Tips for my first Villa holiday

[foodglorious]

We have booked the most stunning villa in Cala'dor. It will be myself, DH and 3 kids age 3-10 and DHs elderly parents for 2 weeks.

We are really bloody excited but have never done a Villa holiday before so would love any of your hints and tips to help make it more seamless !!

We are basically right next to the centre so i know we are next to supermarkets and restaurants etc and we will eat out alot but during the day and some nights we will do BBQs etc.

Heres the villa if anyone is interested

Don't take a sharp knife - the kitchen shows about 6 of them on the wall. This place is the lap of luxury...you're hardly going to have blunt knives

Email the owner and ask what's included in the welcome hamper.

When I've arrive I usually leave the kids and head to the closest large supermarket. My essentials include;

Cereal
Bottled water
Frozen juice cartons - good house as ice packs and then a cold drink.
Ham/cheese for sandwiches
Wine
Washing up liquid/detergent/dishwasher tabs.
And then items for planned meals.

When we're in a villa I seriously scale down on things like underwear/ beach towels and just put a wash on daily. It's a couple of minutes of my time.

I also take a fabric freezer bag to place drinks and a baguettes in for lunch. For the baguettes I escape the madness by walking to the local shop in the morning. I then just fill a French stick and cut accordingly. Takes minutes only.

The villa looks spectacular OP.

Following

These might be in your villa but if not, invaluable in keeping insects off your food when eating outside. Folded down, they take little space.

We’ve been to Cala for the last few years and walked past your villa a tonne, it’s lovely.

we stay in a villa round the other side.

id advise taking a couple of tea towels/sponge as they never provide many, soap for each bathroom, extension cables and tin foil.
i always take a few Tupperware too for taking snacks to beach or just for keeping stuff fresh. I fill them with suncream etc for the journey out so they’re not wasting space.

take English tea if you are a tea drinker!

couple packs of cards/games for the evening

last year my two were 3 and 1 and stayed up/out til 9ish with us. I bought a pack of glow sticks on Amazon, and a few of those light up wand things to entertain them when it got dark/keep them quiet. They were a big hit. Glow sticks good if you’re doing nighttime swimming too, chuck em in for kids to chase.

I took some packs of reusable stickers and colouring to keep them entertained on flight or at dinner (we are strong no screens at the table/in public people, but did use our phones when the 3 year old got restless at the end of the flight (with headphones) and for a little bit of quiet time out of the sun each day).

enjoy, we love Cala dor

Put out of sight/reach anything in the house you think might get damaged/broken e.g. ornaments, delicate glasses etc. I still have to do this now and my kids are teens/young adults...it's not fun frantically scouting local shops for replacements!

The last Villa we stayed in had everything! All the kitchen utensils you could think of, basic ingredients including cooking oil, flour, condiments etc. The pool had plenty of inflatables and games plus extra towels to use.

The one you're staying in looks lovely 😍

@Sodullincomparison do you mind sharing details of your villa in Ibiza and how much you paid?

Please can others do the same for those of us envying OP’s villa?

We holiday in villas every year. I make a shopping list on the plane. We breakfast by the pool, then head to a different beach everyday. Back to the villa about two ish to relax by the pool. Head out for dinner and drinks around 7:30. I don’t take anything with me and stick a load of washing on the day before last so I don’t bring dirty laundry home. Don’t overthink it and I hope you have a lovely time!

The Villa is gorgeous, I love a villa holiday even though I end up still doing some cooking and cleaning its much more chilled than a hotel for me.

I take: ice cube bags, some sandwich bags, disposable ice pop molds , rehydration powder (made into icepops - good for in the heat and for a hangover....) plug in insect repellants, a couple of dishwasher tablets, some salt and pepper packets, washing powder sheets, enough tea and coffee for a few cups, extension lead. I got pool shoes for DD as the pool surround can be slippy.

Also check if there are any local holidays, we arrived in Corfu a few years ago to find it was Orthodox Easter and the only shop open for two days was a pharmacy that opened for 2 hours a day.

Never mind a Bluetooth speaker, we take an Alexa, a firestick and an hdmi cable. For about three years running DP forgot to pack an hdmi cable and we now have quite a large collection bought in different holiday destinations!

My advice is not to make it a “we will spend most of the time by the pool” holiday or try to eat always there. It will be a waste if you do.

Make the effort to move around the island when you are there, there are a lot of very nice stuff to see, restaurants to go to, markets and villages. Palma is great for a day of sightseeing, the north coast is beautiful, there are some lovely monasteries scattered around, there are nice affordable cafes in most villages and it would make sense to visit the village markets (they are once a week on different days).

Get all the adults to agree a plan for meals and sign-off on a shopping list, so you are in a supermarket once per week only. (It's easy, if not, to fritter away your stay popping in to 'top-up').

To avoid martydom, also allocate/agree tasks/turns at the outset. Put a rota on the fridge door!

On the pool, as PPs have said, be vigilant. I'd agree a safety plan with all the adults in the party and keep reminding them. It's easy for someone who is not currently a parent to a small child, and therefore has left the 'constant vigilance' stage of life behind them, to forget they are the one minding the pool, or guarding the door, espcially if they have a couple of G&Ts under their belt and are feeling snoozy. I'd stick reminders on the external doors too.

^this

I hate you! Only joking, have a fab time. I'm defo envious

Isn't it just hand luggage you can't take that stuff? They could get at the other end anyway

Sorry didn't read full thread

At that time of year the best/most popular restaurants will be very booked up. I live in a similar place and you would need to be booking a good few days ahead. So may be worth doing some online research nearer the time and getting a couple of reservations in. Fun doing that sort of research too.

Looks lovely, hope you have a wonderful holiday.

CHECKED BAG @foodglorious , obviously 😆

the extension multi gang lead is a great suggestion, as is a multi usb charger

I do a lot of villa/airbnb hols and actually managed to consolidate what I’ve picked up with the shed load of business travel I’ve done and will do same for next trip!

great thread!

Looks absolutely bloody gorgeous!!!!

we stay in villas in Pollensa Majorca each year and love it so much, my biggest piece of advice is take hoodies and big socks as the villas shutters and tiled floors are amazing at keeping it lovely and cool on a daytime but you do lose that coziness late on a night and early morning.

Nothing better than getting a big hoodie on and playing cards having some cheap cava until the early hours!

Have a wonderful time.

And cheap/old t-shirts for the kids to wear on the beach, in the pool, to cover up but still be able to play.

Most villas I've stayed at (even cheaper ones) have everything you need, including a few games/bookshelf of books/local interest leaflets.

You'll be sorted, they're the easiest/best holidays ever!

We always bring bin liners and masking tape for kids windows and sometimes ours and always bring ear plugs and face masks for the adults. We like it dark and quiet!

We’ve also had a “water watcher” lanyard on pool parties just in the backyard when a few families are together. Basically if you’re wearing the lanyard, your eyes are on the pool. Ensures people tag out when they want to move away.

Cool bag with ice blocks - only started doing this a couple of years ago, but its a game changer!
Warm hoodie/fleecy pj's - we loved sitting out late at night, but it did get nippy!
As said on numerous occasions - teabags, a sleeve of weetabix, coffee and a roll of cling film.
After that, everything just gets bought.

My mantra is always; if I have clothes on my back, my passport, phone and bank/credit card, anything else is a bonus 😁 And I say that as someone who spent a week in Ljusdal (Sweden) with no luggage😂

There are shops in Cala D'Dor 😂Everything suggested you take you can buy either at The Eroski Supermmarket - big one in way into town (cheaper than little Spar shops, with a better range) and Chino Bazaar shops for all your other bits and bobs, sharp knife for a euro etc.

The best beach in Cala D'or is the one closest to you, but not signposted very well (it's called Playa Cala D'dor) You get to it down a steep hill, one road down off the main road - if you get to Cala Gran (beach with a bridge over) you've gone too far!I

Loads of places to eat\drink. The pedestrianised area restaurants are pretty samey but good quality. Smaller more locally places on the edge are cheaper and usually nicer! We enjoy Mistrel and Cafe Cristal.

If you're hiring a car visit Felanitix market on a Sunday and Porto Colom for lovely rugged beaches on the Old Town side of the harbour. Both of these only 20 mins half hour drive away.