2 week holiday?

[Alter]

Planning a holiday with my family (wife and 3 year old son) but no idea where to go. Thinking about June or July, for around two weeks, moderate budget, travelling from Japan.

We are looking for a place to relax but interesting (not just a beach), good with a kid, with good food.

Any suggestions?

 

[globetrotter]

first place in mind mind is thailand. fantastic beaches, a great city, temples, colors, sounds, great food. I was there with some kids a few years back (work paid group vacation with families) and the young kids loved bangkok.

another place would be sri lanka- I am dying to take my son there. also very beutiful, good food, good beaches, cheap. there is a great elephant orphanage that kids love.

the big problem is that it is hot in both these places in july, and sri lanka may be just coming into monsoon.

if you really need a place cooler, my son loved london when he was two. very child friendly, and july isn't a bad time to visit. this, of course, will be more expensive.

 

[Matt]

seconding thailand and getting a little more specific, phuket is fabulous. cheap, lots to do, kid friendly.

stay away from patong, up in kata or karon beaches, wonderful

 

[JBZ]

I have no experience with the Far East, but I love Maui, Hawaii. Certainly there are beaches, but there is also a lot to do (hiking, biking, snorkeling, SCUBA, great restaurants, good shopping, etc.).

 

[Vermicious Knid]

Sydney (amazing city, great beaches, lots of culture, exotic animals for the kids and alot of fun)...can also make side trips up Australia's gold coast.

Barcelona - spanish riviera is relaxing while you get the culture/architecture of Barcelona.

 

[VMan]

Originally Posted by Vermicious Knid

Sydney (amazing city, great beaches, lots of culture, exotic animals for the kids and alot of fun)...can also make side trips up Australia's gold coast.

Barcelona - spanish riviera is relaxing while you get the culture/architecture of Barcelona.

Ha - awesome username!

 

[matadorpoeta]

Originally Posted by Alter

Planning a holiday with my family (wife and 3 year old son) but no idea where to go. Thinking about June or July, for around two weeks, moderate budget, travelling from Japan.

We are looking for a place to relax but interesting (not just a beach), good with a kid, with good food.

Any suggestions?

los angeles

 

[Alter]

Thanks guys!

Some great suggestions; much appreciated.

I particularly like the Sri Lanka idea (Thanks Globetrotter) as the elephant orphanage sounds great for my kid.

Matt, how about Vietnam?

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by Alter

Thanks guys!

Some great suggestions; much appreciated.

I particularly like the Sri Lanka idea (Thanks Globetrotter) as the elephant orphanage sounds great for my kid.

Matt, how about Vietnam?

here's what you do if you really want to rock your family - do a week in the maldives (direct flight from colombo) with unbelievable beaches, 3 days in colombo, see all the temples, great shopping for kids stuff, casual clothes, you may very well even find a tailor, see the municiple garden they have huge fruit bats, have some great food. then you get a driver to take you to the elephant orphanage and a spice farm, and then spend another couple of nights inland, including candy. the land is incredibly lush, maybe see a tea plantation.

have fun, at the orphanage you see about 100 elephants, and you can get close and play with them a little, if you are willing to provide a very modest incentive to the keepers. if you have any other questions feel free to ask. I used to stay at the hilton, good views, not far from the beach.

 

[Horace]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

first place in mind mind is thailand. .

That was my first thought too. Or Bali. Or Costa Rica if you want to make the flight.

 

[operationexpat]

Sri Lanka sounds great. I might have to check that out for my next vacation

I recently took a 10 day vacation in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. KL has some great things to do with kids--********* park, aquarium, space needle, and a lot of museums. The Petronas towers will impress anyone regardless of age. *Definitely* find out about the weather. That will make or break a vacation.

Bali's not the safest place right now (not that it would stop me from going, just that it might not be the best place for kids.)

Bon Voyage!
Sara

 

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Alter

Matt, how about Vietnam?
Not with kids. I love it here, but the infrastructure still not ideal for family travels. Trying to cross the street is insane on a good day, and with kids, lugging backpacks etc etc, nigh on impossible, and there are no crosswalks anywhere. Case in point, this pic is about 30 meters from my office, and right next to Ben Thanh market (one of Saigons most visited attractions):

and this one is in central Hanoi:

...how do you get your kids across this? The beaches are mediocre, the (non tailor) shopping is non-existent. The non-Vietnamese cuisine options are limited - theres no McDonalds to take squealing kids to - and so on. There are some gorgeous places here (Halong Bay and Sapa spring to mind), but I think the lunacy of the cities probably makes Thailand a better option. Plus, almost everyone needs visas to come here, so it drives the cost up. I love it here, and would highly recommend it to independent travellers, but for someone on a family vacation, its not ideal.

 

[Alter]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

here's what you do if you really want to rock your family - do a week in the maldives (direct flight from colombo) with unbelievable beaches, 3 days in colombo, see all the temples, great shopping for kids stuff, casual clothes, you may very well even find a tailor, see the municiple garden they have huge fruit bats, have some great food. then you get a driver to take you to the elephant orphanage and a spice farm, and then spend another couple of nights inland, including candy. the land is incredibly lush, maybe see a tea plantation.

have fun, at the orphanage you see about 100 elephants, and you can get close and play with them a little, if you are willing to provide a very modest incentive to the keepers. if you have any other questions feel free to ask. I used to stay at the hilton, good views, not far from the beach.

Globetrotter,

This sounds wonderful; thanks for he ideas. I ran the idea past my wife and son and they both loved it.

We are also now thinking of India. Have you been with kids?

Matt, I see your point. We are no strangers to crazy traffic here in Japan but that is a whole other meaning of the words "busy street". Thanks for the info.

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by Alter

Globetrotter,

This sounds wonderful; thanks for he ideas. I ran the idea past my wife and son and they both loved it.

We are also now thinking of India. Have you been with kids?

Matt, I see your point. We are no strangers to crazy traffic here in Japan but that is a whole other meaning of the words "busy street". Thanks for the info.


I love india, love indians. that said - india is a great deal more dirty, loud and wild than sri lanka. sri lanka is like (and I appologize in advance to anybody I am about to offend) a light version of india. it is cleaner, the people are less invasive and much more polite and gentle. it is smaller. you are less likely to encounter very bizzare suprises. I know friends who lived their with kids, I have seen people travel with kids there. I would be concerned about the hygine and the freaking out factor - you see some totally insane wild bizzare stuff in india. this is great if you are an adverturous adult - but I have seen more than one adult just freeze up and choose not to leave their hotel room until they could get out of the country.

if you do go to india - I would suggest goa, and specifically the leela palace at goa. this is the best hotel I have every been to, an all villa hotel with a gorgious beach. about as much as a small room in tokyo will cost you. I would stay away from varanasi, and try to keep from doing too much traveling around. again, this is just because of your son - you really don't want to see the inside of an indian hospital if you can avoid it. one thing very cool that you can do in the big cities in india is have your hotel rent you an elephant to tour off the back of. indians do it for weddings and celbrations sometimes, so there are guys who will bring an elephant to your hotel and you can tour the downtown of a big wild city from the back of an elephant.

good luck and feel free to ask if you have any specific questions.

another thing - sri lanka has huge outlets for clothes sewn there for western companies. I got all of my sons baby clothes there, and you can get good casual clothes and sneakers very cheap.