Ideas for special/treat holiday with ASC teens

[springersmum]

Hi

Looking for ideas for a special holiday next summer. Single parent family with ASC teens DD 15 DS 12. Would love to plan something special when DD finishes GCSEs next summer, mainstream secondary has been really tough and I’m so proud of her resilience to hang in there.

Both love animals so I wondered about something long haul that includes wildlife. We’d need to have downtime each day and ideally not a crazy packed schedule. Access to ‘safe’ foods and WiFi are essential! Budget is prob around £15k.

any recommendations would be amazing!

thank you

If your children are autistic, they probably need to be included in the planning quite closely and lead a bit with their ideas? What kind of wildlife?
A safari in Africa maybe? It's a very expensive trip, but also very quiet, bespoke. Mobile reception is usually very good in Africa. I assume things have scaled up a bit since I went, but we had basic Safari camp food like plain rice, maize (polenta), grilled fish and grilled meats, sandwiches etc.
Or maybe snorkelling? Somewhere with a personal hut/bungalow etc. I loved diving in St Lucia, we saw loads of fish. Or chartering a catamaran to sail either in the Caribbean or between the Croatian islands, with access to snorkelling from the boat? You can then prepare your own food. I once chartered a houseboat in Kerala with a private chef and small crew, which was an amazing experience. We also did walking safaries with a guide there and saw a tiger and loads of monkeys everywhere. Or the Rocky Mountains? A National Park like Banff is great, you can hike with a guide to look for elks, bears etc. I loved Lake Louise and staying at the chateau, but maybe a private cabin with own kitchen might be better than a large hotel? I've never been, but everyone says Costa Rica is amazing for wildlife, especially bird watching.
If GCSEs finish before the end of term, hopefully you could leave before the holidays for cheaper flights.
Do they like going on holidays, though? And do they like going together as a family?