What is the best and worst holiday that you have been on?

[worldshottestmom]

Hi. Plane virgin here. Thats right, I've never left the UK (pity me). I am thinking of taking the plunge and taking my kids on holiday abroad next year, for the first time ever for all of us! 'Terrified' doesn’t quite cut it.

Despite my fear of flying (heavily instilled into me by my mother, who is phobic of planes) I don't want to hold myself back and die only ever having been in the UK.

But now the question is, where do we go? I'm thinking of somewhere that's only a short distance away for the first time (probably Spain), but if it goes well, will be looking to travel further in the following years.

So, what was your most and least favourite holiday that you've ever been on?

Bonus question: if you've ever been to Spain, where would you recommend taking 2 kids to within Spain?

Giving support cos my god i genuinely would of just gone home if that was my 2 😭

I love Majorca too actually as does my husband. Our kids are grown up now and we had our first abroad holiday without them last year there and we are keen to go back. My least favourite holiday was Lanzarote. We’ve also done Menorca and that was nice but that was a villa holiday and our kids were older teens. Maybe look for somewhere with a kids club? We’ve also been to Turkey and was ideal for the kids but that’s a longer flight and often long transfers from the airport to the hotel.

The trouble with this question is that it's highly dependant on what you like, phase of life, time of year etc etc.

But standout holidays for me have been:

Driving around Oman
Safari and history in South Africa
Three weeks travelling around Egypt
Cheap family AI holiday to Majorca - far exceeded my incorrect expectations
Birdwatching in Australia
Three weeks on a train/ferry through France and Corsica with a 4 year old
Turkey

Worst holidays:
Cyprus (was OK but didn't do it for me)
India (exhausting, scammed a lot, food poisoning, argued all the time with then-Bf)
Canary Islands (bad weather, family feuds)

What a fantastic recommendation, thank you. Sounds like you've had some really lovely holidays there! I've always wanted to go to marbella but its pretty pricey, maybe the year after.

Perhaps I could make it my mission to visit the entirety of Spain over the next decades. I feel like if I enjoy flying my first time I will naturally become obsessed with it and start doing it nonstop (adhd represent wooooo)

Southern Europe will be milder in May, where I live (one of the top countries mentioned in the Spain / Italy / Greece group), we are already at 20-25º during the day. However, nights are cold and it won’t be until late April / early May that those temps go up.

If you find the heat challenging, May would be a great time to go, but bear in mind the sea will still be cold and most hotel pools, water parks etc, are unheated. September and October are usually nicer because the water has been warming up for 3-4 months by then. October half-term you then run the risk of chilly evenings again. My vote would be May if you don’t centre the holiday around water activities, and/or are ok with cold water.

You know i cannot believe i didnt even consider the Eurostar!!! Cannot believe myself sometimes. Well this changed the game a bit. I wonder if going with this option would be in the best interests of my children for their first time abroad. I do want to go on a plane, and soon, but this idea really appeals to me.

The way you have described Ghent sounds perfect tbh. Really ideal for my situation with regards to my kids interests and needs. It sounds wonderful. Thanks for this!

My kids liked the Netherlands, lots to do (in the different cities) and we loved the food. Most dutch people will speak english with you. Its very quick and easy to reach from UK. Public transport is efficient and a doddle to navigate.

I have copied and pasted your comment into a notepad in my phone hahaha. Keep it coming this is all genuinely so helpful!!

Lunch as dinner would work perfectly. We always eat home cooked food so it would need to be warm anyway, I think the stars have aligned here.

We do live in a city so I think a city apartment would be a great option, and not have to travel too far to get to places for things to do and see etc.

This is going to sound so dim, but do they have deliveroo etc in Spain? Not something that has ever crossed my mind tbh but if they did that would be a game changer!

Thank you!

Best : South Africa. Where else can you see whales, penguins, rhino & leopards in the same trip? All while eating local kudu steaks & drinking delicious red wine produced just down the road. And the weather’s great. And the beaches are amazing. And the scenery is incomparable. And the golf…. You get the picture.

Worst : We have never had a real shocker, fortunately, but we would have enjoyed our touring holiday around Ireland more if it hadn’t rained absolutely constantly.

The Med can be chilly to swim in, in May / June, but this might not be a problem if you have a nice pool. Spain sounds like it might be a good first location for you. I really enjoyed staying around the Málaga region - there are a ton of things to do and a massive range of accommodation options. Menorca often gets mentioned as being the best Balearic island for families. The Canaries might be a good bet for weather earlier in the season and although places like Tenerife are busy, you know exactly what you're getting. I've stayed in a privately owned apartment in a hotel complex, so you get the best of both worlds - the animation team for the kids during the day, and your own kitchen for food, on your schedule. (And a washing machine so you don't need to take a ton of clothes!)

We've had some lovely family holidays to Crete, Zante and Portugal. A benefit of Spain and Portugal is that you can drink the tap water (saves a lot of stress around brushing teeth and ice!) and put loo roll down the toilet. Neither of those things are true about Greece, Turkey or Egypt.

Anytime! Honestly, you feel so proud and surprised to see that things will genuinely be easier than you fear - there’s always challenges when you travel, but there’s also some really good things to be experienced. I’m excited for you!

Fully outing myself here but yes, Spain has Uber Eats, Just Eat and another app called Glovo. Citymapper works well for public transport (better than Google maps in my opinion, so just like in the UK) and people are usually patient with tourists, and love kids. Especially if you go to a normal city where “normal” people live instead of the top tourist hotspots…

I would look at the southern coast or the Levante coast for May (from Valencia down towards Alicante, Murcia and onto Andalusia…) or if you do want to go in July/August, the north can be pleasantly warm but not super hot. Look for a province capital and those will be major cities with all amenities, but not always overwhelmingly large.

Even easier, check what direct flights there are from your local airport and be inspired! I like to use Google flights, you set your departure city and then put “anywhere” or “Spain” for destination. For dates, you can say 1 week in July for example and just see what it comes up with. Play around with the website and it might give you some option none of us would’ve thought of!

PS in northern Spain I highly recommend Galicia, Gijón (Asturias), Santander (pricier) with kids. They are not overran with tourists so feel calmer, but definitely riskier for weather, and I wouldn’t go before July!

Love Greece and had about 35 holidays there but couple of years ago booked a late deal to Zante and hated it. Not even one of the party resorts, supposedly a chilled out town but it was the most Brits abroad place I’d ever been with tribute acts, quiz nights, bingo etc and absolutely no atmosphere at all. I can safely say I won’t ever go hack.

Best holiday is hard to call as I’ve had to many great ones. Favourite pre DS was a Greek island called Samos. Best post DS would be the trip to Kefalonia and Ithaca - just loved every moment.

DH & I went to Menorca & were just about the only people in the whole apartment block without kids. The island is great for children & not a long flight.

Have you looked at Eurocamps? There's so many to choose from in terms of where and facilities on offer and it sounds like it might tick your boxes - activities but somewhere to retreat to for some quiet, eateries on-site but option to self cater, etc. We're going to one in the Netherlands soon, catching the tunnel to Calais and then driving. So still abroad but a less stressful journey, and the added bonus of all the freedom you want for days out, and also freedom to pack as much as you need, safe foods etc. There's also some lovely looking ones in Spain, Italy, Croatia etc if you wanted to fly.

Happy to answer any questions if you want to pm me! I think Belgium is criminally underrated and we are huge fans of Eurostar!

We stayed in a Belgian seaside town a few years ago, absolutely bloody beautiful!!

Also plenty of great theme parks and water parks around northern France, Belgium, Netherlands if that's your thing, OP.

That all sounds so incredible, you sound very well travelled, you are so lucky! I can only dream of experiencing some of that, though it's hard to imagine having the time with 2 young DC lol

I suppose right now in life, I just want something that will be fun for them. I want to travel more for me later in life, im keen on going to Australia at some point. Its just so far away it makes me so nervous haha

So my favourite holiday was Scotland- I went to the Trossachs in winter on my own.
Lovely walks in the hills in the cold around loch Lomond, and then finding a pub with a fire to curl up in front of, warm up and read my book... Really peaceful and restorative
It was absolutely bliss- and just what I needed after a busy few months..... Now I have kids and a husband I deffo haven't had that kind of holiday since- and I would love too!!

Our favourite family holidays have always been to Menorca. Quick flight, very family friendly resorts & cheaper than Majorica. Everything is set up for families and children are welcomed into all restaurants & have on site activities suitable for them like bouncy castles, kids play areas etc. Lots of nearby very good restaurants near where we stay all with amazing food at reasonable prices. Cannot recommend Menorca enough (we have gone to the same self catering hotel 5 times!)

Salou very quick flight (under two hours as I’m also terrified of flying) and everything you could want is there - fly into Reus , small airport only twenty minutes to salou x

I actually Loved my holidays to America, I alone just enjoyed the supermarkets 😆.
Loved Thailand.
Disliked Rome.
Worst was a caravan holiday as a kid, we did F all, all week and I was so so bored.

I hadn't even considered water temperature would obviously change based on months lol. I think I'm in for a serious shock when I go anywhere abroad haha.

Thanks so much again for your advice. I think I would choose May, as we will no doubt need a holiday by that point lol.

I would want to do some water activities with my kids, but I would want to do some other things as well. I do like the sound of an October holiday, perhaps I will do both if all goes well the first time

Before you book anywhere make sure you check TripAdvisor

I've loved all my holidays, even the wet Welsh ones but I think the one closest to what you're looking for is a few years ago when we went to The Algarve. We stayed in an Airbnb villa in a beach front estate / residencia. It was a real mix of tourists renting, local residents and holiday homes for Lisbon commuters. Definitely no Brits Abroad - quiet, lovely grounds, with coastal walks nearby.

It had a nice restaurant, pool and beach access on the grounds but was a short walk away from other cafes, bars, restaurants and supermarkets and a small port. We had the best of both worlds - it felt like a safe resort but with a mix of people and all the benefits of having a private villa and a quiet space to escape to after a day at the beach.