Are abroad holidays worth it toddlers?

[daisydoo32]

Really weighing up the pros and cons at the minute. Desperate for a sunny beach holiday and our older dc would love it too but with a high maintenance toddler in tow, is it ever worth it?

Prices are looking at 3k ish which is so much money for us. I'm torn between wanting to make memories but equally knowing it will be hard work with not much chill time.

Do we bite the bullet and book something? Or is it best to wait til the diva is older? FWIW she's very fun loving and I know she'd love the pool and entertainment in a family resort but equally she's quite demanding and doesn't like the word no. Travel, change of routine, small hotel rooms are all worrying me. Advice?

French campsites and driving are a good option with little ones, southern Brittany or the Vendee aren't too far, we always took the overnight ferry which was a bit of an adventure.

I say no. Ime it’s awful. Bringing all the hard work from home without all the child proofing and comforts that help you cope with it. But people seem to do it - depends how ‘hard work’ the toddlers are I guess.

Holidays with children are different but still enjoyable, we only holiday abroad, our children are better travelled than most. We like AI, family friendly hotels with water parks, kids club and lots of activities.

We've been having the same conversation recently. We've decided to stick with UK breaks which they both enjoy but take our eldest away (6 year age gap) for a night on a European city break so they get a taste of culture and food and language. Appreciate this isn't an option for those who don't have friends or family available to take the youngest for a night or two.

Just go to Butlins!

I have 3 boys, now all adults, but we loved going away together. Yes it was hard work but being at home was hard work too.

With a 2/3 year olds we preferred Eurocamp-style caravan holidays and took the kids to the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Italy and France. Used the park as a base to travel out for the day. We could get up when we wanted and, with a kitchen, breakfast was easy. I do not cook on holiday beyond pasta and jar of sauce and my kids were fussy pita to feed but were happy with bread, cheese and foreign crisps for lunch and a meal out in the evening - ideally somewhere with a playground nearby. If we needed a meal at a random time, we had a kitchen and it's no disaster to be eating a bowl of cereal and a glass of wine on a summer evening.

Thanks for all the replies. To answer a few questions, older dc are primary and early secondary age. So I'm aware there's a big gap and that it'll be challenging. It always is during the school holidays even if we're at home. I'm also aware it's unfair to let them miss out because we've now got a toddler. They haven't been abroad since before Covid. But we have had some lovely uk holidays.

The main thing that worries me is us all been crammed in a small space.

Not sure why I was told off for calling my own child a diva, it was clearly a joke and she does behave like a mini diva. It was said with love, promise.

Honestly....

I think you want the abroad holiday for yourselves. Which I totally get. Adult holiday abroad, relaxing in the sun with a book, pottering around the seaside...bliss.

But the reality is that it wont be anything like that with small people.

I'm absolutely not calling you selfish, at all, but I think you'll be disappointed. My advice is to save the money, remind yourselves that it wont always be like this and that it's just a season in your lives and that now is the time to embrace staycations, daytrips and uk breaks. Break up the grind with the occasional splurge on something just for the adults, like a weekend away or a spa day, and indulge knowing your saving money and your sanity.

I agree with previous post that kids will be happier with less travel and a uk beach and ice cream x

Not quite toddler but she was walking - we went to Malta with our then 14m old and had a brilliant time. We chose an all inclusive option and it made eating so easy because we just didn’t have to think about it. There were high chairs, a children’s pool and even a babysitting service that we took advantage of one afternoon. It was a lovely time.

100% worth it.
We started when our first was 10 months old and went every year since with them.
We had the most amazing holidays. I wouldnt go to a hotel in a million years though. We always went to campsites, i think we did 16 of them over the years.
We did a villa once and the kids were bored. They have great memories, but also, so do we. This is our life too, not just their childhood and we took them for us, we look back on our life now and we have the most amazing memories of holidaya with our children, such amazing fun times.
Now they have more or less flown the coop, dh and i have wonderful memories of when we had them all around us and we just soaked them up.
I adore them and family holidays are some of our best times. Small dollys in frilly togs covered in icecream. Best thing ever.

I’d concur with a campsite holiday but in a chalet unless you’re seasoned campers. Most big sites have pizza places and restaurants which makes food easier. Having more than one room is better with little kids so you get time in the evening and most of them have kids clubs so there’s somewhere for the kids to go some of the time. And the facilities are geared to young kids and you’ll be able to give your older one a degree of independence as they are usually safe for them to bike around as traffic free. Seems horrible for all of you to miss out cause the younger one is tricky. Hotel rooms in my opinion are just a little small with young kids and a chalet still has outdoor space.

If we go it will be a hotel. Which does worry me. But I'm hoping toddler will stay up a bit later and even if we're all crammed into one room there will be a balcony to escape to or dh can take the older kids out. I'm just conscious it's a lot of money to spend if it's going to be pure stress and counting the days til we come home.

Just saw your update. Would say definitely some of the French campsites then. They have things aimed at teens as well. Older kids tend to be quite independent and hang about with each other. There’s plenty of English speakers if their French isn’t great as popular with Brits/Irish/Dutch as well as French, particularly the Vendee and Brittany sites. Our kid always finds someone to play with, and he goes to the shop and gets breakfast every morning by himself and has done since he was 7 which he loves. We’ve gone with Yelloh but equally Eurocamp and other companies would have what you’re looking for. Order your big shop online (lots of the French supermarkets have an English language option) and arrange to collect your food the first day. Most sites have small supermarkets for top up shops. We tend to eat a lot of picky bits so don’t actually cook except for dinner and half the time we eat out or have pizza. It’s about as relaxing as it gets with kids I think.

I'm looking at going to Efteling theme park with my DH, a 11MO and a 3(by then almost 4) year old. They have self catered cabins and the theme park looks well set up for small kids, with a few bigger rides for older kids too. I heard about it on here actually. I'm wondering about tagging on a night or two in Amsterdam too and we're looking at travelling by Eurostar.

Well if you say u will only go if its a hotel then id say no. Waste of a holiday. I wouldnt take 3 kids to a hotel. No fun for them at all and completely selfish.

We've always holidayed abroad with DC from babies and enjoyed it. Yes it's a bit harder work than holidays used to be and we spend more time hanging round the pool than we would have done before but otherwise we still get to see the sites we want to see and the cities and museums.

The "sane shit, different location" mantra had never made sense to me. The different location bit of it is entirely the point and has always made up for any logistical difficulties.

Why on earth? Hotels have swimming pools and buffet food and playparks and all kinds of things children love. What a bizarre response

Not bizarre at all.
Hotel rooms are not a good place for a holiday with children.

It could be crap but it’s much more likely to be fun. I wouldn’t not go on the small chance that it’s not fun, that’s quite a negative way to think about it.

You‘ll be outside most of the time. Toddler can stay up late and / or sleep in the buggy in the evening. She will have lots of fun splashing in the pool. Elder sibling is almost an adult and will be helpful to have around.

We had some great holidays with toddlers, sure there were some grumpy bits but 95% of the time it was easier than being at home.

If you want space I’d second the French campsite option (or any euro campsite but France would mean you could potentially drive)

Can you go somewhere where you can get a suite? Last year we got a room that had two bathrooms, two separate bedrooms and a living room. It also had a nice terrace too.

My son was a demanding toddler and honestly, I'd have stuck pins in my own eyes before I would have risked a flight and hotel.
We had lovely holidays - Lake District, Devon, Cornwall. Always in a self catering cottages, usually with a garden. We genuinely had a great time.

Due to covid, we actually took him abroad for the first time last year. He was 9 and we went to a lovely hotel in Austria. Had the most amazing time and we are going back this year.

We were all in one room, but it was fine as he stayed up with us.

But 9 is very different to a toddler.

I'm on the fence. I only have 1 so we have been able to do holidays that suit him. However, your older dc shouldn't miss out because of the younger one.

I would go and suggest;

Go somewhere with a short flight time.
Try to book flights at reasonable times.
Make sure your hotel has a swimming pool/play area and that the local area has plenty to see/do.
Consider the food - we were catered and the food was excellent but my son eats anything and loved all the new foods. If your toddler may not, find somewhere that will have food options she will like.
Accept that you and dh may have to tag team a bit. So, one adult stays and does the pool/play area with toddler while the other takes older dc out somewhere to explore.

You will probably find she burns lots of energy in the pool/play area and with the fresh air and so should settle well at night.

Eh?

Hotels abroad have pools, beaches, all you can eat food, kids clubs, entertainment.
How on earth is that selfish?

We always went on beach holidays when ours were little. You need decent accommodation so you can relax indoors when it’s very hot, and a good agreement between you and your DH about getting some individual down time.

We had some of the best times.

Five people in a hotel room? Absolutely not.
Self catering is massively easier with a family with a range of ages. So much more flexibility.

Honestly, with that range of ages, a eurocamp type trip is perfect. The older kids will find friends to hang out with, which takes the pressure off you, and they won't get grumpy about the toddlers needs restricting them.

I don't think a holiday abroad with toddlers or babies is a holiday. It's hard work. For toddlers I'd suggest a caravan park in this country. Pick one with lots of on site entertainment and a pool and you'll have a good time.