Ideas for 3-4 weeks away in April/ May with 1 and 3 year old please

[birdseed]

My DH has 3-4 weeks off end April/ start May between jobs. A rare opportunity so wanted to take our boys away travelling. Any suggestions for destinations/ routes at that time of year? Short notice and kids v young so want to avoid immunisations and anti malarials.

You can get lovely family holidays and good value for money, as well as sea and sun in Tunisia.
But depends if you want nature, culture, food, adventure, beach...

Californa has so much to offer.

You need to give more info. How old are your children? What is your budget? Where have you been before and enjoyed? The southern Mediterranean is starting to warm up by the end of this month, so are you thinking something like that or further afield?

When you say 'travelling' it conjures up images in my head of heading off with a backpack or two and a vague itinerary in mind, but my experience of travelling with young children is that it's much easier to have some home comforts, space and the ability to stick to your normal routine. Have you travelled with your LOs before?

Sorry - just saw your post heading says 1 and 3 year olds. I'd keep it simple it if was me and I'd make sure to stay in one place for a while (maybe a week in each place). That will give you a chance to get them settled and everyone get some sleep before you move on again. My two tend to take a couple of nights to start sleeping well somewhere new.

Greek island hopping? A car trip around southern France? If you can take your own car it will make things easier as a) you can take all the stuff you need, b) you won't have to lug children and bags around very much and c) you'll always have safe car seats for them to travel in. Assuming you have a car ...

Flying is really going to cost at this short notice. look at last minute holidays and see whats's around. With a long holiday you could do all those flung places you need time to recover from. However they are going to cost if you do it independently.

Thank you. I had been coming round to the idea of a decent chunk in each place, like you say, as packing and unpacking is such a hassle while a 1 year old causes chaos. Now I just need to figure out where to go. I think we are too early for things to be open on Greek islands. Anyone know?

INormally should be something open as there are plenty of yachts coming in and out all year. The clubs might be shut but bars and hotels will be gearing up for the summer. I did it in November and had a great time. It might be worth checking that places haven't had to shut down or whatever due to euro crisis.

I'm sure inter-island ferries run year-round and if you go to established towns rather than tourist resorts there will be all the usual amenities open. Hotels probably open at Easter, if you'd rather not self-cater (although with LOs I'd much rather self-cater than have everyone stuck in a hotel room).