Mine loved:

Croatia (rented house with pool on Brac, sailboat excursions, beaches)
Corsica (see above)
Germany (skiing in winter, driving around and spending time in Berlin in summer, sailing, kayaking, museums, biking)
Alaska (kayaking, ice climbing, whale watching, hiking, white water rafting)
Scotland (Edinburgh then train to Inverness and car through highlands, hiking)
London (museums, historical sites)

Really anything that doesn't involve long hours in a car without a purpose, and they want to stay fairly active. Also they prefer to rent houses or apartments for the space and access to kitchen/food. (they eat a lot and nobody has patience for 3-4 restaurants a day in Europe, that's half the day )

Anonymous wrote:Dude ranch!

I did that with one of my sons, but we also ride together. It's not nearly as much fun if you are not a proficient rider already, IMO.

Hawaii
Galápagos
Alaska
Costa Rica
Iceland

We did Puerto Rico with our teenage boy and it was a huge hit. Beach. Hiking in the rainforest. Natural waterslides. Zip lines. And we did the bioluminescent kayaking at night.

Anonymous wrote:Dude ranch!

Yes this is my suggestion. Go to CM ranch in Wyoming- best week of my life with my sons (single mom here).

Alaska was great. We went fishing, hiking, sea kayaking,

Mine loved Rome and Paris

Anonymous wrote:Hawaii, Iceland, Peru, Alaska

I would say national parks, but it is too late for this summer.

Why too late? You could go somewhere like Glacier and rent a place or stay in a hotel within 30 minutes of the entrance, then get day entry reservations the days you want to go into the park.

Hawaii, Iceland, Peru, Alaska

I would say national parks, but it is too late for this summer.

Mine is not a big city kid but loved Rome and the day trip we took to Pompeii.

Puerto Rico is relatively cheap and easy (if you can’t swing Europe or the Med).

You don’t need passports. You can easily fly there. Easy to rent a car and explore. Tons of threads in this forum on tips and itineraries. Great mix of beach, mountains, water sports, and city/history.

If you are on a budget and want to go to Europe, research air/hotel packages.

I'm someone who likes to combo a more city adventure with something physically active.

Big Island of Hawaii for hiking and swimming.
San Francisco/Bay Area so you can visit Muir Woods and do some city exploring.
UK - London for a city experience then take the train up to Scotland and do some hiking.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most memorable trip we did with our kids was a 10 day trip to California along the Pacific Highway. We started in San Francisco, then drove to Carmel, then to Santa Barbara with a stop at the Hearst Castle and finally Los Angeles and Laguna Beach.
I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

Carmel is basically heaven on earth! That was my favorite trip as well, absolutely loved it. We stopped in LA as well and did the Getty and the Broad, ate in Koreatown, went to the Santa Monica peer. San Francisco was amazing too. It was a lot of fun for everyone, but my teens' favorite trip was Barcelona and Madrid, by far: they loved the stores, the markets, thrifting, food, scenery and how dynamic everything was in Barcelona especially. I personally hated Barcelona and loved Madrid.

What do active teen boys do on the driving trips? I agree the drive is breathtaking but not a lot to do in Carmel or Santa Monica.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trying to make the most out of the few family vacations before our 16 yo DS and 14 yo DS head off to college. What were your (and your sons!) favorite family vacations around this age? Budget would be not cheap, but also not luxury. Thanks!

have you done London, Rome or Athens? My teen boys loved these places.

This! London all day every day, though I've done the others with my teen son as well, coincidentally and agree that they are good choices. Teen boys like cities best.

I have one teen boy who likes cities the best and one who likes beaches/mountains/nature.

My teen son really wants to go to Japan.