-We did Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges last summer and teens loved it
-Singapore had amazing food but I would combine it with another country. We did Singapore and Thailand in the same trip.
-Japan is on our bucketlist and think it would be an amazing trip

Japan is easy from CA, and I wouldn't do NZ at all. Not enough time. Or combine Amsterdam with Paris or London.

Summer, I'd do Norway. If you do Singapore, combine it with Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Amsterdam and Burges for either. Just did them both this past summer and I loved both, especially Amsterdam. With Amsterdam there are plenty of day trips to the countryside to visit.

Singapore is crazy hot and humid in the summer and is worth like 2 days max. I would definitely take that off the list unless you combine with another SE Asian destination. That said, our trip on Singapore Airlines (from JFK) was the best plane experience I’ve ever had, and the airport in Singapore is amazing!

We went to Kyoto for Spring Break (from DC) one year and hit peak bloom for cherry blossoms. It was amazing! Crowded but worth it, esp if you can take advantage of jet lag and get started very early in the morning to avoid the worst of the crowds. I wouldn’t go to Japan in the summer bc it’s too hot and humid. We have also been to Amsterdam for Spring Break and saw the tulips at Keukenhoff, but it was still a little chilly. We combined that trip with a couple of days in London bc that’s how the cheapest flight worked out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would choose Japan or New Zealand over Singapore. New Zealand would probably be my top choice.

Switzerland - Dolomites - Italian city (Milan or Venice) would be a fun and easy trip logistically.

Have you been to Portugal? That would also be a great 2 week trip. Porto, Lisbon, some smaller towns (Evora), Comporta, etc.

OP here. Italian cuisine would certainly be popular with our 10yo! We haven’t been to Portugal, but DH has suggested it in the past. Is train travel possible, or is driving needed? (Looking on my own now, too!)

Why NZ as your top choice…and which island? (Thank you!!)

For Portugal, I would rent a car. You can train from Lisbon to Porto, but I don't know about the smaller towns. We drove and spent about 2 ish weeks when my kids were younger and it was nice stopping in different places. We stayed in the Douro Valley, Lisbon, and Comporta. I've also heard amazing things about São Lourenço do Barrocal. In the summer I would stay away from the Algarve.

New Zealand only because I've never been and getting there from the East Coast feels really hard. 10 also feels like a great age for both the cities and the outdoorsy stuff you can do.

Anonymous wrote:We did Amsterdam with kids that age for SP and it was great. East coast so it was a quick flight though. Lots of walking, boat trips, 2 museums, fun food, we have a younger kid too so we did a bunch of parks and playgrounds. Very easy language wise etc. book any museums now if you're going as tix do sell out.

OP here. Thank you!

Anonymous wrote:I would choose Japan or New Zealand over Singapore. New Zealand would probably be my top choice.

Switzerland - Dolomites - Italian city (Milan or Venice) would be a fun and easy trip logistically.

Have you been to Portugal? That would also be a great 2 week trip. Porto, Lisbon, some smaller towns (Evora), Comporta, etc.

OP here. Italian cuisine would certainly be popular with our 10yo! We haven’t been to Portugal, but DH has suggested it in the past. Is train travel possible, or is driving needed? (Looking on my own now, too!)

Why NZ as your top choice…and which island? (Thank you!!)