Interesting holidays with kids - get us out of the all inclusive

[HeyDiddleDumplings]

Hello,

I’d like some ideas for interesting holidays with kids (5&7). Where have you been / done that’s more interesting than an all inclusive.

Up until this point we’ve loved an inclusive (not that we cash to holiday lots, but have managed a few) it’s given us all a break we’ve needed. We recently had our holiday cancelled last minute so had to book something else very quickly & last minute. There wasn’t much left and the place we ended up wasn’t that great and still cost quite a bit. It left me feeling a bit over all inclusive’s - the waste, the ‘pack em in’ approach, the cost, the lack of culture. And now the kids are in school holiday they are just so expensive.

I would love some ideas for summer holidays where you get to do a bit more stuff and are more affordable in summer. What have you done that your family has enjoyed?

Pick a lovely small French campsite and book an air conditioned cabin somewhere in the south, dordogne or ardeche.
Take bikes and drive and self cater but eat out a lot if your budget allows. We started this after I found a lovely place in the Dordogne when my kids were 4 and 5 and we have gone every summer since (now 10 and 11). We see the same French and Dutch families every year. My kids love it as its become a second home.
If you prefer different places every year you can look at Euro Camp for ideas of places. .
I.love france so biased but it's so easy and kids love it.
Hope helpful.

Oh and sorry I forgot to add you can explore whichever area you pick of course!

I think the trouble with AI is you feel tied to resort to get your money's worth, in addition many AI hotels are more on the outskirts of resorts.

You don't say where you've been or how old your children are. We had a great holiday in 5he south of France. Nice, Antibe, St Tropez. Or for more of a beach holiday a Villa Moira in the Algave is nice.

Thailand!

I was going to suggest a campsite too, there is an over night ferry to somewhere in France which would be an adventure. DD gets travel sick though so we've never done it 😥

Roan have caravans at the same campsites as Euro camp/canvas holidays etc but cheaper

I was going to suggest Disney world but not in summer (it's v v hot) and you can't really do it on a small budget 🤑

We don’t necessarily do “child friendly” as dh and I like to travel so we go where we want and take dc. New York was fab with 2 5 year olds and an 8 year old. French camp sites in a static caravan with a good pool are good for a more relaxing vibe.

We’ve been to the south of France and really enjoyed it. Beaches are beautiful, we’ve loved exploring and we’ve loved the wonderful food.

That’s the type of thing I think could be good. I’ll look into the camps you suggest.

What type of budget is Disney?

Lovely accommodation near Tenby. Beaches, surfing, coasteering and castles. www.celtichaven.co.uk/
Also in the UK the North Yorkshire coast, places like Staithes, Whitby and Robin Hoods Bay have character, beaches, rock pools, boat trips, abbey and Yorkshire Moors on the doorstep.

Sardinia is really family friendly and you can get cheap flights. For more culture & great food google Agriturismo.

Canada is great if you like nature. Also they have a lot of accommodation which works well for families with kitchenettes. Vancouver Island has the city, nature, wildlife and native culture is not ignored, and is the size of the Netherlands!

Stockholm was our best bargain. We did an August week there (incl flights) in a gorgeous 4* hotel on the waterside for less than 5 days at Centre Parcs. There's a city centre permanent fun fair, good museums, easy days out to the islands with beaches, palaces and it's compact to walk around. Yes the alcohol is expensive but you'll have the DC with you!

@EwwSprouts great recommendations! Thanks for replaying.

when you say you got a great Stockholm bargain where did you look? That’s sounds ideal for us. I love a wonder around the museums and I think that would work really well.

There's only 3 of us but the cheapest we've done Disney was about £6.5k for school holidays. Most expensive was nearly £8k.

It.can be cheaper if you fly indirect (book.everything separate) but we wouldn't do that. An apartment is cheapest overall.because you can eat in & make picnics. We always have breakfast in, usually make a picnic for lunch & eat out in the evening.

August is cheapest school holiday but it's mega hot and humid. you do get used to it a bit though.

it's mega expensive at the moment because of covid as well

I’ve done budget airlines flights then air b&b in several places. The advantage is that you can have separate bedrooms, and space for relaxing after bedtime.

It was great in Antibes. Flight to Nice, apartment in the town, loads of restaurants nearby, near to a beach, day trips to Monaco etc.

Riga was also really good.

I think with kids it’s either AI, campsite in France or a villa type holiday.

AI is a ridiculous price in school hols and we don’t do it anymore as it’s just not value for money. French campsite in a luxury caravan with AC is good fun but the pools tend to be insanely busy, zero chance of getting a lounger etc. Villa or apartment with a shared pool are what we tend to do now. Hire car a must as then you aren’t dependent on staying in the most expensive area as can travel around.

I find that taking kids on sightseeing holidays is absolutely exhausting. 2 days visiting an pretty old town or chateau is enough for a week.

We've been looking at flights to Barcelona for this August and was pleasantly surprised at t e price (about £120 per.person but plus luggage etc) and there's reasonable hotels there too some.of which have a pool so you could do a mid of sightseeing and pool days. Or my friend did a week on a campsite near Barcelona (in a caravan) an a few days in Barcelona for sightseeing

Book private accommodation on booking.com ie 2-3 bedroom apartment or house.
Find one with nice on site garden or terrace or balcony to be outside and eat or bbq at home sometimes

book accommodation in area with lots to do. Where we live abroad, we have a 2 bed apartment rental. Most family’s spend their days hiking, cycling, boat trips, swimming in lake, ice cream, animal parks, day trip to beach, castles, treetop climbing, mountain railways etc etc. there’s a local tourist card for about €50 a week that gives you unlimited access to most things above and more so it’s really reasonable. You can be as adventurous or lazy as you like.

@Caspianberg were is that please? Sounds lovely

We had two of our best kids' hols in the Netherlands (I have family connections there + we live in Yorkshire so handy for the Hull-Rotterdam ferry). We did one hol with an AirBNB in Utrecht, one with an AirBnB in Haarlem (very close to Amsterdam but cheaper & calmer) and one hol in a cheaper version of Centre Parcs in Gelderland. The Netherlands is really compact, has some great cities, lots of really good family attractions & is just very kid friendly. It's not an obvious destination but would recommend. If you're looking at the Netherlands or Germany their schools often go back a week or two ahead of ours so prices fall off in the last week of August

I'd also say don't necessarily rule out city break type hols as your kids get older (I would absolutely always go for a self-catering apartment though).

We just had a short break in Salou. Portaventura theme park and water park right within walking distance. Lovely beach. Cheap and two hour flight.

Gites in france are great for that age group but mostly we took road trips to Italy , Spain, USA etc went backpacking in Alaska once

Try ski resorts in Summer - we are going to Zell am see, Austria. Its cheap because its low season but there is lots to do in the mountains in summer, great if you like an active holiday. We are staying in an air bnb chalet and self catering but you can get catered / all inclusive in some places.
Downside is that the weather can be unpredictable.

I don’t get it when people say things like this. You do know you can go AI and leave the resort? Your board doesn’t restrict your holiday activities whatsoever.

We loved Salou, the walk along the beach with lots of different play parks was lovely in the evenings

We're going to disneyland paris this summer. Could be a plan for next summer as dates are being released soon.
Probably looking at £2k but depends what hotel you pick, how you get there, how many days and if you get a meal plan. I love it!
There's a place in the netherlands we were thinking of going. You stay in a cabin or house it has a waterpark and a themepark then you can cycle or walk to a beach. The inghams and radfords both stayed there and thought it was great. We were gonna do a big family trip there as a xmas present for all the kids but then covid hit.
Maybe look at cities like barcelona rather than resorts.

When mine were that age we went to south of France which was lovely, we also went to Italy - Florence, Lake Garda, Bologna etc but it very much depends on the kids. Mine were easily pleased, not interested in kids clubs etc, were happy to sight see, eat, mooch, swim etc

Mine loved Florida - did a villa for £5k and then 2 years later a hotel with was about £3.5k

They also loved Hong Kong, which was cheaper than Center parcs in may half term - think I paid £1200 for flights & hotel

Oh yes also lake Garda - they'd still go there every year given the chance