Where would you go if you were us?

[stroan]

We are in the lucky position of being able to afford a nice holiday this year.

We would like to go somewhere in mid May to mid June. Not too hot as we have a very active toddler who will be about 18 months.

We've normally done city breaks and one beach holiday when we were exhausted. Our honeymoon was an incredible California road trip and our last holiday was a week in New York 3 years ago.

We are in Scotland so would prefer to fly from Glasgow or Edinburgh. Newcastle or Manchester at a push. A direct flight would be best which rules out a lot of options (lots of flights to popular European destinations, plus a couple of N. America options)

Things we've considered so far:
Italian lakes (flights could be tricky)
A Sensatori resort for luxury all-inclusive
New York for a few days then somewhere like cape cod
A villa somewhere in Europe

We really can't seem to focus our thoughts and make any kind of decision. The only places we've ruled out are Florida (waiting to do it properly when DD is old enough) and Dubai (DH doesn't fancy it).

Budget could be £3-4K for the right holiday. We've had a tough few years of money worries and want to enjoy a lovely first family holiday

Sani resort or Westin Costa Navarino both in Greece are fabulous and you should be able to get a good deal during term time. I'd give Sensatori a miss as there are much better options.

With a toddler I would go for a lovely AI resort with some interesting stuff nearby, as your DD is young enough for you and DH to pop her in a push chair and do some strolling/sight-seeing/shopping. You want a lovely, safe, toddler friendly pool, a good playground and indoor play room, plus a nice, big room (even a suite to give you a separate bedroom) so you have somewhere to hang out once your DD is in bed.

Anywhere on the Med would be lovely in May/June. I'd probably go for southern Spain, Balearic Islands or Greece as they won't be too hot or too expensive, even if you end up paying supplements to fly from your local airport. Check out the MN reviews - that's where I always got ideas when I had LOs. www.mumsnet.com/reviews/travel/hotels-in-europe

I live in Carvoeiro in the Algarve. May is a good time to visit, the weather is usually very nice but not too hot

Lots of apartment and villa accommodation and nice restaurants, shops, and a sandy beach

Happy to answer any questions

I would recommend the Algarve too as good chance of nice weather but not too hot. I would hate to chance a place where the weather was disappointing as their is nothing as nice as seeing your little one enjoy warm sea splashing and messing about Inn a pool. Enjoy.

Have a look at Sovereign holidays website. You have a healthy budget and they have lots of options for luxury holidays. It might help to see the various options all in one place even if you book elsewhere? Although we booked with them last year, they were excellent. We're booking with them again this year. We stayed at the Ikos Oceania which was amazing.

Link would help www.sovereign.com