Best holiday you’ve been on with children?

[Boxset00]

DH has a week off work just before the end of summer break, so we’re going to book a last minute trip. But holidays sometimes feel like hard work with children!

What’s the best holiday you’ve taken with children? (Mine are aged 7 and 5)

@jesusmaryjosephandtheweedonkey

My children had been to lots of places so I asked them ( they are adults now) They say Northumberland 🤔 they loved that holiday. Horse riding on the beach. Castles. Train ride to Scotland. I enjoyed it also .

I absolutely second this! My favourite holidays we went on when I was younger were to Northumberland! Stayed on a big Haven caravan site, we all went back a couple of years ago for a week and we just loved it despite being adults now 😂

Neilsons

Keycamp holidays in France. Two hours of kids club in the morning and same in the afternoon. Daughter absolutely loved it and so did we having a break from childcare.

@BeingATwatItsABingThing

Menorca a couple of years ago. It was warm weather but not so hot we were melting all the time. All inclusive hotel which meant neither of us had to think about cooking at all. The hotel had a kids pool with slides and water features that DD1 loved. The hotel had another water park a short walk away that it was connected to and we got in for free which made a nice change to the hotel facilities. The local area was lovely with some nice shops and restaurants if we fancied venturing out.

We booked menorca last minute the children loved it. Self catering in a complex lots of lovely beaches and restaurants

Isle of Wight for me too. Lovely beaches , crabbing that keeps kids busy all day for hardly any money at all, dinosaur bone hunting with an expert, small family run zoos, lighthouse tour with a guide, Osborne House (where Queen Victoria had her summer) etc etc. Lots of walks, fish and chips, kid friendly pubs. Perfect family holiday and cheap compared to London.

Butlins was GREAT for the kids! And the customer service was fab!

Depends on the ages of the kids as mine were only toddlers but we'll probs go back again now they are a little bit older (4 and 6) and would enjoy the shows etc!

Camping/caravanning in Brittany.

My kids love Anglesey. They are older now but they adore the familiarity of the difference. Took them to Canada one year and they moaned that they weren't in Anglesey.

Centre parcs! Whenever we ask where they want to go on holiday, this is their answer! They're 15 and 12 now and still only want to go here! 😅

Villa Pia fab for that age. Fly to Florence and hire car. Then once you are there you can pretty much switch off. We found it via MN and it was fab whilst ours were little. Too big for it now but still talk about it very fondly. And we loved actually having child free time. It is like a house party of 17 families. You have own bedrooms and bathrooms and there is free access to fridge food/alcohol/cereal/fruit bowl. Lots of cool rooms downstairs also a soft play, tennis courts and a pool. They offer art and cooking classes. And provide all meals. All the kids play together and one parent will mind e.g. 8 kids and then you will swop so you end up with loads of rest and kids have a brilliant time. They actually have availability for this summer as I was looking and feeling a bit nostalgic. But do take mosquito repellent and anti histamine if you are prone to reacting to bites.

Eurocamp/Canvas with a kids club and pool complex. Other kids to play with. Evening entertainment.

Abroad: Dubai
UK: Haven Craig Tara

Sandy balls as a thirteen year old.

Trip to Denmark and visited Lego House twice in a week, plus Legoland (the theme park) as well as a Viking Museum, Aquarium, walks in the forest.

Uk - We come to the same place in the North Lakes (and are here now) it’s my son’s favourite as it’s a home from home and we get a rest!

Crete - small hotel near Chania, pool, kids club, smarties in the breakfast buffet, not work for us - fun for her, actual relaxation for us. We have been twice and our 6 year old talks about going back all the time. There and Centre parcs are her favourites. And weirdly she also keeps asking to go back to Bristol!

At that age Mark Warner or Neilsons. Pricey but they have lots of offers on at the moment. I was sceptical but OMG - if your kids are happy in the kids clubs it is paradise.

Doesn't last long though. DCs are now a bit older and wouldn't enjoy it at all.

at that age, either butlins/haven/parkdean or the time we got a caravan in a site with nothing on it near inverness (pretty much a field with a laundrette next to a river) and went to lots of castles and battlefields and nessie hunting - the highlight for them was the ice cream van that came round every evening when we were watching DVDs!

Looe in Cornwall..had 2 fab seaside holidays here when mine were young 😁

Cornwall and brittany - either caravan or camping. My DC are pretty shy and dont generally like to go to kids clubs etc but on campsites they tended to make friends with the kids around and they got a bit more freedom to play outside (I'm thinking the same is probably true for centre parcs but cant comment on that because it's out of our price range)

Campsites in France or Spain. Children loved it and so did we since they were so happy. Grown up now and still talk about it. So relaxing, lots of fun activities, new friends every year...great holidays.

Mine really loved Eurocamp and similar at that age. We would go mainly to the ones in Italy and Spain and then spend a few days in a city too. Did lots of sightseeing, but lots of camp time. Always chose a camp with a good water park.

A small farm with 5 holiday cottages and so much for kids. Absolutely amazing. The other families had similar aged kids and they had so much fun together.

But since I don't think there will be any availability last minute, another vote for Butlins. My DC absolutely love it.

We took our DD to Salzburg when she was 18 months and was pleasantly surprised how kid friendly it was. Lots of good museums. Plenty to do. 5 and 7, there are lots of green space to run off energy. Take a day trip up to the mountains. Perfect!

Isles of Scilly. Fabulous beaches, limited numbers of cars (or none on some of the islands), nice pubs and cafes, lots to see and do. Only drawback is the cost of getting there.

North west denmark Skallerup. Self catering holiday homes with a holiday park slap bang next to the beach. Play ground, pool, spa, softplay, creative workshops, minigolf, football pool... You can do as much or as little as you like.