I hate package holidays but

[gregssausageroll]

This year we have a 3 year old who just wants to play with a few children his own age and have a pool or beach nearby so I think package is the veway to go this year.

We've been very fortunate in previous years to go longhaul and have the pick of gorgeous places plus we lived in Australia for a while.

So this year we are looking at Europe. Probably a package holiday because they can give us a couple of hours of kids club for DS. Sorry if this offends but we simply wouldn't go to places like Benidorm or Magaluf.

Can anyone think of anything that is in Europe that might give us kids club options but isn't going to be full english for breakfast and pints of lager at 10 am!

this will be for 2 weeks in August so budget is restricted by time of year as that is when DHs allocated holidays are.

Looked at Thomson Sensatori but it is £3,500 for 1 week!

We'd probably be happier in a fishing town sort of place where we can go out for dinner but not run the gauntlet with clubbers heading out if we want a couple of hours to chil with a glass of wine.

Can anyone suggest anything!? Happy to go AI if there is a deal to be had but would prefer not self catering as I'd like a rest!

Have you tried looking at James villas Leisure resorts, they tend to have places with kids clubs in nice parts.
How about www.jamesvillas.co.uk/algarve/quinta-do-paraiso/quinta-do-paraiso-apartment-i-3707/?CTA=sr_details_button as a suggestion. james can be more expensive than booking separately so I would advise finding what you want and then pricing up separately.

A tip for next year is that if you want bargains in the school holidays then you need to plan very early to get what you want. We are doing 2 weeks in July in Portugal split at two locations, both 5 star with kids club for less than £3000 but I booked back in December.

I don't know whereabouts you are in Scotland but an alternative venue which you may like is the Dordogne. Beautiful scenery and restaurants, very child friendly and direct flights from Scotland.Unfortunately the place I would recommend as it has pony riding, a play barn, communal pool shared with about 6 other gites and full of toddlers www.lepavillondestagnan.com/Engels/index_e.html looks to be fully booked for that time of year, but you may be able to find something similar through Chez Nous which has lots of independant Frency rental properties.

Would second Gnomes point about booking early. We couldn't book earlier than last month because of DHs work ( we are going in August) and the site that we like in Tuscany was fully booked.

We have flown to Pisa or Milan and got car hire for the last 3 years, although it is the more expensive option. This year we are trying the Hull overnight ferry and then an overnight stop at Lake Lucern. It is a long drive but we can take so much more stuff (bikes etc that we previously hired, plus some food that is much more expensive to purchase over there.) Hopefully the ferry itself should be exciting for DD.