Holiday Help - never been abroad.

[fruitandbarley]

Hi

We've always holidayed in the UK but I'm looking at booking a holiday abroad for October this year, the thing is I have no idea where to start. I want to go all inclusive so we don't have to worry about cooking and spending money.

We have a 7 and 13 year old. Neither would be happy to go into a kids club.

Everything I've looked at on usual holiday sites looks like it's pool/beach holidays, which we'd like a little of but for a week I think we'd get bored.
If I book something like this is there options to go out other places and do things? If so how do I look what's available and book it?

We like nature/animals/,exploring etc..I've googled AI nature holidays and it's only coming up with safaris and things that are way out of budget.

We'd also like to stay somewhere not too busy, we usually camp at very small sites and I'd not really enjoy anywhere with loads of people.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you

Lots of holiday places have local attractions and you are free to go out even if AI! Tour operators and hotels often sell excursions to take you around to the more popular places or you use local public transport or can hire a car.

I'd go to your nearest travel agent and say what you've said here - you know what you want but don't know where to start - and they'll sort you out.

They bung it on their computer and you say what dates and from where and your budget and they'll show you what's coming up on the screen. You can ask to changes dates to keep the price down or change hotels ect. It's what they do ! 😊

Well, just google what's on within travelling distance of a destination you're considering, and whether you'll need to rent a car, or whether you can get there on public transport or by taxi. When you say nature/animals/exploring, what exactly are you talking about? Hiking? Nature reserves?

Or drive to a campsite in France, if you like camping? Will give you more flexibility and you have all equipment and know-how.

Turkey, cheap AI and lots of history, will still be warm in October.

Or just type all of this into AI.

Poor Travel Agents 😢

We just booked Malta AI Qawra Palace in St Paul’s which seems to get decent reviews and there is a lot to see and do in Malta.
How warm do you want it to be? Should be warm enough for pools but it wouldn’t be scorching.

Malaga is a cheap flight, has loads of beach hotels, water parks and standard holiday things. But also has good public transport, Roman ruins, castles, Picasso house and a Guigenheim art gallery.
It would be a easy start to travel abroad.

Palma. Reasonably prized flights and good combo of relaxation, exploring the island and amazing food. I would never in a million years go AI so can’t comment on that.
Would also look up eurocamp if you enjoy camping. We went to a brilliant one by Lake Annecy. Flights to Geneva.

October is late season for most of Europe, agree head for a Spanish city(maybe Barcelona) or island such as Majorca or the Canaries, Southern Italy or further round the Med.

Thank you everyone, to answer a few questions, we don't want scorching hot, but warm enough for pool day type warm, I wanted to go AI as worried about not knowing how much spending money to take and thought it might work out cheaper and stop me worrying about budgeting when there, happy to consider otherwise if anyone can help though.
I didn't really want to camp this year as didn't want to end up doing all the cooking and cleaning up.

I'll look at your suggestions, thanks.

If you have a limited budget and don't know much about the area you're going to, I think AI can be a very sensible choice with DC of those ages, particularly if you don't want to cook. If you do decide to do this, my advice would be to read tripadvisor reviews closely for any hotel/s you are considering. Even in the same resort and a similar price range the AI offerings can differ significantly between hotels and the best one for you will depend on your preferences. If you don't have a high budget, you won't get an all singing all dancing AI but when our DC were small we looked for those where reviews said they had decent water slides/pools and a good range of snack options throughout the day rather than cocktails and late entertainment etc.
However, AI hotels tend to be in busier resorts and in my experience the pool areas etc tend to be busier than B&B/self catering places (as those who want AI are more likely to stay in the hotel for more of the time). So this might be tricky if you want somewhere quieter, especially in the school holidays. Also, if you are looking for the sort of holiday where you want to be out and about doing things will you use the AI food/drink/facilities enough to be worth the extra upfront cost?
If you're not going AI and plan to do lots of excursions consider the cost of days out and food/drink when you decide where to go. Trip Advisor has a forum for each area that often has posts outlining typical costs for meals out/trips etc.
A pp mentioned Turkey. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but we have been a few times with teens and they love it. Every resort we've been to has loads of local tour operators who will sell you day trips and they are not very expensive (eg. a full day boat trip including transport to and from the hotel, lunch and unlimited soft drinks last year worked out at about £17 per person). Teens love the rather tacky 'genuine fake' shops but there are also plenty of more cultural activities available.
Or something like Eurocamp could be a good option if you're happy to drive and self cater. Again, if you're on a budget I'd recommend reading plenty of reviews etc and choosing somewhere that works for your family. The sites with loads of kids activities are more expensive and we found our DC didn't use them when we were out and about exploring all day.

Thank you I'll have a look.

I would absolutely recommend the canaries, especially lanzarote as its an ideal place for your first trip abroad.

Lots of all inclusive places that are right by the beach. There are good pavements and the traffic isn't too bad. (Young kids abroad for first time not looking at the right way for traffic is one of the biggest dangers at foreign holuday places) . It is pretty much year round good weather there are lots of family friendly things to do and see there and its also very cheap as its not part EU vat scheme.

There are also lots of very good inexpensive restaurants if you fancy a change and want to eat out.

Its a small island so transfers from the airport are short.