Best package holiday tips?

[NealBrose]

I'm going on my first package holiday in nearly 20 years. Taking 2 teens to the med at May half term and instead of being excited I am just stressing about what to pack.

I have got self-catering/camping planning and packing down to a fine art but have NO clue about a week on a beach. I'm mildly panicking that I'll try at take something banned on the airplane and cause a security alert.

What clothes do I/they need? What do you do about lunches when you're half board (and have a 16yr old with hollow legs). How do you pay for stuff? Help!

You will need far fewer clothes than you think! Be ruthless.

I always take a microfibre beach towel. Rolls up small and handy.

Buy lunches from bakers, or crusty rolls and just shove ham/cheese on them, no knife needed.

Take a few euros in cash just in case.

Chargers and cables for all of you: saves rows 😃

If you have a case in the hold each, then put a third of everyone’s clothes in each one just in case a bag goes missing! Same with toiletries. Don’t put all your suncream in one case.

Thank you - you are all brilliant.

So, I've to get a Monzo type card and a few euros too, pack all the chargers in the house (this will be very important to my sanity I feel) and copy and paste @MiddleAgedDread s list to my phone. I love the idea of pegs. It'd be just my luck to have finally found the one bikini that I can cope with only to have it fly off the first evening!

Great idea - though will have to talk the boys round to it. They both have their own new suitcases for the first time ever and may not be overly pleased at packing their mother's smalls in them.

Best tip I’ve got is pack a power strip. Hotels never have enough sockets and this quadruples the amount of things you can charge with only one travel plug needed. It’s also handy if the socket is bloody ages away from the mirror and you want to straighten your hair.

Pack some talcum powder, it makes sand melt off you it’s genius.

Anything else don’t sweat it. There’ll be shops a plenty and you can get almost anything you forget or realise you need while you’re there.

My top tips (I also travel with a skinny teen who eats like a horse!):

• Take your own food/snacks for the flight. I always find that food is pretty poor and very expensive in the airport and even more so on the flight so for an evening flight we have a decent sized lunch before we leave the house and take sandwiches and loads of snacks in our hand luggage. This also means if there's nowhere open to buy snacks when we arrive in the resort the teens can easily have snacks before bed when we get there. If I'm going to spend £££ on food I'd rather it was on delicious food in resort than overpriced crisps etc on the plane!
• Everyone takes one set of swimwear and T shirt/shorts in their hand luggage (teen DS just takes swim shorts and a T shirt). Then if your hold bags go astray the teens can still go straight to the pool in the morning whilst you sort anything else out.
• If you want to keep the cost of lunches down, definitely buy simple pre-cooked food in a supermarket and either eat it in your room or take it with you out and about as a picnic. Also look at more local/less touristy take-away type places for a quick bite to eat. I'd also keep a stock of snack food from the supermarket in the room in case your teens get peckish in the evenings- snacks from hotel on-site shops can be very expensive.
• Take something waterproof to put your mobiles in around the pool/beach when you're not using them
• I give each of mine an allocation of cash each day as spending money that they can use as they wish. find this makes them think about their spending rather than just asking me to buy everything we see, and it's up to them whether they save it to buy a something to take home or just buy sweets and souvenir tat everywhere we go.

I hate AI

Not RTFT but
If there's a safe in your room, don't assume that it is actually safe.
Make sure you have travel insurance and EHIC.
Take what you need with you.
Do not take too much.
Plan on an evening out so take a light longish skirt or trousers with you, and wear with footwear you can wear in the day.
2 sets of swimwear each.
Wash clothes as you go along to avoid packing too much.
If there is anything that would annoy you to be without, take it with you. (e.g. tweezers, nail file, dental floss)
Take comfortable trainers or sandals - tried and tested not brand new.
Take spare suntan lotion, spf lipbalm and sunglasses.
Take a pre-loaded card - if you use your regular card you'll get a shock when the statement comes.
Take phone chargers with you, and get the roaming thing set up. (don't know the techy term)

Take a multi plug extension lead so you only need one adapter and there's usually not enough sockets in a hotel room.

Def a change of clothes, essential meds/glasses and swimwear in your carryon luggage. In case the hold luggage goes missing or is delayed by a day or so.

We always have a pocket knife in the hold luggage, never an issue.

We went to Majorca in May and while we had one week glorious beach weather, the second week was mixed and it was definitely cool enough to wear a hoodie and long trousers so I would suggest pack at least a pair of leggings/sweat pants plus a sweater/hoddy in your hold luggage as well.

Swiss Army knife will be useful but put it in your hold luggage not your pocket. If you have it on you it will be confiscated and you'll not see it again.

Thanks all, this is so helpful and making me feel much more prepared.

Have added powerbank, talcum powder, glasses, lip balm, tweezers (thank you perimenopause), boatloads more snacks and long trousers to packing list.

Talcum powder, waterproof pouch and pocket knife are on shopping list.

I'm also going to start a separate list for hand luggage so I get the essentials in there. I'm hoping the chances of luggage loss are less on a package holiday, but I'd be just my luck to plan and pack the 'perfect' case only for it to go off to Helsinki for a holiday by itself.

Ah - I thought it was oddly worded but assumed it was just someone with an eccentric turn of phrase! Feel rather naive now.

You don't need loads of snacks etc. maybe a bag of sweets each. Boots or WH Smith meal deal is still only £4.50/£5 at the airport. The flight to Majorca is so short you'll be there before you know it.

I got eaten alive in Majorca so take mozzie stuff and make sure it's strong

Bag of sweets will be grand for DS1 but the other one can eat 9 Weetabix for a snack and is a nightmare when hungry.

Good shout on the mozzie stuff - I always get bitten.

Sweets are great on the plane for take off and landing. I always wear a pair of linen trousers on board, warm enough for the flight and also handy for cool days or evenings. Same with cardigan and a light jacket. I wear trainers and trainer socks and have a pair of sandals in my cabin bag for changing into at the hot airport.

I have a list on Word mentioning everything we need, plus details of our passport dates and reminders of the essential things we need to take, particularly the documentation, travel insurance details, driving licence for the hire car, things like that.

I like to buy a shower gel at our destination but take my own shampoo that suits my hair from home. If mozzies like you get Anthisan or other bite and sting cream before you go (then you probably won't get bitten!) We've bought floats and dive sticks from Amazon to take with us, the floats last a few holidays at most before they get punctures but it's probably cheaper than buying them out there.

We like hamam towels for pool and beach, they are really thin and take up very little room in your case, but dry you as well as a towelling towel. We don't take our apartment's towels out with us.

Yeah, people say it saves them so much time at work but surely people aren't issuing crap like that deleted post in a professional environment?

At most places if you are HB you can change some days for lunch rather than dinner. This is good if you're getting bored of the food and/or fancy a night out. You can have a look for somewhere decent and inexpensive when you are out and about.

Sun cream is on offer at Tesco at the minute-till the end of the month I think. I really like the Nivea aerosol one, it was £12 in boots and £6.40 in Tesco on the club card offer.

Typing the above and knowing where something is on offer has made me realise I am turning into my mum😱

I love these phone pouches, the touchscreen works and you can even use them to take photos underwater. You can test them beforehand by placing a piece of kitchen roll inside, then submerging in a bowl of water.

Not talcum powder on the beach please it’s bad for the sea creatures!