Annus Horribilis February half term holiday HELP

[farmerinthedell]

I am slowly going insane trying to book a last minute(ish) holiday commencing on 15th Feb. We never normally go away but after an onslaught of bad news are taking a fuck it approach.

Happy to go anywhere in the world but must be worth it for 1 week. We have a 4 year old and a 7 year old.

Budget £7k

Don't mind chilly weather if there is lots to entertain kids. Would love to just lie on a sun lounger but places like Dubai seem to be over budget when you factor in flights that leave at reasonable times.

Anyone?

I'd even be keen to spend less and stay in the UK but it needs to feel like a real treat where we can leave our woes behind for a week.

Thank you if there are any replies!

I always fancied this place in Austria ( Your family hotel in Tyrol, Austria | 4*S Galtenberg Family & Wellness Resort Hotel Galtenberg) - looks like it has lots on offer for families! We never got round to going while our kids were small but it's stuck in my mind as a potential holiday destination...

was about to suggest this!

hope this search works

the Attitude resorts and Long Beach are good options but there are plenty of others

It’s a long flight but direct and overnight, not too awful. Top tip make a hammock for the kids’ feet using a scarf tied round the plane table, helps them sleep!

Barbados….flight time of 8hours, but the flights are good times.

we stay in Beach View Appartments, lovely, self catering accommodation with a small cafe and lovely pool and across the road from the beach .

Not at all the if you do it yourself . We go self catering and take 2 suitcases of food ;much cheaper and saves going to the supermarket.

Another suggestion in Austria - this place which featured in bbc Amazing Hotels series recently. It looked amazing! Stanglwirt - Biohotel in Austria | 5 star vacation in Kitzbühel

BBC Two - Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby, Series 6, Stanglwirt Hotel, Austria

Skiing and sledging is lots of fun. I'd go to the alps.

If you go somewhere like the Canaries, check your hotel has a properly heated pool at that time of year. Gazing over beautiful pools that are too cold to swim in isn't much fun for children.

I'd go to a Marrakech resort hotel all inclusive. Should be warm and sunny, prices are v reasonable and you can also visit the city for a bit of culture. I've stayed at the Iberostar in the Palmeraie before and love it - looks like it's booked up for your dates but there are plenty of similar hotels. Have a look on easyJet holidays

Some of these distances are ridiculous for a week.

I'd suggest two extremes - Iceland/Finland or Abu Dhabi. Theme parks and sun in the latter, lots of snow in the former.

Cape verde

So this is the opposite of sun I fully recommend Feb half term in Finnish Lapland. Go to Roveneimi and play in the snow. Ideal for kids - see Santa (he’s there all year round and it’s not as busy on Feb), go on a reindeer ride, meet and feed reindeers, go husky sledding, hopefully see the northern lights.
It’s not a long flight, no jet lag, loads for kids to do. Book one activity for each day and enjoy being outside in the snow and the a cozy warm lodge after. Ideally with a sauna or hot tub.

Cape Town. Same time zones so if you take flight overnight it’s not too bad despite long journey.

I did this I think in Feb and loved it. Went two years ago and it was very good exchange rate

I'd go to an all inclusive hotel in Morocco - flights are only about 4 hours, it's good value for money, should be warm and it's quite an interesting place to visit.

If this link works, @farmerinthedell , here is the link to the Last Minute Holidays section of the TUI website. I've filtered it for x7 days departing 15th February, x2 adults and x2 children aged 4 and 7. I don't know which airport you would be departing from so have left it open.

So many choices and very much within budget.

HTH

https://www.tui.co.uk/holidays/last-minute?tui-product-cards.0.filter-hash=b4c8165939924501c8e6a8aced92884395ecb16a

Check the news and weather channels if you’re considering the USA. We’re in New York at the moment and Florida is having the most snowfall ever recorded.in fact the US is having bonkers weather. Risk of frostbite if venture outside at all in the Great Lakes, windchill of -23 in New York, snow in Florida and southern states with states of emergency declared, and fires in LA.

Agree with Morocco. We had a good holiday here with kids of similar ages -- Easter not February but was positively warm.

villa-maroc.com

Sad, I liked that. Where to go now for Hi De Hi fun?

Try outside Dubai...RAK and Fujairah have some great family friendly hotels. Night flights can be great with kids.

Weather won't be great though, currently 24C max temp and i wouldn't go near a sun lounger in that. It doesn't warm up until mid to late March.

That’s not a week long destination with young kids

Do NOT book with Destination2, they left us stranded in Mexico 2 years ago after changing our flight number and not informing us of it. It was the weekend and their customer service was CLOSED. WE HAD TO PAY £1k each to get flights back to the UK

I’d get onto Club Med La Palmeraie in Marrakech and see what late deals they have for that week.

Great idea. But check the forecast as Feb can be quite hit and miss in Marrakech.

If you ski look at Andorra. There will still be not crazily priced flights to Barcelona and Toulouse and accommodation in Andorra - and it is cheaper than the Alps

European Center parcs, some lovely ones in Belgium/netherlands, and I’d tie in a trip to Efteling. Easy enough to load everyone in the car!

We've booked St Lucia for half term week, self catering cottage £1.5k with pool, Flights £750 ....with Virgin... enough left for food in the budget