Summer this year - where to go, impossible act to follow?

[Loopylooloo]

Originally Posted by katiec68

Hey hun

Glad you had a amazing time

I know that feeling VERY well - thats why we have 2 trips booked as well as going away tomorrow to Lapland.

We absolutely loved (most of)our Thailand trip but for some strange reason the next thing we did was a Norwegian Cruise.
Well we now have 2 more cruises booked - in Sept we do Southampton, Shetlands, Iceland, Canada and New York.
And in Jan we have a 2 week carribean cruise booked for my 50th.

Both of us still hanker for the Far East again - the next trip to book will probably be Cambodia or Vietnam.

However I can definitely recommend a cruise - we did 7 nights Norwegian cruise - and as different as it was from Thailand it was also just as awesome.

We were first time cruisers and now defiantly have the bug.

No flying, and an extra night in Southampton to have an extra early start to our holiday - we went to Portsmouth for the day.

You have all the awesomeness of all the different places without having to ACTUALLY travel anywhere - you are just taken there! Great food, lots to do or not to do - its up to you!

Katie x x

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Katie glad to hear you loved cruising and got hooked! Its soooo addictive! OP - if you are considering cruise, check out my blog - mybigfatcruise I work for a small cruise line and have sailed all kinds of ships - small/big! LOVE IT!

[Omega1]

Originally Posted by mitch84

North Vietnam was FREEZING in December, so not really

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We were there in early December - it was glorious!

[Tink75]

Gosh - thanks for all the replies and ideas! I'm a bit overwhelmed (in a good way!).

Originally Posted by mulv2222

Can i ask where you stayed in Thailand? What hotel? We are considering it this xmas and i've been looking for somewhere suitable for adults and children alike. I've been a few times but never with children. Mine are older, will be 11 and 14 so easy compared to younger ones
Thanks

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We stayed in Khao Lak and also had a trip up to Bangkok for a few nights. We've been to Thailand before (pre kids), but KL just struck a chord with us. I'm loathe to recommend hotels tbh as it's a really personal thing and what some people love some don't - we stayed at the Mai Khao Lak but there are lots of lovely hotels along that stretch (it's quite far north compared to the centre of KL, so feels out of the way - you could walk the beach and hardly see anyone for a good stretch, but there were enough little bars/restaurants on the beach stretch to keep us occupied and find somewhere fab to eat each night etc). Lovely Katie (on this thread) didn't like KL much at all when she went earlier last year, but loved other bits of Thailand, so it really depends on the person/makeup of your party/which part you stay in etc. It's quite a diverse country. KL appealed to us though as it was safe, had lovely beaches but a lovely family feel too. We did drive through KL itself and some of the other resorts and tbh, I am pleased we were out of the way, it felt more 'traditional' as a result.

Originally Posted by Loopylooloo

We went to Croatia this year, (my trip report is linked below) We stayed just outside Split, in Omis, and did loads of amazing adventurous stuff - kayaking at sunset, zip wiring, rafting, and tour of split, we also tried loads of watersports and ate some amazing food very cheaply! Our hotel was a small boutique style, on a lovely sandy beach. Not cheap but we loved it.

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I read your TR at the time thanks as I was considering it - lush hotel. It's still not off my list but I'm not 100% it's right for us this summer.

Originally Posted by Princ3ss D

What about Italy?

We are off to Sardinia - lots of lovely beaches, sporting activities, culture, trips. Mainland Italy also is beautiful and you could combine beach/lakes (Lake Garda area) with city break to Verona/Venice etc.

Decisions, decisions

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My parents have done a fair bit of Italy and if I'm honest, the hotels just don't look that family friendly - they don't have sprawling pools, kids clubs and the likes. My children love travelling/visiting places but they also like the odd chill day in a big pool and the kids club if they fancy it - our resort in Thailand had all this, so we'd like a mix really.

Originally Posted by Myakka Lodge

What about Cape Verde, Madeira or Malta.

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Myakka Lodge - I think we are quite akin you know! I've often read your threads and agreed. I am indeed looking closely at Cape Verde tonight - it does seem to be very low key, centred around resorts but I think there'd be enough to keep us occupied with various trips out around the island and a whale watching and also snorkelling trip or two! It's a definite possibility as parents like the idea of the shorter flight, only issue is we can't fly from our local airport!

Originally Posted by katiec68

Hey hun

Glad you had a amazing time

I know that feeling VERY well - thats why we have 2 trips booked as well as going away tomorrow to Lapland.

We absolutely loved (most of)our Thailand trip but for some strange reason the next thing we did was a Norwegian Cruise.
Well we now have 2 more cruises booked - in Sept we do Southampton, Shetlands, Iceland, Canada and New York.
And in Jan we have a 2 week carribean cruise booked for my 50th.

Both of us still hanker for the Far East again - the next trip to book will probably be Cambodia or Vietnam.

However I can definitely recommend a cruise - we did 7 nights Norwegian cruise - and as different as it was from Thailand it was also just as awesome.

We were first time cruisers and now defiantly have the bug.

No flying, and an extra night in Southampton to have an extra early start to our holiday - we went to Portsmouth for the day.

You have all the awesomeness of all the different places without having to ACTUALLY travel anywhere - you are just taken there! Great food, lots to do or not to do - its up to you!

Katie x x

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As I said earlier, I know you weren't a huge fan of KL, but where we were was stunning and the hotel staff and little restaurant owners nearby on our stretch were sooo nice (our swim up room was a piece of heaven). We found an amazing ethical elephant park about 2 hours away and spent Christmas day there - it was bliss - feeding the elephants and bathing them! I miss it sooo much! Bangkok was mental - my children had their eyes opened (the 8 year old - it went over her head, the 11 year old was a bit tense to begin with (obviously I think she's more world wise due to her age!), but then she relaxed after a day or so). Loved Damnoen Saduak (again!) and also Mae Klong train market - unbelievable eh! I was pleased I'd been to Bangkok before so knew what to expect/had my bearings more. We did have a strange issue with my DD2 being stared at all the time in Bangkok though - we even had Thais taking photos of her while she was eating, coming out of toilets, and when we walked through Chinatown (no mean feat as it was packed in tiny alleways - think packed souks!), people tried to grab her/touch her on the shoulders/her hair etc. It was most disconcerting. We laughed it off to stop her feeling embarrassed/worried (and kept a very close eye on her/kept hold of her hand at the same time! ), but it was odd - they weren't bothered at all by DD1 . They also weren't bothered in KL although a few thais did say she was stunning - bless. Our tour guide told us it was because she looked partly Asian but with white skin! Anyway, sorry for the digression! We can laugh now! Oh and I got bitten by a spider - great fun!

We have looked at cruises but can't seem to find a decent Med one during the school summer holidays! Odd I know. DH would like to do a cruise sometime. The girls were asking about a Disney cruise but I think I must be ill, as I actually said I don't think it's for 'us'.

I think Cape Verde is looking promising...

Originally Posted by Princess Alison

Can I ask why you are ruling out the Caribbean because of the weather?

We are looking at Costa Rica this summer - like you we are feelings blue after a fab 3 weeks west coast/ Hawaii last summer(!) so keen to have an adventure.

Should I be worried about weather?!

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I think Costa Rica will be OK and I'd consider it for summer (just not this one with parents). The Caribbean suffers from hurricane/rainy season during our summer - or at least that's my understanding. I know Florida does too (we went summer 2015), but I think it tends not to be as bad there/odd downpours. Humidity levels are also an issue, so summer isn't the best time to go. I think our Autumn/Winter/early Spring tends to be better. That's not to say don't go - tbh weather patterns are a bit off the map most places these days, so you can't always judge.

Originally Posted by Princess Alison

Btw we spent a summer in Boston/cape cod and white mountains a few years ago and it was absolutely out of this world. Boston is a very short flight and cheaper flight too! I'd thoroughly recommend

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I think I'd like Boston one day, but it's just not on my radar for right now. We'd like to do New York again but probably just as a stand alone trip (there are whispers of October half term!). If we head back to the US anytime for a biggie, it will probably be to do the West Coast I think.

Originally Posted by Loopylooloo

Katie glad to hear you loved cruising and got hooked! Its soooo addictive! OP - if you are considering cruise, check out my blog - mybigfatcruise I work for a small cruise line and have sailed all kinds of ships - small/big! LOVE IT!

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Thank you! I'll have a look. Our neighbours are about to head out to Thailand funnily enough on a Star Clipper Cruise - I am SO envious especially with just coming back. Katie - you should look at it if you return out there - it looks amazing - very intimate, beautiful boat. No good for us as it's not really child friendly .

Thanks all - keep the ideas coming. Oh and Mum, bless her, said we could do Vietnam this summer if we wanted to, but I think, being sensible, we'll all benefit from somewhere mid haul rather than long haul. 6 ish hours to Cape Verde sounds perfect, so I'm off to do some more research!

Thanks again!

[Loopylooloo]

Cape Verde is still very under developed - we have cruises that go there sometimes and people have taken the bus into town, and then stayed on the bus and gone back to the ship, as it was barren, having said that, if you just want sun and a nice hotel, then it should be perfect for that.

[Geordieprincess]

We had a great family holiday in Italy. Stayed at the Majestic Palace in Malcesine on Lake Garda for 11 nights and it really wasn't long enough. The scenery was spectacular and my son wants to do lakes and mountains rather than beach holidays again. We did day trip to Venice (long day but worth it - kids thoroughly enjoyed gondola ride etc), day trip to Verona, kids liked this even more than Venice, great amphitheatre like the Colosseum. Malcesine has a lovely old town with castle and lakeside bars - you can walk, taxi or shuttle bus down. Also cable car to take you to the top of the mountain for amazing views. And you can get a day ticket to visit the other villages by boat around the lake. Hotel had a fairly basic kids club, evening entertainment, 3 pools and even in Aug no problem getting sun beds. Also crazy golf on site. We had great time alternating trips out and pool days - wished we'd done the whole 2 weeks as there was more we could've done or even more pool time would've been great.

[anna68]

Originally Posted by Tink75

In a bit of a quandary and suffering from the most horrific post holiday blues after the most amazing holiday in Thailand over Christmas - none of us wanted to return home (including the kids) and we all really want to be back there . I don't think I've felt this way before, ever, after a holiday... It's the pits .

So, we fast forward to this summer. Looking to go away with my parents who, bless aren't that bothered about long haul. They went to Florida with us in 2015 but that's as far as they've been. Florida was nice, but shock horror, we aren't bothered about returning.

I know this sounds spoilt, but after the holiday we've just had, I really want something a bit more adventurous than Spain/Greece etc and I'm struggling to come up with somewhere that isn't long haul, but ticks quite a few boxes. I honestly don't think anywhere is ever going to compare to where we've just come from and that's part of the issue.
.

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Can you share a bit about where and what you did on your recent trip? I'm looking for ideas for me hubby and our seven year old next year in the Far East. What localtion and hotel?

[Myakka17]

Is your instinct telling you anywhere? I think we'll have a similar problem for summer 2018 following our trip to California this summer. In 2014 we'd been to Florida for 3 weeks the following year we booked to go to Kos until the migration started , due to connections with work I wanted a break so we literally changed last minute to Cyprus and it was awful. It didn't help that lots who we knew were in Florida and I was in a awful hotel/ resort( don't get me wrong I do appreciate priveledged to have hols) . So for 2018 I'll not make that mistake therefore doing loads of research now !

[justacey]

If you are thinking of Cape Verde, choose your island carefully.
My brother-in-law got caught up in the Christmas-time sand storms. It seems that Boa Vista island's airport does not have ILS and so planes cannot land if they cannot see far enough.

tripadvisor/ShowTo...Boa_Vista.html

[Tink75]

Originally Posted by Loopylooloo

Cape Verde is still very under developed - we have cruises that go there sometimes and people have taken the bus into town, and then stayed on the bus and gone back to the ship, as it was barren, having said that, if you just want sun and a nice hotel, then it should be perfect for that.

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I think I've come full circle with Cape Verde . I initially thought it looked a bit more exotic than the norm but I keep reading there is very little to do, and you can't snorkel just off the beaches, so it's put me off!

Originally Posted by Geordieprincess

We had a great family holiday in Italy. Stayed at the Majestic Palace in Malcesine on Lake Garda for 11 nights and it really wasn't long enough. The scenery was spectacular and my son wants to do lakes and mountains rather than beach holidays again. We did day trip to Venice (long day but worth it - kids thoroughly enjoyed gondola ride etc), day trip to Verona, kids liked this even more than Venice, great amphitheatre like the Colosseum. Malcesine has a lovely old town with castle and lakeside bars - you can walk, taxi or shuttle bus down. Also cable car to take you to the top of the mountain for amazing views. And you can get a day ticket to visit the other villages by boat around the lake. Hotel had a fairly basic kids club, evening entertainment, 3 pools and even in Aug no problem getting sun beds. Also crazy golf on site. We had great time alternating trips out and pool days - wished we'd done the whole 2 weeks as there was more we could've done or even more pool time would've been great.

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Sounds lovely - I actually started looking at cruises last night (Western Med) and quite like the idea of visiting some of Italy - I've never been to Rome but have been to Venice. It's difficult with my parents as they've done a fair bit of Italy, although would be happy with another day in Rome, but wouldn't want to spend too long (stay), in Italy again quite so soon. Problem is there are very few decent cabins left!

Originally Posted by anna68

Can you share a bit about where and what you did on your recent trip? I'm looking for ideas for me hubby and our seven year old next year in the Far East. What localtion and hotel?

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Anna - I've actually written on this thread further up where we stayed and bits that we did - hope that helps. I'm always inclined not to recommend too much as, as I said earlier, not everyone likes the same things. It's hard to strike a balance with family holidays, but I felt our recent one did it perfectly. Thailand is a brilliant place for family holidays if you choose your resort wisely - you can then use it as a base, but get out and about and explore. I will say, I used 'Tour with Tong' for my tours in Bangkok - booked direct and although I had issues getting replies to emails in the UK (it did all come right in the end), the actual tour guide and driver we had were amazing. Tong has a website if you want more info. Bangkok isn't for the faint hearted with children though! But I think it's a shame to go all that way and not have a few days in the City.

Originally Posted by Myakka Lodge

Is your instinct telling you anywhere? I think we'll have a similar problem for summer 2018 following our trip to California this summer. In 2014 we'd been to Florida for 3 weeks the following year we booked to go to Kos until the migration started , due to connections with work I wanted a break so we literally changed last minute to Cyprus and it was awful. It didn't help that lots who we knew were in Florida and I was in a awful hotel/ resort( don't get me wrong I do appreciate priveledged to have hols) . So for 2018 I'll not make that mistake therefore doing loads of research now !

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You know what, my instinct says back to Asia somewhere but my head tells me give it a miss, go closer to home for a more restful holiday and save some pennies too (we could only go for 2 weeks, no longer and sometimes Asia needs longer to appreciate it as well). Similar with us, we did 3 weeks in Orlando in summer 2015, so knew summer 2016 (Portugal) wasn't going to compare, however, while we thoroughly enjoyed Orlando, it wasn't a repeater holiday for us (we've done it and probably wouldn't rush back), so Portugal was lovely - we took it for what it was, an all inclusive, relaxing holiday break in a nice area, with a short flight - but in the back of my mind I had Thailand this Christmas coming so that probably helped! I'm not quite at that mindset for this summer yet - I seem to have reignited a sense of adventure I think I've buried since having the children (DH and I did some great travelling before the kids - but nowhere near enough!).

I always research where we stay - our holidays cost us a lot and I just couldn't cope with paying out £1000s for something that isn't right for us/is a disaster. I think some of it is down to planning Disney holidays too - you just get the research/planning mindset .

Originally Posted by justacey

If you are thinking of Cape Verde, choose your island carefully.
My brother-in-law got caught up in the Christmas-time sand storms. It seems that Boa Vista island's airport does not have ILS and so planes cannot land if they cannot see far enough.

tripadvisor/ShowTo...Boa_Vista.html

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I've read about that, thanks. Appears it can help quite regularly, but more at Winter time. As above, I'm not sure CV is for us right now the more I look into it. It looks lovely in the resorts, but quite barren outside.

[justacey]

Have you thought of Borneo?
We visited in 1997 (ish) and did a tour with Kuoni ending up in Penang.
I still think fondly of that holiday.
On arriving in Penang I asked where the best snorkelling was and they said Langkawi. We'd chosen Penang rather than Langkawi
Yes, it rained quite a bit, but we'd just pop our bags under the sunbeds and jump in the pool.