Are there any holiday destinations for families where the parents come back less tired than they went?

[PassOnThat]

I have a 3yo and a 7yo. Both off the wall crazy. Looking to book a holiday for this summer, but I'm wondering if there are any holidays that will "compensate" me, as the parent, for the stress of planning, organising, packing and travelling with the wee beasties? Either because there's childcare available or plenty of safe spaces where I can just turn them loose and sit.

Eurocamp in a year or two? Especially if you have DC who want to 'join in'....DC1 was gutted the days of our holiday we went on day trips and he couldn't do kids club or junior football! DC2 went a couple of times as well, but was just as happy staying with us and going to the playground or pool.

Skiing? Kids ski clubs prefer parents don't hang around because the kids do better!

Much as there is a lot I don’t like about them - cruises. Don’t even have to cook. Went on a large family cruise reluctantly. It was a revelation in terms of how relaxing a holiday can be with children.

I always found that the easiest holidays at that age were small scale and low expectations- rent a cottage in the UK and do small local things like visit the castle and have a cream tea (or whatever). Yes no kids club etc but also minimal stress/travel/organisation- just very easy and gentle with the chance to take things at children’s pace. We had better and more relaxed times doing this sort of thing than the bigger trips we did.

Kinderhotel chain in Austria. Totally set up for families and childcare included.

Centre parts? Expensive but brilliant for wee ones. Having a cabin means that kids have their own bedrooms and parents can chill in the evenings.

I think at age 3 it's always going to be hard work isn't it?

My kids are 5 and 9 and for the first time last year we went on holiday and I felt like I could have a rest, I felt so relaxed when I came back! Just a typical week in the sun majorca but they absolutely loved the pool. It was smallish so I could see them the whole time. Obviously spent the majority of the time in with them but by the end felt happy to leave the youngest at the shallow end as long as we were watching him. Quiet so never had a problem with sun beds. They were happy to sometimes chill out in the apartment watching their Ipads. Half board so didn't feel rushed to get to every meal. Ive booked the exact same place for this year ❤️

We used to go to this lovely campsite in Cornwall. There was a big natural sand pit in the middle and all the kids played there all day and we relaxed. That was nice.

I genuinely found camping relaxing at that age (at the right site) because a lot of the rules didn't matter. And because it was simpler if we all went to bed around 9pm, meaning there wasn't a struggle about bedtime and we all got some sleep. With camping, there's always something to do but none of it matters very much.

Small place in France - pools have to be fenced and if you look now you’ll find somewhere with a full wall / fencing etc.
Chateau in the Loire often have small farms which ends up lovely for you.
ferries have family suites which are quite inexpensive and brilliant for 4 hr crossings

With a 3 year old I never found such a holiday tbh. My only advice is to keep it short, don't travel so far or spend so much that there is pressure for everything to be perfect, and let them eat much more ice cream than usual.

In a couple of years your 3 year old will be ready to really enjoy travel...but your now 7 year old will be getting to the age where she misses her friends when she's away.

At that age the most relaxing holiday is where you drop the kids off at Granny’s on the way to the airport 😉

Cruise for us, never hardly saw our teenager, he was either at the kids club, watching entertainment with friends, dining/swimming with friends. Our cabin steward knew more about his movements than us.

This seems a bit sad, I always liked spending time with the kids. Never used kids clubs or anything like that

Neilson Beachclubs - with kids clubs and activities.
Have a look at the Alana Croatia resort for example.

When mine were that age I swore by Butlins!! Loads for them to do during the day so I didn't have to think about what to do to entertain them. Could book the dining plan so no need to cook and there is evening entertainment on for you if they will sleep through it or I used to put mine to bed in the room and enjoy a relaxing evening with a glass of wine and a book/film and no chores to do. I was a single parent so liked Butlins as everyone was quite friendly and would watch your table while you took them to the toilet/got a drink and you could chat to people so didn't feel totally alone.

Really recommend a cruise, I went for the first time last year and am a total convert and wish I'd gone when my kids were younger now rather than slogging it on self catered campsites. My 6 year old begged to go in the kids club every day and it was us rationing it so we got to do some family activities rather than encouraging her in. They had three kids club sessions a day, different themes and activities which they don't want to miss, and a special kids meal so they can eat before kids club and you can then go to a restaurant later on. There was no time day or night you couldn't eat. The swimming pools were open, entertainment of every sort you can think of but easy to avoid if you preferred. Not to mention the actual places you stop at and the amazing things we saw and did. You could completely tailor what you did all day and the adults had a real proper holiday while the kids had the best time with their new friends. We went with P&O and I'm saving up for the next one now.

I came on to suggest skiing. Plenty of fresh air and exercise for the whole family, in beautiful surroundings, good food, good sleep and lots of fun!

If you can cope with the idea of North Norfolk, we've had many super trips to Searles in Hunstanton there with our rather challenging AuDHD daughter (once or twice a year from age 4 to age 11).

It's family owned, next to the beach, three well maintained pools and playground, small soft play, entertainment and you can do full board if you like. It's just really small scale and the staff are so nice. People take granny and granddad and it's very accessible so you get a wider range of people.

We've holidayed in lots of other, posher, places (including a Kinderhotel) and always at some point find ourselves saying "well it's not Searles', is it?!"

Unfortunately Granny can't handle the little monsters for more than a day otherwise that would be the ideal solution. She tries valiantly but resorts to TV and bribery after they start swinging on her curtains.

Just to clarify I was recommending Searles as a place you can sit while they softplay/beach/swim/playground/craft/disco.

No childcare although the attached hotel does (and you can still use the pools etc).

www.sitters.co.uk/hotel-babysitting/30745/Heacham-Manor-Hotel

This place in Cornwall is fantastic: tredethick.com/

Center Parcs. Swim in the morning, lunch and nap / quiet time in the villa, then playground or paid activity in the afternoon. Either bring your own food ready cooked or all the restaurants have soft play.

The combination of swimming, exercise and fresh air means the kids sleep well. The villa is nice to spend an evening in with the log burner and plenty of space for adults to relax. You can eat out every meal if you want (though I found taking basic breakfast and lunch food to eat in the villa easier). It’s all so well set up for kids, so things are easy, and if your DC will do kids club activities they’ve got plenty of them.

www.knollhouse.co.uk/facilities/family-friendly

This place was recommended to me (haven't actually stayed in it but the area is beautiful).

All inclusive resort that offers childcare from
age 3 is the only correct answer