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?

Thank the lord we have some balance. People writing off the whole of Scotland can just get in the bin. Silver sands of Morar last summer - one of my happiest places on Earth.

Love Spain. I took my three children alone from very young ages. Picked child friendly hotels. They had wonderful times and still talk about them.

If you do decide on Belgium, this zoo is fantastic
https://www.pairidaiza.eu/en/

Best: safari in southern Tanzania
worst: Barbados

zaffiro hotels in Majorca are perfect for young families

My best holiday, and first time I took the kids abroad was a cruise. It's a lovely safe option as everything is included and they really look after you. Have you looked into cruises if you're not sure about flying? We went from Southampton. You could even visit a few countries in one cruise. P&O was amazing for kids, splash parks, swimming pools, entertainment and amazing kids clubs and even though it was a full ship it never felt crowded because it was so huge.

My worst involved camping with friends I didn't know that well. I will never camp again -cruises all the way for me!

Duplicated somehow sorry

I am lucky to have travelled a lot. Most holidays now are planned around kids but we're still quite adventurous. I'm really enjoying France at the moment though. And if you don't like flying is very accessible by train. We booked a private sleeper from Toulon to Paris (one way) for three people for €150 which I think is very reasonable. DC was very excited about sleeping on the train. But the day trains are also very fast.

Madeira was good with a child too. Quite good public transport and beautiful, although not a beach place. We also had a great holiday in Northumberland.

Best holiday: Croatia - have been 3 times and have booked to go back again this year. Really good for historic towns and watersports on the coast.
Worst holiday: Morocco - my friend and I were hassled so much everywhere we went and didn't even feel safe in the hotel.

How old are the kids?

I cannot believe the people moaning about the Scottish highlands . We rented a lovely cottage near Glencoe about 18 months ago . We stayed the first week of October and had lovely dry weather with only an hours rain one morning . We drove all over the area every day and saw Ben Nevis , the Isle of Skye and Loch Ness , to name a few . I absolutely love bed it and would go back anytime.
I also loved my holidays in Cuba , Mexico and the Greek Isles .

Best holiday Cotswolds! Ironic it being in the UK! Worst holiday Egypt....

Would highly recommend Los Patos Park in Benalmadena (near Malaga). Has some small water slides etc in the pools, is very close to the beach. Beautiful park with fantastic play areas nearby - Parque de Paloma. The old town is lovely and only a short bus ride away. Huge marina within walking distance, with a large sea life centre and boat trips etc. Lots of small family friendly restaurants.
Torremellinos or Fuengirola for shorter days out, Malaga or Marbella for longer ones. Aquamijas waterpark in Fuengirola is good too.
We love Benalmadena - going again next week actually!

Go to Menorca. You absolutely can’t go wrong with it for families. DH & I holiday alone now, and we always go there. I love it, and tbh I cba to look any where else now. On the flight it’s either couples our age (50s+) or families with small children. There’s no busy, rowdy resorts, like Magaluf, Menorca is not like that. The beaches are all really beautiful and safe and the sea is shallow and calm.

These apartments might suit you. They’re cheap and cheerful but really set up for kids. They’re in blocks, so if you didn’t want to be on the busy side by the main pool etc they’d put you in one of the quieter ones. There’s, also, 2 bedroom apartments which would mean no one would have to sleep on the pull out bed. There’s a supermarket just over the road, a restaurant on site, and many others in the nearby resort. Most of the restaurants have play areas and there’s a big play area, and some bars, in the middle of the resort in case you wanted it.

best was Florida and it was my 16th birthday whilst I was out there. It was a fantastic time, went with a family friend and her sister and niece who knew my mum, aunts etc way before I was even born. We even visited a fire station… was fantastic 😂 we are going again in 10 days this time with DP and dd… I’m the adult this time so will be totally different. Fun all the same though 🫠

I hated Cyprus. Just couldn’t take to it. The whole vibe was off .

I’ve heard wonderful things about Puerto Pollensa for holidays with children.

We had an AI holiday to Sicily in late September- last year with BA.,The hotel had two pools and a private (albeit stony) beach.
Food was excellent with a buffet restaurant and a posher, full service one a golf-cart ride away. (you summoned a golf cart for any and all trips around the resort. )
Not many kids were there due to the time of year but it would be absolutely suitable for children.
Short flight to Palermo then a private transfer to the hotel, about an hour away. It all went very smoothly.
Not cheap but it was hassle free and worked well as a fly and flop break at the end of tje summer. (The weather was lovely.)
Trying to think of the worst. A week in the Gambia when it was first opening up to Tourism was quite a trial. We all got the shits really badly and my friend was ill for spme months after. The people were lovely but the poverty was eye-opening, and heartbreaking.

I agree with the other posters who have recommended going to a hotel, ideally all-inclusive. Self-catering just doesn’t feel like a proper holiday to me, even if you do go out for dinner most nights.

I absolutely loved Iceland. Tennessee not so much.

Worst holiday i have been on was florida and new York with my exh and daughter when he was having a affair and was awful to me. I cried in disney world. The best holiday I went on was the year later with my daughter in a caravan in Cornwall. Ironically the caravan was called florida. It's not where you go it's who you go with.

Worst- Egypt.
Best- for adults Berlin, for family holiday the kids adore Eurocamp in France (we drive there).

You should go to Rome. Absolute paradise. Or Venice. Or Lake Como. Italy in general is my idea of utter perfection. I'd choose Rome first.

Hey... I am scottish and love it here 😆 🤣 😂

I dont think i have ever visited a place I dont like but i have never been to an all inclusive type place. So there isnt much that can go wrong? The accomodation isnt so important, i just LOVE being in a new place.

Your family might like Thailand (specifically an island like Koh Samui) but it might be too far for a first trip. Go for Italy. Dont worry about flying. I dont love it but i do it all the time - have a glass of wine at the airport and again after take off to take the edge off! Make sure you have a way to distract yourself - short flights often don't have movies which isnt great - so bring some along if possible like on a tablet. Or trashy magazines also good.

Wine and trashy movies/magazines will get you through! After a couple of glasses of wine, i always think "Why do i always worry about this? I love flying!" But back to being nervous again as soon as its time to board the next flight!

What about france or belgium by eurostar?