Do you value a summer holiday......

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I am looking for people's opinions / ideas regarding an annual summer holiday, does everybody value them, think they're great, value for money (notwithstanding brexit issues 're exchange rate). Think we will be able to afford 10N some where next year as DC are not school age (4 &2) I have been looking April - June but it just seems incredibly expensive and would DC benefit at their age yet ? Trying to find a nice hotel, good location and somewhere with plenty of activities to keep them occupied, (not necessarily wanting kids club to bung them in) seems impossible any ideas?? Even tried looking at different camping/caravan/ hiring motor home in UK but still seems expensive so thought might as well go abroad.

Yes.
But we've only managed abroad twice.
For me it's all about seeing a new area, and seeing the 'sights', and giving the kids new experiences.
We usually self-cater (so the food bill is the same as usual except for a few 'treats')
And get the cheapest accommodation we can.
Though something like a caravan site with a pool is a bonus.

We love our holidays and usually have a week in Tenerife in January (usually meet various friends and family out there at the same time), 5 days or so in Mallorca in May (around DP's birthday so generally with a lot of his family -last year there was 16 of us - plus we have friends who live out there) and then 10 days - 2 weeks in September, these last few years with another couple.

I enjoy the weather, the relaxation, the food, the pool, not getting up at 5am for work, water parks, spending time with family and friends with nothing to rush home for, the weather...

PFB is due in 3 weeks so I'm sure things will be different but, all being well, we're still going to be going away in January.

You can spend as little or as much as you want. We've had a week in Tenerife in Jan for £300 flights and accommodation for us both, this year we went for a nicer hotel and it cost £1k. Mallorca usually costs £300 also. Last few Septembers we've been to Greece and it's been £1.5k Half board.

Have a look on Travel Republic for good deals. And onthebeach's deal finder is handy for seeing where is cheap (and you can filter by holiday type and trip advisor rating etc.)

I saw a few recommendations on here for Centre Parcs Europe and similar, much cheaper apparently then over here.

Eurocamp looks good too if that's something you'd consider.

My children are 9 now we go for 2 weeks in may and then Easter weekend and a week in August. This year we're having an early tea week in August but we tend to avoid abroad then, an exception this year and it is busy and I prefer may.
Look at eurocamp or similar (yelloh, siblu etc) for cheap holidays
September is a cheap time if your kids are outside school age

Just to add a week eurocamp in Sept is about £300 plus ferry.

We do but not abroad. With three DC the youngest is one it seems to much hassle to take them on planes etc. Have lots of lovely breaks in the UK but will probably do the abroad thing when DC are older and can appreciate it more.

Nope, I hate hate hate going on holiday. For the money I've spent on holidays in the past I could have paid off a bloody good chunk of my mortgage (actually over 25 years our holidays could have actually paid off our mortgage in full) , paid for numerous hobbies and experiences for the dv, bought a newer car and numerous other things that actually would have been an improvement on our day to day lives.

DH loves lounging around at the beach and paying for expensive crap food in overcrowded pubs and restaurants and then going back to work and bragging about how lovely that bloody disgusting overpriced food was in the back and beyond.

I would suggest if you do choose to go on holiday go during the school terms because its cheaper than during holidays.

Thanks for all your replies and suggestions, I do love a good holiday abroad (also had some great hols in UK too) and I too like to mix it up, do the sights and relax by the pool / beach too. This would be first family holiday so looking for completely different amenities etc, and just wondered if the price was worth it with DC only being 4 and 2. Think I'm definitely going to be looking at April - June next year take advantage of this time whilst we can.

For us yes but it's completely different with young children. There was a thread a couple of days ago about it. I've been sat on the floor in a hotel corridor (next to a door propped ajar) waiting for them to fall asleep so we could have a drink on the balcony, and the next morning being Sat on the beach at 6.30am (whipping Twin 1 out of the bedroom as quickly as possible before he disturbed Twin 2) thinking why have we spent thousands on this?!

It's not really a holiday!! But now my children are older, it's much more relaxing.

I too would be having a luxury family holiday outside of term time whilst you can!!

I love going on holidays. Mine are 6 and 2. I found you can find a good mix of sightseeing and children things most places. Children things can just be a pool at the place you stay. Or a zoo, playground, theme park. Most places will have a combination of this.

When DC1 was two. We did an AI in Alcudia, at a hotel on the beach. But we booked day trips, and also took the bus to the old town and markets. If they don't need naps, it's quite easy.

I'm thinking about Billund, Efteling or lake Garda currently. Efteling and Billund will be a theme park with some sight seeing. (Efteling will be Belgium on the way back). Lake Garda has gardaland and movie world. So you can see there is a lot of ways to combine the two.

I think Barcelona has beaches, and I have seen apartments near the beach and they are on the underground line back to the centre.

Yes! I love holidays!!! I love escaping somewhere new and having some adventures with the dc (11 and 8). Some of our happiest family times have been on holiday when it's just the 4 of us and we're away from it all. We tend to have a 10 day to 2 week summer holiday self catering - Catalonia this year, France, Cornwall and Northumberland in previous years - and then a UK break in October or Feb half term but we don't have a set pattern. It can be hugely expensive to have an August holiday when you first look but there are ways to keep the costs down. We've never dove eurocamp as always seems overpriced - we've found gites with shared pools for a lot less (but depends if you want the water slides and entertainment etc I guess).

If you holiday at home it's not a holiday, you end up running errands etc. If you go away you can't do washing, clear out cupboards etc.

With preschoolers we have done Canaries / Balearics in Feb / March and Devon / Cornwall in September. I'm very sad about dd1 starting school and wrecking our holiday timetable

Namechange that's my only niggle with youngsters the couple of thousand it will cost, including sounds etc will I be thinking the same !! Suppose will have to try and see.
Headreamer I have been looking at Alcudia and seeing what attractions are do-able and thinking the same- mixing it up few days by the pool, few day trips and the beach. I would definitely book a small pushchair for youngest just in case!!. And to be honest I would never have thought of Belgium or Barcelona, and in my naivety I'd have just assumed there wouldn't be much for children at some where like Lake Garda, maybe I need to broaden my search.

Have a look at this for inspiration
www.theguardian.com/travel/series/city-breaks-with-kids

I have done Barcelona and Melbourne with my children and both worked really well. My one advice is to book an apartment. We eat out. But apartment means more space. Also a kitchen means eating breakfast in, possibility of a takeaway, and some even have washing machines.

And like I said before you don't need to do the city only. You can combine it with theme parks. Mainly have onsite accommodation. Like Efteling. It has a centre parcs like holiday park and a fairy tale village. You can stay for 2 or 4 nights. DC1 is very into fairy tales so I think she will love it.

If they're only 4 and 2 I would recommend that you go somewhere that you and your DH will enjoy, but make sure you stay somewhere with a toddler pool and a nice playground either on site or nearby. Whether your choose to SC or do a hotel/AI is entirely up to you, but generally we prefer to do SC, because you get more space, the kids get their own bedroom(s), and the adults have somewhere to sit and relax once they've gone to bed, etc. You can eat out for as many meals as you want too, so it doesn't necessarily mean shopping/cooking. We usually get some breakfast items, wine, beer and a few snacks and eat out the rest of the time.

If you go May/June you could go almost anywhere in the Med and it will be lovely and warm. Menorca, Greece, south of France, Algarve - wherever takes your fancy really. But do read the Trip Advisor reviews and choose somewhere with an airport within an hour's drive with flights from your local airport. Journeys of any length with small DC can be pretty hellish, so best to keep them as short as possible!

"Head" We have been to Brighton, Nantes and London with ours.

We used to take our now adult kids abroad every summer. It was only a week but we all went until they were adults.
In early days we took a family room and later it was 2 rooms . But we all enjoyed the holidays añd had input to place and hotel .
It was essential as it helped us relax and unwind and had so much fun.