Holiday with 2 under 5 - where to go, where to stay?

[Bumperlicious]

My mum has kindly offered to pay for us to go on holiday. She is about to take a big pay cut so wants to do this last big thing for us, otherwise it would be years before we could afford it.

Have never been away with the kids before (apart from camping & staying with friends). Have no idea where to even start looking. My mum hasn't set a budget yet, just said to think about it. Kids are 4.5 & 20mo. Looking at short haul, fly or drive. Would love somewhere with a pool.

Any tips on where to look or what type of place?

I know everyone does this, but I would really recommend Cedntre Parks. The one in Longleat is great, & I have been on my own with my two kids when they were 3 & 18 months.
They have a lot for young kids to do, great resturants, you can hire a bike & trailer, and my kids loved just being cycled around & they have kids clubs you can book them into for a few hours so you can go to the spa.

I would suggest booking a self-catering apartment somewhere in Menorca. Most holiday apartment complexes will have a pool, and flight time from the UK is not that long - an important consideration with little ones!

Depending on when you are planning to go will influence budget - the school summer holidays can be very expensive compared to term time. I would reccomend booking a villa (ownersdirect are really good) and then book flights seperatly, but if this is your first holiday then it may be a bit daunting and you may may prefer the simplicity of a package holiday.

I would say spain would be good (and nice short flight) or the balleric islands.