snow or sand - thailand or japan - pls help me

[sushee]

I'd go to Japan.

Yes it may be more structured but a family holiday, I reckon, is fun when the kids are lots to do, and new adventures to experience. I know Thailand will be more relaxed, but after a bit the kids will probably be climbing the walls! Lol!

So no contest for me. I reckon Japan for sure.

(I also am not fond of Thailand personally)

[suse]

I say Japan, but mostly so I can live vicariously through you. (One day I'll make it there, really I will).

If you are worried about the amount of time the boys would spend in ski-school/creche, if you plan to spend some of the time sightseeing around the area anyway, could you stagger that time so that you spend only a couple of days on the fields at a time, followed by a day with the family? It might help to break up the 'structure' a little.

[MantaRay]

This is tough. I love both places, but having lived in Japan for a year I have a real soft spot for the country. I would not miss an opportunity to go there, however having said that, I would most likely not be ski-ing there (not for the whole trip anyway), I would be travelling around a lot.

I think the decider for me in that situation would be whether the boys are going to respond better to structured or unstructured time. For some kids, a structured holiday would not work well at all while for others they wouldn't respond well to a lack of routine. Only you know what will work best for your family.

Best of luck with the decision. Either way I know you will have a fantastic time. I'm very, very jealous!!

[Indadhanu]

Maybe it's time I grew up and started acting responsibly.

In that case... BE RESPONSIBLE and go to Japan

[pucci]

I've been to Japan twice and Thailand twice. If you are dreaming of visiting Japan, I would suggest you go for longer and not to just ski. There is so much to see there. You would need more money as well, especially if you were travelling around as you'd need a rail pass that costs around $600 per adult per week if I recall. I'm just thinking that if you only went skiing you would not get the real Japan experience. We went when the dollar was better and the food/hotel prices were on par with what you'd pay to visit Sydney.
Can you save and plan a big 3 week trip for next year?
The kids would love Thailand, and it's super cheap. The hotels probably have kids clubs etc. There are lots of themed animal type things over there but be careful that you pick legitimate ones, they don't have the best track record for animal welfare.
Expect your kids to get lots of attention in Japan, they are fascinated by geigin children.

[Phteven]

Thanks everyone for your advice. After thinking it through and doing some research we decided that we will enjoy Japan better when the boys are a year or 2 older and also that for the price of the Japan trip we can go to Thailand in march and ski in NZ in July (at Cardrona where they have a great kid's program)and get sand and snow so that's what we're doing
I guess I still haven't become a sensible person - one day.....