Once in a lifetime family trip?

[Anonymous]

Wait til kids are 10+

[Anonymous]

I think they are too young for a safari but in five years they would love it. I would not go to Antarctica because half the trip is on a boat going there and getting back. My vote is New Zealand. Australia is just too darn big. NZ is basically two islands with incredibly geographic diversity with tons of fun things to do. Jet boat rides, hot air balloons, mountain biking, helicopter rides where you land on the top of a volcano or a snow capped mountain. The best time of the year to go is in their summer which is October thru March or so, but plenty of people go year round.

[Anonymous]

I would nix Antartica. Not particularly appealing or fun for a kid.

Australia would be good (lots of cool animals, like kangaroos. The Great Barrier Reef. They can hold a koala.)

Galapagos sounds fun, and interesting.

China also has much to offer (the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Terracotta soldiers…and they can hold/pet a panda !)

[Anonymous]

Again, you seem to be thinking through an adult’s eyes.

If they haven’t spent much time in Europe, wouldn’t they get excited about the Eiffel Tower & crepes, London Bridge/the Eye, windmills and tulips in Holland, castles in Germany, alps, gondolas and cows in Switzerland .

It would be great to see all of these iconic spots through their eyes. And you can likely do it in much finer style than you did when you were younger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I might do a South African trip - you can do a safari, but also head down south to Capetown and the Cape of Goodhope and they have penguin colonies there to see. Antarctica is a lot of time on a small boat. I also would look at Adventures by Disney or Tauck Bridges tours for something very nice but with activities focused on families and there will be other families with you.

Australia also has penguin colonies (and is 1,000x safer than South Africa).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No to safari. I have been on safari many many times. Little kids would not enjoy them after the first couple of sightings of animals. After that, it’s a lot of the same, or it’s hours searching for the hard to find leopard. Young kids would be bored out of their mind.

I would do Australia. So much to do, and your kids would love it. You can do a good mix of cities, rainforest, Great Barrier Reef, and Ayers Rock.

If safaris are so tedious for you, why on earth do you go on “many?“

Many safari companies don't allow kids.

I've been on several safaris and while I love them, they really are not ideal for kids. A lot of waiting around, every day is an early morning start, nothing to do at the camps afterwards and very limited mobility. Safaris are actually extremely sedentary.

There is a Four Seasons that has an interesting hybrid / safari situation - take a look at that.

I can’t imagine anything more white. 🙄

And you say that like white is synonymous with bad.

Why is that okay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg - these trips all sound like nightmares for your kids. Can they stay home?

Where do your kids like to go?

My kids are older, but at that age, they would not enjoy the length of the flight or jet lag.

Well no one enjoys it. But they can definitely handle it. Come on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So for a big blowout trip with kids

You can't do Antartica during the northern summer. Not happening, and you wouldn't want to be there anyway during the Southern winter.

Wouldn't bother with Australia and New Zealand. It's a long ways to go for places that feel quite familiar.

Safari is good, but not for two weeks. And it really doesn't have to be expensive. I rented a car in South Africa and did the national parks. And it was great. And very cheap. Saw everything. Wouldn't choose that though with young kids for an extended period. But there are some good multi-day trips through Kruger with campsites that would be interesting and exciting.

If I was going to drop 60 grand on a trip with two young kids, I'd consider a few things.

Thailand.

India. Definitely a full on trip. But if you do things with Taj or Oberoi, it'll be very comfortable. Nicest hotels in the world. And there is so much to see - from Kerala to Rajasthan to the Himalayas.

French Polynesia. Not a resort. But the Aranui. It's a ship that departs once a month from Papeete. Used to be just a freighter. Much more comfortable now. It goes from Tahiti to the Tuamotu Islands and then the Marquesas. Think it's about three weeks. Very cool trip.

Tonga if you want to charter a sailboat. Vava'u is a good place to sail.

I would hate to have to explain the extremes of poverty in India to children on vacation (e.g., kids their age begging. Sometimes with injuries/deformities), as well as the extreme gender differences (women pretty much cannot go out at night or alone, they carry water on their heads still).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JFC, just take them to Disney. This is prime disney age. The sense of wonder that Disney gives children at that age is amazing to see as a parent. THAT is a trip of a lifetime to them at that age. They have their whole lives to go tromping around Thailand.

OMG no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop touring in Antarctica. Leave it be.

Agree.

If people don't see Antarctica, what are you preserving it for?

The world does but exist for your entertainment. Wow.

I am surprised you don suggest they take a train out west and shoot bison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found a really nice itinerary for The Amazon Rainforest with kids on Travel Babbo. Has anyone done a similar trip before? I was absolutely intrigued by rainforests as a child so this would be a special trip for me too. It could potentially be combined with Galapagos. Is Galapagos interesting for children? I’ve always wanted to go but I wonder if it would keep my kids interested. I think they would enjoy the cruise portion because we have never been on one. I know they are nothing like the big cruise boats but I think they would find the experience exciting and fun.

We did an amazing 2.5 week trip to Peru, including time in the Amazon, valle sagrado, machu picchu, etc. when our kids were 5 and 7. We did a private tour through Kuoda, which was awesome. The kids and we had a great time. With $60k you could go super high end and extend your trip to include lake Titicaca, the sand dunes, etc.

Is Peru safe right now?

[Anonymous]

No to the safari- kids are too young for many outfitters, wghich limits your selection, also very young for medical/ malaria meds etc. better 10+, ideally 12+.

With this budget I would book something far away with complete wrap around guides and services, best hotels, seeing a lot without stressing or planning the details yourself, but certified kid friendly.

Another idea is something like Adventures by Disney, could combine land and sea as well.

[Anonymous]

We did our big once-in-a-lifetime trip when the kids were 7 and 10. It was a multigenerational trip - huge family milestone.

We did one week in Botswana and one in Namibia at 4 different locations. The first was traditional safari, then on to San Camp (my kids still talk about the meerkats sitting on their heads in the early mornings) then the tremendous sand dunes of the Namib desert, ending with a 3 day hike, sleeping out in the desert, along the Tok Toki trail. It's been 5 years and they still talk about that trip - maybe the youngest doesn't remember every detail but certainly enough!

[Anonymous]

My dream is to spend time on one of those uber luxurious sleeper-car trains in Europe or Asia. So that would be my vote. Get a sleeper car for a couple of nights on the most expensive train you can find, then spend the rest of the trip in one of the train's destinations.

[Anonymous]

I would look at some of the disney adventure tours with kids that age.
There is a small ship Adriatic cruise they do that looks amazing.
I would have said the Peru one but now I’m worried about Peru safety a little bit—not sure how risk averse you are.
There are some disney trips in Europe with castles and such — some of the river tours that look amazing for that age. They always have hands on experiences for the kids which helps break up the sightseeing plus lots of outdoor time.

Alternatively, I would do a really great drive trip of the west coast. We did California only for 10 days (including disney!) and it was great — we spent about 10K because we splurged on a lot of activities like the Channel Oslands kayak tour, 2 days at disney, horseback riding, etc. your kids are the perfect age for that sort of great American vacation and if you splurge a little you can do some really great things. (I wish we’d had more time as we skipped Monterrey.)

I do love Alaska also and you can really drop some coin there on things like helicopter tours and dog sledding on a glacier. My youngest was 6 when we did that and I think she still remembers at least the helicopter and the sled puppies.

But I also agree with PPs to maybe cut your budget to 30-40, and invest the rest to take another fabulous trip when they are tweens.