Canaries in February - ideas please please

[Imelda]

Dear all, I wonder if you could help. DH and I want to go to the Canaries for a week or 10 days at the beginning of Feb ? our DS will be 3 then. Does anyone have any recommendations? We need childcare (minimum babysitting/listening, ideally a kid?s club/crèche) and somewhere that offers walks/activities/sightseeing to stop DH climbing the wall - I would be content to stay on a lounger reading chick-lit morning til night. Am I right in thinking it will be warm then? Also ? do you think that s/c or hotel is better with a 3-year old? We have never done hotel with him before. DH and I are v dull on holiday i.e. don?t like discos etc but we would need I suppose sth quite lively for DS. Would really appreciate any ideas or advice.

I can't help but will be really interested in the responses - sounds like just my kind of holiday!

elliott - we are obviously alone on this one!

get a heated pool!

costa tegiuse? try la gomera - a smaller island.

Do Simply Travel do the Canaries? I think they do. Have always found them a nice, reliable upmarket travel co - would be good to go somewhere with a pool & maybe other children to entertain your ds.

Jardin Tecina on La Gomera has creche, babysitting, heated swimming pools, ineterconnecing rooms, family duplex rooms, several restaurants to choose from and has good value for money Half Board options with Premier Holidays - hydrofoil from tenerife takes about 45 minutes - weather should be good, but heated pools make big difference in February.

can book through Sovereign Holidays one of the cheapest if you only want 7 nights with charter), Travellers Way (good for other, "non-commercial" Canaries), Simply (v. expensive), Prestige, Bonaventure (good when no one else has availability - but way overpriced).

thanks everyone. valleygirl - jardin tecina looks fab but unfortunately their kids club is only for 4 upwards. don't think simply travel do a creche in the canaries. perhaps i should forget the childcare bit, but if so maybe we should think about going to a place with more local stuff to do for him (ds that is!) valleygirl - do you think dh and s would get bored there? (the idea to me of being bored is utter bliss)

hi

from what i gather La Gonmera is pretty spectacular scenery-wise - so a good place to hire a car and do some exploring - great for people who like walking, and i think there are plenty of walks to choose and not hardcore if your 3 year old is into going for walks. i think this is the main activity on La Gomera apart from sitting on the beach - the hotel itself has tennis courts and a gym (not what i'd want to do on holiday, but surprising the number of people who do!!)

if you want somewhere else where you can get guaranteed winter sunshine, but not too long a flight, AND things to keep your husband occupied - would you consider Egypt? From Sharm area it's possible to visit St Catherine's Monasatry, which is a pretty challenging walk to see the sunrise and do some "Bedouin desert safari" stuff, or from Hurghada he could take a day trip to Luxor (pretty long day, but would keep him occupied) and the Movenpick hotels are really good for families. And obviously a great place for snorkeling - which in my opinion, could kep anyone prone to beach boredom happy for a week.

We had agreat holiday in La Gomera staying at the Parador. Nice pool but no formal childcare. Would your listener stretch from room to restaurant? We hooked up with a guy called Bill who runs a company called Wilderness Walks which was great - adventures in the mountains!

Don't let them out of the cage or leave them out in the cold - they will freeze!!

Boe, that's exactly what I thought when I read the title!

valley girl,
sorry to bother you again, but do you know of any particular hotels in that area of egypt? thanks.

sorry - been away
the Movenpick hotels have a good reputation for families - there's the Movenpick El Quseir north of Hurghada, if you want a quieter location. There's a kids club for children from the age of 2 upwards here.

Alternatively there's the Jolie Ville Movenpick Resort in Sharm el Sheik if you want a resort with more things going on, but the kids club starts from 5 upwards.