To ask if you’ve had a nice holiday with your kids?

[sandytoes84]

Currently pregnant and naively thinking about lovely future holidays with child (children if I’m lucky enough to have another).

I feel like all I’ve read this summer on AIBU is how awful holidays with kids are and what a terrible waste of time and money mumsnetters are experiencing.

So I’d like to ask, did YOU have a a nice holiday? (I hope you did!) And what did you do/where did you go?

We loved our holidays when they were little but I think some is down to making sure the holiday meets everyone’s needs.
I can’t imagine a package holiday where everyone is squashed in a single hotel room with a loud disco blasting into the night and grim food would ever be pleasant. The children are just an additional complication.
I’m not sure camping in torrential rain with tiny ones would be nice.

A nice cottage in the lakes with rides on the launch, rowing Tom secret islands, fishing with nets in shallow rivers and damming streams followed by an ice cream and swim at the Lodore Falls; heavenly.
Centre Parcs in Holland with another family in an adjacent villa, bicycles with trailers, BBQs, wine and Sequence whilst the children settled down and a babysitter so we could have a Spa evening; lovely.

Yes I think you really do need to adjust the holiday to your new circumstances. We go to eurocamp type places now. We’d never have done that pre children but it works because we are not all in one hotel room and it’s geared for kids. The holidays we used to have would not work now

Yes! Always holidayed with mine. Babies are far easier to take abroad before they can walk as they are less frustrated and more portable. When youngest was 10mo I took him on a 10hour flight and it was fine. I did get some looks/comments when he cried (not much I should add) but no baby can go 10hours without crying at home or anywhere! Airports have family lanes for passports and security.
All inclusive is easier for children and pick somewhere with a nice pool and close to the beach to mix it up.
I haven’t taken them abroad as a single mum yet but I will next year.
I find weekends to butlins/Center parcs perfect for my 7yo and 18mo. We went butlins last month and it was great! 18mo throughly enjoyed the shows and pool. There was enough on to stop both of them being bored and room was in easy reach.
It’s enjoyable going away with kids but just different, going abroad I pick places with kids entertainment and accept we will go back to the room early but you also do more in the day so you don’t mind going back earlier.

We do lots of UK holidays and have an amazing time every time. The only bad one we've had was only actually bad in the evenings as DD1 was going through a really awful phase where she'd melt down at bedtime but that was nothing to do with the fact we were on holiday, It was a two month phase that passed.

We aren't interested in relaxing on the beach or taking in specific culture (beyond Agadoo at the park disco ) so we walk miles, rockpool, visit local woodland/ forests/ play parks, choose activities we all will enjoy (north Norfolk so crabbing, seal watching from a boat trip, deer safari at Snettisham). Downtime in the afternoon or encpruage kids to power nap in the car. We make meals simple - a bag of chips on the beach or pasties from a local bakery - and only try to eat out once or twice although I don't cook except frozen pizzas perhaps. Bedtime happens when we're ready - usually sometime between 8.30 and 10.

We have 4 DC with the eldest aged 7.

We always have a great holiday with the kids! They're still young and we plan it around 3 things- Self catering, no fussing about meal times or whats on offer. Kids entertainment- We know there's stuff they will absolutely love. Low budget- No stress or pressure about making your time count because you sank so much into it.

Butlins, Park dean, Haven etc. We always have so much fun and relax a lot more. In a few years we'll probably look at doing something bigger. But for now all we want is a break in routine, discos and 2p machines. The key is to think about what you absolutely want in a holiday, keep your expectations low and have more stuff planned than you can realistically fit into the time you have.

Yep all been nice from 3m old to now at 3yr old. Love our holidays

Sorry missed the last part, 3m was a cottage in Cornwall, 10m old a 3 week driving holiday on the west coast of the US, 18m old villa in Cyprus, that was the hardest as you really couldn't take you eye off her! After that has been Greneda, St Lucia, Gran Canaria and Mexico.
She spends a lot if time in the pool, we take shifts with her so the other can relax. Other than the villa and cottage we do AI, much easier, less 'same shit different place' feels like a holiday.

Apart from the first holiday with our eldest where he screamed the whole time all our holidays have been great. When they were little we did holidays with kids clubs and babysitters as eldest was not a flexible kind of child. As they got older we moved to apartments with pools and actually took our aupair with us a couple of times to help.

We’ve done city breaks, long haul and lots of Europe plus skiing. Now with teens we try to go to places with lots to do and also try to go where other families we know are going. Not my ideal but makes it much more enjoyable for kids. For teens avoid villas with private pools if you want them to come off their phones. Just had a lovely holiday in an apartment with shared pool in a busyish town and a few other families we know in the vicinity. Not my first choice but kids loved it.

I love holidays with my dc. We haven't had much money over the years, so I save up and when on holiday ( we do UK seaside caravan or Italy/Spain air b and b apartment) we get to do things they don't normally do-like eat out in restaurants, hire pedalos, order takeaway pizza etc. I really think because they just haven't been spoiled with stuff like that they still get excited about those things. We do loads of just exploring and wandering, looking at stuff. The first time we went abroad it was totally on a shoestring but they were so excited by every difference and experience-going to the corner shop in a Spanish village, taking a train in Italy etc.
Normally ds is very routine centered and uptight but somehow is a great traveller and will relax expectations on holiday and just chill. This year we were in UK with no Internet. .this is with teens...it was great! We played board games, read books, pottered on the beach finding sea glass and pebbles.
I know they won't always want holidays with me so I am treasuring these days.

You just have to get your head around the idea that a holiday-with-children has absolutely nothing in common with the concept of a holiday as you know it

As a family, I think we do holidays really well. I’ve found self-catering much, much easier than all-inclusive because they can eat food they will eat, at their own meal times. Being able to stick (roughly) to a routine of meals and naps keeps things on an even keel.
I prefer weather at the milder end of the spectrum, though dh would prefer it equatorial. Over heated, dehydrated cranky kids are not fun.
We’ve never used a kids club either. We’ve just slowed down to a pace that works for the dc. In cities, we might visit one attraction, bookended with playgrounds and parks. Or instead of queuing and climbing the Eiffel Tower we picnicked in view of it, chased pigeons and soaked up the atmosphere. It’s lovely to get long stretches to just chat and be with dh, so sitting on a bench sipping coffee while the dc explore the puddles is no hardship.

I think dh and I are very considerate of each other. We will slip off in the morning with the dc so the other can have a lie in; if one of us wants to see an attraction that would be boring for the dc, the other will mind the dc. We fight over whose turn it is to wash up, in a good way.

As the dc get older they can tolerate our historical/cultural interests for longer. And this year they picked a few day trips that we genuinely enjoyed too. There’s always a little bit of longing on our part for more grown up time, but then we’re always aware that they probably won’t want to come on holidays with us for that much longer.

I’m a bit more prone to getting overwhelmed than dh, probably because so much time with the dc is a novelty for him and not more of the daily grind. I love the holidays but I have to admit that I love the routine and structure that school brings too.

We have had a lovely week in Cornwall and my 2 are 9 and 12. Yes there were some rainy shit weeks when they were very little but never was the whole holiday a write off.
I have to say to a certain extent you have to accept your idea of holiday bliss has to be forgotten and you work to make it great for the kids.
Not saying you can’t have moments of bliss but you do sort of go on the back burner.
When ours were little we went with good friends which meant there was always back up and someone who understands.

Yes, our family holidays have (mostly) been great save for a stressful one when dS was weaning, starting to feed himself etc. The whole travel cot, buggy, car seat, changing mat bit was hard work.

Destination to east coast of Scotland. Our routine would be either self catering cottage (with safe enclosed garden) then static caravan for a few years & now we do a week in both.

Kids love it, we do various activities and days out. We've had a few holidays abroad but only now they're teens.

We always had great holidays when ours were kids. We had a huge variety from camping or cottages in the UK to touring Zimbabwe with a tent via eurocamp in France. We have always enjoyed active holidays though. I suspect that if our ideal holiday was chilling by the pool all day and bars/clubbing at night we would not have enjoyed trips with the kids. Our kids weren't fussy eaters and that helped a lot too.

I love our holidays, we never self cater though so that we get a total break from the usual household jobs of cooking etc.

We only went abroad when they were old enough to remember places, before that we did short breaks and lots of days out.

Mine are little, 1.5 and 3.5. We had a nice holiday in a caravan on the Isle of Wight. Holidays with small children are just very different. They're all about finding things that are fun for them so don't always feel like much of a holiday for you. Obviously it's lovely to see them having fun but I wouldn't mind some silence and a few hours with a book.

Mostly lovely. Only away for 10 days. DSs are 6&3. From experience 2 weeks is too long. We like Northern Europe. Netherlands/Belgium. They do brilliant holiday parks. We also don't fly!!! Lots of trips out, lots of times on swimming pools/lakes/parks/outside.

The kids have space, they do argue but they love just digging holes. We had one major meltdown from the three year old yesterday but apart from minor arguments it's been mostly enjoyable. Not so great weather (which escalated yesterday's meltdown) but it is doable. Just know and listen to your kids.

They are definitely less relaxing though!!!

I’ve genuinely loved all of our holidays with the kids. They’re now 8and 2. Child friendly lodges in France; Centre Parcs, skiing (with the oldest only), all inclusive to Tenerife when DD was 6 and DS 10 months and recently camping.
You just change where you stay and what you do. I also opt for cooler times of the year when going abroad as my kids are so twisty when they’re too hot. DH and I take turns to relax but we mainly just really enjoy playing with the kids.

Love holidays with dd, she is 6 and have gone every year since she was born. We always go abroad and all inclusive, so nice to just enjoying spending time as a family, no washing, housework etc. As long as you read up on food etc and prep well it's no harder then being at home.

Currently having a lovely time in Yorkshire with teens and toddler, which is a tricky combination. We take short walks, eat lots of cake, and let bigger kids get on with it, they have been indoors today and I am mostly okay with that, they are currently playing games with DH. It is nice to be together away from every day busy-ness. Sometimes I wish i could do exactly what i pleased, but those years will come again. I do take intensive exercise every morning to work out my restlessness and do not check work email

I just had 2 weeks away with my 2 visiting parents abroad- i am actually looking forward to going to work tomorrow, sitting down and not feeling like im on endurance training! Older one (10) was ‘i want x y z’ on daily basis (thing costing money usually!) and arguing with little one (4) over trivial things. Little one wanting to be carried 15 mins into every outing and having meltdowns because her brother was winding her up.
Took them out to the capital in the country and stayed in a nice hotel- after a day of walking (and carrying) they proceeded to argue who sleeps where... i did raid the overpriced minibar in the room after they fell asleep to wash it all away.
My hips are aching, i’m dog tired and need a holiday from holiday...
On a serious note, love them both to death but holidays with them are not what you imagine, it’s relentless and tiring.

Every holiday has been fabulous. We changed the type of holidays we went on when we had a child so it was appealing to them for at least most of it.

@TregunaMekoides,

I'd actually been before on my own, and am still here now because I stayed behind a bit for work. But seeing it through her eyes made it all new again. It's certainly a wonderful place to visit - one of the world's great cities - but I wouldn't want to live here long-term. Hope you manage to make it here one day!

Kefalonia with ds1 when he was 22 months and I was 5 months of with ds1. One of my favorite holidays ever

Er, no, our vacation was a disaster as dd had hand, foot and mouth and we basically stumbled from one disaster to another : bad hotel, canceled flights, sick kid, AC broke, etc etc.

We did however have a good camping trip a few weeks after.

I don’t think I have ever not had a nice holiday with my daughter. We’ve been to Butlins, gone camping, stayed at country cottages. The first holiday I had with her was a night away to test the waters.