The best Family holiday you have been on & where you stayed?

[MorningCoffee]

Looking for our summer 2013 holiday, What is the best Family friendly holiday you have been on & the nicest hotel/apartment you have stayed in?

doublemum - loads of older children there in school hols, even teens. We also stayed in the annexe. I preferred it - the rooms are much, much bigger and you have a babysitter in the evening.

Marking my place. Any one been to Tunisia?

Thanks trixymalixy

Lol at locking rooms

We were in the annex too at Villa Pia. I was initially a bit apprehensive, but loved that I could leave the girls safely with the baby sitter each evening, close the front door and walk down to some wonderful food and grown up conversation!

It is truly a love it or hate it sort of holiday. I loved it, so did the DDs. It was so easy as a single parent , just being there, and almost everyone was lovely. I used to live in Italy and Villa Pia is about an hour away from where I was. It was so fantastic to explore the area and show the girls some of my old haunts!

I personally wouldn't go for two weeks. A week seemed plenty. And then, as most people only stay for a week, you'd have to get to know a whole new group of people. It's a bloody horrible drive from Bologna airport though - allow a good 3 hours each way. Bologna airport is a bit of a chaotic nightmare too.

I am liking the look of the place in Normandy....think I may have to do some more investigation for this summer.

brendarenda have pmd you!

This is all so subjective, isn't it? Some people going off hiking in the hills in Thailand, others lying by the pool in an all-inclusive.

And since I've written my post dc reminded me of the fun we had backpacking round central America (riding loose in the back of a pick up truck there is my ds's earliest memory!), exploring Normandy from a fabulous independent Gite and camping in the rain at a music festival an hour from home. I think for us it just pays not to get stuck in a rut, but other people love that!

It's great to read about all these lovely holidays though!

rindercella think we flew from Florence. Traffic was a nightmare on the way back though.

We also had a great group of people. The ONLY downside I found was that some evenings after spending ages b/f dd3 and getting her down to sleep in the room, I didn't feel particularly sociable after I eventually made it down. But there were so many great things about it - loved the help-yourself food/drink room, the dds loved having pasta every day if they wanted, both the adults and children's cookery classes, the relaxed feel - you could come down for breakfast whenever you liked, the pool etc etc..... A great place. I agree a week is enough though. We did a week somewhere else beforehand.

Best hols:

Sailing in the Ionian in a flotilla

A week at the Argyll Hotel on Iona

Road trip in California

Road trip in Tunisia

Best ever holiday with kids Bali without a doubt. Villa agung khalia near Ubud was fantastic, i would go without kids too. We had a few days in seminyak too for the beach. The entire holiday was perfect from beginning to end. Temples, beaches, culture, amazing food. I would go back tomorrow.

A close second was Bangkok, we gave the seedy side a miss and it was fantastic. Lots to see and do.

Closer to home we love pollensa.

Marking my place, am in the middle of sorting out this years holiday.

Most relaxing, recharging holiday with dc's was in Sardinia staying in a villa on a olive farm. Rural, safe for dc's lovely pool and walks.

Most eye opening and adventurous was in Jordan. Took dc's donkey trekking through Petra and camel riding in wadi rum. Tried 'swimming' in the Dead Sea. Again, very safe, cheap and great people

Dubai. Jumeriah beach hotel, great water park

This is all making me feel very . My dh has had cancer for 5 years and is currently all clear, how long for we dont know. We havent flown since he was diagnosed, only had uk breaks. We would desperately like to go back to America, but after a very exhausting two days on the phone no insurance comp will over him for the cancer. Can`t bear to think of being restricted to hols in the uk, as lovely a it is. My fav all time holidays have been road trips to the West Coast, amazing.

Very sorry to hear that triplets.

Malta - Dolmen hotel, lovely hotel, clean, friendly & restaurants great. Pools all family friendly.

Scotland - Elie, Fife. Book a cottage here & you'll wonder why you've never discovered this nugget sooner. Safe clean beach, good restaurants, nice families go there & local food delicious.

Mauritius.
We rent a villa for a month every November on the beach 5 meters from the waterline.
The island is surrounded by coral reef, so the beaches on the NW coast are incredibly calm and perfect for children.
Flights can cost £5/600 per adult, but you can rent a self catering villa apartment for £20 a day, making it very affordable for families. Just google 'accommodation rent Mauritius '. Most rental places are self catering and there are hypermarkets and cheap local restaurants in abundance.
Very safe country and they love children. English and French is widely spoken, and ideal for kids learning French.

So sorry triplets but really don't think of the UK as second best. We have had some amazing holidays in this country and lovely not to have the hassle of flying. There are some really beautiful places in the UK, Cornwall and parts of Scotland spring to mind but there are loads of other places.

I know but we have pretty much travelled the uk, its just the advenure you have in America, its exciting, makes you feel alive. I am struggling to think apart from rip off Center Parcs where we could take our 3 teens, we are restricted to a certain extent as to what their Dad can do. He would like forest walks, fishing........I would like someone to cook for me, a hot tub and a glass of wine...................they would like shops, amusement parks, bowling, cinema etc!

Forest of Dean? Look at Forest Holidays, their cabins have hit tubs!

Peak District? Near to a town so your teens have got some entertainment.

HOT tubs!

Triplets, what about Bluestone in Wales? Nice accommodation ( much better than Centerparcs imo). It has a good spa on site and is next door to a theme park. Unlike Centerparcs, they actively encourage you to get out & explore the stunning local area.

I am so sorry about DH. Great news re the remission though. I will wrack my brains to think of something re travel insurance.

A couple of years ago we stayed at the Tres Torres hotel in Sta Eulalia in Ibiza. It's a quiet town with good beaches. The hotel was okay, a bit shabby but had 2 pools (one for kids) and a newly built children's play park next to the hotel. We had a great time, so I'd recommend this.

Don't ask me, we own a static caravan on a Haven site in Devon. At 6k a year for site fees, we don't stand a chance of affording a holiday anywhere else!

Catered villa in Koh Samui- cheaper and less developed than Phuket, great weather, amazing food- chef cooks for you and you just pay the groceries cost, so restaurant quality food at lower price, and more convenient if you have very small children who want to eat earlier than you do. We started doing villas after a week of eating room service in the dark as DS slept.

Caveat: I live in HK so that's like going to Majorca for us- 2 hour flight. Might not be as good after a 12 hr flight.