Where would you go on holiday if this was you? Haven't been out of the UK in almost 20 years

[JesusChristItsJasonBourne]

My parents have recently come into some money, and they very kindly are giving us £1500 to go on our first family holiday abroad.

A combination of illness, unstable job situations, and saving for a house - then doing the house up - means we've never quite got around to a proper holiday, so this is huge, and comes at just the right time, when everything else is ticking along nicely for once..

The money is being given to us in the autumn. If we were to go next summer, we would have a just turned 13 year old and a just turned 2 year old, so quite an awkward age range to cater for.

We wouldn't mind something packagey, but nothing too Magaluf- ideally we'd be able to eat lovely local food, be near a beach/pool/park for relaxing, but also maybe some museums/toddler friendly nature walks/attractions and places of historical interest (though again toddler friendly, I don't want any screaming in the Sistine Chapel)

We like warm but not baking hot, we're obviously crap at travelling so nothing too complicated, and will probably be scared of driving anywhere that isn't the UK. Don't care what the accommodation is like as long as it is clean and functional. I know, we're hopelessly provincial.

Anyone any ideas?

Ooh, I went to Camping la Siesta back way back in the mists of time - by bus, from Scotland. 😱

I digress - we’re in the same boat OP and we’ve booked a villa with pool in Majorca, Ryanair flights and car and it’s within your budget. We couldn’t have done it in the summer hols though, much much more expensive.

Just be a bit careful with weather at Easter. Canaries and Greece are usually nice but it def more variable than in the summer, and I'm guessing that you're going to want pretty much guaranteed sunshine!

£1500 in the school holidays is only going to get your something rather erm "budget". It's obviously a special holiday and something cheap might be really disappointing. Could you save to add to the pot for a few months and go away next year sometime?

Another vote for majorca. If you can run to a hire car you can see the whole island in a week and it is beautiful and interesting

We booked flights for 500 quid return last year for 4 people and our little house was 800.

For £1500 I would look to self catering on the west coast of France as driving is the cheaper option in school holidays plus the big campsites (mobile homes rather than tents) have lots of teens from all over Europe and organise teen get togethers. The big supermarkets are similar prices to here so by cooking most of your meals you can have money left for some nice things. We stayed near La Rochelle last time, could walk to a large sandy beach (1km along a path) and was £720 for the week in school holidays including ferry from Dover to Calais

Ps, another thought is to look for destinations that aren't as "family holiday" as the flights aren't so expensive - we found Genoa in Italy for under £50 each this year

Paphos in Cyprus. Go in Easter so it’s cooler (around 25-26). Plenty of water sports for the 13 year old, beaches, sea turtles, ruins to walk around, friendly people, very cheap when you’re there, and they drive on the left.

Can do self catered in Paphos for around £1200 in Easter, b&b around £1400

Croatia... it's lovely, not as magaluf as magaluf yet, lots to do for all ages, scenic, nice beaches and sea, lots of places of interest to visit, not as expensive as Italy and the like but similar weather and not too long a flight away.
Jet 2 do some quite reasonable packages.(we went with them last year and it was a good experience start to finish).

There's a 10 year age gap between DSS and DS so I know how tricky it can be to cater to both! We've done a lot of European road trips (France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland) over the last 6 years.

We've usually gone for about 10 days - ferry across (play about with crossings to se what's the cheapest option), with 3 nights hopping about, either side of 4 nights at one of the European centre parcs (great for both ages and much cheaper over there!).

If you can time it for the very end of our school hols (last week of August - very start of sept) then a lot of Europe has already gone back to school, so we usually find it the cheapest time to go, and the weather has always been good!

And actually with them you can pay it off in instalments which might helot you stretch the budget a bit if you want to and pay the extra bit off monthly?
I hope you have a brilliant time wherever you choose as it certainly sounds like you deserve it

Don’t forget the cost of passports. A adult passport is the thick end of £100.

If you doubled your budget that’s still be tough in the summer holidays!

Easter and October are cheap because it’s cold!

Even if you do self catering to save money food in supermarkets in Europe is a lot more expensive than the U.K.

If you want history I’d say Greece- Crete or Rhodes maybe.

Maybe do a 4 night trip over half term?

I think France on a 'campsite' is the best idea not just on your budget but because you could do quite a few different things, so visit some towns, some historical sites and also amazing beaches.

Eurocamp etc are nothing like uk holidays and you don't have to stay in a tent, most have cabins too.

Tenerife, all inclusive with a good kids club for the teenager, costa adeje is lovely and can get some pretty good deals

Tamariu in costa brava, the pals reaching. Fly into girona.

I went to Marrakesh in October and it was a pleasant 22-25 without being roasting.
On your budget I’d probably look at something that didn’t need a flight.
Boat from hull to the Netherlands, trains/ferry’s to France etc

Agree with pp campsites usually have lots to entertain kids and good pools. We also went to domaine des ormes which was great although the extra activities do mount up the cost (and def don't be conned by horse riding there!!!) We camped but they had cabins and lodges. Also have stayed at Giramar apartments in Lagos which were quite reasonably priced. Its about an hour from Faro (portugal) and you could get the train from the airport to Lagos (the train station is about 1.25 miles from the apartments) theres a small pool onsite and the beach is around 5-10 min walk. There is tennis nearby and walking distance from shops/restaurants etc although not sure what is teenage-friendly (there is wifi!!)

Have a look at Slovenia. Lake Bled is incredible and Llubljana is beautiful, historic and interesting. Better value than some other European options.

Or Huttopia in ile de orelon, an island off the coast of France just above Bordeaux

Lake bled is amazing but very pricey in peak summer.

What I would avoid is a package holiday at that sort of cost, I used to work in the industry. Basically without being too snobby the packages available at that price can be an interesting mix of people!

I would honestly not write off campgrounds in France.

For example I had a quick look and this sort of one would be perfect.

www.alfresco-holidays.com/campsites/south-brittany/bs018-des-menhirs/introduction.html

(I'm nothing to do with the company and its sold by a few companies)

The cabins there will be of a much higher standard then say a self catering apartment in Mallorca which will probably have a fridge and 2 hobs. I'm not suggesting you spend the holiday cooking but even if not on a budget it's great to be able to grab baguettes, cheese etc and have lunch.

Also you would get the overnight ferry (most likely) so by taking your own car you can take more things you need for the 2 yr old.

City break to Berlin? Berlin isn't expensive eg we got 4 nights for 3 people in a suite in the middle of Berlin with flights for £700 with BA. It was a Mercure so no frills but perfectly decent and clean.

Majorca or Portugal - Porto or Lisbon.
We have loved these places and they are great for a family holiday

We've bookmarked this site to look into for camping in France. We'd be bringing our own tent but they do rental units on site too. There are a number of sites around France that might be of interest.

I really hope you have a lovely time.