There are tour companies that specialize in active family vacations, including Backroads, link below. I figured it’s a good start for locations to consider. There are other companies that do similar tours, but I’m really just providing the link for ideas.
British Columbia and western Alberta (Banff/Jasper) – hiking, whitewater rafting, ATVs, via ferrata, paragliding (in Revelstoke). There is so much to do for an active vacation that our family has chosen that area 5 separate summers in the last 12 years. We’ve stayed in Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria, Revelstoke, Banff and Jasper.
2nd the OSA Peninsula area of Costa Rica. We stayed at La Paloma lodge and the two teens loved it. Before flying down we stayed two nights in San Jose and did a river rafting trip.
We loved the Banff area. We did a hike, bike and helicopter trip there a couple of decades ago. Very active trip. But, not really good for water sport kinds of things if that happens to be important.
Not OP but that’s definitely on our list. Friends who’ve been to the area love it.
What do these twins want to do? Maybe they would prefer a low key vacation someplace, and not something “special”. I’d start by asking them, then narrow the field from there.
Pony trekking and biking may be easier if there are differing levels of ability. There are a number of places that organize hiking trips where a taxi moves your luggage so that you only need a day back. We did a three day hike in Andalusia last spring which was gorgeous (probably too hot in the summer) and have another one scheduled for England’s SW coast next month. The middle section of Hadrian’s wall is amazing too.
I was going to say Iceland also! We went this July with D24 (as well as D27, S18 and S19). We did Yellowstone & Tetons with the family after S18 graduated and a European cruise after S19 graduated. Iceland was amazing!! The landscape is sometimes otherworldly. Plus puffins If you are on the east coast it is super easy and flights can even be a deal if you are watching for them.
I’ve been wanting to see Banff/the Canadian Rockies so much also - but I understand the recent wildfires have (sadly) burned a lot of Jasper. Not sure if that would impact any plans…
We went to a dive resort in Belize called Hamanasi and it is lovely - you do not have to be a diver, snorkeling is great as well - with cool bungelows on the beach, tree houses or hotel room if you prefer…it is a boutique resort. Food is incredible 5* meals. The adventure package is great for families with excursion options that get you into the jungle, mayan ruins, jaguar preserve, etc. It’s kind of a special treat and won’t be like all the large hotel’s with lazy river and bars in the pools, it’s very private. Check it out at www.hamanasi.com or trip advisor. Then again, we had a fantastic and inexpensive trip through Costco staying at the big hotels - and loved that too!
We did Scotland when our oldest graduated and everyone agrees it was our favorite trip. We rented a car and drove around the entire island and it was the perfect combination of city, castles in the country side and hikes. No two days were the same and we particularly loved Isle of Skye.
Lots of fun choices. Keep in mind that if they are wanting to get summer jobs it may be hard to get time off.
Excellent point!
I love Hawaii and Iceland. We did a Mediterranean Cruise which was very inexpensive compared to Hawaii and Iceland (Royal Carib). We got 2 rooms next to each other, inside mid ship no gym or restaurant above or below us. The ship made daily stops so not too much ship time which was perfect for us. The kids got a taste of many cities. We did Pisa instead of Florence and kept it simple. It was really fun. Not our usual style but a fabulous family adventure.
Second the point that summer jobs, college orientations, and different start dates may make it difficult to plan far in advance. For my older kids, that was also complicated by obligations the younger ones had for their schools.
All these suggestions sound great! And also, as some have said, this is likley not the last vacation you will all have together. We had a trip to France with young adult kids which they really enjoyed (Normandy, the Brittany coast and Paris) as well as England when my youngest graduated college. However, they are not opposed to history and some art viewing and just being in Paris and London was exciting.
We also had great tripe to the Pacific Northwest (Seattle Area, Mt. Rainier and Olympic peninsula), which I was able to plan somewhat last minute. Also, Tetons, Yellowstone, and then Colorado.
When our S23 graduated, we let him pick our big family vacation / graduation trip, and we’ll do the same for our D25. I’d ask your kiddos where they’d like to go and plan it early in the summer, before school orientations. Our son picked France- we did Paris, Normandy, Brussels and Luxembourg, Brussels was our favorite city of all 3. Our daughter will probably pick a dude ranch / Grand Canyon trip, which also sounds really fun.
A few years before son graduated college, we encouraged him and older daughter to reserve 2 weeks after is graduation for family vacation. He suggested Germany, she favored Italy. So we did Rome (4 nights in an airbnb apartment), train to Venice (1 night), train to Munich (4 nights in hotel room that had enough beds for us all). What a great trip it was! We loved the affordable wine in Italy but were happy to switch to beer.
My S graduated from his masters program the same year my D graduated from college. We had a wonderful family trip to Ireland. We spent 2 days in Dublin then spent the rest of the trip on the Dingle peninsula. Except for the short time in Dublin almost all our time was spent outside. We saw a shearing and border collie demonstration at a sheep farm, hiked in Killarney national forest, hiked along the Dingle coast, spent a day hiking on Blasket island, amazing!
We did tour one castle.
Dingle is gorgeous, fairy tale land
I was going to suggest a combination of these…a dude ranch near the Tetons or Yellowstone, and do the other while there. I can only imagine the memories that would be made!
If this is happening next summer…make your reservations asap.