Do you have a holiday booked for this year? If so, where?!

[NeverStopTwinkling]

I'm in need of some inspiration. We don't have anything booked and I can't really face looking! It's not like me at all.

I'd be with 3 children aged 8 and under. Happy to stay in the UK or short/medium haul. Family-friendly is my priority.

I'm open to any ideas. Has anyone been anywhere they loved?

French alps. Self catering. Love it. Great weather and loads for kids to do.

We'd tried everything. And every holiday was so so hard with all the little ones. AI holiday was the first time I got a rest and to feel I was on holidays too. The food was actually fantastic (which we assumed would not be the case and we have brought toddlers to michelin starred places just so we can enjoy occasionally on hols, so we like very good food). Turkey was amazing for pick ups to go on day trips, we just rocked up after breakfast and got dropped back in time for dinner. The whole day totally relaxed on boats, jumping in and out of the water. The 2 older kids did football camp for a few hours in the morning, and the 2 younger ones did private swimming lessons which was a valuable use of time. It really worked so much better than I expected.

If you want a good water park, check out Stella Palace in Crete. Best onsite water park I’ve seen and hotel is lovely. Probably not true 5* but very very good.

Agree with PP that Ambleside is a gorgeous base for a Lakes holiday. Lakeland Retreats is a really reasonably priced local company that has great, comfortable cottages.

Other holidays we loved when DC were small:

Eurocamp Domaine des Ormes in Normandy/Brittany borders. Loads to do on site for all ages - about 5 pools, indoor and out, with waves, slides, lazy rivers. Pony rides and proper horse riding lessons, archery, a mini climbing wall and zip wire, pedalos, pizzeria, market etc. You can stay in tree houses or caravans or chalets. Mont St Michel is nearby for an excursion.

Romney Sands - not upmarket but great fun. There's miles of sandy beaches, a mini steam railway that passes through the camp, a fairground at Dymchurch (accessed by the miniature railway) and a lighthouse at the other end of the train ride. Also at Dymchurch brilliant 1950s style ice cream parlours, donkey rides etc. On site there's playgrounds, a swimming pool, a lake to explore with weird WW2 sonar radars left from attempts to spy on Germans coming in, so a bit of interesting history if they like that sort of thing. Derek Jarman's house and garden if you want an arty outing.

Disneyland Paris - DC loved it aged around 5 &6!

We're going to Florida just after Easter and looking at somewhere like Majorca in the 6 week summer holidays. Two adults, 2 kids. Youngest will be a good age for Florida though, I wouldn't take a very young child on such a long flight.

2 adults so not your exact situation but my friend and I are doing a Royal Caribbean cruise around the Med in May. Cannot wait! I've cruised twice before, he's never done one so I'm excited to see if he enjoys it like I do.

I’m thinking of Efteling this year some time for a short break, every review sounds fantastic.
Practically speaking where do you book through/where do you fly to etc
Never been to that area, I’d appreciate if you could say where you book/recommend to stay /travel arrangements.
Thank you

We are skiing in Feb.

Family holidays previously have been french campsites which are lovely. We went all inclusive last year in Tenerife which the children loved.

I'd like to do this again, perhaps Palma in Majorca but goodness, holidays are so expensive.

Family of 3 (3.5 year old DS)

January + February were travelling around Asia (Thailand, Malaysia and India)

March - Disneyland Paris for 3 days

April - Big extended family holiday to Mexico

May - Witsun week in Woolacombe, Devon (100% recommend if you're looking for somewhere closer to home)

July - child free holiday to the Amalfi coast

There are dedicated Facebook groups for Brits looking for information, so they are well worth joining. They are a total hive of info. Plus check out Little Clogs, which is a blog dedicated to Dutch travel with kids.

We went on the Ferry from Newcastle overnight. We liked it, but for some the Harwich or Hull ferries are more practical and a lot shorter (and generally cheaper).

Driving in the Netherlands is easy and safe with a decent sat nav. We've never tried to use public transport from Schiphol but I regularly see people asking on FB about it so some people must.

We didn't stay onsite at Efteling but I think we will next time. Other parks and Center Parcs/Landal are cheaper and more family friendly (waterparks etc) and then driving to Efteling as a day visitor is easy. For a short break you might well want to stay onsite though to maximise your time and experience.

Portugal in July, and then a long weekend to Disneyland Paris in August

We're also on a P&O Mediterranean cruise from Southampton this summer, I suspect it's the same one (although likely not the same date). This will be our first cruise with a 5 and a 9 year old, hoping kids will enjoy it!

When I was a single parent with three young children I really liked Majorca and Kos - I always booked AI so I wouldn’t have to say no to ice creams or snacks or drinks, they tended to have entertainment onsite and often slides at the pool.

We're doing 12 nights eurocamp in South of France. French rivieria area. August.

We went last year and it was amazing. Would happily go every year.

The park is great, nice bar, restaurant, swimming pools, water slides, nice accom.

We flew last time to Nice but driving this time over two days.

Lots of lovely beach's, day trips to Gorges du Verdon, Saint Tropez, etc. Visit the aqua Park, Funfair and so on.

7 of us. 2 adults. 5 kids though some aren't kids anymore!! Have 5, 13, 16 18, 20 plus me and DH.

Efteling (theme park) in the Netherlands at Easter; a week in Barcelona in May; a UK festival in summer; hopefully a bigger holiday abroad towards the end of the year, money and health permitting.

Best family holiday we ever had was AI in Rhodes.

Oh and in July for DS 5's birthday we're going to his favourite place. Plopsland in Belgium. Will spend one day at theme park, stay over and then spend the next day at the aqua Park.

For that age, Port de pollensa is great. Gentle beach, lovely resort.
AI in Turkey worth looking at.
Southwold in Suffolk but quite a drive.
Morzine (Alps) in France in summer if you fancy a slightly different activity holiday. Houses are very cheap for what you get compared to say Cornwall.

Another vote for Port de pollensa in Majorca.

We never usually holiday in the same place but went there two years in a row when we had young children.

In fact I'm pretty sure I read about it on Mumsnet.

This made me laugh, I’ve been trawling reviews today and it’s exactly this. Why are people of TripAdvisor so miserable?! But then I suspect people who can’t find the silver lining on holiday probably aren’t people I’d ask for hotel recommendations!

To answer your question, we’re planning a feb trip to the Canaries (either Tenerife or Lanzarote) and possibly Dubai later in the year to see friends. It’s not really top of my list, but apparently it’s very child-friendly. We’re also visiting the Lake District with friends in the summer.

Meant to quote this 🤦‍♀️

Florida at the end of the year, can’t wait.

Plans being made for 5 days in the Lake District and a city break later in the year - can’t decide between Amsterdam and Stockholm - anyone been to both and have a preference?

We’re off to Norway and Sweden. Can’t wait. Haven’t been to either before.

Ohhhh I've been to both. Loved them!

Stockholm. It's just beautiful.