Best family holiday ever with little ones?

[Happyspud]

Anyone want to share with me your best family holiday location ever with small kids? Trying to find something that surprises us by actually feeling like a holiday!

This is amazing! Thank you all so much!

About the camping, although we can afford it, camping would be £3k vs £8k for AI in a resort. DH and I are extensive travellers who’ve never done AI or a resort in our lives so both feel like we’d possibly hate it (though a huge part of me feels we’d LOVE it if the kids were happy and we could relax). Other thing is that I did Euro camp stuff as a child and have magical memories of it. The freedom and sun etc. I guess it’s familiar to me so appeals that way.

I’m going to read all these more thoroughly and check each one out. Thanks for the fab ideas! Keep them coming.

(Planning to do Disneyworld when the baby is 4. )

Happy, I'm also an extensive traveller & the idea of an AI resort hotel made my blood run cold, but it was tempting with small kids as I could see the benefits, so we gave it a go & it was brilliant.

Best bit for me was no more nagging for ice cream & drinks as she could go & get her own whenever she wanted, she loved that freedom too & was surprisingly sensible. We ended up always doing AI when DD was with us. We found more off the beaten track AI resorts were better though

Happy, I'm also an extensive traveller & the idea of an AI resort hotel made my blood run cold, but it was tempting with small kids as I could see the benefits, so we gave it a go & it was brilliant.

Us too! This year we have 50 water slides, sports activities and cheesy (but fun for kids) entertainment isn’t perfect for kids. We have been to quite a few different ones and keep going back. Before kids we had never been to anywhere AI!

@Esto Woolley Grange - our favourite. Near Longleat for the zoo and Bath.

Inkworth - beautiful grounds, good for cycling.

New Park Manor - (New Forest) a lot to do locally for children inc Peppa Pig World if that’s your type of thing. This hotel had the slowest table service but very friendly staff.

We would like to try the SW ones next.

Woolley grange etc are good but with 4 kids ££££.

My kids loved glamping & in general they like the seaside. Not done any AI resorts yet as never appealed but will probably try it now.

@RockinHippy can you recommend any of the more off the beaten track resorts? I've always gone self catering and avoided anywhere remotely resorty but after two stressful SC holidays with toddlers we're considering AI or at least a hotel with half board next time - DC will be 5 and 3 by then. Really don't want to be somewhere that's nothing but hotels though.

You have a very short window of opportunity to get cheap holidays during school term times. Or you start taking not of when all the US/mainland European kids go back and choose the following week. September/last week of August is invariably cheaper.

Vaguely what sort of budget are you thinking about?

Do you want UK in the summer or are you happy to shoot off in, say, November (cheap month for the Caribbean, as is May)?

It might be worth heading over to the travel forum

Getting a decent flight time and lounge access makes it a lot easier to do long-haul with children.

Another AI hater pre-children. We are still not 100% convinced but it does make life a lot easier. I found you need to be careful what to pick though, it is worth spending extra money on a decent resort as the food is better.

We still “break out of the prison” as DH calls it every couple of nights and for this year we found it more cost effective than B&B but I doubt we will be doing AI when DD is older.

Raylas we went to a few different ones in The south Sinai region of Egypt, great spots because you could get out & travel around, even out of Egypt to Jordan etc. The scenery & sea-life down that way is stunning & guaranteed good weather. Much of it is part of the old hippy trail & still has that vibe. The AIs are smaller, but we're well catered for with pools, playgrounds, restaurants etc,