OP here. Thanks for the posts. We LOVED both Costa Rica and Hawaii - somewhere similar to those two would be awesome as well.

Have you considered somewhere in Asia? Australia seems like it's so big for a 2-week trip. Someplace like Japan with a couple days in a Hawaii would be fun. Or maybe Egypt and Israel - that's a great family trip.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered Costa Rica? It is an amazing place for teens.

She said she went to Costa Rica...

How about Europe---London and Paris (via train) or Italy---Rome, Florence & Tuscany?

OOOPs, just reread your post, and I see the reasons why you are not considering Europe.
I have been to Australia and loved it...

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered Costa Rica? It is an amazing place for teens.

She said she went to Costa Rica...

How about Europe---London and Paris (via train) or Italy---Rome, Florence & Tuscany?

Have you considered Costa Rica? It is an amazing place for teens.

Anonymous wrote:HIGHLY recommend Australia. Two weeks is a little tight - but doable. I would do Sydney and the Great BArrier Reef (Queensland). Sydney is an amazing city with tons to do and the Reef is just incredible if you like to snorkle. You may also have time to do Ayers Rock but I'm not sure because we didn't go - it was summer and way too hot.

Alternatively you could skip the reef and go to Melbourne - then do the Great Ocean Drive and the island with all the penguins. There's also a Eucalyptus forest with tons of Koalas nearby.

Good luck!

Oh, yeah, how could I forget the fairy penguins on Phillips Island? A sight to see!

Australia is very expensive, so keep that in mind. Makes NYC look like a bargain basement!

HIGHLY recommend Australia. Two weeks is a little tight - but doable. I would do Sydney and the Great BArrier Reef (Queensland). Sydney is an amazing city with tons to do and the Reef is just incredible if you like to snorkle. You may also have time to do Ayers Rock but I'm not sure because we didn't go - it was summer and way too hot.

Alternatively you could skip the reef and go to Melbourne - then do the Great Ocean Drive and the island with all the penguins. There's also a Eucalyptus forest with tons of Koalas nearby.

Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:I vote safari. South Africa. Kenya/Tanzania. Best vacation ever.

I hate to say it, but I don't think we are nearly that adventurous.

We did two weeks in Australia and a week in New Zealand for our honeymoon. We both agree - while Australia had some cool parts - we had no desire to go there and wish we had spent less time there. New Zealand on teh other hand was fantastic. If it wasn't so far away - we would really love to emigrate there

Here's why:

Australia
- Everything is very spread out - BIG country so you have to fly.
- Very urban country - most people live in cities which while cool are not all the distinctive/different from US/Europe
- Outback was cool but the bugs....the flies...if you go out in the daytime - tiny flies constantly swarm your eyes, nose, mouth, etc.
- We went to Sydney, island out of the reef, Port Douglas, Uluru (Ayer's Rock)
- expensive

New Zealand
- Gorgeous, dramatic landscape
- Rivers, mountains, ocean - very cool geographic formations
- Very drivable
- Great food, neat small towns, friendly people
- All sorts of hiking & kayaking systems - hut to hut, etc.
- 1/3 the price of Australia - we could pull into any town there and stay at the nicest place easily
- Felt like America back in the 50s - slower pace of life

I vote safari. South Africa. Kenya/Tanzania. Best vacation ever.

Meant to add - remember that it is winter there during our summer.

I went to Australia in my 30s. Spent time in the fabulous international city of Sydney, including a tour of the Opera House and a visit to a zoo to hold koalas and feed kangaroos and emus. Went to Melbourne for more history - and even saw a match at the Australian Open. Then to the Outback and Ayers Rock. Back for some time in the jungle before visiting the Great Barrier Reef and then ending at the beach along the Gold Coast. I took a two-week tour for all this - there are great distances involved, and it's easier when someone else handles getting you from place to place. I post this, however, to demonstrate the incredible diversity of things to see and do in Australia. Go for it.

It's a much smarter choice than India!

Our oldest child will be a senior in HS this year and we would like to do a big trip the summer after she graduates (2015) before she heads off to college. Our other children would be 14 and 12 when this trip would take place. As a family, we have done Hawaii, Costa Rica and Mexico, as well as many of the 'big' destinations in the continental US (San Fran, Orlando, San Diego, NYC, Chicago, OBX, Boston, skiing in CO as well as Rocky Mtn Ntl Park in the summer, and a few others). We would like to try somewhere we've not been before, and because it's her graduation gift (to an extent), we are more or less letting DD take the lead in suggesting places she'd like to go within the following parameters:

- We have a maximum of two weeks for this trip.
- As a family, we like to do trips that are a combination of relaxation (beach), city-ish (shopping, museums, etc.), historical, and outdoorsy/adventurous (hiking, rafting, ziplining, etc.) Of course, our trip doesn't have to have all of the above, but we're not really the type to lay on the beach for an entire week or spend an entire trip climbing a mountain, either.
- Budget. Obviously, airfare would be the biggest issue with Australia. Depending on how much my husband travels for work in the next 12 months, based on my research we could have 1 or 2 tickets paid for with FF miles. That aside, is Australia an expensive country once you're there? Including airfare, our budget would be about $10,000.

Does Australia sound like it could be a good fit for our trip? Or does anyone have any other ideas? Initially we were all on board with Europe (likely Itlay and France, possibly England, Ireland, Germany, or Denmark) but DD is determined to study abroad in Spain in college and has heard stories from friends in college about how they've been all over Europe while studying abroad, so she is apprehensive about doing Europe when she may be back there in a few short years.