No fly sun

[carrotcake31]

Last year we had our first family holiday abroad in Menorca with then 1 and 4 year old DC. It was perfect with warm weather, close to beach, children's pool and play areas at the hotel, 2 bedroom apartment so plenty of space for everyone and all inclusive (not so fussed about AI compared to half board but I really don't want to be cooking on holiday). All perfect except DH absolutely hates flying and worries from the day the holiday is booked. Please can anyone recommend a holiday where we can have something similar without flying? We're open to both rail and road adventures! Thank you.

Last year we went via retrain to south of France. We didn't do AI but we did eat out nearly every day. Other days we had French bread and cheese!!
Eurostar to Paris then across Paris and TGV to Nice. It was good fun and very easy ( me,dp, dd (10) dsd (11) and ds (6)

We did look at putting the car on the train in Paris but we couldn't as had a 4x4 which wouldn't fit!!!

Train!! Not retrain

South of France by train! The rail journey is fab and feels like part of the holiday. Eurostar to Lille then change to Montpellier or Perpignan. From there hire a car and travel to your chosen spot along the South coast.

Nb. Much easier to change trains in lille (walking to the next platform) than in Paris (crossing Paris) though even the latter only takes 20 minutes.

We drove to the South of France (St Maxime) a few years ago - stopped in a Formula 1 overnight on the way (don't do that - cheap but truly, truly shite). The roads in France are great and it was quite enjoyable - it's not like a UK long drive. Coming back we went the scenic route via the French Alps - beautiful, but long. So it's very doable - and the South of France is lovely.

You can take the Eurostar summer service from London to Avignon. The train then goes on to marseille.
It's a direct train, no changes.
We then hire a car at Avignon and drive down to the coast. We stay along the coast from St Maxime.
We do this every year and it's not expensive

Thanks everyone. I've always imagined the south of France to be very expensive. Can anyone suggest a good place to stay?

Pierre et Vacances have loads of holiday apartment complexes all over France on their website. Sometimes some of the apartments are privately owned and advertised on sites like Airbnb for cheaper prices than by booking with p&v direct.
French Riviera v pricey, esp for eating and drinking out, you might prefer other parts of the south coast ie the parts nearer to Spain than Italy which we found to be cheaper.

You could also look at the ferry from Plymouth to Santander (or Portsmouth to Bilbao). The ships are great and a real adventure for kids. Northern Spain is beautiful, summer weather is warm and seafood fantastic!