Need help planning a family holiday for 2026? I’m Mumsnet’s Travel Editor - AMA

[RachMumsnet]

Hello!

I’m Rachel, Mumsnet’s Travel Editor and holiday obsessive 👋

Starting a thread to highlight standout travel deals in case you’re eyeing up a 2026 family holiday (or panicking that you should be) and I’m on hand to help you find a great family break - whether you’re already planning ahead or just starting to browse ideas.

I’ve spent years writing about travel for places like the Guardian, TripSavvy, Tripadvisor and Travelzoo, and at Mumsnet I focus on family-friendly hotel reviews, roundups, deals and finding trips that actually work with kids in tow.

I’m also a regular forum lurker so I’ve got a good sense of what Mumsnetters are booking, loving and side-eyeing right now. And I have access to MumsGPT, our behind-the-scenes tool that crunches real MN chat, alongside intel on trends from big travel brands so I can get speedy, useful answers to any questions you may have.

Looking for a quick getaway somewhere sunny with access to a kid-friendly beach? A luxury all-inc with epic waterslides and a kids’ club? A teen-inclusive trip that is anything but boring? I can help with that.

Feel free to throw your questions my way - let’s plan something brilliant...

Highlighting some excellent travel deals for starters:

• TUI: up to £500 off package hols with code SALE
• Eurocamp: 20% off between April and October + 7-night breaks under £500 (and a great single-parent discount that can be used with the savings)
• Cottages.com: up to 30% plus an extra 7% for Mumsnetters
• DFDS: 50% off an Amsterdam mini cruise from Newcastle
• easyJet: 20% off flights (I spy £19 one-way fares from Luton to Barcelona over Feb half-term)
• Hoseasons: up to 30% off plus an extra 5% for Mumsnet users
• Parkdean: up to 50% off + two-night breaks from £89
• Disneyland Paris: 20% off hotel + ticket packages if you’re a Disney+ subscriber (World of Frozen opens March 2026!)

I need a multi generational holiday in the sun: Italy or Spain. Flying from Edinburgh. 4 bedroom villa with pool, near a town/village or preferably in it! No hills as we have disabilities. Thank you

@RachMumsnetThank you! I always wish I was techy enough to build a search engine that was specifically for families looking for multiple rooms on holiday 😅

Yes @TheBirdintheCave! I'd use it!

Help me! I'm totally stuck with what to do this year!

3 older kids - 19, 17, 14. Younger 2 autistic; middle one also has serious MH issues that have meant they haven't been in school much. Overwhelm is a big problem.

We usually do adventurous holidays, but we need something where there is SOME adventure but not too much, as it'll be impossibly overwhelming. Needs to be not too tricky a journey. Walking/swimming, not city break.

And needs to be the first two weeks of the holidays... Budget is reasonably generous as this will be the only holiday of the year.

Any ideas??

@Yellowingtrees do you want to go abroad? If not, we've had three great stays at the National Trust's Eskdale campsite (staying in a camping "pod") and you can get to the site entirely by public transport if you use the steam train for the last leg. There are local pubs and cafes and lots of accessible waterfall swimming.

Saw it on the BBC and ASD tween said "we must go there". So we did!

@Needlenardlenoo we need more space than a camping pod will provide as one child needs proper space to retreat to. So we need 3 bed rooms if it isn’t to be the most almighty stressfest.

There is a cottage at Eskdale if that is of interest.

Hello @RachMumsnet- a short notice one for you if possible. Looking to possibly go away for a week to 10 days at the end of next week from London. Ideally somewhere warm, mid twenties is fine.
Due to start chemo in about 3 weeks time so just want somewhere where I don’t have to think about anything too taxing like where to eat/what to do. So an all inclusive, on a sandy beach (prefer a beach to poolside, but if it has an indoor pool all the better) nearish to a town if possible so we can get out of the hotel/resort if cabin fever sets in. Don’t want to spend a fortune, so might rule out long haul, but up to £2000pp would be ok. Any ideas? TIA

Sorry it won’t let me edit the post above, but I forgot to say, not UAE or Morocco please!

Ooh I'd love some recommendations for Cyprus please! Dh has a small pension paying in April (under £5k) and wants to take us away (me, him two dds 22 and 18 by then). He wants to go to Cyprus and do some birdwatching, we're happy anywhere as haven't had a holiday in YEARS but we're hoping to find 2 x rooms, AI or appropriately cheaper so we can afford for us all to eat out, SW airports. Has to be August and we assume only a week if we're lucky given the small budget.

Might be able to find another £1000 but £6k will be absolute max. The girls will enjoy a bit of sightseeing and mostly beach/pool/ogling lads. I'm ecstatic at the prospect of most days reading by the pool and will force myself to go out with dh for one day, otherwise we'll probably be meeting up in the evening!

Thank you for any recommendations you might have. We don't have holidays as a rule and this will be a one off so I'm feeling the pressure to find somewhere lovely.

Hello! We’re headed to Washington DC for Easter with a 6 and 10 year old… we have 2 weeks and would love to travel out of the city. Is there a nearby national park that would be good? Or any other recommendations?

Hi @incognitomummy

That def sounds appealing.

I've just checked our MumsGPT tool and some standout destinations other Mumsnetters rate for Christmas trips are as follows:

• Thailand ("I go every year and it is wonderful")
• Morocco ("all inclusive, warm enough for the pool")
• Austria ("snowy, beautiful, sleigh ride on Christmas Day")
• Costa Rica ("amazing three-week holiday")
• Tenerife ("swim on Christmas Day was fab")

Feels like Thailand is a popular choice for this year -@EweProfessorSurnameDoctorProfessor and @Peclet maybe we need a separate thread...

Hi @FreiasBathtub

The following hotels regularly feature on the forums when it comes to Ikos dupes:

Zafiro Palace, Mallorca
Cullinen Belek, Antalya, Turkey
Lara Barut, Turkey
Grecotel Aquamarine Palace in Crete
Jiva Beach resort, Dalaman, Turkey
Creta Maris, Crete
Martinhal, Portugal
Gran Melia Palacio de Isora, Tenerife

A quick check when bundling flights in via TUI and I can see a week all-inc at Cullinen Belek for £4.9k (departing 1 April). Martinhal is £3.5k for a two-bed villa via Booking.com departing 4 April (room only, minus flights).

Tenerife and Turkey are probably the best bets weather wise in early April but the other destinations should offer some nice sunny days.

I desperately want to travel to Lapland with my niece (8) and her parents. The issue is that I’m a wheelchair user and I’m really struggling to find information on accessibility (in all aspects, inc transfers, trips etc). Can you help at all? Thanks

Oh goodness, sorry to hear that @SimonCaldersPassport. A dose of sunshine sounds like a great idea.

In terms of short-ish-haul destinations offering mid-20s temps in Jan, the following could work:

Canaries
Cape Verde
Egypt

Kuoni has some Canaries options including a week at Dreams Lanzarote Playa Dorada which looks lovely (screenshot attached) on an all-inclusive ultra basis (daily minibar + 24-hour room service) and private transfers.

Mumsnet users have mixed opinions on Cape Verde with some saying there's not much to see and others saying it's good for a fly-and-flop break in the sun. The Riu Palace gets recommended on other threads and is right on the beach.

Temps in the Red Sea are in the mid-20s now so definitely warm enough for sea swimming. 7-night all-inclusive breaks at 5-star hotels start from £704pp for departures next Saturday via TUI.

Wishing you all the best x

Hi @Surviving45

I think filters are your friend here in terms of tracking down what you're looking for (beach, pool, close to resort, 4/5 beds).

Solmar Villas is good in this respect as it's easy to select all those things once you've decided on a destination (and there's up to £200 off with code SOLMAR200 at checkout)

A quick search and the following look pretty good based on 30 July arrivals:

Villa Sofy (Gale, Algarve)

Villa Simoes (Gale, Algarve)

Villa Adele (Sao Rafael, Algarve)

Prices are a little higher over at Oliver's Travels but they have some stunning properties like Villa Sara in Portimao and Villa Zucchini with exclusive beach access in Comporta.

I can see some 4-bed villa recommendations in Mallorca from other Mumsnet users if the Balearics is of interest:

Footprints Villa, Puerto Pollenca

Villa Falco, Puerto Pollenca

Thanks @RachMumsnet off to look at those suggestions now!

@RachMumsnet any tips on places to stay in Malaga? Not too expensive please. Thanks.