Short flight, 2 bedrooms, either AI or SC, that won't bankrupt us. Don't know where to start!

[YourHandInMyHand]

I'm looking for a hol for 2019, either June or September I think.

We will have a baby and a teen so want something with 2 bedrooms eg 2 bedroom suite/villa/aparthotel/apartment. A lot of the options I've looked at mean the adults sleeping on a sofa bed in the living area which I don't want, I want a room for me, dp and baby, and a room for teen ds. A lot of the hotels and all inclusive resorts don't seem to tick these boxes.

I'm thinking we may have to consider self catering to get the room layout we want? We usually do AI.

Does anyone have any recommendations or tips on where to start my search?? We're not bothered on destination just want some sun, and ideally on a smaller budget rather than a larger one.

www.exclusively-marmenor.com/

Have a look at this place. We stay in 2/3 bed villas beautiful well kept place with a hotel at the centre, we love it there!

You can also book villas there through the usual places, Owners Direct, Holiday Lettings etc.

Son bou playa gold and son bou gardens I. Menorca have two bed apartments and with washing machines, was great for us

We stayed here a couple of years ago in a 2 bedroom bungalow.

Location might be a bit quiet for a teen - there were a couple of restaurants and a naice supermarket on the doorstep but it's about a half hour walk to the Playa Blanca Marina area.

But there are lots of bungalow complexes on Lanzarote so there might be something more central. We always do SC or B&B if in a hotel, never AI and then eat out at least once a day, plus have a couple of supermarket trips to stock up on drinks, snacks and easy food like cheese, bread, ham, olives, barbecue stuff.

If you're looking this far ahead now, have a look at the free child places finder at jet2holidays as long as the teen meets their definition of a teen, to see what comes up.

Thanks for the replies.

I've never booked separate flights and accommodation, and then food options etc, I've always booked package deals and I'll admit I'm a bit overwhelmed by the idea of booking separately, but I know it can mean good savings.

Our teen DS has autism, likes his own company or mine, hates noise and crowds, etc, so not your stereotypical teen that needs a buzzing social hub. We tend to lean towards quieter resorts or places tbh so quiet is fine.

We've stayed in Lanzarote in a 2 bedroom apartment All Inclusive. I think it's rare outside the Canaries.
I think it's a myth about good savings if you book everything separately. People always recommend booking separately but in 40+ years of booking holidays abroad I have never found it to be cheaper though I always do compare. It may work out cheaper if you book a budget airline from Gatwick at an ungodly time with hand luggage? I don't know. On top of that there is the sheer convenience of a package.
I secondJet2.com. I've travelled with them a lot and they are hard to beat price wise.

I'm the opposite and never do packages (and do compare as well and never not saved money!). How about a flight to Nice - several of the budget airlines fly there and it's a short journey. If you're getting an early flight then we always stay the night before at the airport, check the baggage in that night and stroll through the next morning. AirBNB has many apartments in Nice (old Nice is lovely), some with pools. Use Hoppa for transfers if you want to arrange that in advance. Nice is a beautiful city that's had a lot of money spent on it in recent years. It's lively enough for your eldest and the beach at Villefranche (10 mins by train) would be great for your youngest. It's on a train line that connects the Riviera and trips to the likes or Cannes, Monaco and Italy are easy.

Sorry - just read the part about your eldest preferring quieter places so apologies! While Nice isn't a party town, perhaps an apartment not in the Old Town would be better.

Stayed HB in 2 interconnecting rooms at the following : -
Sardinia Been twice at May HT. Best beach I've seen in Europe. Affordable luxury.
Spain. Another May HT week holiday. See a pattern?

The August premium is out of our budget but May half term prices are more palatable!

I would look at an AirBnB in a small apartment block with own pool.

Will you hire a car?

We've been to a couple of nice self-catering places in Lassi, Kefalonia - apartments round a pool with a pool bar - we pay a bit more to book a two-bed apartment so that DS can have his own room rather than a sofa-bed.

Both places are very low-key - quiet music from the pool bar, simple meals available there too if you're feeling lazy, but obviously opportunities to cook in the apartment or go out to eat. Supermarkets and restaurants in Lassi itself but what I like about both these places is that they're on the hillside above Lassi so quieter.

A gorgoeus beach in Lassi too, with a huge roped off swimming area and then pedalos, banana boat rides and so on outside that.

The San Lorenzo Village here

and the Olive Gardens here

We are package deals all the way We do hire a car at both those places though, so we can explore Kefalonia as much as we want.

Having worked in travel you’d never get me near a package holiday or a travel agent.

Always book separately had some storming deals.

Spain August 2 weeks s/c £1200
Sweden August 2 weeks s/c £1200
Barbados January 2 weeks s/c £2400.

All for family four including flights and for Spain / Sweden car hire.

Accom - Facebook, Airbnb, direct in country with the Owens

Flights Ryanair / easyJet / direct Thomas cook.

Look at when school holidays are ie cheaper flights from Scotland in August. Swedish schools go back in August. Look at locations and destinations.

That's very short sighted rain

A package holiday is not necessarily more expensive than booking separately and can look exactly the same in terms of flights and accomodation, which can be self catering, villas, apartments etc and isn't just limited to large hotel resorts.

The last package holiday we went on was with jet2holidays to a boutique B&B on Gozo and it was over £100 cheaper than booking the flight, transfer (which was a taxi, ferry then another taxi so not straightforward to arrange) and accomodation separately.

We've also had packages in tenerife where the difference in cost between flights and luggage and a package with the same flights and transfers and a week's HB in a 4 star hotel for two was less than £200. It would have cost far more to book separately.

Those Kefalonia apartments look lovely LivingBoy

It does depend on your budget but the two Sensatori resorts in Turkey have a room layout that might suit you. There's also a new one in Rhodes opening this year.

They are fairly quiet resorts but lovely facilities.

What about Malta? We’ve stayed twice at the Hotel Soreda in Qawra, all inclusive. Quirky place - if you love super modern chic, this isn’t for you. But - they have two bedroom apartments that are HUGE - plus two bathrooms and a small lounge. Hotel has a lovely rooftop pool and an indoor pool. In a residential area of Qawra, so quiet by day and night - a few bars and restaurants nearby. Don’t be put off by the scruffiness - most of Malta won’t win awards for street tidiness! You need to walk into Bugibba (about 15/20 mins away) for more variety. Aquarium is just up the road, and there’s lots of trips that can be done from the hotel, or hiring a car yourself. We stayed there this Easter just gone and May the previous year - the weather was good both times. It’s a real Marmite island - but we love it.

WOuld you consider driving to France, or does it have to be a flight? Not sure what your budget is, but eurotunnel and An overnight stop en route can make it a lot cheaper than flying somewhere and then hiring a car.

I can really recommend this place in the Dordogne (a MN recommendation to me, we have been twice now).

Www.lebanquet.com

quiet but with loads to do in the area. Lovely weather usually. Great to have English hosts on site (they are not at all intrusive). Gorgeous gardens, games room fab. We’re not going this year and I’m worried my young teens will be bored in the standard villa we’ve booked in Spain.

Try Malama Beach Hotel in Cyprus. Lovely food and they have two bed apartments. You can go AI down to B and B but they have kitchens in the rooms.

Or Sun Parcs (part of Centre Parcs) in Belgium is great but a bit more basic.

Where can you fly from?
Short flight and easy to get round - Majorca and Portugal around Sintra. Just look for your accommodation first. I've had most success with Holiday Lettings and Trip Advisor.

Agree that it easier if you can drive - your son might prefer that?

Booking separately gives your more options about accommodation that I've never found from a package. I'd love to use a package if it could give me what I wanted. (Someone will challenge me now, I know ).

Something like this? www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/maria-de-la-salut/9074308

Looks like it's in a village.

Loads of cheap flights to Palma from every airport. And it's easy to get round if you hire a car.

@scopello how did you book the Sardinia resort please? And which hotel did you stay in? I'm finding their website hard work

Also work in travel and completely disagree with rain, booking separately is all good until Monarch go busy or Ryanair cancel loads of flights..... Go on Jet 2 you can filter AI and accommodation type. Would be worth looking at Eden Resort Algarve for example where you can have a villa but still do AI, or Pierre et Vacances in Fuerteventura.

swedish an Independence travel agent would be able to get you what you want and ATOL protect it, you won’t get it from the high street chains. There are a lot of tour operators who can book whatever us available through places like booking.com and plenty of Villa companies who only deal with trade.

What about Spain flights are cheap, book an Airbnb as an example flights to Alicante can be as low as £100 each and accommodation £300-500 pounds. Have a look at El Campello, especially almadraba apartments.

@EnglishGirlApproximately what do you think to the OPs bedroom requirements? I’m seeking similar - we have 3 x DCs and would like to go AI with no one sleeping in the lounge/on a sofa, and I really don’t know if it’s possible!

The Thomas Cook website lets you search for your individual holiday requirements. You simply tick the relevant boxes, ie which airport you want to fly from, destination, all-inclusive, self-catering or half-board and also the type of accommodation - family room, 1 bed villa, 2 bed villa etc. We've used them several times and have always been very satisfied with them.

MrsMama have you been able to get a two bedroom family room previously? The TC/Tui etc don’t really provide a filter for actual beds (they return lots of results where sofa=bed) I tried search for two rooms, but they returned separate rooms.