langkawi were amazing, so that was our lazy week, though also did the cable car which was great. In Penang we visited George Town to see the street art, and Kek Lok Si (amazing temple!), plus there are loads of other family friendly things to do there - too many to list! And Kuala Lumpar was one of my favourite cities - the rainforest walk in the centre of the city was particularly great, and the light and water show at Petronas Towers was good fun for the kids. Batu Caves were a real highlight there!

We visited Vietnam recently and also absolutely loved it, but I think our kids got more out of it now they're older, especially as we did a lot of travelling around which I don't think they'd have managed when they were younger. But 100% recommend it! Amazing country!!

Possibly Tanzania; week of safari and a week hop over to Zanzibar for beaches and water activities.

Bali. Great for culture and exploring and great for beaches. They love kids, too.

We did Brazil and a short stay in Argentina when we went to Iguazu. DS was 6 and loved it.

I could be wrong but Borneo may need anti malarials? Something to consider.