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

[frogswimming]

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?

I’ve been very fortunate to have been able to take my DC on a lot of holidays, one of the best family holidays we’ve been in was a Disney cruise around the Med. The ship experience was so much fun for DC and adults and the ports were amazing. We visited Pompeii, Rome, going to Vatican museums and Coloseum and a few other places, a port in the south of France, Barcelona and we also visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Another 10/10 holiday was a five day cruise to Belfast and back this summer. The ship was incredible and we were so lucky with the weather and had so much fun.
My DC also enjoyed a trip to Rio, Brazil and then a stay in Argentina in a hotel in the rain forest from which we visited Iguassa Falls, a diamond mine and a trip to Paraguay.
So many lovely memories.

I hate skiing. I wouldn’t look past Florida to be honest but then that’s right up my street and I can’t wait to take DS in a year or two.

US West coast road trip is my second fave hol of all time, with San Diego my fave stop. Can’t wait to do all these experiences with the little one.

Always preferred active holidays with our children. Skiing as mentioned, sailing flotilla, Vietnam and Cambodia was our best though. This was done when Ds was 16 though so not dragging little kids about.
Our children were never fussed about Disney etc

What did you do in New York?

We went to Central Park, Ice Skating in Central Park, Central Park Zoo, MoMath, Natural History Museum, top of the Rockerfeller Centre at night (so you can see the Empire State Building), saw a Brooklyn Nets Basketball game, went to See the 9/11 memorials but didn't go in the museum (I want to go in but I wouldn't take kids), States Island ferry to see the statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, the cable car thing to Roosevelt Island, Pinball museum which is basically a pinball arcade you can play nearly all the machines, Dave and Busters which is a modern day arcade but a good space to let the kids have a bit freedom to go off by themselves a bit, ate huge takeout pizzas in our room, went to Ellen's Stardust Dinner to eat and watch the amazing singers sing songs from the Broadway shows.

@elQuintoConyo

Wow that sounds incredible!

Another one op (I've not done) but people said the Austrian alps... And using cable cars in summer to go up and down the mountains, fresh water swimming pools, sounds devine.

Lapland, diving in Thailand and a trip to Washington DC.

@frogswimming

We got flights cheaply during a BA sale, basically shopped around everywhere for accommodation / car hire etc and booked everything separately.

I think the flights / park tickets / car hire and accommodation was about 6.5k and the rest was spending money.

Accommodation wasn’t that expensive, it isn’t if you book direct with owners.

It all takes a fair bit of planning and I carried a big folder of printed stuff and an itinerary but all the planning was worth it.

Miami was expensive but we used groupon for activity tickets like boat trips and the Everglades trip.

Perfectly doable if you are prepared to do the hard work of shopping around and booking everything yourself. Basically cutting out the travel agent middle man

Skiing in Colorado - I am a non skier too but DH & DS skied all day and I had plenty of time to myself ... which I like.

Eurocamp holidays were excellent when DS was younger and then as a teenager we had a couple of good Neilson holidays - both my DH & DS are very 'active' & like lots of things to do on holiday ... personally I am very happy with a sun lounger and a cocktail .

We’ve been on lots of great holidays with our kids. But the one that always gets remembered with huge fondness is staying in a cabin in the Netherlands on an inselsee. Took the train to Amsterdam, saw traditional Dutch dress worn about the village, canal trip, fried fish, windmills, zoo, visited godparents in Utrecht. The kids were 5 and 7 and I just think it was the right size holiday at the right time. And the Dutch are supremely tolerant of less than perfectly behaved children. A lovely week 😊

Iceland. Whale watching in a small boat, walking behind a waterfall, guided tours of the amazing scenery including a beach with black sand and basalt columns and masses of puffins, plus walking to a glacier.

Growing up my favourite holidays were eurocamps. I also loved Australia but we were visiting much beloved family so not sure what I would rate it by itself.

I personally hated skiing. I think this is a very personal thing, but I have unsual shaped feet and head so was in agony constantly (I do have a fairly high pain threshold so it was quite a lot of pain)

The Rasa Sayang resort in Penang. Great pools, lovely beach and they had great fun in the kids club.

Disneyland Paris, staying at a mid range onsite hotel. A very easy holiday.
Sanibel Island off the Gulf coast of Florida. Went one February and I long to return.
Amsterdam, staying on a houseboat. Fully plumbed and with electricity etc. Children fed the ducks from their bed through the window. Amsterdam, for all its associated red light district reputation, is surprisingly child friendly and very easy to get around. Children loved it.
As teens their favourite holiday has been Berlin, both loved the city.

Amsterdam and Netherlands seems to be extremely family friendly!
Efteling is in the Netherlands and I've really enjoyed exploring it. I've been to Amsterdam twice and never even sewn the red light district. It seems where I've been to be a very classy upmarket pretty place

In fact many people combine the efteling with a water park called durinell and a safari park you can stay at as well. I also think they have the original center parks there?

At that age, the Netherlands: a week at Centerparcs with Efteling on the last day. The DC keep asking to go back (and we keep trying but covid has cancelled the last 2 trips).

We've had lots of other holidays with them that have been amazing in their own ways. We took them on a DIY tour of China one year, to Eurocamp in Toulon another, hired a cottage in the Peak District for a week one summer etc. The only one I wouldn't do again was a week in Cornwall last summer. It was just like north Wales (which I love) but more expensive and a longer drive. We're taking them to Costa Rica this summer (hopefully!) and I think they're old enough to appreciate that now.

Depends on the age really. When mine were little a villa with a pool somewhere off the beaten track in Spain was always our ideal,but as they've got older holidays have become more about going to see or do something specific, like to watch a sporting event or visit a particular historic site. Our best recent holiday was to Flanders at Easter (pre covid) as DS1 is a history nut so we visited a lot of WW1 sites, and DS2 and I are keen cyclists so we watched some great racing and did quite a bit of riding on iconic routes ourselves. Plus there's the world's best chocolate, waffles and frites...
We tend not to visit popular holiday spots as we are basically antisocial but we did stay in a hotel in Lanzarote once (in Playa Blanca) and it was very good. The island is much more interesting than I'd imagined it would be.

If they are young I would suggest all inclusive at a nice hotel in Majorca - we had a great time there a few years ago. Everything on site (small water park nextdoor) lots of activities, swimming and sunshine.

Florida. Would go back in a heartbeat if I could afford it. We had 10 days at Disney during our three weeks there so it wasn’t as full on as when we did Disney Paris over three days!

But we explored the part of Florida we were in visiting the national parks, towns and landmarks. The weather was just lovely and we had the best time.

Only done the day trip to Lapland, but loved that!

Disney.
I was just as excited as DS and we both couldn't believe our luck in going.
The excitement leading up to it was nearly as good as the holiday!
We stayed on site so no stressful travel and could spend a few hours in the parks using fast passes then go back to the hotel.
The atmosphere and feeling at the parks along with the relaxed way we were doing it was lovely.

So many people are saying Amsterdam / Netherlands, I never thought of going there with kids. Interesting!

We’ve done all of these and without a doubt, the best holidays as a family have been skiing. DCs are outdoors, with lots of other kids, using up their energy and eat and sleep well. As a single parent, I had adult company and had loads of fun with the DCs. And it was lovely having someone else cooking in catered chalets.

We also had some good breaks at child friendly hotels such as Crieff Hydro and a hotel in Coylumbridge (which I believe isn’t quite as good now).

However, if you ask the DCs, they would say their best holidays were camping with their GPs in the Scottish Highlands. I hated camping and swore I wouldn’t inflict it on my own DCs, but they loved it. I’d book into a local B&B and visit at the weekend

We did a 3 week holiday. UK- LA where we went to Universal Studios and Disney, then Hawaii for a 3 island hop then NY for 3 days before home. DC were 9 and 11 and constantly ref this as the GREATEST HOLIDAY EVER. Both are determined to take their own kids one day.

Florida - we did Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Universal Studios, Discovery Cove, Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Centre and the water parks. DC were 8 and 10 and loved every minute, as did we.

First, second and third best were Florida. Staying in a villa, visiting Disney, universal and Kennedy space centre.

4th best was a cottage in N Devon going to the beach and for cream tea.