Great holiday for teens in August

[MonicaBingGeller]

What has been your best holiday in the summer with teens (16 and 15)? We are thinking about Vietnam but would welcome other suggestions! My dream would be travelling around Thailand but I worry the weather wouldn’t be good enough.

Wet season in both Northern and Southern Vietnam while dry season in Central Vietnam at that time.

We did Borneo

@dinhoecotour from what I’ve read you can still have a decent trip there in August? Or would you say it’s not worth it?

@whatohwhattodo I love the idea of Borneo. Did you plan it yourselves or with a company? Did you go via KL?

I personally wouldn’t go to Vietnam at that time, it’s wet north and south (where a lot of the best bits are) and very hot centrally. Easter is a good time to go.

If you want SE Asia and good weather in August look at Indonesia (I’d avoid Bali myself), East Coast Malaysia, Borneo, Singapore and islands off it. Gulf islands of Thailand (Koh Samui etc) can be good weather then, not the best time but not bad.

We did mainland Thailand when my now 20 something children were that age. They say it was their best holiday - we did Kanchanaburi, then a floating hotel on the river Kwai for 1 night then Bangkok. The following year we went to Koh Samui which although enjoyable want as good.

@MonicaBingGelleryes - I used a company. Went via KL one way and Singapore the other. The company have preset packages but you can tailor them to your requirements - add bits on change durations etc. word of warning turtle island is a no go area under FCO rules so I removed that from the package. We used freedom destinations. We had a private driver and guide whilst crossing Borneo and that was great. 8 seater minibus all the time for 3 of us so plenty of space to stretch out.

it was a mix of city, beach and wildlife and we all loved it. very busy holiday - lots of moving around. we did a 6am river cruise and our boat was just me, my daughter and our private guide plus boat driver, the river was nearly empty and it was amazing. The afternoon one the day before was slightly less amazing as a rumour had gone out there were Pygmy elephants in the vicinity and it was like the m25 at rush hour!

We went to Koh Samui in the summer and were disappointed - it was okay but not somewhere i would return. Weather was okay - overcast a lot and some rain but it was more the island wasn't for me - not much to do and the sea was cloudy the whole time.

I know Thailand pretty well and would want to go back to lots of the places that aren’t good in the summer. Annoyingly we have a few years of summer exams for the teens coming up so Easter is a no go.
Will price up Borneo - I fear it will be too expensive. Vietnam was appealing as the accommodation seemed so affordable so we could spend more on flights and adventures!

Borneo is a fab destination and easy to pick up local tours to keep the costs down.

@savvy7 how do you recommend doing that? Online? Or when you get there?

@MonicaBingGelleri cannot answer for ease of picking up local tours but if you are going summer I think the river stuff particularly gets booked up. We booked a year in advance and had to move the dates by a day to get the lodge the agent planned. I think some of the accommodation by the sanctuaries also gets very booked.

Agree on Koh Samui. Was very “meh”. We also found it to be full of Russians (I have nothing against Russian individuals but large groups of them, when they are by far the biggest nationality present, are intimidating).

I know Thailand pretty well and would want to go back to lots of the places that aren’t good in the summer.

Same here. I’d like to go across Christmas and visit the West coast, but DC still want an English Christmas.

How about Lombok and the Gili Islands? Komodo?

Canada - Vancouver, Whistler for mountain biking, swimming in lakes, canoeing, ferry over to Vancouver Island and head to Tofino for surfing, bear watching, whale watching etc. Best holiday ever!

Our kids loved Japan. It was hot and humid but we managed with drinks and going on air conditioning places for rest. Couldn’t go other type of the year. They also like Greek Islands. They want good food, relaxation, shopping, with a bit of sightseeing.

I booked online in advance. It's a few years since we went but we used this company:

www.downbelowadventures.com/

Mexico - diving , swimming with whale sharks, swimming in cenotes, swimming with turtles, Chichen itza. Kids loved it.

@Moretwirlsandswirls was that in August? Which part of Mexico did you stay in? I’ve heard bad things about the seaweed problem and not being able to swim in the sea which we all love so that has put me off.

We took our teens to Indonesia last summer and that was a fabulous holiday. 4 days in Singapore exploring the city then down to Bali for 5 nights inland near Ubud for cycling the terraces, monkeys, temples, coffee plantations then onto Komodo for snorkelling, dragons, trekking and the wildlife before collapsing on a beautiful beach. Very reasonable cost, food was superb, friendly locals and something for everyone. Think I spent £6k all in for 4 (adults) excluding the flights.

That does sound good Lordofmyflies. Did you go through an agent or book it all yourself?

Hi, it was July. We travelled around- Cozumel for diving, Akumel for turtles (yes seaweed but not major issue), inland for cenotes and Chichen Itza, Isla Mujures for whale sharks. Really enjoyable. Kids loved it. On balance I probably prefer Asia (less Americans!) but the sea life in Mexico was incredible and it was a real change for us (we normally go to Asia and Europe)

@Lordofmyflies I have looked at this exact trip before! Which beach did you end up on? I went to Bali years ago and did the best diving and snorkelling of my life in the North.

Thank you @Moretwirlsandswirls - really helpful, will have a look at all these places. The cenotes really appeal!