Favourite holidays with 4 and 7 year olds

[TheLesserWeevil]

Trying to plan ahead for next year, it's our 10th anniversary during the summer holidays so would like to do something a bit special. Which holidays have you found most successful/fun with small, but not tiny, kids? Am open to all suggestions, although would prefer not to do any hugely long drives!

Camping, definitely.

There are some fab campsites in France - far enough south to be more or less guaranteed good weather, but close enough to be drive-able.

Mauritius
Mexico
Neilsons
New york

Have a look at Duinrell in the Netherlands. It's fantastic for kids with an onsite theme park and pool. Inexpensive and lots to do and see in the general vicinity too. It's maybe not the sort of holiday to celebrate a milestone anniversary, though that depends what you're after, but for young children it's brilliant.

www.duinrell.com/

Yeah, I think the kids would love Duinrell! It's on the list, I just can't decide whether I want to go further afield or not... Would a long haul flight really be worth it? We went to Mauritius pre-kids - there was a family behind us on the plane on the way home, 3 kids aged between about 6 and 12. Kids were tetchy and badly behaved for the full 12 hours of the flight. I remember the dad asking one of them what their favourite part of the holiday was and they said it was having a telly in their bedroom

Oh gosh how awful, some people should stay at home!

I guess it depends what your priorities are. You and your OH might well get the benefit of going to somewhere exotic, but at their ages i doubt the kids will. You also need to consider, as you've mentioned, how well they'll cope with the longhaul and also the heat.

Oh gosh how awful, some people should stay at home!

Have you got any particular resort recommendations for Neilson, 2014newme?

We're in duinrell at the moment! Our dc are 3 and 6. It's fun but definitely not 'special' for an anniversary or anything. I'd love to go to costa Rica and friends went with their under 2 year old! Otherwise places like Sicily or Sardinia are appealing and the kids are happy anywhere with a playground and beach.

@misty9 who did you book duinrell with? Direct with the site or with euro camp etc

Our best holidays when our kids were that age were P&O cruises on Oceana and Ventura. The kids clubs were so amazing that we had to practically drag the kids out to spend time with us.

We had lovely days out with the kids in the various ports and then spent the evenings having dinner and cocktails on the deck while the DC enjoyed the kids club.

I'd never have considered a cruise if my in laws hadn't booked and paid for it for us. In fact I was actually dreading it.

We had such a lovely time that we booked for the following year as soon as we got home.

Logis du Pressoir in the Loire. The kids just hung out. Pool great. They deliver bread and croissants in the morning. I'll find a link, though I think it is a big MN one.

www.logisdupressoir.com/

Marcia- what a lovely place! Thanks for sharing!

That does look like a nice place - thanks - the in-laws are in France and that could make an excellent stopover if we drive down to see them.

Might be tempted by a cruise - my parents keep trying to convince me that it would be a good idea... but then came back from one earlier in the year and said they felt quite youthful compared to the other guests, and my parents are in their 70s!

We went to the Isle of Wight with kids that age and loved it. My two are crap in the heat so we don't bother with travelling abroad much at the moment. It's always ended up being more stress than it's worth!

We did do a Disney cruise with them which they loved. They are a bit costly but very worth it. They sail in Europe now too.

The perception about the ages of people on board was one of my worries too! My parents and in laws do cruises but always out of the school holidays so the average ages will be higher.

The school holiday cruises attract families. It also depends on which boat you are on. Ventura is a bit of a party boat with lots of family groups on board. Oceana was a a bit more low key but there were still plenty of other young families on board.

For the age your DC are I think Ventura would be best as the kids club is huge and has a nice safe outside area. The kids club is open from about 10am to midnight you they can pop in and out at different times of the day. We used to collect the kids at about 11pm and they would usually be asleep on a bean bag under a blanket having watched a DVD during slumber time.

2014newme (was it? ) we booked direct with duinrell and were staying in a comfort duingalow.