Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I travelled with two kids last year. This is what ended up happening, the children ended up staying at the hotel and swim while I went traveling. Have lower expectations with children.

Depends on the kids. Mine loved the temples, snake hospital, zip line, boat and elephant tides, food, night markets etc.

Don’t ever do elephant rides. Ever. My god.

+1 really terrible

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I travelled with two kids last year. This is what ended up happening, the children ended up staying at the hotel and swim while I went traveling. Have lower expectations with children.

Depends on the kids. Mine loved the temples, snake hospital, zip line, boat and elephant tides, food, night markets etc.

Don’t ever do elephant rides. Ever. My god.

Thailand is very affordable, that was really awesome , elephants, malls, boat rides beaches etc. NZ is expensive and desolate

Anonymous wrote:I travelled with two kids last year. This is what ended up happening, the children ended up staying at the hotel and swim while I went traveling. Have lower expectations with children.

Depends on the kids. Mine loved the temples, snake hospital, zip line, boat and elephant tides, food, night markets etc.

You can eat and drink anywhere and anything in NZ.
Thailand not so much. Barf, runs.

I travelled with two kids last year. This is what ended up happening, the children ended up staying at the hotel and swim while I went traveling. Have lower expectations with children.

Kidnapping situation getting worse. As of today two tourists traveling to chiang mai saved by the Thai patrol when they hired the wrong car service that were going to traffic to Myanmar

https://world.thaipbs.or.th/detail/two-chinese-nationals-saved-by-thai-troops-from-suspected-human-traffickers-/56106

Anonymous wrote:How is it a 14 hour flight to NZ? The San Fran and NY flights are like 17 hours I think?

We are flying from Houston, going w grandparents.

How is it a 14 hour flight to NZ? The San Fran and NY flights are like 17 hours I think?

Thailand if you want the best food, amazing accomodations, incredible nature, and very nice people. It's not even close when it comes to food. Thailand blows NZ out.

This is probably true and I've only been to NZ, not Thailand. NZ food is not all that interesting.

Seems like a long journey with two young kids for only 2 weeks. I’d go for a month or not at all

I agree. How much time do you have to recover from jet lag after you get back? It's not a minor thing.

Thailand and NZ are two very different places. Are you looking for amazing scenery and outdoor recreation? Or are you looking for unique culture and more unique food? If you are willing to accept NZ, I would substitute it for a mountain/lake experience somewhere in the US or Canada. NZ is great, but you can go to the Rockies or Banff and see similar. If you are looking for warmer weather in November and beaches, do the Carribean. Save the others for when you have at least a month.

Seems like a long journey with two young kids for only 2 weeks. I’d go for a month or not at all

I'd say both are great with kids - but with their young-ish age, go where you as the parents want to go/explore. The kids will have a fine time at either but with the younger age, won't fully appreciate it (or even remember it super clearly). If they were teenagers, I'd say go to Thailand though.

Thailand if you want the best food, amazing accomodations, incredible nature, and very nice people. It's not even close when it comes to food. Thailand blows NZ out.

Anonymous wrote:I went to Thailand as a young teen in the 90s. Loved it. But I will never forget being at an upscale cafe in the middle of the day and seeing multiple older white men dining with teenage Thai girls. It was frightening to me and led to a lifelong interest in issues like trafficking and child prostitution.

It was also a topic among many travelers we met. Not sure if it’s still like that or if I was especially sensitive to it.

Thailand has cracked down big time on trafficking and illegal prostitution. It's not the same as it was in the 90s.