Hi. I feel like an idiot even writing this but here goes. Looking to book our first "sunny/abroad" family holiday. I am totally overwhelmed looking online. Any tips? Best sites? How to know I'm getting a good deal? Or is it best to walk into a travel agent?
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Its a lot when you're not used to it. Dont stress!
My tips would be:
- self catering as i think the space is handy when you have kids, as is the ability to prep snacks
- pick a resort close to the airport to keep travel time to a minimum, eg Puerto del Carmen in Lanzarote is a 10/15 min taxi from the airport
- pick a resort that has a kids club, will keep the kids busy, give you a break and ensure they make friends
- a lot of travel agencies offer free child places, worth going in and getting some quotes IMO. But bargains are difficult to come by during school holidays, outside of school hols you should get a good deal.
Just to note i dont have kids, so feel free to take the above with a pinch of salt, but i do feel like it should be somewhat useful!
I’m going for the opposite of above by saying go all inclusive so you don’t have to worry about food! But make sure to read reviews on tripadvisor to make sure people say the food is good. I think tripadvisor reviews are the most important thing, I never look at the photos on the booking site until I’ve checked out tripadvisor first.
I also don’t have kids but going off what my parents picked when I was younger.
We used onthebeach to book (or sunmaster but they recently closed). I still use onthebeach now never had issues with them. We would always pick a hotel with at least 4 stars on tripadvisor.
Loveholidays seems the cheapest when I’ve looked (only for 2 adults though) and someone I work with has booked with them previously and had no issues. I remember my parents booking the first abroad holiday with tui in the travel agents but after that always booking online so I assume it was cheaper - although we were probably too old to get the few child places. Although I’m sure at least some online sites will do the free places as well.
I’d say a kids club is good too I still remember some things we did when going to them.
Agree with the above. We travel with our boys quite a few times a year usually and our must haves are a short transfer time from airport to hotel (anything more than an hour is too long for us!). An afternoon flight is usually better for us too because kids never sleep on earlier flights they are too excited so it ends up a really long day when it’s an early flight
Personally I prefer a package deal just so it’s easy and all in one place and I have found jet2 to be my favourite for this but you can save money if you do it all separately although if you’re not confident with that i would recommend using a travel agent. I’ve always found jet2 really helpful customer service wise so you could give them a call for some advice or suggestions on where to go and it’s usually cheaper to book with them via phone as they give you a better discount on the phone than they do online or app! Holidays in general are so much more expensive now especially during school holidays.
We’ve done self catering and all inclusive and I do prefer all inclusive but bringing enough spending money to eat out too. It’s handy for kids to get ice creams and snacks etc all day and drinks for everyone. There’s usually something for everyone food wise however it gets very repetitive even when it is nice food so bring enough money to eat out a few times and you’ll have the best of both worlds!
Another tip is pay a bit more for a private transfer it’s definitely worth it especially if your children are younger. Also if you go somewhere close to the airport a private transfer may even be cheaper than the coach - had this happen to me when we went to Vilamoura in Portugal!
Oh yes I agree we used to go for 2 weeks and the food did become repetitive at an all inclusive depending on the hotel. We used to eat out one time during the two weeks, or at most twice.
But some hotels the food wasn’t repetitive.
For example in Egypt our hotel had I think 5 restaurants included in all inclusive all with a different cuisine. In Greece there was the normal buffet restaurant but they also had a Greek restaurant which you had to book in at but was included in the all inclusive so we ate there a few times to break it up. In Gran Canaria they had the normal buffet plus a Chinese buffet which I loved.
But some hotels the food wasn’t repetitive.
For example in Egypt our hotel had I think 5 restaurants included in all inclusive all with a different cuisine. In Greece there was the normal buffet restaurant but they also had a Greek restaurant which you had to book in at but was included in the all inclusive so we ate there a few times to break it up. In Gran Canaria they had the normal buffet plus a Chinese buffet which I loved.
If you are nervous about doing a lot of self booking easyjet and jet2 do package deals. You can filter based on location, board basis etc
For self booking sky scanner is great for looking at flights. You can just Google hotels and then either book directly on their own website or on a third party like hotels.com
Do a package. It will take the stress out of it, if you’re not used to booking holidays, especially with kids!
Jet 2, tui, or easyjet holidays are all good.
We’ve done a whole mix of packages from AI to self catering.
I’d recommend fuertaventura. Lots of lovely beaches and hotels, short transfer to most of the resorts, and pretty chilled vibe. It’s never as busy as Tenerife or Lanzarote.
We visit the canaries once a year,- without kids now, and like all of them.
I’d also look at menorca. Really good for children.
Jet 2, tui, or easyjet holidays are all good.
We’ve done a whole mix of packages from AI to self catering.
I’d recommend fuertaventura. Lots of lovely beaches and hotels, short transfer to most of the resorts, and pretty chilled vibe. It’s never as busy as Tenerife or Lanzarote.
We visit the canaries once a year,- without kids now, and like all of them.
I’d also look at menorca. Really good for children.
Anyone know the name of any resorts where you can book a little house/villa with a small pool of your own but within a bigger resort with a kids club etc
There are some of these in Greece.
We stayed at La Marquise Restort in Rhodes. The rooms with private pools are cheap and get booked up quickly and I can't comment on the quality of the kids club.
Going to Wrocław in June for a weekend. We got bargain flights and hotel.
Any suggestions what to do/ see. Love pierogies if anyone can recommend places to eat!
Any suggestions what to do/ see. Love pierogies if anyone can recommend places to eat!
I'm looking for ideas for our June/July holiday if anyone has any recommendations!
We're going to Greece in October, Italy in September and Mallorca in a few weeks so not looking to travel to any of them
Thinking possibly somewhere in Portugal/Spain
We are looking for a week of relaxation on a beautiful beach, during the day we love visiting beach bars /beach clubs (not becah clubs full of dolled up people more of a relaxed chilled out vibe similar to what you get in Thailand and Bali)
We don't want overly busy nightlife (hated Albufeira for example) but we do still enjoy cocktails and live music in the evening.
We love our city breaks so can combine our beach with a city if it makes sense (fly to Lisbon/Barcelona for a few days then get a train to a beach etc)
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We're going to Greece in October, Italy in September and Mallorca in a few weeks so not looking to travel to any of them
Thinking possibly somewhere in Portugal/Spain
We are looking for a week of relaxation on a beautiful beach, during the day we love visiting beach bars /beach clubs (not becah clubs full of dolled up people more of a relaxed chilled out vibe similar to what you get in Thailand and Bali)
We don't want overly busy nightlife (hated Albufeira for example) but we do still enjoy cocktails and live music in the evening.
We love our city breaks so can combine our beach with a city if it makes sense (fly to Lisbon/Barcelona for a few days then get a train to a beach etc)
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I visited a few years ago but after one day I had had enough, didn't really find a lot to see or do there, I did love Gdansk, Poznan and Warsaw though!
Croatia - I've only been to the Dubrovnik area but its gorgeous. They had lots of beach clubs out round Lapad were we stayed. Beautiful water for swimming in the sea.
I second Croatia. Lapad is beautiful and sounds like the vibe you’re after! The Royal hotels are lovely and the bars attached have live music.
We stayed in one of the Valamars out there, near a Royal I think. It was beautiful. One of the nicest places I've ever been.
Nerja could fit the bill for you!
Totally agree! My husband and I actually cancelled a holiday we had booked in July for Menorca and booked Dubrovnik again instead!! We were trying to work out why we loved it so much and I think it’s because it’s so untouched and not taken over by British tourists that you can actually enjoy and appreciate everything it has to offer. The views are spectacular along that promenade, you could spend the whole day just taking in the views
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I’m sure I’ll enjoy Wrocław! Never been disappointed in anywhere I’ve visited in Poland.
Anyone have any suggestions for a good UK break? Preferably a city or a town with a lot to do. Went to Edinburgh recently and really enjoyed it. I liked how you could easily walk to all the attractions. I live in the north so preferably not somewhere too far away 
I love Newcastle for a uk break. Stayed in the Easy hotel a few times. Also a fan of Glasgow.
Off to Cornwall for a week's break in June. Really looking forward to it.
Hopefully the weather stays nice, but even if it doesn't I'll still be away from work and taking in the fresh coastal breeze. Bliss!
Hopefully the weather stays nice, but even if it doesn't I'll still be away from work and taking in the fresh coastal breeze. Bliss!
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