Which Long-Haul Destination Works Best With Teenagers?

[saifee]

We are looking at ideas for a long-haul family holiday of around 10 to 14 nights, travelling from the UK with two teenagers.
Thailand, Bali, Dubai and the Maldives are currently on the list, but we would like somewhere that offers more than simply staying beside the hotel pool.
The priorities are:

• Good beaches
• Activities suitable for teenagers
• Interesting day trips
• Comfortable family accommodation
• Food options for different tastes
• A journey that is manageable from the UK

Has anyone travelled to any of these destinations with teenagers recently? Which destination kept everyone entertained, and was there anywhere that looked excellent online but did not work particularly well for a family holiday? Any honest recommendations would be appreciated.

What about Mexico? Anywhere along the coast from Cancun. Will be similar prices, if not a little cheaper. Lots to do and see including waterspouts, Chichen Itza, Cenote swimming and all the Xcaret parks. Lots of the AI hotels have their own water parks too.

From all the things you’ve listed, if fly to Miami and get a cruise.. Caribbean beaches.. activities.. easy food options.

Most of the places you have listed don’t offer much more.

what are your teens interested in? Culture, history, water sports?

thailand and travelling around can be good - Vietnam has good beaches and things to see. Bangkok is something of a culture shock but lots to see.

Thailand ticks all your boxes.

We’ve done Mexico, Thailand and The Maldives in the last three years with three teens.
All were successful but the Maldives was the favourite. No real interesting day trips but incredible nature, snorkling, great island (not tiny, not huge) very relaxing. Stayed at Lux South Ari
Thailand we did 2 nights in Bangkok then 12 in Phuket/Krabi - elephant sanctuary, cookery, sightseeing etc
Mexico probably my least favourite. The resort was great but we didn’t feel particularly safe outside of that. It was a 10 hour direct flight which is the same as direct to the Maldives.

Vietnam!

I agree with Vietnam!

I agree Vietnam.

Maldives is fab but depends what they are into. If they like watersports they could be very well occupied with kayaking, surfing, snorkeling, diving, fishing, dolphin watching.

If they are not watersport types the on-land activities are quite limited so they may be bored. We go a lot and I always just read a book the whole time (which is perfect for me) whilst the kids are doing various water things.

What time of year will you be going? That will make a big difference.

California

AI in the carribean. We went to Antigua and we all loved it!

Thailand or Vietnam. Take two weeks and travel around. If you want help booking an itinerary Selective Asia are excellent. Trailfinders also good.

Holidays I did with teens that were excellent.

Cape Town
Rio and Iguazza Falls
Egypt
St Lucia
Cuba
Dubai
Florida and a cruise
LA and a cruise to Mexico

We like days out and also some beach/pool time.

Grenada - the beaches are just stunning, stay by Grand Anse and visit nearby Morne Rouge beach. You can do snorkelling trips including the unwater sculpture park, Chocolate plantation/factory, Georgetown, Waterfalls, Grand Etang NP etc. Definitely better than St Lucia, fly with BA.

Mexico is amazing but the sargassum on the beaches can be a huge problem depending on when you go. Personally I wouldn't stay in Cancun or PDC, Akumal is much nicer but depends what you like/can afford. Chichen Itza, Coba, ceynotes etc so much to see and do. Good buses too.

Bali has fabulous temples - but are the teens going to care? IMO Kuta is a dump - Benidorm for Aussies - but depends what you like, might appeal to teens. I stayed in Ubud which I liked a lot, but inland. I wouldn't go to Bali for beautiful beaches, you need to go elsewhere for that, the Gilis i think are popular but not sure how over touristed they are now.

14 days on an island in the Maldives wouldn't work for me, way too long on a small island, I'd be bored sick even with snorkelling and a nice island. I don't think island hopping is easy either because you often have to go back to Male before you can go to the next island.

The same goes for Dubai - I couldn't spend 14 days there. I'd have to combine with Oman and probably Abu Dhabi as well for that amount of time.

Thailand is fabulous and the Thai people wonderful. Getting around isn't as easy as some other places though IMO and it's a long country so distances can be very large. By train Chaing Mai to Surat Thani (for iKrabi etc) require two over night trains for example. Sex tourism obvious in certain places. Bangkok is a fantastic city but can be stressful with tuktuk scams etc. The river is fab though - take the public boats for very little money and there is an MRT and sky train system. It's a spread out city though, not one for just strolling IMO. Then so many beaches and islands to choose from....

We had a great time in Thailand with teens. We went to Bangkok, Sukhotai (lush ruins), chiang mai (chill town and nice places to explore around), Pai (mountain villages, hot springs, white water rafting), then flew down to Koh Samui for a beach chill and boat trips/ kayaking. Great food and we all had a brilliant trip.

We like a multi location holiday usually, otherwise we get bored. We did Thailand last year and flew internally twice, flight prices were pretty reasonable. We flew into Bangkok for 4 nights then onto Chiang Mai for another 4 nights and then down to Phuket for a week and flew home from there. If we went again we’d do less time in Phuket and longer in the cities, but that’s just personal preference as we’re more city people, there was definitely plenty of activity options in Phuket.

This year we’re off to Mexico City, then onto a beach resort on the Baja peninsular and then the last leg will be in LA.

I think with teens you can’t go wrong with a beach/city mix.

I do like the Maldives, been with kids twice, but there isn't much beyond snorkeling, pool or beach days. No interesting day trips and very tied to your choice of resort, literally cannot escape. Thailand or Bali of those on your list would be the best options, probably need to do a two-centre holiday in both those destinations. Our kids are tween/teens now, but were smaller when we last went to Thailand and even smaller when we went to Bali. Thailand it's easy to combine Bangkok with Phuket or Koh Samui or Krabi. For Bali we combined with Java and spent time in and around Yogyakarta for Borobudur and Prambanan. We enjoyed Ubud in Bali, there is lots to see around there, and went to Sanur for beach time, it wasn't the most gorgeous beach. Have you thought about Costa Rica?

What time of year?

I love the Maldives but there are no day trips, it’s beach pool and snorkelling. Your kids need to like snorkelling! You could consider a combination of Sri Lanka and Maldives perhaps which

I didn’t like Dubai at all, it’s a non pretty modern city with a lot of traffic. The beaches aren’t very good and the only things to do are man made “attractions” with high prices and lots of queueing.

Bali I’ve heard is very busy especially in Australian winter holidays (our summer). Lots of traffic and very very touristy.

Java/ Lombok/Gilis could be a great alternative though, and this area has its best weather in our summer if that’s when you’re going. Or Borneo if you like wildlife, or mainland Malaysia (east coast islands have good weather in summer).

Thailand is a great option. The weather is not ideal in our summer but manageable- stick to Gulf islands although you will still see some rain.

TL:DR - Thailand from your list - or Lombok, Borneo or Malaysia.

? South Korea (busan/jeju island - though I am sure there are other cities/towns with beaches) or western side of Japan (I think there might be beaches closer to Tokyo too).

Thailand.

Abu Dhabi, but not Dubai. All the most interesting things to do are in AD.

Japan? We had an amazing holiday there with teen DD a couple of years ago.

Sri Lanka is meant to be good

Japan

They love the ultra modern things like robot staff and bullet trains, the eccentric stuff like cat and rabbit islands, art islands, and hotels with Godzilla climbing out of the walls and roaring. The stunning temples where they can light candles and incense and ring bells, feed rice cakes to deer, and apples and nuts to monkeys, write their dreams on wooden foxes and hang them in the trees, or write prayers that are burned in fire ceremonies by Buddhist monks. They love shopping in Tokyo high fashion stores, they love the food - noodles and kebabs and black icecream. Team Lab immersive art and light show. Sushi at the fish market. Medieval castles, samurai paths with teahouses and paddy fields and watermills. Retro gaming cafes in Osaka.

It's so varied, clean and safe.

Thailand or Costa Rica I think…