If you could take your teen anywhere.......

[Briarmom]

Well, given the time of year you want to go, I'd probably take her to Egypt or on a safari in Kenya.
Egypt is just as safe as anywhere else we've travelled, and our kids were small when we were there.

Paris is one of my favorite places to visit, but that time of year is COLD. We were there last year right after the new year and we had to wear 2 coats at the same time! It was really not all that pleasant.

 

[DisneyMom81]

ABC tours has great packages. We went to London through them about 8 years ago and it was amazing. You can look them up online, and see what European packages they have. I would have LOVED to have gone to Paris and Scottland while we were there, but it never happened.

 

[golfgal]

What about a Mediterranean Cruise??

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

Australia

 

[shortbun]

I had to laugh at this post-you will go to those places before other people "destroy" them-what about you visiting them, that has no impact?

We are very careful how we travel, that we don't leave behind trash or anything foreign. We carry out what we carry in and we carry in very little. We don't take 'souvenirs' for the tribal people and we're very culturally and socially concious in where we go and our behavior. I've been to Africa four times including my trip to Egypt. The destruction is being done by farming, poaching, hunting and other well known activities that heavily impact the environment/habitat of the areas I discussed. Of course, there is some impact from tourism but most of these countries are using tourism dollars to help protect their wildlife. I take offense at your haughty comment. I was trying to present another perspective of travel to 'anywhere' that an older child might appreciate for the rest of their lives.

 

[wvjules]

I´m so glad they enjoyed their trip to Iceland



If you ever make it to Iceland (and you should, it´s a beautiful country) make sure to let me know. I´d love to help you plan


I have travelled extensively in Europe and believe your daughter would love:

London, UK
Paris, France
Barcelona, UK
Copenhagen, Denmark
Berlin, Germany
Prague, Czech Republic
Budapest, Hungary
Dubrovnik, Croatia

Only downside is that most of these places are very cold in the winter.

Tell me about Copenhagen. DBF's best friend lives in London and is getting married in Copenhagen next year. We plan on going. YAY!

 

[Freyja]

Tell me about Copenhagen. DBF's best friend lives in London and is getting married in Copenhagen next year. We plan on going. YAY!

Copenhagen is a wonderful city. Hey, there tourism slogan is even "Wonderful Copenhagen", lol. I lived there for 6 years so I know the city very well.

It´s old, charming and you really feel like you just stepped into an H.C Andersen adventure. The people are incredibly friendly and relaxed and will make you feel as much "at home" as possible.

Public transport is great and you won´t need a car to explore the city, but I would recommend renting one if you want to see some other places in Denmark.

Just tell me what you´d like to know and I´d be happy to try to help

 

[LisaR]

Wow! Thanks so much for all the fabulous ideas. DD read the thread and said she now has even more places she wants to visit.

After sleeping on it, I am wondering if they should postpone until May. I think they are free after May 15th. The weather would certainly be better and I wouldn't feel so rushed planning this and hoping her passport makes it in time.

Both love the idea of a safari, Egypt, Italy, Paris, Greece and Iceland. DH does not want to take a cruise. So many places, so little time.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

New Zealand will be in the middle of summer at that time of year and is a wonderful country to visit. I went there last year with my youngest son and we both loved it. Unique geography, interesting Maori culture, plenty of art and fascinating architecture (including a town that was damaged in an earthquake in 1930 and rebuilt with lots of Art Deco designs). And you can swim with dolphins, visit a live volcano and plenty of geysers, and see more sheep than you ever imagined seeing.

Teresa

 

[HM]

My daughter is 14.

Her choices would be (and are): Costa Rica (one of her friends has gone there several times), London (because they speak English and when we went there she was too young to remember much of anything), Paris, and Greece.

 

[Freyja]

New Zealand will be in the middle of summer at that time of year and is a wonderful country to visit. I went there last year with my youngest son and we both loved it. Unique geography, interesting Maori culture, plenty of art and fascinating architecture (including a town that was damaged in an earthquake in 1930 and rebuilt with lots of Art Deco designs). And you can swim with dolphins, visit a live volcano and plenty of geysers, and see more sheep than you ever imagined seeing.

Teresa

Apart from the Maori culture, Iceland and New Zealand have a lot of things in common. For example, everything else you mentioned above. The flight to Iceland is a lot shorter though and cheaper

 

[LisaR]

While New Zealand and Australia would be awesome, there is no way either one would be up for the long plane ride.

Freyja, what is the weather like in Iceland in May?

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Anywhere? And cost is no object?

The Galapagos.

Following that, safari in Africa.

However, cost being somewhat of an object, a quick tour of Europe. You can't do much in 8-10 days, but you could try a cruise. That way you get to experience a lot of different places and cultures in a short time (and don't have to worry about where you'll be sleeping at night or where your next meal is coming from. However, if you're not about sailing, then I would say Italy. You can spend a month in Italy and not see it all, but you can also see a lot of it in 8-10 days.

 

[Freyja]

While New Zealand and Australia would be awesome. There is no way either one would be up for the long plane ride.

Freyja, what is the weather like in Iceland in May?

This is the beginning of summer for us. It may still be too cold to go camping (unless you are well equipped) but the days are usually very nice. During the day it will probably be around 10-12 degrees Celcius, and colder at night. The days will already be pretty long, with sunset around 11PM.

 

[clutter]

For my dd12 and I it would be South Africa. (I'd probably be lazy and book the Disney tour.)

 

[dchi]

My son is 18 and the other day he told me he would love to go to Tokyo. Not sure if there is any history there or not just telling you where my son would like to go. I would choose Switzerland and Italy, although I have read that Italy has a lot of pickpockets! Have fun planning.

 

[Vixen]

With those interests, they probably would not want to go to my first recommendation: Costa Rica. It has adventure, is exotic but the political climate is very stable/safe. That is also one of the better times to visit for weather.

Sounds like Paris and/or London would be better based on interest, but it would be fairly cold.

I second costa rica! i live in nicaragua its 6 hours away and i go there every once in a while i loveeeee it!!! i bet she would love the rain forest and going to the water falls and te volcanos

 

[Pakey]

I would pick Paris. Plus there's that place over there, close by, called Disneyland Paris that is absolutely amazing and worth going to at least once.

 

[Shelton123]

DH and DD (14) want to go on an adventure between Christmas and the 2nd week of January. DD has never been outside the US and is dying to go anywhere. Her list is a mile long and she can't narrow it down. She wants us to pick a place and surprise her. DH has traveled to Europe for work but isn't a seasoned international travel. Most places would be new for him, as well.

DD is into art, theater, history and architecture but is up for anything.

They want to keep the trip to about 8 to 10 days. My only prerequisite is that is has to be relatively safe.

I would love to hear some suggestions

WHAT @ London and Paris... those two are not safe at all. There's lots of crime in both of those cities. My first thought - take her to Tokyo. It's one of the funnest times I've ever had in my life. Everyone is really friendly, and it's so surreal. Plus Tokyo Disney is the best out of all of the Disney Resorts, IMO. But Tokyo is possibly one of my favorite places in the world.

DisneySea is the greatest theme park I've ever been to. It is just BREATHTAKING! Talk about magic, that's really it. It has all the culture and themeing of Epcot and all the magic of MK. It combines the two, really. You need to go. Tokyo Disneyland is still great, too. The Winnie the Pooh ride is REALLY cool.

Not to mention, the weather in summer was good, but the weather in winter must be AMAZING!

Yeah, I get Europe, but let's face it, there's quite a bit of European culture in the US, going by the fact that a majority of the people in the US are, erm, of "European Descent." And not much Japanese culture, I mean sure we have Anime on Adult Swim, but really that only scratches a tiny little surface of it.

 

[Planogirl]

At that time of year, I'd go for Italy or Spain. Northern Europe would be a bit cold.

What about Mayan ruins? Any interest in those?