To book our first family holiday abroad

[Mummyofboys88]

DH turns 40 this year and our DC are 6 and 4. 4 year old will be starting school in September so it feels like the right time to take them abroad for the first time. Am I mad to try and do this? DH works from home and I would book it at the start of school holidays for 7 days to avoid missing any school if isolation rules apply etc. Would you do it? Has anyone booked to go away?

[GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing]

It’s a perfectly reasonable idea!

I wouldn’t do the first week of the holidays in case they catch covid (or anything else) in the last week of term - I’d go for a week or two in.

[MaggieFS]

Of course it's fine. Just make sure you have decent insurance and check the various cancellation policies so you don't lose out financially if something goes wrong. And take out the insurance when you book.

[Mummyofboys88]

Ok thank you for the replies I've never taken my children abroad before, finding it a bit daunting! Any recommendations of a nice family friendly resort? Was thinking maybe Spain/Greece or Cyprus.

[Hunderland]

We didn't go abroad until they could all swim so that we could properly relax. Can your 4 year old swim?

[MaggieFS]

If they've not flown before, I'd pick Spain over Greece or Cyprus because it's a much shorter flight. Oodles of options for arrival airports and resorts. I've never done a beach holiday in mainland Spain but I've been to Mallorca countless times. It's a great family destination. Alcudia, Pollensa, Cala Millor and Sa Coma all have lovely big beaches. Places like Cala Ratjada, Cala d'Or and Calas de Mallorca are coves with smaller beaches and more hilly, but arguably more scenic.

[Blueeyedgirl21]

Santa Eulalia in Ibiza is a lovely small town
Nice seafront, small but easily accessible beach and there’s boat trips, bike hire etc
You could hire a car for a couple of days and explore Ibiza
There’s a couple of good and affordable family apartment complexes, it’s not 5 star all inclusive but I always think an apartment is better - separate room for the kids so they can go to bed and you can use the kitchen etc, access to snacks which you can buy yourself and keep in apartment so you’re not basically eating out in a cafe every time a kid gets hungry, swimming pools with slides etc and there will be other kids for your kids to befriend

[Blueeyedgirl21]

www.jet2holidays.com/balearics/ibiza/santa-eulalia/casa-luis-apartments?source=AWIN&awc=18730_1641855803_0c8a9a239d1fbe28610f1502750fb81a&utm_source=AWIN&utm_medium=affiliates-core&utm_campaign=jet2holidays_core_Kiddieholidays_202573_Social+Content&utm_term=core&utm_content=&dclid=CJ7457-lqPUCFSxCHQkdgP8NhAS

Example of an apartment hotel type complex

[RedSoloCup]

Corfu or Majorca both Greta for young children

[RedSoloCup]

And great also 😂

[Pearlyqueen21]

Yes, go for it! Just pick something you could change or cancel. We started doing Eurocamp holidays when DD was 6 or 7, and have never looked back. We went to France and picked a fab campsite that wasn’t too big, had a good kids club plus activities like archery and a climbing wall. But most importantly a good pool area! Have fun doing your holiday research, and enjoy the holiday when it comes.

[Notimeforaname]

I second Corfu. Though any of the places you mentioned would be lovely.

[Notimeforaname]

It's a small island so easy to get around. Lots of beautiful hotels/resorts

[RhubarbFairy]

@Pearlyqueen21

Yes, go for it! Just pick something you could change or cancel. We started doing Eurocamp holidays when DD was 6 or 7, and have never looked back. We went to France and picked a fab campsite that wasn’t too big, had a good kids club plus activities like archery and a climbing wall. But most importantly a good pool area! Have fun doing your holiday research, and enjoy the holiday when it comes.

I wonder if you went to the one in France that we did as our first holiday abroad?

Definitely go for it. As above, we did France for our first holiday abroad with Eurocamp. We opted to drive just so that we had the flexibility of transport when there. It was brilliant. Mine were 3 and 4 (almost 5). As above. Find somewhere with a decent pool and potentially a beach (the Eurocamp site we went to has a man made beach and lagoon) and you're well away.

We still love Eurocamp now, and if you wanted to fly, they have some excellent ones in Spain too. I'm 40 this year too and am going to that French site for my birthday in August.

In terms of cancellation, Eurocamp have an excellent cancellation policy in light of covid. You can book the ferry through them too so that also gets automatically refunded if you need to cancel.

[SecretKeeper1]

We loved Menorca when the children were young, it’s a bit pricier than Majorca (also a favourite) but it’s so pretty and easy to get around. Plus there’s a rule that they can’t build hotels over a certain height (3 floors, I think) so barely any huge hotels and therefore fewer groups of drunk Brits . If you can get Cala Galdana, go for it, the sea is perfect for littlies.

Greece is also lovely and they’re great with kids, and personally I prefer the food, but the sea is usually choppier and room standards aren’t as high. Pay for 4 star and you’ll get the equivalent of a Spanish 3 star.

Overall for a first holiday abroad I think the Balearics is totally perfect. Easy flight too!

[BendyWendyCheesyFeet]

I recommend Pefkos in Rhodes (Look up Lindia Thalassa / Island Blue Hotel depending on your budget, but all the hotels there are lovely really). It's a family friendly resort, a beautiful shallow beach, and just down the road from the beautiful but busier Lindos where you can go for a day by glass bottom boat as a day trip to enjoy the three shallow coves and beaches there. Car hire is cheap and it's easy to get around - didn't think I'd be confident driving but it was easy. Had a couple of drives, to the quieter south of the island which has many beautiful beaches, and also to the north where we visited Rhodes town which has a beautiful old town and a couple of other archeological sites. We also went to the valley of the butterflies which was a lovely walk.

We ate out at one the many wonderful restaurants each day - although the one at the hotel's I recommend is perfect.

We have also visited Pafos in Cyprus which we adored, although in comparison the beaches were not as nice and it's a bit more built up and expensive. And also plan to return to Oludeniz in Turkey which is absolutely beautiful and affordable, but a little further to fly.

[Mummyofboys88]

Wow so many great ideas and places to look up. Thank you all so much

[Darbs76]

Not bad at all, I’ve been taking mine abroad since they were babies. The ages of your children are ideal for travelling.

[Mumdiva99]

Something like this is great for young kids - I have heard a number of people have been here and recommend it (as a good reasonable budget option it's not 5* if that'swhat you like).

Also with the kids that young I would take the eldest out of school for a week to do it. (Look into the cost of fines vs the difference in price between term time and school holidays. If your child has great attendance otherwise then it's unlikely you will be fined for 1 week out. You may also find the temperature more manageable in June than August).

[Mumdiva99]

Oops forgot the link www.jet2holidays.com/balearics/menorca/santo-tomas/mestral-llebeig#tab-overview

[Mummyofboys88]

Thank you!

[Boood]

It’s so nice to see a travel thread where all the responses are about how to pick a resort and what’s best for small children instead of endless pile-ons. Have a fab holiday, OP 😃

[Tal45]

Majorca is wonderful. As it's your first hol abroad with kids i'd keep it as simple as possible. We stayed at a Tui Blu in Lanzarote and had very low expectations but then actually loved it, right on Flamingo Beach, nice restaurant right on the beach also, a couple of shops with everything we could need. I imagine they're all pretty uniform so I'd consider looking at what Tui have to offer in the places you're interested in.

[Phos]

For travelling with kids, I really like the Tui Blue for Families hotels. They have good kids clubs, evening entertainment is geared towards families and the food is very kid friendly. Also the nature of the hotel means the majority of other guests will also be families with kids (so no rowdy groups of mates or getting the side eye from a posh elderly couple when your kid spills their juice all over the table)

Package holidays and all inclusive aren't everyones cup of tea, I get that, but for us right now (we have a 5 year old) they're ideal.

Our favourite ones were Tui Blue Side in Turkey and Keykyra Golf in Corfu (though I heard that one might be changing from a Families to a Platinum)

Wherever you go I hope you have a lovely time.

[MoniJitchell]

Highly recommend Es canar beach in ibiza. Short flights, short airport transfers, Not expensive, lovely town to walk around, family friendly restaurants etc, really nice chilled Boho vibe. Have stayed in both these hotels and they are fab for kids.

www.hotelcaribeibiza.com/en

www.aluahotels.com/m2/hotel-aluamiami-ibiza-en-ibiza/?partner=5152