Family holiday of a lifetime- suggestions.

[Globalti]

South Africa; starting in Cape Town for shopping, restaurants, bars, a couple of nights in Constantia for scenery, wine and braais then a short drive to Franschoek for a little time for more of the same. Then fly to Jo'burg (stay there if you fancy more shops, restaurants and so on) and then a short drive to Sun City for casino, cabaret, pool and an afternoon in Pilanesburg and then from there fly to Mpumalanga - find a private game-reserve for a bit of luxurious game spotting and the, when you get the idea, slum it a bit by going into Kruger Park for some self catering and self drive game spotting.

This, every time. It will be fantastic and Cape Town is a beautiful place with loads to see. I would spend more of the holiday in Western Cape but then finish with a couple of days in Gauteng (for Johannesburg) and go and see Gold Reef City to get an idea about the gold mining, which is the only reason Johannesburg exists. Also definitely do the game reserve and go there by light plane. The Rand is weak at the moment and hotel rooms and food are cheap. Look at Sunsquare Montecasino in Johannesburg as a safe, interesting place to stay and look at De Noordhoek near Cape Town as a great place for a few nights.

 

[fimm]

We have to assume that @awomaninsane knows what sort of holiday her daughters will enjoy. I know that I would have hated a trip to go clubbing wherever when I was a teenager, but would have loved some of the holidays that are being suggested here (my parents are comfortably enough off, but that didn't extend to being able to afford those kinds of holidays with their children...)

 

[PK99]

Safari in Namibia and Botswana.

Key places:

Namibia the Dunes and Etosha
Botswana - Okavango delta and Chobe river.
Finish off at Victoria falls on the Zambian side

We did this with our kids a few years ago when they were about the same age. Organised camping tour, putting our own tents up every night, eating by the campfire, lions roaring in the night not too far away...... with last couple of nights at swanky hotel at Vic Falls.

Would blow your budget, but if you can stretch it would be worth it.
We have done safari in Zimbabwe and Kenya multiple times (had family out there) but Namibia and Botswana were in another league.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I have done the Florida Keys and on a purely personal note i wouldn't do it again. It was most uninspiring

Get where you are coming from, glad we did it but would be reluctant to do it again
[QUOTE 4303830, member: 45"]We once decided to drive the Keys. It's great if you like driving along a very very long bridge.
We gave up after an hour and turned around.[/QUOTE]
We were staying in Miami drove down expecting to be able to find a room for the night which we couldn't so ended up driving back to the room we already had in Miami.

This year we flew into Orlando, then drove to New Orleans, Tallahassee, Amelia Beach, Savannah, Daytona Beach plus multiple places on the way then back to Orlando.

 

[Globalti]

Another vote for Botswana, fantastic country and very safe.

 

[cisamcgu]

Marrakech ? We went last year, with an 18yo daughter - absolutely brilliant time - loads to see and do, and the Atlas mountains are something special !

 

[User169]

No love for S. America? Any of a trip around Argentina, Chile, Brazil or Peru give plenty of options.

I'd go for Colombia though. Have a mooch around Bogota and Medellin. Trek out to the Cuidad Perdida (less well known that Machu Picchu) and finish with a few days by the beach on the caribbean coast.

 

[jefmcg]

If you chose a southern hemisphere temperate location, be aware that you will be travelling mid-winter. South African and Australian winters are not as harsh as English ones, but you will miss some of the pleasures of summer. Being off season will probably make the non-flight expenses less.

Of course, July in Sydney may be better for an English tourist than February. 40 degree plus temperatures and bush fires (neither is guaranteed, but both could happen) could ruin a holiday.

You are probably right, Sydney is probably a bit far for 2 weeks. Recovering from jetlag can lose you are few days at either end. And I've more than once ended up on antibiotics a few days after landing in Australia, due to my immune system being down the toilet due to stress of travel + a few other factors.

 

[awomaninsane]

So, I spoke with the kids who seem up for a cultural experience. The thing they were most interested in was if the place had wi-fi

What isn't really an option is anything to do with shopping or driving. Or theme parks (no-one apart from me likes the rides). Also the budget is £4000, there is no room for extending it or 'blowing' it- can't spend what I don't have!

There have been some excellent ideas so far and I am looking into all of them. I hadn't really thought about South Africa or Columbia because I thought they were both dangerous places @DP, @Globalti ?

 

[MossCommuter]

If you chose a southern hemisphere temperate location, be aware that you will be travelling mid-winter. South African and Australian winters are not as harsh as English ones, but you will miss some of the pleasures of summer. Being off season will probably make the non-flight expenses less.

Of course, July in Sydney may be better for an English tourist than February. 40 degree plus temperatures and bush fires (neither is guaranteed, but both could happen) could ruin a holiday.

You are probably right, Sydney is probably a bit far for 2 weeks. Recovering from jetlag can lose you are few days at either end. And I've more than once ended up on antibiotics a few days after landing in Australia, due to my immune system being down the toilet due to stress of travel + a few other factors.

Winter is better for game spotting as the bush is not so lush

 

[MartinQ]

If you still go to Thailand, you could consider Kanchanaburi instead of Chiang Mai. It's closer to BK and we/the kids loved stopping at
http://www.riverkwaifloatel.com/kanchanaburi/floatel/
and sliding down the waterfalls (4) at

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fgz--B7aJo

Some jungle-type activities (but on a smaller scale compared to Chiang Mai) as well as the WWII stuff. On the negative, the town itself isn't 1/2 as interesting as Chiang Mai, but most of the stuff is around/outside the town.

Some really good stuff in Chiang Mai as well (countryside, temples, markets, food, ... ) - either an internal flight or the overnight train.

 

[Globalti]

South Africa isn't dangerous if you follow the rules, which basically means not going into Durban or Johannesburg at night or straying into a township. South Africans have grown up with fear for so long that security is part of their lives and you will never be short of help or advice. Western Cape Province (where Cape Town is) is one of the best-managed areas in SA and Cape Town is mosty safe although there are things you shouldn't do like wander around Table Mountain alone or enter a township. Generally moving around the Cape itself is safe and you can sit in a pavement cafe in Cape Town and not be bothered. I've been to Africa dozens and dozens of times and the only places where I would take my wife and son are Cape Town for the combination of spectacular scenery and the food, wine and things to do, and Botswana for the game parks. Also Cape Town and Johannesburg both have excellent airports, which makes life a lot more pleasant. There are many flights from Europe to Cape Town, direct, or you can try Emirates or Turkish.

 

[awomaninsane]

Some really good stuff in Chiang Mai as well (countryside, temples, markets, food, ... ) - either an internal flight or the overnight train.

I've looked into the overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai from Bangkok and it costs £9.40 each way- how cheap is that. I think first class only costs £25!

 

[jefmcg]

What isn't really an option is anything to do with shopping or driving.

Is that no driving at all or you don't want to go on a road trip? I'd say South Africa and Australia will be better experiences with at least the occasional use of a hire car

 

[awomaninsane]

No driving at all I don't think. I don't like spending my time driving when on holiday, so I'd be looking for alternative transport- bus/train. I also think Australia is too far for 2 weeks holiday.
But who knows? The kids might love the idea!