Adventurous summer holiday dc7 and dc15

[MadeAMistakeOops]

Can anyone recommend a more adventurous summer destination or specific holiday they’ve done with kids with an age-gap? Think culture, natural wonders, activities rather than museums and cities.

Budget is not really limited so that’s helpful!

Past holidays: enjoyed the Peak District, touring trips in Europe taking in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, east of France. Also liked European Centerparcs when the kids were young and lazier holidays in Portugal and Tenerife (beautiful landscapes).

Went to Florida last year - fun but not really my kind of place. I cannot function in high temperatures and humidity unless lots of water is involved so the theme parks were a slog for me.

Two problems: dh is a bit nervous about adventuring and little dc is only 7 so some things are ruled out (but he is super fit and active and up for anything - doesn’t whinge and easy to feed so I think he’s a born traveler!)

Happy to do an organised tour or package holiday but also happy to organise it myself.

I have never visited Asia - would love to do Japan or Thailand or Vietnam or even Singapore but I’m so unfamiliar it’s a bit scary. Is it already too late to consider for this summer? And will it be too hot?

Costa Rica also on my bucket list but I think dc7 needs to be a few years older.

My shortlist currently contains Austrian Alps which dd will consider tame, or Iceland but worried the latter is going to bore a 7 year old.

Help!

We took ours to Nepal, including ww rafting, national parks and cultural stuff. Can do very short treks too.

@ACynicalDad oh wow! I appreciate the suggestion.That’s not a destination I have ever thought of

Did you use a tour operator? I am slightly frightened of very far-flung destinations (what if one of us is injured or ill?).

And did you build up to it with other trips or are you yourself well-travelled? and did you organise it yourself? Nepal feels like a big step up from the Peaks and Spreewald😀

Big sigh. I should never have let Dd15 watch RaceAcrossTheWorld.

Have a look at family specific tours with a company like TellTale Travel.

Sri Lanka?

We did Austria but the weather wasn't great which (July/Aug) so felt quite like going to Scotland!

@ACynicalDad just looked it up and August is monsoon season in our summer holidays! So that’s out.

Boating on the Norfolk Broads.

Rail trip around Norway.

We absolutely love Vietnam (my kids said it was the best holiday they'd ever been on), and Malaysia and Singapore were also massive hits. However, you mentioned you aren't great in heat - and they are all very hot so I fear you would struggle. Our other favourite was a Norwegian roadtrip - we flew into Bergen and hired a car and spent a couple of weeks in various places around the fjords. It was absolutely spectacular, not too hot at all, and the kids thought it was amazing. So much to see and do and incredibly easy to plan yourself.

Colorado Rockies, we have done Breckenridge in summer. Alpine slides, WW rating, bouldering, mountain climbing, canoeing. Kids loved it.

@GloriousGiftBag yes I have read good things on MN about Sri Lanka for families c Had forgotten but might look into this thanks!

@waterwhizz and @DisplayPurposesOnly a road trip in Norway was something I flirted with - or maybe part road, part rail. For touring holidays in Europe my dh has always wanted to take our car to give us freedom and save costs (we aren’t hard up but we like a bargain!) so might need to find a way we can drive ourselves and take a ferry. Using a train would be a bit of a novelty though!

@boulevardofbrokendreamss I think you may be on to a winner - I went to Canada in my 20s and loved it, went all over the place. Have never considered Colorado but would probably tick boxes as dh would like its “‘not too foreign and risky” credentials and dd would consider she had “gone somewhere interesting”. And hopefully would bridge the gap to a more adventurous destination next summer.

Quick google tells me Sri Lanka has good weather in August around 27 to 29 if we pick the right place but very humid.

Has anyone done Florida and Sri Lanka and able to compare how energy-sapping they found them both?

We were at EuropaPark (Germany) in 34 degree heat but it was possible to find shade and also it wasn’t humid. I survived a very exciting and long day of walking the theme park so perhaps I’m underestimating myself!

Slovenia? So beautiful and loads to do. Cheaper than the Alps.

Would you do proper long haul? August is outside our school holidays so Queensland/Daintree or go into the Northern Territory and look at Kakadu (it’s the dry season).

https://www.queensland.com/au/en/home?fbclid=IwY2xjawPW3o1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFJN09pbG5oaWx0M0VlMGtuc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHkZWm6aMzrTyd_E9Vc40URMfg_UPDIuFHtjHRBJr562Aw6Dd-XRtxxwjH4MU_aem_iNnHsWOAWswSbJrajJpP1A

https://northernterritory.com

Cairns has flights to Singapore so you don’t have to go via Brisbane.

Yes @TheSandgroper This might be one for when dd has finished GCSEs because whilst not a popular sentiment in this forum but environmental considerations do hold us back from flying longer distances - that’s the main reason I’ve never been to Asia.

Florida last year was the furthest we have ever been, and that was something we “saved up for” in our carbon footprint calculations.

If we head to Canada or Sri Lanka I’ll probably have to be vegetarian living on locally grown veg for life 😆

Norway and Slovenia starting to appeal the more I consider this!

@CelticPromise A few years back I pitched Bled/ Lubljana at dh and we thought it might be too grown up or underdeveloped for the kids. We definitely need things to do not just pretty sights - so if I could find some caves, or a rocky clamber or woodland hike to a waterfall, or some paddleboarding we could satisfy everyone.

We pieced it together and had spent a lot of time in India and Nepal in the past. We also went at Easter.
Mountain biking in the alps, mainly downhill, you get lifts up and cycle down, Slovenia and lake Bled, with a short stay in Lubjana.
Camel trek in Morocco was pretty good, but didn't take kids, might one day.

Look at Lake Bohinj in Slovenia OP. There's more to do than around Bled and prettier.

We had a great holiday in Tanzania and Zanzibar in the summer holidays
its dry season
stayed in various tented camps in the Taranguire np, Gibbs Farm at the Ngorongoro Crate and another tented camp in the Serengeti then flew to the Northern Serengeti close to the border with Kenya where we saw Wilderbeest crossing g the Mara river
then a week on the beach in Zanzibar (Pongwe beach hotel - amazing)
it was supberb
Very expensive! Organised through Africa Travel Resource
sril Lanka also amazing. I went in September
going to Costa Rica next month!

We went to the Austrian Alps by train a couple of years ago, via an overnight in London and a weekend in Amsterdam. Had a week in Zell am Zee - walking, mountain biking, lake swimming, chilling - then train to Vienna, couple of days there, flew home. DC were 12 and 15.

We had the best activity holiday in ages last year. It was only in France! (I fly long haul for a living, so well aware there is more to the world out there, but so often we overlook our own backyard in the hunt for something better.) We stayed in the Ardeche region and did the 32km kayak down the gorges de l’Ardeche. We also did via ferratas, climbing lessons, caving and canyoning. The canyoning was in the Cevennes national park which was beautiful, lots of adventure activities there. For culture, we also visited the Pont du Gard (which pleasingly had a wine tasting festival on while we were there.)

If you want to venture further afield, Mexico was a big hit with my kids. We stayed about an hour south of Cancun (which is basically an American Benidorm and you need to get out of!) We did hiking in the jungle to climb the pyramid at Coba, boat trips in the Sian Kaan biosphere to see wild manatees, dolphins, turtles and rays (and some crocodiles!) Zipwiring, tubing, snorkelling, at Xel Ha, cenotes (you can snorkel, paddleboard, or even scuba, depending on which ones you go to, they are all different.) They helped hatchling turtles make it safely to the sea one evening. Was fab. This year’s celebrity race across the world started on Isla Mujeres, which is an easy daytrip from here, if your DD needs a tv reference.

Jordan also scored a hit, with Petra, Dead Sea, Wadi Rum (dune bashing, camping with the Bedouins, camel trekking, mountain climbing,) and a couple of days beach and scuba diving at Aqaba. There’s also Roman ruins at Jerash, crusader castles, and biblical archaeological sites here, and the Jordanians are lovely hosts. But Middle East a bit of a complicated place atm!

I wouldn't go to Japan in UK summer unless unavoidable. We were there for 72 hours last summer, stopover after visiting family,
mostly did Disney (I have spent quite a bit of time in Japan prior to having kids) and the theme parks were just about manageable but it can be really really hot. I like Singapore, it's like easy Asia, also very hot year round. We are doing an Exodus family group tour this year to Namibia with our kids, but they are closer in age than yours. Slovenia is worth a look, we really enjoyed our holiday there. Did lots of hiking, swimming in the lake, visiting caves and zip lining.

@backinthebox this is exactly the kind of we’d like as long as I can find enough for a 7 year old to do but dd declared France is “boring”. (Yikes! Sorry about that, France.)

I think she wants better bragging rights as she has friends who have overseas family (S.Africa, Thailand, HK, Hungary, Brazil) and others who do crazily impressive holidays to far flung places. I totally appreciate her hunger to see new places.

@backinthebox I could do Mexico. Dh will assume we are going to be kidnapped or shot. Is it dangerous?

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads Austria is my “back up plan” if all else fails! I used to go hiking with my parents as a teen in the Austrian Alps so it’s a happy memory for me.

There are good ideas on this thread, plenty to research.

@ACynicalDad i think we’d be too frightened to do a trip by ourselves somewhere like Nepal. Pity as it does sound fab. I’d do it without the kids but I’m more fearful with the kids in tow.