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Original poster

Lapland / Orlando / Skiing / US fly drive - which is your best holiday with kids ever?

63 replies

frogswimming · 01/01/2022 12:08

Which is your favourite holiday you've had with kids? Not just the above - any holiday. It's been such a shit miserable year, we're stuck at home self isolating with covid. What are your most fun holidays, hopefully to look forward to? What were the best bits and why did you love it?

OP posts:
PrisonerofZeroCovid · 01/01/2022 12:12

I always like skiing as it's a good mix of time to myself and time with the DC and we all enjoy skiing and just being outside.

We also had a surprisingly awesome time in the Western Australian winelands. I was a bit "meh" going into it but it was really great. Lots of very family friendly wineries and amazing beaches/ hikes etc. Just a lovely, relaxed place to go.

Lapland was a bit disastrous - we went very far north, it was -30 degrees and we were slightly gritting our teeth through the activities because it was just uncomfortably cold despite having the gear. We were also all really jet lagged (came from Asia).

Hellocatshome · 01/01/2022 12:15

Lapland was good but certainly not "the best holiday ever" good. I havent done the others on your list but the joint favourites for our family have been New York and strangely hiring a 1970s VW camper and touring the UK.

SkiingIsHeaven · 01/01/2022 12:19

Skiing definitely.

They have fun in ski school and you can enjoy yourselves.

Then you have a lovely lunch and they get very excited telling you what they have done and where they have been.

Then you can ski together to see how they have progressed each day.

Brilliant holiday.

Bonus of great scenery, fresh air and staying active.

Interested in this thread?

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Holidays
Original poster
frogswimming · 01/01/2022 12:20

Everyone raves about Lapland but I want to know why? I haven't been. To me it seems like a ski holiday without the skiing? Is it worth it? Would Disneyland Paris be more fun? I haven't been there either!!!!

My best holiday with kids so far is Eurocamp in an Aspect caravan in the south of France. I also enjoyed Playa Blanca in Lanzarote in a hotel.

We used to travel a lot before kids and our favourites were a fly drive on the west coast of the US and Malaysia for honeymoon. I think our kids are still a bit little for those holidays (aged 3-10). Where shall we go??????

OP posts:
Aroundtheworldin80moves · 01/01/2022 12:24

DH and DDs would probably say ski holidays. Unfortunately, as the non skier who doesn't like the cold that much, they aren't as fun.

The same style of set up, but warmer and with activities I could enjoy too, would be my ideal. Last summer we had a couple of camping weekends at an outdoor activity centre and had a great time... we tried climbing, caving, rafting, canoeing, laser tag, obstacle courses, shooting, a water slide into a lake... it was brilliant.

Innocenta · 01/01/2022 12:24

When we went to Lapland, those who could ski, did. I suppose we went to a ski-friendly bit! (I'm disabled so can't ski.) It's not as ski-centric as alpine-type trips, though.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 01/01/2022 12:27

Weve done DLP and Legoland Billund as well. Good fun. But not holidays id like to do regularly. (I have no desire to do the big Disneyland and other parks in the USA for example).

elQuintoConyo · 01/01/2022 12:28

French Pyrenees anc the area around Foix/Carcassonne.
White water rafting, hiking to amazing castles, Carcassonne city itself, wolf sanctuary, wild swimming in the Aude and Bugerach lake, donkeys, eagles, little read train, little yellow train, the fort at Villefranche de Conflent, cheese, wine, flea markets, jazz festivals...

1921census · 01/01/2022 12:32

3 week trip - flew to Miami, stayed on south beach for 3 nights, picked up car at the end of the last day and drove to Orlando. Stayed 2 nights at the Hard Rock hotel at universal.

Then drove across to Kissimmee and stayed in a villa for 1 week to do the other parks etc

Then drove over to Indian rocks on the gulf coast and stayed in a beachside condo for another week.

Drove then back to Miami where we stayed city side for 2 nights before flying back home.

Absolutely fabulous holiday that we still talk about 5 years later.

Great mix of parks / beach / city - went kayaking with manatee, went to the Everglades, theme parks, sightseeing.

With careful planning the whole trip came in at 10k including spending money.

Well worth every penny just for the memories

Stompythedinosaur · 01/01/2022 12:49

Costa Rica was out best family holiday.

TeenPlusCat · 01/01/2022 12:57

Safari in South Africa with kids aged 7 (animal crazy) and 12.

Original poster
frogswimming · 01/01/2022 13:00

@Stompythedinosaur

Costa Rica was out best family holiday.
Why? Need details to cheer me up!
OP posts:
Original poster
frogswimming · 01/01/2022 13:01

@TeenPlusCat

Safari in South Africa with kids aged 7 (animal crazy) and 12.
I think mine are a bit little, but maybe not?
OP posts:
Ozgirl75 · 01/01/2022 13:01

So my kids talk about two holidays as their favourites. First was Switzerland - we didn’t ski but we did loads of mountain exploring. I think they mainly loved it as they’d never seen snow before (we live in Sydney).
The other one was 10 days on the Sunshine Coast and what they loved was that we just did loads of fun activities as a family. We went to aqua parks about 4 times and we all joined in, did wake boarding, spent hours in the pool. I think they loved that one as it was action packed and we spent loads of time together having fun.
I think it depends on your children, how old they are, whether they like activities or chilling etc. also, I think sometimes “pressure” holidays like Disney or Lapland can be quite stressful as people think they need to be perfect and so aren’t very relaxing. Sometimes a random trip with low expectations is more fun as everyone is relaxed and there’s no pressure for it to be perfect.

Original poster
frogswimming · 01/01/2022 13:02

@1921census that sounds fantastic. How did you manage to do all that for £10k?

OP posts:
Original poster
frogswimming · 01/01/2022 13:04

@SkiingIsHeaven

Skiing definitely.

They have fun in ski school and you can enjoy yourselves.

Then you have a lovely lunch and they get very excited telling you what they have done and where they have been.

Then you can ski together to see how they have progressed each day.

Brilliant holiday.

Bonus of great scenery, fresh air and staying active.

Where would you go? What age for ski school? Do you need other families to go with?
OP posts:
Original poster
frogswimming · 01/01/2022 13:05

@Hellocatshome

Lapland was good but certainly not "the best holiday ever" good. I havent done the others on your list but the joint favourites for our family have been New York and strangely hiring a 1970s VW camper and touring the UK.
What did you do in New York?
OP posts:
elQuintoConyo · 01/01/2022 13:06

Our french holiday is a 4-hour drive from us and we stayed in a friend's empty family home, so it was cheap as chips.

I don't think our holidays will ever be in the same ballpark as £10,000 long haul trips.

It was 4 years ago and our 10yo still talks about it.

TeenPlusCat · 01/01/2022 13:08

OP: 3 is definitely too young. There was a 6yo on the safari for a couple of days and he was a bit of a pain as he was too young/tired/bored.

Continentalmama · 01/01/2022 13:08

Best holiday I ever had as a child was Easter skiing in Colorado for 2 weeks and then we flew to Disney world Orlando for 5 days before returning back to the Uk. We went with a large group of other families and lots of children the same age as well.

Itonlytakesonetree · 01/01/2022 13:11

When DD was about 8 we went to a hotel in Turkey that had an enormous water park next door. I HATE water parks. As guests at the hotel we had unlimited access to the water park so could pop in for 20 mins a few times a day rather than having to go for hours on one day. DD loved it.
DLP was lovely when she was little but we went back when she was 13 and it seemed very small. I hated Disney in Florida, couldn't wait to leave.
Had intended Costa Rica for 2020, obv never happened.

Newyearoldyou · 01/01/2022 13:11

Op Disney Paris is fun but it's full on, you need a few visits really or an annual pass to learn how to do it. It's so busy you won't get on rides quickly without knowing how to game it.

One of our best holiday's with small children was the Efteling in the Netherlands.
It's not comparable to nealry any other theme park anywhere because its so old, authentic and has what's described as the "world's largest living story book", in its glorious heart... The sprooksbroom forest. A real forest filled with fairy tales. It can take three hours to wander through.. Stop in the little square, have some delicious cake.

Ammd I'd go for a house in Bosrijk, woods, oodles of atmosphere, short walk to the park.
It's also got lots of play areas and many restaurants/cafes there serve far nicer food than most theme parks and parents can also have alcohol whilst sat watching the dc.

Other than that any beach holiday with snorkeling, boat rides etc..

Ozgirl75 · 01/01/2022 13:12

Honestly, with a 3 year old I wouldn’t bother with fancy holidays, mine at that age were just happy with a beach, pool, undivided attention. We had a lovely trip to Port Douglas when mine were 3 and 5 and we basically just went to the zoo, the beach and spent about 5 hours a day in the pool, it was lovely and relaxing.

Newyearoldyou · 01/01/2022 13:13
  • never done skiing but really really want too. Some one recommended Norway levi on another thread
Crazykatie · 01/01/2022 13:15

Depending on the age of the kids a fly drive to Orlando takes a lot of beating, there is a lot of variety apart from Theme Parks close by. Space Centre, Beaches, Everglades, Museums, not much culture but for fun high on the list.