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.

This, like a holiday village or a hotel with tui kids clubs from 3. As long as the 3 year old would be happy there and not get separation anxiety. Id def recommend it once yoingest is 4 anyway. Kids pools, food, snacks and activities taken care of. Very little cleaning and no cooking.

Can you go with other families?

We go away each year with another family and their kids each year. It means the kids play together and some of the parenting is shared.

I feel like with a 3 year old a simple bucket and spade holiday near home is the best.

Lovely idea but we're the sort of family that many people would take one look at us and hot-tail it in the other direction. And if we did go, the other parents would come back and post "AIBU to end the friendship as they expected us to look after their feral kids..." 😂.

Older one does have friends round and playdates but his friends are all lovely and calm. And I find myself explaining to the mum on pick-up that yes their DC did take everything out of the kitchen drawers and smash a couple of plates and some paint went everywhere but it was absolutely my child's idea and they shouldn't be blamed. And their clothes are in the wash and I'll return them on Monday, and don't worry about the spares, just give them back whenever.

Absolutely Neilson. You can lie by the pool all day and read your book. Then do it again tomorrow. Perhaps squeeze in a massage or facial.

Or you can swim, cycle, sail, kayak, play tennis, yoga, pilates and take fitness classes all day.

Turn up to the restaurant at meal times, huge range of food to suit everyone, then head back to your relaxation of choice.

A proper holiday for everyone

Second vote for a kinderhotel. Tons for the kids to do, good spas for the adults, family activities, childcare, good food all included. Some of the higher end ones include all the drinks too.

Honestly, at that age, kids will have zero memory of a holiday and will not necessarily enjoy it. Take yourself away for a bit a recharge. Your Dh can do the same. I’ve done it every year since my dc were old enough to be left with Dh without me. It’s wonderful. It’s not a fancy expensive holiday. One year I got a little cabin by the beach in Cornwall in the winter. Another 2 nights at a spa hotel. One year a few days to do museums and food in Barcelona with cheap flights and a cheap Airbnb.

Villa Pia in Italy if it still exists. Absolutely set up for this age group.

Op you need to find like-minded friends. I have feral beasts, my only aim is for everyone to still be alive at the end of the day 😂

Cruises. Middle class MNetters despise cruises but they're the ultimate in relaxation if that's your main goal.

We go to center parcs. We look for the cheapest times. We are off in March for £400.

I'm not sure I'd say its a restful holiday I'm not sure that exists for us my younger two particularly are sensory seekers so they need a lot of watching and input.
But it is set up for kids and my older two can take themselves to the park We get meals delivered to the lodge for us after the children's bedtime so it feels more like a holiday for us.

We have tried other places and it felt harder work so center parcs is what we stick to as long as we can find it at a good price. I'd not pay the more ridiculous prices.

I find any holiday easier than being at home
tbh

no laundry or house work, no bedtime battles,
nothing to be rushing to get up
for in the morning

If budget can stretch to it, Mark Warner or Neilsons.

You have breakfast with your kids, you put them in their appropriate clothes with a bag with swimmers and if Neilson, their rash vest for their club. You see them for lunch and hear about their exciting morning (lunch being made by someone else). Quick reapply of sunscreen, drop them for the afternoon. They often have evening games arranged you can sit at the bar having a quiet drink after dinner until one of you has to go get them from the tennis courts where the kids have all been playing various games supervised by British nannies.

(disclaimer- my kids never did all day every day on holiday in clubs, but sometimes having half a day where both kids were having fun in kids clubs was heavenly.)

Are there any clubs you know where 3yo can hang out with her older brother (7), at least to start off with? 3yo doesn't like being left but is fine if left with him.

@Fillyfrog Where did you stay in Majorca? This sounds like exactly what we’re looking for!

@PassOnThat that tends to be the tricky part, ours were only 3 years apart and usually fell into different clubs so I suspect with a 4 year gap separation is likely. Most also only start from 4 (though some do start at 3).

Shame. 7yo is quite useful as an unpaid babysitter to 3yo. It works as they're at roughly the same stage of development and enjoy the same activities.

Toddler starts it, 7yo finds it funny and joins in and ups the ante, toddler finds this hilarious and keeps it going and then eventually a head or other body part gets bashed or something gets broken, and I shout at everyone.

@InsolentAnnie Cala Bona 😊 it's described as quiet but there's definitely enough shops, restaurants and things to do for us.

Mark Warner worked for us and DC loved the clubs. Youngest was 4.5 months old with her first MW holiday. I thought I'd keep her with me but in Greece in July she was much better off in the air conditioning of the baby room.
Oldest child at MW was 17 and still loved it.
Many happy holidays with them
Sometimes I felt a bit bereft as they would rather be off with holiday friends when clubs were not in session.

Also, Son Bou in Menorca. I hesitate to mention this as it was a small resort with not much excitement. It did however have a lovely beach and plenty of restaurants.
Cereal in SC for breakfast and all other meals were restaurants. SC flat useful for afternoon naps and making tea etc. always had 2 bedrooms.

Unlike many on MN however, my DC would eat virtually anything and had no allergies etc so restaurants were fine. And they were always happy to have days on the beach or by the pool.

Club med and cruises.

Are you looking for UK or overseas recommendations?

We have an only child so haven't used the kind of places where you send them off by themselves (as they wouldn't have gone!]

You have to spend money, yes Warners is good quality.

Or search for resort hotels with good kids clubs that go from age 3. There are some out there. They’re expensive though because it’s a lower ratio of staff needed at that age.

Money, lots of it, will buy you a restful holiday.

Either. Budget is flexible. We could have afforded overseas holidays for the past few years but have done UK short breaks after a terrible one with a 4yo and small baby. I decided that if I wanted to suffer excruciatingly, I could just stick pins in myself at home rather than paying thousands for the privilege.

Happy to fork out for a 5 star all inclusive but also wouldn't turn my nose up at a shabby caravan in SeenBetterDays-on-Sea if there were plenty of twopenny slots on which the older one could while away the hours teaching the younger one to gamble while I nurse a coffee in the corner.

Disclaimer - I can't ski and, although was sporty once, everything is lumpy, creaky and lumbering right now.

If you can afford it Nelson's or mark warners-at a lesser level mine enjoyed Eurocamp but maybe another 3 years time

Honestly I think it’s partly about mindset and leaning into the concept of Type-B fun. Like the way hiking is a bit miserable and you grumble and wonder why you’re doing it, until you see the view at the top and then try and convince all your friends to try it too. 😂

Mobile home parks worked well for us. I always recommend self catering near a restaurant for the flexibility with small ones. Work to their schedule, and don’t expect them to fit around yours.

We drove to France, and brought a baby gate for the deck, and a small paddling pool when they were really wee. We booked a mobile home with an extra bedroom and made a play area out of it, without us all living in permanent toy clutter chaos. Up early in the morning, to the pool, playground or beach, then back to the mobile home in the hot afternoon where they could play indoors, and we sat on the deck and read, or watched a movie. Then back out again about 4pm.

They slept well with all the exercise, on hot days we would go for an air conditioned drive, do the odd day out. If there was an attraction we wanted to see, we spot each other with the kids. We often ate late- a take away pizza and a bottle of wine on the deck after they were in bed. Not the most exciting of holidays but they worked for us.

The Vendee has a nice climate - a bit warmer than you’d expect for their position and not as long a drive for similar temperatures further south.

Because we drove we could bring our own home comforts, bedding etc and we saved quite a bit by booking directly through the campsites rather than through euro camp. Our packing included stick up blackout blinds, a fan, and a kettle. I didn’t mind going a load of laundry or two, so not as many clothes. For kids: rash vests and peaked hats are essential. Saline sachets for sand in eyes and Baby powder for getting it out of toes. Being a beach tent.

Obviously if cooking and laundry are going to spoil your holiday, none of this would work for you. Every year we booked a family summer holiday and a couples weekend so we had some adult fun to look forward to forward to if we were having a particularly grumbly day.