To think I’ll never find a holiday that satisfies my whole family

[Holidaysay]

Looking for a summer holiday. These are my family’s priorities:

DS (11):
Making friends
Hot
Beach
Activities

DD (14)
Cheap shopping
Wifi
Beauty treatments
Not doing anything
Beige food

Mine:
Sun
Water
Nice food
Everyone happy
Easy to pack for

DH:
Not too hot
Easy journey
Self catering
value for money

Is there anywhere that would fit the bill?
Or what do I prioritise?!
Dd says she’d rather stay at home (with relatives) but it doesn’t seem right to go on a family holiday without her!

or centre parcs in Europe?

I would love at a eurocamp. Self catering, pools, seaside, loads of kids to play with. Should suit everyone

I'd second the cruise idea, although it's not self catering it could well tick every other box. I did a northern european one last year, not too hot but nice enough weather and saw some amazing ports with teens, Copenhagen and Oslo were particular highlights. But lots of activities on board and opportunities for R&R.

Italy. Sardinia or cinque terre.

Oh! Italy but one of those places in tuscany with a pool. Endless pizza and pasta.

I’m not going to say an automatic no to a cruise but it’s never appealed tbh.
I prefer more natural settings but I’ll have a look as it does seem to tick quite a few boxes.

villas/lovely little air b&bs are out because of the friends issue. Ds will go stir crazy (and drive the rest of us mad) without other children.

I’m not against taking a friend for dd. I’ll see if there are any volunteers!

We are looking at going to Lake Garda next year. There's lots of campsites aroud the lake including eurocamp ones. Easy train ride to Verona, Venice and Milan, could be good for shopping but maybe not cheap shopping. Lots of activities around the lake.

France/ Eurocamp is a good shout. They have somne huge ones so lots of social stuff going on and then you can do day trips to nearby cities for shopping. You can often fly to a nearby airport and hire a car from there if you are worried about driving - but driving far in france is super easy, they just have these long straight motorways.

Otherwise I would be looking at city type beach breaks - lisbon, barcelona etc.

Do you enjoy self catering OP? Will your DH do all of the cooking and shopping if not? As if the answer to those questions is No and No, I wouldn’t be prioritising self catering personally….

Agree with a PP that suggested Neilson’s Beach Clubs. It’s a half board set up so you get a mixture of great buffet style food for the included meals, and for the non included meals you can eat at al la carte at neilson’s restaurants, or go off resort to restaurants in the local towns. They Great clubs for your DS with loads of activities and opportunities for making friends, also have great “teenager clubs” that your DD can dip in and out of as she pleases.

If you go on the shoulder of the season or in October Half Term it shouldn’t be too hot

Forgot to add Neilsons definitely habe beauty treatments and WiFi, and there should be some opportunity for tat shopping in the local towns. I think the teenager clubs sometimes even take the teens out to the towns for shopping etc

Do the canaries but go either Easter or February half term. Find somewhere with a heated pool which will help with the perception of heat, and a spa for DD.

Omg there’s a Neilson one in Sardinia that looks amazing. Would def tick all boxes except for the heat in summer. Maybe next May half term.

Im fine with self catering. We tend to just get bread and cheese and fruit etc and then eat out. Sometimes dh will cook a meal but it’s no bother for me.

Palma, Mallorca.

Is the beach ask for your son because of the beach stuff (sand/building things etc), or because of activities?

If it's just water activities, somewhere with a water park /really good pools might work?

Majorca? Palma is really exciting and has great shops. Can get fantastic self catering - they don't allow airbnb though so will need to book through a hotel or private agent. If you go in October or may the weather is PERFECT and not too hot but nice enough to sit on the beach.

Oh yes the Sardinia one is lovely @Holidaysay! as you say perhaps an option for may or October half terms to avoid the high heat but otherwise I think they tick all your boxes :)

Could you try Turkey but go at May or October half term so it's T shirt weather but not too hot for your DH? We've been a few times and it's really easy to find self catering apartment complexes where your DS could make friends around the pool etc and every town has cheap shopping ('genuine fakes') places and inexpensive nail/hair places for your DD. There's loads of historic places to visit too if that's of interest and lovely beaches- plus they won't be too busy at that time of year. We went when our DC were similar ages and with similar interests and found it was a really easy holiday (my main objective!)

I am very pale and burn very easily (never had a tan, naturally a sort of pale blue colour!) and find it easier in Turkey than Spain/France for example as pretty much everywhere you go provides shaded areas. Even the beaches tend to have shaded bars with large fans to keep you cool. I know there's a lot of talk about it being a bit tacky, and there are definitely tacky places to be found, but there's a lot of history and culture too if you want that.

No beach

AI Spa Hotel in Malta.