Best Places to Visit with Teenagers: Our Teens’ Top 10 Destinations
This site contains affiliate links, which means that we may earn a small commission, at no cost to you, for qualifying purchases. It supports the work that goes into keeping this content free. Thanks for reading! More info: Privacy Policy.
Looking for family vacation ideas with teens? In this guide, we share some of the best places to visit with teenagers based on our own travels. We’ve taken our boys to all of these destinations during their teen years, so every recommendation comes from personal experience.
As any parent of teens knows, finding a destination that gets everyone on board isn’t always simple. Kids who once loved every zoo, playground, and waterfall suddenly become harder to impress, especially when they’ve grown up traveling since they were little… With three teens, we’ve experienced this first-hand. Thus, this article – to help you find a fun vacation destination that the whole family will enjoy.
From iconic cities to epic nature destinations, road trips, and adventure-focused family vacations, this guide covers 10 of our family’s favorite teen-approved places around the world. They each offer a great mix of fun activities and memorable experiences – the kind that might even make your teens forget about their phones for a moment. Take a look!
Here are some of our teens’ favorite travel destinations (in completely random order, because it was already difficult enough to pick just 10 and there’s no way they’d ever agree on a ranking):
1. New York City, USA
If you’re looking for the most exciting city destinations to visit with teenagers, New York City should be high on your list. From legendary landmarks to world-class attractions, the Big Apple is full of things teens actually enjoy. Plus, you can fit a lot into just a few days, without hotel changes or complicated planning.
You can mix main attractions like the Statue of Liberty, MoMA, and the most impressive observation decks with bike rides through Central Park, cool neighborhoods, street food, and, of course, shopping. Add a Broadway show, a concert, or a live sports game, and it’s really simple to keep your teens engaged from morning till evening.
TIP: Take some time to plan a teen-friendly itinerary that combines a wide variety of activities every single day. It’s a lot easier to convince your kids to visit a museum in the morning if they know they can spend an afternoon shopping or ice skating at Central Park, and the evening watching a basketball game and eating New York-style pizza…
LEARN MORE: Best Things to Do in NYC with Teenagers
2. Costa Rica
Costa Rica is one of the best countries to go to with teenagers who love nature and adventure. It offers tons of thrilling activities for the whole family.
Our boys still talk about the zip-lining, rafting, river tubing, snorkeling with turtles, and spotting sloths and monkeys in the wild. One of their favorite experiences was the night walk in Monteverde, where we saw snakes, tarantulas, and all kinds of creatures we’d never even heard of.
What makes Costa Rica such a great family vacation idea with teens is how easy it is to mix adventure with downtime. You can spend the morning hiking through cloud forests or exploring waterfalls and the afternoon surfing, relaxing at the beach, or unwinding in geothermal pools. The country of Pura Vida is super family-friendly, and it’s simple to build an itinerary that keeps everyone happy.
TIP: The Arenal–La Fortuna area and the Quepos–Manuel Antonio region are both excellent bases for families. You can easily spend a week in either place and never run out of things to do. Arenal offers the added bonus of natural hot springs, and many resorts even have them on-site.
LEARN MORE: Costa Rica Bucket List
3. London, UK
London is our #1 city to visit with teenagers in Europe. A bit like NYC, it offers a great mix of iconic sights and fun activities, including world-class museums, countless shopping possibilities, and West End shows with many great teen-friendly options to choose from. Plus, you’ll find many cool, typically British things that foreigners only know from movies.
There is so much to see and do in London that you can easily create an itinerary with something for everyone. Combine the main landmarks like the Tower of London and Tower Bridge with a street food tour at Borough Market or city views from one of the top viewpoints. If your teens are interested in Royal sights, don’t miss the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace, or even take a day trip to visit Windsor Castle.
With tweens and younger teens, don’t miss the Harry Potter Studios near London. If you’re traveling with older teenagers, consider a bike tour of the hidden gems or a street art tour with a graffiti workshop. London also has some really cool neighborhoods like Camden Town, which is a definite must if visiting with teens!
PRO TIP: Book tickets for everything you don’t want to miss well in advance. London is very popular, and you’ll have a much more enjoyable visit if you plan well ahead. I even recommend making dinner reservations.
LEARN MORE: Best Things to Do in London with Teenagers
4. Southwest USA
The US Southwest is full of bucket-list places that will impress even the most sceptical teens. If you are looking for a teen-friendly road trip destination, it’s one of the best I can think of.
In a relatively compact area, you can find a surprising variety of places and activities that make it easy to plan a trip that the whole family will enjoy. From the quirky attractions along the iconic Route 66 to the impressive views at the Grand Canyon, and world-class shows in Las Vegas, you can easily fill a few weeks here and never get bored. But it’s easy enough to plan a fun itinerary even if you only have a few days…
We’ve been to the Southwest many times. On one of the recent trips with teenagers, we traveled during Christmas vacation. We visited the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, Zion National Park, Valley of Fire State Park, Red Rock Canyon, Death Valley National Park, Los Angeles, and more. We spent New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas, saw a few shows, took a helicoper flight above the Strip, and visited tons of teen-friendly attractions. Our teenagers loved it!
Depending on the season and your interests, you can easily add Sedona and Phoenix – Scottsdale to your Southwest itinerary, visit many of the top places in Utah, including the Moab area (Arches and Canyonlands), etc. The possibilities are practically endless, and it’s easy enough to find teen-friendly attractions everywhere you go.
READ ALSO: Best Things to do in Las Vegas (great with teens!)
5. Algarve, Portugal
The Algarve is our family’s favorite beach destination with teenagers. With over 300 days of sunshine per year, lots of fun activities for all ages, and great food, it’s a fabulous place to visit if you are looking for a relaxed vacation for the whole family.
We visit the Algarve several times a year, in all seasons, and it never gets boring. Some of our teens’ favorite things to do include Algarve’s water parks, surfing, kayaking along the cliffs, parasailing, karting, boat trips (including dolphin watching), and dining at a different restaurant every day. With pretty much every cuisine represented, you won’t have difficulties finding a teen-approved restaurant anywhere in the Algarve.
We also love to explore the most beautiful beaches of Algarve (there are so many!), and once in a while, we even manage to convince our kids to visit the most charming towns. The nice thing is that there are lots of activities to choose from and you can pack your days as much as you like – or not at all. Plus, if you pick your base location wisely, you can explore the entire region without changing hotels.
TIP: The area between Albufeira and Lagos is the most central, giving you good access to most Algarve attractions.
READ ALSO: Best Places to See & Things to Do in Algarve
6. Finnish Lapland
If you’re looking for a winter destination to visit with teenagers, Lapland in Finland is one of the most magical places with a true winter wonderland feel. Plus, you can meet a real Santa Claus, which will be a big hit with tweens and younger siblings.
Even if you’ve visited snowy places before, the Arctic atmosphere in Lapland feels so special that it will impress even cold-averse teenagers. And if you are coming from a warm climate, your entire family will be blown away by the winter magic.
Teens will love husky and reindeer sledding, snowmobiling, ice fishing, and Finnish kota experience roasting marshmallows and grilling sausages over the fire. You may even convince your teens to try a traditional Finnish sauna, followed by a cold plunge in an ice-cold lake (we much preferred a warm soak in a hot tub :)).
You can also go skiing, sledding, ice karting, snow tubing, visit an ice hotel, etc. Lapland is also one of the top places in the world to see the Northern Lights, so if you stay in the region for a few days, you have a really good chance to see auroras.
TIP: Do some research before booking so you know what to expect. Daylight hours and temperatures can vary a lot throughout the winter, and different areas of Lapland offer different activities. Even within the same region, your experience will depend a lot on where you stay. Some resorts have winter adventures right at the doorstep, while staying in a town center usually means better access to restaurants and excursions, but more travel time to winter activities.
We visited Lapland in March, when temperatures are milder, and you get much more daylight than in December or January. We chose to base ourselves in the Rovaniemi area because it’s easy to reach and offers the widest range of activities. You can find all our tips and experiences in our Lapland travel guide.
READ ALSO: Rovaniemi Winter Itinerary
7. Dubai, UAE
Dubai is one of the most teen-approved destinations we’ve been to, thanks to its endless list of impressive sights and fun activities. We’ve visited a few times, and if it were up to our teenagers, we could go back again and again. The list of things they still want to do just keeps getting longer as the city keeps growing. And that’s without counting all the cool attractions in nearby Abu Dhabi…
There is so much to see and do in Dubai that no single list (or trip) will ever cover it all. In addition to the top sights, some of our teens’ favorites include dune bashing in a jeep, camel riding in the desert, indoor skydiving, AYA Universe, and Aquaventure World Waterpark. They also love impressive observation decks, traditional souks, and the giant malls that feel like destinations of their own, with so many indoor attractions.
What makes Dubai our top pick for families is how easy it is to combine sightseeing with theme parks, water parks, beaches, and unique teen-friendly activities you don’t find anywhere else.
TIP: Book the most popular attractions in advance. Tickets for places like the Museum of the Future or the Burj Khalifa – especially at sunset – often sell out, and many activities are simply cheaper when booked ahead. See our Dubai travel tips for more information.
READ ALSO: Dubai Itinerary for One Week
9. Iceland
If you love nature and are looking for a truly unique destination to visit with your teens, put Iceland on your radar. This volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic is like no other place on our planet, and that in itself is enough to impress your teenagers.
Iceland has a lot more to offer than it may look at first sight. In addition to volcanic landscapes, vast glaciers, black-sand beaches, and countless waterfalls, you’ll also find geothermal pools, lava tunnels, and natural ice caves. It’s also one of the best places to see whales and puffins in the wild. And if you’re visiting in the dark season, you may also catch the Northern Lights.
Reykjavik, the world’s northernmost capital city, is also a great place to visit with teens. With trendy cafes and restaurants, surprising street art, and many fun attractions, it’s a nice addition to any Iceland itinerary.
TIP: Make a road trip along the Ring Road and end every day with a soak in hot springs or local pools. You’ll find warm geothermal pools all over Iceland, and it’s a great way to relax after long days of sightseeing. No two pools are the same, and our teens absolutely loved them. It became one of the highlights of our family trip.
LEARN MORE: Top Places to See in Iceland
10. Japan
Our next family trip, Japan, is already on our teens’ list of absolute favorite places – even before visiting – simply because they know they’ll love it. If your teens are into manga, anime, gaming, or high-tech gadgets, Japan is one of the most exciting destinations you can take them to. And because the culture is so different from anything we’ve experienced before, I’m just as excited as they are.
We’ll definitely include some of the most impressive temples, shrines, and landmarks, but the trip will be built around their wish list. High on their list are the fun neighborhoods of Tokyo like Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Akihabara, where you can spend hours exploring shops, themed cafés, and arcades. We’re also planning bike tours, cultural experiences such as seeing Sumo wrestlers and trying Samurai training, and plenty of visits to local markets to try all kinds of foods they’ve only seen online.
We’re planning our family trip soon, and the excitement level is already sky-high thanks to everything our teens watched on TikTok and YouTube. I’ll update this guide with practical, experience-based tips once we return. Our teens can’t wait!
So, this is our list of some of our teens’ absolute favorite places around the world. Narrowing it down to just 10 wasn’t easy since there are so many other destinations we’ve enjoyed as a family over the years.
Many of the destinations we loved when our kids were younger would also be great with teens. I’m thinking of Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Thailand, but also Italy, Switzerland, and Spain, to mention just a few… If you want even more ideas, check out our guide to some of the best family vacation destinations with kids.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from almost two decades of traveling with kids, it’s that you can make practically any destination exciting for kids/teens as long as you plan enough variety. No teenager will love a trip packed only with museums or temples, but if you focus on a few top landmarks and mix them with fun activities and good food, you can turn almost any trip into a success.
I hope this list gives you plenty of inspiration and helps you plan an unforgettable adventure with your teens. They grow up so quickly, and before you know it, they’ll be planning their own trips. So every journey you take together really counts. No matter where you decide to go, you’ll create amazing memories together, and that’s a lot more important than the actual destination.
TIP: Did you find this guide helpful? Bookmark this post for later, share it with your friends, and save it to Pinterest to inspire your next trip.
