Smaller all-inclusive holiday recommendations

[SushiSuave]

We are looking to book our first ever family holiday abroad and don't really know where to start so thought I'd ask for some recommendations.

Our requirements are:
All inclusive but a small hotel, not a huge complex
A swimming pool
Somewhere warm and in Europe
Somewhere close to a town or city for us to walk around
Close to a beach would be great too

Ideally we would like to not have to hire a car. Can anyone recommend anywhere suitable??

Budget?

I'm not really sure, which I know isn't helpful. As cheap as possible really, we don't have a large budget. £2k? I'm not sure what's realistic as never booked a big holiday before.

That is a teeny tiny budget, sorry
Unless it’s per person?

How many adults and children? Ages?

🤣🤣
Families go on holiday for less than £2k

Have a look at Jet2, loads of smaller hotels, especially in the Canaries that are AI, and could come in on budget outside of school holidays

All inclusive?
And I’m assuming that is for at least 2 people

Some all inclusive small family run hotels in Greece so check out there via Jet2 as they’re usually reasonable

im sure you’ll find something to suit your budget

Oh, give over!

No that's not per person! 2 adults and 1 child.

@Hoppinggreen I had 3 holidays AI for a family of 4 this year, 2 in school holidays, all under £1600. You won't get 5 but there are cheap deals, particularly if you can book close to the time. I've just booked 5 AI for August, 2 adults 3 kids, for £3700 so you don't need to be so scathing!

Sorry, must be during school holidays too.

Oops on the bold 😳

Well if anyone finds a decent AI for that budget for a family I will not only be delighted for OP I will have a look myself.
I am currently looking at SC in Greece for July and that’s coming out over £2.5 k each

Genuinely didn’t mean to be scathing, apologies to OP if it came across that way.
As I said I am currently looking myself for July and am pretty horrified at the prices

@lanbro that is interesting about the last minute holidays. We could save up and then do this but I'm worried about there being nothing left that we like the look of! Are last minute deals significantly cheaper? Looking on Jet2 now there seems to be very little difference in the price for 2023 vs 2024. I was hoping for a bigger saving on the 2024 holidays booking this far in advance!

We stayed in a small cheap A.I in crete that was pretty good. It was however10 to 15 mins walk to a couple of beaches. It was also about 3 miles from chania centre. There are bus stops nearby or taxis for £10 euro. Chania itself is gorgeous and the hotel was lovely too but the area around the hotel isnt great, however the beaches are good too. Its one of the tui suneo range, which is good for budget A.I hotels. Might be worth a look at that range of hotels.

@SushiSuave I'm self employed so can take my holiday when I like so I usually look last minute, went to Spain 4* AI in May half term for £1550 booking about 3 weeks before. I did take the kids out of school on the last day of term though which can make a big difference.

The day of flight can make a huge difference too so check out the different options. And if you're looking online don't keep looking at the same options from the same device as sometimes the price goes up.

@Hoppinggreen there definitely are cheaper options if you can be flexible. My August holiday is flying with a low cost airline but booked as a package, was £1k more to fly with jet2

We had a lovely time at aqua bay suites in zante this year. Small hotel, great service. We really enjoyed it. Was around £3.5k for 4 of us. Which I thought was quite good value. £2k will be tricky on school holidays

Thank you for the recommendations so far - Greece is our favourite location so far so good to know there are some more affordable options there.

Thank you for the tips @lanbro, I had noticed the price changing on the same
holiday, so very helpful to know about using different devices and altering the travel day!

Greece is a good idea as they tend to be smaller hotels and it's definitely on the cheaper end of the scale.

We went to Crete this year and stayed in a small hotel just outside Chania (10 mins on the bus) and a 30 second walk to the beach, I wouldn't recommend the hotel but the holiday overall was fab and we can't wait to go back!

I’ve stayed at a few AI budget hotels over the years and the thing that lets them all down is the food. You end up spending more because you eat out. We stayed at a wonderful AI in Turkey a few years ago, food was great and it was right on the beach. Bus stopped outside every 10 mins to take you into the town where there was lots of things to do. Have a look at the Java Beach resort in Fethiye. It was really great and although the grounds were quite big it was really friendly and not overly busy.

Sorry, that should say Jiva Beach Resort not Java!

That looks lovely
Almost £2000 each in July but the family room thing could work really well for the teens who aren’t keen on sharing with each other
Thank you

Hi there. Can I ask what the rooms were like? I'm nervous about sharing a room with my husband and son!!