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've been to Butlins. I have no idea why you'd say it's really good, I'd rather gouge my own eyes out with a rusty spoon than ever go to Butlins again. You'd have to pay me the 7k at least

Would somewhere snowy suit your family? Sledging, snowmen, nature etc in a chalet or guesthouse. Central Europe might be more accessible regarding transport links, but Eastern Europe would likely have cheaper meals and accommodation. I was there last summer and a double hotel room was around £300 for one week. Our other expenses e.g. evening meals, drinks and car hire weren’t much either, split 4 ways it was about £150pp

If your kids like Lego I’d be looking at billund and tie in legoland and lalandia….

Cheap flights and you’d be well within budget

Look up Luxury Family Hotels if you’re staying in the UK. We had a very relaxing holiday there. Their thing is posh country hotel but with amenities and food kids will like but the grown up stuff is still great!

I’d go for sharm or hurghada in Egypt. Should have nice weather and hotels are usually lovely and plenty for the kids to do x

I second the cruise idea at this time of year. Their kids club will be up and running, which may not be the case for a hotel. If you don't need great weather then a mid-range cruise round the Mediterranean won't get close to breaking your budget.

Amazing - where did you find the cottage?

With small children I'd say a change is as good as a rest. Someone upthread suggested Lapland which looks ideal. I'd like to throw Iceland into the mix: whale watching, geisers, waterfalls, elves (and people who really believe in them), thermal springs, outdoor swimming pools, Northern Lights. A real change of pace.

I’d say a European Centre Parc plus a fab European theme park - look at the Dutch ones plus Efteling (stay on site) for example. Second the suggestion to do it in the car to
minimise stress of luggage/travelling. With small kids being able to empty your life into the car and go on your own timetable is great (if they don’t mind car journeys obviously.)

Thank you all. You have given me so many great ideas, I will research today and book one of these - I'll let you know who is victorious!

Have you considered a cruise? You could definitely go to eg the Norwegian fjords for a week for that amount. Stacks to do and amazing kids clubs on the ship.

Why not?

I'd consider taking the children out of school for a few days either side to bring down the costs - unless you are teachers so not practical!

It's not something we've done but for a
horrible year I'd consider it as a one off!

Because the flight is round about 14 hours which just doesn't seem worth it for a week, plus the OP has school age kids, the jet lag and returning back to school will be really unpleasant for them not to mention the hassle for the OP at bedtimes! I imagine it's a place to go when the kids have longer off school instead of shoehorning a really long flight plus activities in to one week..

Honestly I think any catered accommodation that is still available at this notice is going to be deeply flawed in some way.

If this were me I would spend the budget like this:

Staying in self catering in the UK but getting one of the realy nice sc homes on vrbo that are only still available because,they are quite pricey and the family that owns them as their own holiday home prices them to just bring an occasional boost rather than trying to let them out every week. Couple of potential places from a quick browse but haven't researched properly:
https://www.vrbo.com/en-gb/p8250112
https://www.vrbo.com/en-gb/p8243172
These would be typically £2500ish if in a nice place. Good filter tools on the vrbo site to find something to yoir tastes.

Couple of hundred pounds on a couple of really high end ocado/waitrose/Cook deliveries for some zero-effort meals covering all breakfasts &lunches and 3-4 dinners

Few hundred pounds to pay for a private chef service on 2 or 3 evenings. Generally easy to find with a google once you have an area. This is a perfect evening when you are on holiday with youngsters. No babysitting required and your holiday home becomes a private restaurant for the evening. While the chef prepares your meal you get the kids to sleep and then have aG&T on the sofa

Plenty of remaining budget for taxi rides, activities, spending days at the spa & swimming pool of a nearby hotel, etc.

I’d also suggest Morocco - really good value accommodation and fairly inexpensive once you get there if you want to get out and about.

There won’t be a lot of availability, but I would book a villa with a private heated pool in Lanzarote, we booked less than a month before we travelled, and got a lovely villa, and flights for 4 (all adults) stayed in Puerto del Carmen, lots of restaurants. Had wonderful sunshine all week. We book through Lanzarote One.

Would you mind telling me what Lanzarote One villa you stayed in. Looking on their site now and wouldn’t mind a real-life review!

We have stayed in Familia very modern nice villa, but a few step down to downstairs bedroom, incase this is a consideration for you, the pool depth I can’t remember, but I am pretty certain it wasn’t anywhere near as deep. Familia is just around the corner from the Lidl too! Pool depth is on their website & also more recently Mirador Majones this was a fantastic villa, ideal for me as all on one level, warm pool, but deep 120cm in the shallow end - 220cm deep end, just thinking of your little one OP, there is a pool gate. Mirador is a very large villa. Lanzarote One are really nice to deal with, (I have no connection to them whatsoever btw, other than being a customer) never had any issues. We have also stayed in other villas, Kaleon twice, and Villa Luz through VillaPlus, over the years.

Um, with kids these ages, I personally would not want to fly as it's a lot of hassle, takes ages and can be stressful. We're off down to St Ives, absolutely gorgeous place with sea views, hot tub, coastal walks, restaurants to hand. Bringing board games, things to entertain the kids. With just a portion of your budget, you could get pure luxury in the UK. But then if you are needing sunshine, that's a whole different ball game!

Cruise … some of the best children’s facilities I’ve ever know have been in on cruise ships

Um, with kids these ages, I personally would not want to fly as it's a lot of hassle, takes ages and can be stressful. We're off down to St Ives

This is going to vary hugely from family to family. It would take me longer to drive to St Ives from London (especially with school hols traffic) than to fly to most of Europe and Morocco. Also my kids get carsick if they read or watch screens in a car, which makes long car journeys tricky, so planes are much easier.

Do people still go here?! It is an awful place.

With kids that age I'd find somewhere close and warm especially since its only 1 week. So really it'll be canaries. I'd get a villa with a heated pool near the beach and just have fun and relax.

If staying in the UK, somewhere like the Celtic Manor might be fun- there’s a great Roman museum/ruins etc not far away, the hotel has a couple of pools, and other activities such as archery, mini golf, kid’s cinema and games room, and laser tag as well as a small mini ropes course.

@Iwishicouldflyhigh that's not really a break away from it like the OP needs then if she's taking suitcases of food (!). That's not a holiday at all, that's normal life