Not the Usual Holiday Ideas

[dinky1975]

Hi. Thinking of going away next Easter with our 4y/o boy and 2y/o girl. Husband and I were always quite adventurous with our holidays, we like nice things and nice places but aren't keen on sitting in a 5* complex all the time. I'm just really struggling to find the balance between something that works with young children but is still a bit of adventure and fun for everyone.

Hmmmm, I was going to suggest neilsons holidays! plenty of action and adventure for you all! even 2 year olds are out sailing, kayaking, playing tennis etc.
However their resorts don't open till May. Easter being out of season in much of Europe unless you fancy canaries.
Caribbean? Sightseeing, local culture, water sports,lots to see out of the main resorts plus good weather and beaches.
South Africa, Cape Town great for kids

Exodus used to have a minimum age of 5, has it changed?

Hi -thanks all for comments. Had never heard of Exodous and the site looks great but seemingly they only go as young as 3.... I think caribbean and/or NA sound like good bets. Thanks for help all xxx

How about a caribbean cruise, lots to do on board, different place to see every day. Kids clubs on board, and good food and entertainment .

There are some great cruises out of Florida or Puerto Rico, with not many sea days.

I've done a few twin centre Caribbean holidays with DC and found they work well. We usually stay somewhere self catering for half the holiday doing lots of sightseeing and eating all the local food etc and then spend some time chilling in a luxury hotel. I also second the Cape Town and cruise suggestions (although I didn't cruise until DS3 was aged 8). Cape Town has so much to offer for families with the added bonus of no jet lag. Mexico is another poss, both the Pacific side and Caribbean side are lovely.

What about a farm holiday in France/Italy/Corsica? Lots of things to see/do/eat and animals for the little ones.

When they're bigger you MUST do Exodus. I did loads with DS eg Egypt, Cuba, Mongolia and they were all fab. Felt almost not-just-a-Mum again .

Oman and the Emirates would get my vote.

The are companies such as family adventure holidays and exodus as mentioned that do great holidays for parents and children although I do think 2 is a bit young as quite a lot of travel is usually involved. We always liked France when they were little and took the car so we had options. I like South Africa but obviously flight is fairly long. I think you could find enough to do there. We started doing more adventurous/long haul when our youngest was 5 and we hired a yacht in the BVIs which was total magic as you see something different every day. We also did cruises but DH and I went stir crazy! Children loved it though. Excursions off the ship were ridiculously expensive. Ours also liked safari holidays and Kenya was a favourite but not sure if it is off the radar now. You could look at doing a sanitised version in South Africa. The great thing about South Africa is the small but beautiful guest houses that are available. They are brilliant places to stay with personal attention. The garden route with Addo Elephant park would work well. Have a good time wherever you go.