HELP!! Need advice on self catering villa or apartments in Europe

[barleyteddy]

Hi, I am trying to research a self catering holiday for 3 adults and 2 kids aged 5 and 2. My oldest has a few allergies so self catering with local supermarkets etc is important. We want somewhere with a pool/close to a beach, fun stuff to do with kids etc but also not too busy or noisy. We live in the north of England, flights from Newcastle suit us best. Have never taken the kids abroad before so feeling a bit anxious… I have never booked a villa before-do you organise your own flights and car hire? We have used rear facing seats in our car-is that something you could get abroad or not?
I have thought about Spain, Portugal, France, Italy….if anyone has any specific recommendations it would be appreciated….I really am at a bit of a loss and don't know where to start!
Thanks

The accommodation side of things should be easy enough-try holidaylettings homeaway and owners direct for self catering options. We have done it this way for years and had lots of great holidays-never had an issue with who we have booked with. We try and get an English speaking owner though and make sure we can contact them by phone not just email and we do snooping on google earth, linkedin etc to see that they are who they say they are!

Car seats is where you may have a problem-we have used Avis, Goldcar, Centuro etc etc over the years and the quality of the seats aren't always great. So where we can we take our own with us-saves money and we know the kids are safe! If you fly with someone like Jet2 (they do lots of flights from Edinburgh or Newcastle) then you have a 22kgs allowance plus you can take car seats per child and buggy. Makes life easier.

I would start of with the flights first-see where you can go from your preferred airport and take it from there.

If you can't be bothered with all the extra pfaff that organising it all yourself entails try a company like James Villas-they will do car, insurance and seem quite reasonable.

that just about covers it, all very sounds advice coco. and dont be anxious. passports. calpol. off you go... and def take your own car seats, may sound like a lot of luggage and hassle but there is no stress quite like the stress of fitting a car seat you are not familiar with. in a hot car park with two bored kids who are about to get run over. ive seen people literally throw them across the car park and storm off!! the hire car companies dont help you with the seat, not their responsibility etc.. and ive never seen rear facing seats in a hire car. just put bin liner and selotape in your bag and wrap them up when you get to the airport. it will be fun, honest!! what you do next depends on how much you want to spend. plenty of hotels can cope with your allergies.

We have done private rentals, with independent travel a few times now. It's quite easy providing you do research the areas first. Google streetview is great for that!

When are you planning to go?

Our DC are older - so no car seat worries - I know little about those - but sounds like it would be good to take your own.

Have you considered driving to France for your holiday? I know it's a long drive - but you can load up the car with everything you need and you're off. We are in West Yorkshire, so a couple of hours closer to the south coast than you -and find it perfectly do-able.

Brittany or a little further south will probably be nice enough weather for you and the children. There is a poster on here who has a property to rent out which looks very nice - i'll see if i can find details later.

For rentals anywhere have a look at Owners Direct or Home Away Holiday Rentals. Chez Nous if you fancy France.

Hi thanks for the replies! We did think initially of driving but it would be a tight squeeze for the 3rd adult…my dad…and even if he flew to meet us it would be a bit tight for day trips etc. Other option is all to fly somewhere and then hire a large car….or we could just do a package type holiday.
Hoping to go in June/July.
Our rear facing seat is a be safe and it's huge….could we really take it on holiday with us?!