To ask... are holidays abroad with kids worth it?

[ImALittlePea]

I'm currently fixated on going abroad in late September/early October with the family (myself, DH, 9yo and 2yo). I don't know why, really, but I'm desperate for the children to have the experiences that DH & I never had as kids of going to the A/I style resorts, planes etc. 9yo has been abroad once, before starting school and covid hit. 2yo has never left the country. We've done UK holidays - Airbnbs, holiday parks etc - all-in-all quite successful (and one only a couple of weeks ago - four nights in a holiday park along the south coast of England), but I can't shake the feeling of wanting to take them abroad.

But as I look at the packages and prices, I'm starting to second guess myself about whether it's really worth it. We have a modest budget with which I can find what seem to be packages that I'm happy with - a week of A/I in apartment style resorts with plenty/enough for kids to do, space for us to chill once they're in bed etc. But if we do spend the money and go away, we'll feel the pinch and have less freedom/leave from work over the long summer holidays.

Please help a holiday-hungry overthinker out!

YABU - holidays with kids are harder work than they're worth
YANBU - life is short and for living - holidays are always worth it

But also as others said, it was hard work at times! Especially as our child wouldn't sleep/nap at all, on the go from 7.30am and was still up dancing at 10pm! 😆

We found either cruises or AI with lots of kids activities were always brilliant holidays with kids under about 11/12. Double check the age limits for activities as some only start from 3 yo onwards which can be a pain. Cruises amazing for very young ones, AI good for 5 up IMO but resorts like holiday villages do have lots for little ones going on.

Once my kids got a bit older they preferred cruises as there is more to do for their ages and neither like to just chill in the sun on a resort. They are fine if water sports available etc on AI type hols.

Depends partly on what sort of children you have and what your family vibe is. We went on holiday with our first when he was 2 and it was knackering. He ran off all the time and was too young for kids club. It was just about worth it as he was a really good sleeper and would have a long nap in the afternoon and sleep all night until at least 8am. The next year he was old enough for kids club and after that holidays were much better. Though when we had a second child she was much more biddable and less prone to running off so it was pretty much always fine. The other thing I'll say is that we really do like our space. We did a handful of holidays where we shared a room with one child (when we had only one and he was little) but after that we always got a suite or 2 bed apartment. Cramming 4 of us in one room was not something we would contemplate and I'd rather have no holiday at all. But last year we met a family in our resort who had five of them crammed into one room for 2 weeks, and they were having a brilliant time! So it's very individual!

I seem to be an outlier here but... I don't really understand the appeal of these kind of holidays with children. What can you/they do all day except eat and play in the pool, read if they're old enough? Play on a beach? That's all good for a day or two but I think it is more fun to stay in the UK and go somewhere where you can explore something different each day.

Before anyone shouts at me I realise that there must be more to it than I can see! Also some kids are probably much more into those activities than others. Mine have ASD and dyspraxia and swimming etc isn't something they'd enjoy for very long, they'd also hate the heat. I wouldn't be able to leave them at a kids club.

I just imagine it being a week of supervising them doing a very limited range of activities that they'd quickly get bored of, in weather they would hate!

Not at 2, in my experience. We have just done our first flight with DS4 (Disneyland Paris) and he was good as gold but having to entertain him at 6am in the hotel room until we could go for breakfast was a bit of a killer. When he was 2 he'd have been up in the night at least twice and would have needed naps in the afternoon. This was much more doable when it was a couple of chilled nights in the New Forest or Cornwall.

I've never done AI (and probably never will!)

But we have always been on holiday abroad with DC from baby. Never really had any major issues, except when DS was 9 months old and got really ill with a tummy bug. (Luckily the staff from our hotel was brilliant and very forgiving!)

I imagine AI would be a breeze compared to self catering & eating at local restaurants as DC can see the food and choose easily.

You have easy entertainment right at your doorstep so all you need to do is tag team to supervise the DC.

So yeah, go for it!

Agree that the 2 year old is the slightly problematic issue here.

The point of these resorts (presumably, I’ve never been on one) is that parents can get a bit of downtime while the DCs are happily doing supervised activities. All good!

A 2 yo will still probably want/need to be with parents most of the time, so you would still get a reduced childcare load and can be lazier.

If you live near an airport and it’s not too long a flight/transfer the other end, then go for it.

@summerfireplace Personally, for us it works because the kids have all day access to food of their choice, ice creams milkshakes etc and I don't have to cook any of it. The hotels we choose have splashparks and slides and play areas also craft and sports clubs for them, and are usually a couple of miles out of town so spend a day or 2 exploring getting the bus there too. DH and I both work FT long hours jobs so the 10 days of switching off and actually recharging are just what we need. Spending all day playing in the pool is exactly what ours love to do - the same as at Centre parcs, we were in the pools for 5 and 6 hours each day never bored of it.

Took my DC to beach holidays abroad from a few months old and had super times 😊
I think SC rather than AI for smaller children though. I had SC apartments so that we could have slow mornings with breakfast and no rush to get dressed, DH and I could have cups of tea and a separate room to relax in while they napped in the afternoon. At night, again we could have drinks in the fridge and watch tv/ chat etc while they slept. It's much better than only having one room potentially in a hotel.
Ate lunch and evening meal out

Also, personally I think it's rubbish having a buffet until children can choose and carry their own meals. I loathe my meals going cold and I wouldn't have the patience to wait while they dithered over what to choose

Always taken dc abroad, some holidays were easier than others but all were good fun. We have done adventure things and beach things, AL and SC. You have to relax into it a bit when they are little and go with the flow. DH and I have happy memories of sitting on balconies with little ds in bed drinking wine and playing cards or reading. We have a big age gap and on holiday they always played well together.I would give it a go.

For me, it's worth it, and some of the best money I spend each year in terms of enjoyment for money. I love exploring new places and love seeing DC enjoying themselves.

Thanks everyone! You've all articulated our dilemma perfectly. The age gap does make things much harder, and I don't want my eldest to miss out because things are harder with my youngest.

If we go late September/early October then the 2yo will be nearly 3.. not old enough for kids clubs (although some I've seen are over 4) but I'm not sure how much we'd use them anyway.

I can't remember whether I said in my OP, we've done some different UK holidays with both of them, and one abroad AI holiday with my eldest when he was 4. We have loved our UK holidays, which have mostly been in holiday parks, but I have an itch to broaden their horizons a little (as much as an AI resort does!) I don't want to have to self cater on every holiday we go on, hence looking more at the AI options this time, and we're only looking at places which have apartments or spaces for us to drink wine chill when they're in bed.

You've all spurred me on to just get something booked! If it ends up being more hassle than it's worth then we can shelve the abroad holidays for another couple of years - but at least the 9yo will have had another one when he's at such a good age for it!

Hmm this is true though.. might be a bit more open minded with SC resorts close to lots of restaurants.

That's exactly it! I love the UK holidays we've had so far, but I want a change from routine 👍

Well yes I think travel is worth it. But I am not sure AI always is. If you want your kids to have experiences there are lots of cheaper and better value ways to do that.

Gah, this is the thing that stops us in our tracks a little. Temperamentally, both kids are a bit on the highly-strung side.. as am I, in truth. But DH isn't, and we are very much a tag-team when it comes to dealing with things, so we balance it out and make it work... 😬🥴

You're probably right, but I can't seem to find them at the moment! Suggestions and pointers of where and when would be massively helpful at this stage 😜

Yes it is worth it for the change of scene and especially for your older DC, however there is little rest as such when you are chasing a 2 year old around a pool. At least with AI you will have a break from cooking and DCs will have plenty of snacks and drinks to keep them happy.

My best memories of growing up are of my family holidays abroad. For that reason I want kids to have that experience too. We went to Spain last year when DD was 9 months old, it was fantastic but it was very much a child friendly resort.

DD will be 21 months when we go again this summer and my nephews are 8 and 12. We all love our family holidays and it's definitely worth it, both your kids are old enough to have a great time! It helps that we go away with extended family too like we did as kids.

Fair enough! I guess it's just for kids like mine who couldn't go to any activities without us, and who only like swimming up to a point, there wouldn't be much to do. Mine love Center Parcs but after an hour in the pool they're done. They also have food issues so AU buffets would be a nightmare.

I have had a holiday abroad with my then nearly 2 year old and 6 year old. It was ok but quite stressful at times due to having a toddler and definitely not restful in any way, shape or form. In hindsight it wasn't worth the money we paid to go abroad.We have since have had far more fun holidays in Butlins

AI*

Well AI is only really "worth it" if you drink a lot of alcohol/ your kids eat a lot of snacks. So you could look at the same type of hotels, but different board basis.

But alternatives include Eurocamp type places where you can have amazing facilities, and most of the benefits of AI type hotels, and the "cottages" (aka caravans, but much nicer than UK holiday park ones) are nice. You could also consider SC - either in hotels or thorugh Airbnb. Many are located in complexes with shared pools etc, and near beaches and restaurants. Booking cheap flights (easyjet/ ryanair) can also really bring down costs (although make sure you are insured as it won't be ATOL protected if booked seperately).

AI is great if you want to sit on a sunlounger while your kids swim and go to kids club for a week. But if you want to do other stuff and really "see" stuff, they aren't great value as you will be paying to eat all your meals in the hotel, and use the facilities, and therefore if you leave to see the place you are visiting, experience local food etc you are effectively paying double.

The main thing is.. do YOU enjoy AI? A lot of people complain and kick themselves because it was a massive waste of money because AI is actually not their thing. I personally love it, so it was always worth it even with a 2 (and 4 months) old. Yes we had some of the issues and struggles from home, but no need to cook, clean or rush anywhere. She loved the entertainment and even made some friends which was adorable.

@Nordicrain see i always thought that, but then when AI holidays were coming in at only £100/200 more than the SC alternative it seemed absolutely worth it even with kids who don’t drink alcohol or have fizzy drinks.

we always have a pack of croissants in the room and a jar of Nutella for those early wake up mornings. One appeases them enough to watch tv for a bit while we get ready. And we always get a family room with a lounge area plus bedroom so there’s a separate room for bedtimes.

best one we’ve been to has been the Bahia fantasia in Tenerife but the prices this year have trebled.