Self catering Europe. NO IDEA where to start looking. HELP!

[maldivemoment]

So, it's 10 years since we've been abroad! Since children we've only every holidayed in Britain but...WE NEED SOME SUNSHINE (we live in Scotland!!!)

The problem is we have absolutely no bloody idea where to start. I've had a quick shooftie on Owners Direct but seriously, I could lose hours of my life on this site! It's like house porn! I just spend hours looking dreamily at every single property!

So here are my thoughts;
self catering
pool would be bloomin brilliant
we have 2 small folk (age 7 & 4)
nowhere too hot
needs to be term holidays (I'm a teacher so no flexibility)
should we fly and car hire?
Is a car essential?
Flying from Glasgow

I could go on but I'll leave it there. I'd be grateful for any villa recommendations or general travel advice.

Thank you in advance...

Why not go into a travel agent and tell them all that?
After all, that's what they are there for.....

Look at Bungalows and apartments in Playa Blanca Lanzarote. If you get one within walking distance of the resort centre and supermarkets you can do without a car but l find they can be very useful especially if self catering and for trips out. Auto Riesen are reasonably priced and don't rip you off with fuel and extra insurance. Or you could book a self catering package which includes transfer and possibly book a car from the resort for a few days

Depending where in Scotland you are, you could save a lot of money on flights by travelling from Manchester, Liverpool or Newcastle before the English school holidays start. In any case look at jet2holidays which can be good value, with free child place offers.

Or easyJetholidays. Also have you all got passports already. If not apply very soon as the passport office will start to get busy soon and turnround times get longer especially if first time for DCs.

I'd start by looking at which companies fly from Glasgow, then decide which country (look at average and maximum temperatures for the month you're travelling), decide on budget, look at proximity to amenities and the beach.
It depends on you where to go. Personally I wouldn't want to be around a pool all the time and I'd look at visiting different beaches. As they are young, I'd go for somewhere with a calm sea.

We went to Brittany a couple years ago and it was lovely and sunny but not unbearably hot. We drove all the way to save renting a car (and because petrol worked out cheaper than 4 flights) and stayed in an AirBnB. Actually we've used AirBnB every time we've travelled for the past few years, precisely because we like self catering. You can filter the site so you only see properties where you have the place to yourself (rather than a room in someone's house), and can specify things like "has a pool / hot tub / whatever". Portugal is also lovely in the summer and the North isn't terribly hot. Or if you're willing to do a lake rather than a pool, what about Switzerland?