To ask if this is too much effort for a holiday

[Auntiejohnfromjamaica]

Am I mad to try to make this holiday work?

PILs have surprised us with a villa booking in Greece next year, for them, us and BIL and his wife.

We were so excited as it’s somewhere we have always wanted to go, but I’ve been looking at travel and it’s so complicated.

PILs and BIL+SIL live near London and don’t have kids. We are further north, don’t live that close to any airports, the closest ones to us don’t fly to this destination, and we will have a 18 month old and 4 year old with us.

I think we have two choices. Drive 1 hour to nearest airport, take a low cost flight to one place then another low cost flight to actual destination. would have to be Hand luggage only :(

Or we drive four hours (setting off midnight) to London and take direct flight.

First option seems more expensive but I haven’t priced up fuel and parking.

PILs won’t be impressed if we don’t go. And won’t really understand about the kids, and how long it’ll take, and the price (we are on a budget).

So I suppose my question is - would you bother?
YABU - make it work, it’s worth it!
YANBU - too much effort, don’t go

One thing I would be careful of OP is regards money. If it's that tight but parents paying for accommodation- I would let it be known because of 'expectations' whilst away- they might be eat out most lunches and every night people (we are on holiday) and expect that you will be too and paying your share if not paying for accommodation-

I would just be really honest and up front as that aspect can easily come to £800 a week spending money .

Other option is to tell them you cant get any suitable flights on x day and travel a bit earlier and stay in a hotel there for a night or travel a night later, if it works out cheaper for you

OP lots of people post worst case stories about traveling with children. All the hitchless journeys don't really get a mention. No one really is interested in my toddler lived the plane because they had unlimited iPad access threads. I would suggest avoiding reading about holiday disasters.

Sorry to be gloomy, but if the PILs and BIL / SIL are childfree, what arrangements have they made for your DC? Is the villa suitable for young children (gated pool etc.), is their room next to yours, can you go out and about with the DC if they get up earlier than their grandparents etc. I just wonder whether "let's book this place which flies from an airport close to us, everyone will be fine with that" is just the start of the issues with them not considering your needs and presentingyou with "their holiday" and expecting you to be grateful.

Well hopefully the in-laws have thought of that.

We have just booked our 3rd "big family" holiday.

Us, both children, their partners and their children.

We never take checked luggage.

We spend a long time making sure that we choose a destination that is convenient for everyone to get to (we live in 3 different countries) and that the house is configured in a way that means everyone has their own space and aren't fretting about crying/early waking children disturbing anyone else, and that we don't all have to be tiptoeing around and keeping the noise down after 8pm.

It's just common sense really - although I get that this is MN and in-laws don't have much form for that 😁

Have they paid for the villa? It seems odd to do that without checking first.

are they aware of the extra costs or have they not thought of it?

is it something you want to do, looking at the total? I presume other costs will be incurred on holiday?

I would ask if you can stay the night before and explain it doesn't have to be any more than a place to crash.

I'm thinking you don't travel much. This really isn't an issue. We have young children and drive all over the UK to see family very regularly, a 4 hour drive is really not that long. Have a great holiday.

Meant to say, kids are very flexible. No need to factor in their bedtimes etc. It's part of the fun of a holiday to be out of routine :-)

Ooops - posted too soon.

@PineappleWilson makes some excellent points.

If the journey is already not ideal (although you have been offered some practical solutions), then you really need to be sure that the villa is appropriate for your DCs. We've had a lot of practice at nailing down what works, but I do agree that people who don't usually share space with small children can be blissfully unaware of what may render a villa a total nightmare.

Look at travel lodges near the m25. There's one in whyteleafe or croydon for Gatwick for example, they are often cheap. Also, if it's next year remember flights aren't all out yet so you may get a better deal.

Like everyone else says, I'd do the drive.

We like 10 mins from Manchester Airport but have flown from Edinburgh to go to Iceland and are flying to Catania from Luton.

The flights were cheaper (even including parking and hotel) and had better arrival times.

It's fine

We just drove 4 hours to London with a 10-month-old and 12-year-old, car seat and bags in tow and I didn't think anything of it.

I wouldnt bother but than I am not bothered about a holiday in a greek villa.

You can get (almost) anywhere in Greece from Athens. Fly to Athens the day before, go out for a meal - much cheaper than the Uk- sleep there (probably also cheaper than a uk hotel) and then get connecting flight or ferry from Athens. Handy hint, if you do get a boat/ferry from Athens, get a big, slow one, not a small speedy one 🤮

A friend organised her wedding in Greece a while ago - it involved two flights and a ferry and I'll be honest, I was totally put off attending it because of the amount of effort involved.

But a villa booked with family? I'd make the effort and go. The trip would be worth the voyage. I'd probably travel down to London the day before though!

@Auntiejohnfromjamaica - I hate to be the bearer of bad news but any overseas holiday with DCs of yours' ages will be tough!! So I would make the most of it and probably drive the four hours and utilise airport hotel/parking. Four hours is not that long really - we drove it to centre parcs on a regular basis with young DC. Go for it!

It doesn't sound very complicated to me. Drive down to London the day before and catch a direct flight with the rest of the family.

We've done this. Tickets from London airports are often half the price of regional airports. You still may have change after parking and a night in a hotel.

I have children same ages.

Drive to London day before. Break up drive with a stop somewhere - doesn’t have to be fancy/ money spending even some of the service stations have good playground areas.

Stay in airport hôtel night before the flight.

that will be far more pleasant than two flights. And will feel like you are extending your holiday!

enjoy - do it, you won’t regret it but do factor in all the extra hassle with kids. If you can afford/ borrow a Babyzen yo-yo pram that you can put in overhead compartment is the best thing for a flight with an under 2 child as you can push them to the gate.

This isn’t a hassle at all in my opinion. Travel with kids (or even without!) is always a pain but usually worth it! Stay in an airport hotel

Would it be cheaper to take a train and stay overnight if possible?

Try holiday extras for airport parking plus hotel. It's usually cheaper to book these two together.

This would be our journey to our nearest airport with decent range of destinations. I’d stay cheaply the night before and head down at your leisure the day before.

Outside of the big name hotels there are often some really nice friendly B&Bs in the town next to the airport that will allow you to park there for your holiday and will drop you at the airport for your flight as well

Have you looked at flights to London from regional airports? Booked this far in advance they can be very reasonable and no more expensive than a train.