We figured we should start sorting this out. I thought I'd ask if anybody here has advice or thoughts.

We have one daughter, by then seven years old. Not so much into athletic things. Very much into being with her friends. For the past two summers, we've vacationed in the SF Bay Area, which seemingly has it all: great attractions, great weather, and we know a bunch of other people with kids of the same age, so even though they work, we can all get together for dinner.

This summer, we're pondering going elsewhere, but there's nowhere else on the planet we can go that has a stack of kids who our kid already knows. I'm a bit worried that the three of us would go nuts if we spent two weeks together going from art museum to castle to ancient ruin, no matter the beautiful weather or scenery.

We could try to coordinate with another family and make a double-vacation out of it, but everybody's schedules are different, so that's tricky to pull off.

So... fellow family people, I'm curious if you might offer advice on this sort of thing: what sorts of vacations work vs. what sorts of vacations end up as disasters of one sort or another when you're dealing with this particular kid age group.

I have two daughters and at that age the theme parks were a big hit. Universal Studios and a Disney park would probably be the places. Perhaps you could take one of the daughter’s friends with you. However make sure they are OK with being away from home and make sure you get a signed permission note to cover you and if an emergency comes up.

If you’re hitting LA the beach may be a good place to go. I would also recommend getting tickets to the taping of a TV show. A kid’s “Giggle Show” would be of interest to your daughter (she’ll see her TV stars) as well as you (if you’d like to see how a show is taped.”

I’ve never had good luck with double vacation with another family. Little things like: “Why are they always late” and “I wanted to stay at that place longer” or “Why must she always yell at her kid” always seem to come up.

I always try to do out of the ordinary things. Maybe a whale watching trip if you’ve never been to sea, a mountain trip if you never see snow or maybe 4 wheeling in the desert it you’ve never been.

We had our first proper holiday last year; 2 weeks in Morocco.
I'd booked a hotel for the first 5 nights and a rental car, we moved twice between cities and had a great time. We have 3 girls, youngest was 6, eldest 10.

Next big holiday will be a safari in Africa or if I can get enough time off work 4/5 weeks traveling around Indonesia

It's a 2-3 week holiday, not a permanent move to a new locale.

Find somewhere very different, where English is spoken, with lots of interesting outdoor ancient stuff, nice weather, and decent amenities (food, accomodation, transport), and get out of your shells and see some of the planet.

If it doesn't work out, then go back to the Bay area next time.

I took my kids to Indonesia a couple of years ago, then aged 6 and 8. They had a great time and didn't wanna go back to Singapore.

At least with my girls, when they get close to 10, you can do anything.

At 7, kids don't like variety. I'd consider sticking with the routine for another couple of years. Then you can go somewhere new with minimal whining.

I my experience it depends on the kid. My oldest always loved variety at any age. My second daughter has always been resistant to change. However if the change is slow enough, and she knows it’s coming, she is OK with it. Surprises are not generally well received.

We took our kids to random countries from a very early age - well worth giving them that experience early. Somewhere different - mountains, cliffs, archaeological relics, rivers, anything to widen their range of experiences.

At that age they could love it - give it a try.

It was our kids first experience of seeing a bit of poverty, I think it did them some good.