HOLIDAY with CHILDCARE for 3 and 5 yr olds...IDEAS PLEASE

[noonar]

Does anyone know of any interesting options for summer '07?

can't afford markwarner etc. want to avoid package hoiday hell eg first choice holidays. have been to lefkas with simply travel.

any other ideas? so many kids clubs seem to start at age 4.

budget 4k- during school holidays.

thanks, folks.

anyone?

For £4 why not take a nanny? Sorry that kind of budget is alien to me .

Try euro camp. My brother and family did it a couple of yewars ago near Biarritz and their boys 2 and 4 at the time loved it. Think you can do either smart caravan or smart tent. would love a budget of £4k for holiday!!

Go to nannyjob and ask if one wants to pick up a grand for 2 weeks work in a nice location! That's your childcare sorted whereever you go

ok folks, just want to respond to the 4 k budget comments, as i appreciate that i may have given the wrong impression about what kind of holiday we are after/what kind of people we are.

i am not at all a 'take the nanny type'. i am a p/t teacher 2 days a week, and at home the rest of the time. i want my children to mix with other families, and the whole nanny thing is alien to me! we had childcare for the first time ever last year. it was a revelation. a true holiday for the first time - since kids.

as dd2 is only just 2, i figured we've got one more year of really intensive 'follow a toddler round' parenting, before we can leave them to play while we sunbathe!

with this in mind, we have saved a bit to buy us a couple of weeks of sanity this summer. we are not rich/ snooty in the slightest. honest

camping sounds fab, but they have to be 4 to be left in the kids clubs i've read about.eg canvas hols, eurocamp. also, toddler clubs at camp sites seem not to run in the school hols.

thanks for your replies.

I'd look at Pierre et Vacances, maybe? Not sure what the prices are like in high season, but it's a self-catering chain, and some places offer childcare from 3 months, and many offer childcare from 3 years. We used them at Easter last year, and found it reasonably good.

Oh, and "normal" childcare use there is 3-4 hours per day - they run morning and afternoon sessions, and the norm is to buy 6 or 7 sessions per week. So you're not holidaying without your kids, but you are getting a bit of time off every day.

thanks! are they only in france? is chilcare 'english speaking'?

Sorry was not implying you were snooty honest, there was a there.

As for kids clubs if leaving younger kids ensure they are fully supervised clubs. We stayed at a keycamp/ eurocamp/ siblu site and the club area was open and not secure. Kids could wander to the park next to it or whereever they fancied, it wasn't full child care. I wonder if parents thought it might be from the brochure. Different countries/ companies have very different ideas about safe and secure childcare.

sunsail tend not to be as lumpy as Mark Warner but offer a very similar service - might be worth having a look at them.
The Kinder Hotels in Austria & Germany offer childcare - but I don't know how much of it is in English.

thanks, bugsy. sunsail is about £1700 per adult for 2 weeks, and kids are only 20 pc less! shocking prices during school hols. will look at kinder hotels.

skribble, sorry if i sounded defensive, i just had a feeling that i'd come across 'all wrong'. i know you were being friendly! thanks for your views on secure childcare. very interesting.

Mostly France, a bit elsewhere. Oh, Villages Vacances France might be ok, too.

Some of the childcare people spoke French, enough for it to be ok for DS1, who was 4 at the time.

Sorry to hear that Noonar - I've only ever been with them during Easter Hols, when they are lots cheaper.
Lots of the more swanky hotels have childcare. I was looking at Egypt and most of the 5 star hotels there did have creches & holiday clubs. It was a while back when I looked but I didn't think the prices were too high.
You may be better off going to a villa, holiday village or fab campsite & taking a nanny with you.

I worked in a Butlins creche for years and am used to double barrier systems and Matron overseeing strict signing in and out procedures .

maybe we should do our main holiday at easter, then camp in the summer for a few days.

however, i always feel the need to escape properly in august...probably as a result of being a teacher!

The Pierre et Vacances Cap d'Esterel property was really lovely at Easter, not very full, not that expensive, and lovely weather. I think it would be intolerable at Easter.

Esprit in the alpes?

now thats an intersting option! hadnt considered it. have you done it yourself, lapsedrunner? i think dh and the girls would love it. i'm more of a beach holiday person myself, but they'd have a ball.

Ops, obviously meant Alps not alpes! No I haven't used Esprit but I do live in Austria hence my slight bias .

Yau get beaches here too, just not as you know them...lakes. Loads of resorts are focused around the lakes, particularly in Carinthia (south, bordering Italy & Slovenia). Have a look at www.kinderhotels.com if you are not too worried about 100% British style childcare.