Help us find a family trip !

If you are not bucephale, you should look at his posts.

Hi ! I'm bucephale but I dont have access to that account anymore..

I'm useless at suggesting destinations that appeal to children, so I'll just contribute this list of areas that have worked for me, weather-wise, on summer trips--though I see that you have hit some very hot areas previously.

Dolomites in northern Italy (good walks, and Iceman museum in Bolzano). Could pair with stays in interesting cities like Padua, Vicenza, Verona. The lake district is also nearby, as is Venice. Heat is a concern, however, in all those places down at/near sea level.

Normandy and Brittany in France (coastline, but unpredictable weather). Some very pretty towns, and D-Day sites with German fortifications.

Northern coast of Spain from Basque Country to Galicia (more unpredictable weather). Nearby Picos de Europa mountain area is beautiful and has some active-sport opportunities.

Northern Poland. Don't know what part of the country you've seen, but Gdansk is gorgeous and usually very not-hot. I spent five weeks in Poland this summer and loved it, but there's definitely a potential for some hot days in Krakow, Poznan and Wroclaw.

England and Wales. Obviously, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland would also work. And there's more to the Netherlands than Amsterdam. Heat is rarely a concern in the Netherlands.

If, as Canadians, it's important to you to soak up a lot of sun during your vacation, the above places should probably all be avoided.

mathemilu, I'm sure you know you can still see and bookmark bucephele's posts and answers on the forum since you didn't delete them.

mathemilu/bucephale -

I think the problem for you is to find someplace that is not very hot and uncomfortable in July and August. During that time of the year, I would suggest someplace in northern Europe: Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia...you get the idea. There are many good options.

Here's the most popular. There's fewer European cities than I expected.

Mastercard’s 2018 Global Destination Cities Index

1 Bangkok 20m intl visitors
2 London 19.8m
3 Paris 17m
4 Dubai 16m
5 Singapore 14m
6 NYC 13m
7 Kuala Lumpur 12.6m
8 Tokyo 12m
9 Istanbul 11m
10 Seoul 10m
11 Antalya 9m
12 Phuket 9m
13 Makkah (Mecca) 9m
14 Hong Kong 9m
15 Milan 9m

I'm also going to offer another suggestion that may surprise many here: Hokkaido, Japan's northern island.

Most of Japan will be very hot, very humid, and very uncomfortable during July and August, but summer weather in Hokkaido is very pleasant, and Hokkaido is beautiful. If you have been to the coastal parts of British Columbia, much of Hokkaido will feel somewhat similar (but with a very different culture).

Here's the most popular. There's fewer European cities than I expected...

There are some surprises there, for sure - makes me question the methodology.

Dubai more than New York? Well, maybe Dubai's airport...

Phuket and Mecca tied...is a trip to Mecca classified the same way as a trip to Phuket? (one could actually argue that it's the opposite...)

Kuala Lumpur and Antalya...and no sign of Rome (or even Cinque Terre) on the list? Hmmm.

My 2 boys were almost the same as your kids ages. We took them to England. London, Bath, Stratford, Salisbury, Windsor and back to London. They loved it and still talk about it.

What I did was get some guide books. (before the internet was so comprehensive) We each compiled a wish list of our top 10 places or things we wanted to see. Some of them were on multiple lists and we made sure we did those. The Tower of London and the Changing of the Keys Ceremony was a huge hit! So was Churchill's war rooms. So was seeing Shakespeare's home and the Globe Theatre. Bath, was a lot of fun, they loved seeing Stonehenge and the White Horses. Windsor they enjoyed. One day back in London our older son, about 13 said he just wanted to go off and sit and people watch. He was very good at navigating and very responsible. Younger son wanted to go somewhere so we (I) reluctantly let older son go off on his own. He took his sketch pad and had a great time sketching some fountains and tourists. One he did a beautiful fountain and did cartoons of the tourists.

Younger son was with us on a bus. It got crowded. he was sitting in the seat in front of us and I was proud when he stood and let an older lady sit. At the next stop her seat mate got off so she motioned for him to sit.
They had the best conversation about where from, what have you seen and what has been your favorite. When she was getting off she patted his hand and then waved from outside the bus and said "Bye, Brian". It was cute.

On the last day, hubby and sons just wanted to walk around and not go to another museum that I wanted to go to. We split up and met back at the hotel. They proceeded to tell me they had gone to the wax museum
and then to the "Museum of Art and Culture" I almost fell down. That night at dinner I was asking about the Museum of Art and Culture and was getting short noncommital answers. They all finally popped out laughing and told me it was a 2 or 3 story video arcade. But they all had a great day and so did I.

My suggestion for you to have a great trip with your kids is to get them involved in the planning of activities
and be flexible. Everyone should be able to get to do some of their first few choices. And as a parent, it's fun to see what they choose and then their reaction afterward.

This is the longest post I have ever written, hope it's not too boring.
Have a great trip with your family, wherever ya'll go.
Mimi

Notre voyage préféré en famille fut l'Irlande. Les enfants avaient 9 et 11 ans. Beaucoup de culture, de musées, châteaux, musique.. bonne bouffe. Les irlandais sont tellement sympas. Il y a des plages et ma fille s'est même baignée... l'eau est un peu ( ok beaucoup ) froide mais ça n'arrête pas les enfants. Un bon mix de villes et villages. Je recommande fortement. Avec 20 à 23 jours, vous pourriez aussi ajouter l'Angleterre ou l'Écosse.

Slovenia! Lots of castles, charming towns, gorgeous mountains, caves, lakes, white water rafting, kayaking, zip lining, paragliding. We spent 4 nights in Ljubljana. Loved it! Enjoyed the castle - including dragon legends and scavenger hunt activities. Beautiful city. Great food. Friendly people. English is readily spoken. Lake Bled and nearby Vintgar Gorge are stunning. The Soca River is beautiful. Add on Northern Italy or Croatia or Austria.

I could recommend numerous places in Germany, in the east and north especially, but since you prefer other countries, I heartily recommend Poland and the Czech Republic. I know Poland much better in contrast to the Czech Republic as to having visited towns and cities, both on and off the "tourist" path. This includes going to small border towns just across the Oder River in the last few years.

Poland is highly interesting, very recommendable, has good food to be sure.

Wide open is difficult. I will throw out Budapest, but only because i have entertained children of about the same age while there on several occasions and I could give you lots of suggestions. To escape the heat the High Tatras of Slovakia are near to Budapest and cooler and beautiful and inexpensive in the summer (its a ski area).