Tips for our first Neilson family holiday please

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We are heading off to Alana Resort in Croatia for our first Neilson holiday. Please give me all your best tips - what to take/do /avoid etc

Are people very dressed up in the evenings or is it shorts and a clean t shirt?

Will I get fed up with the AI food?

What activities shouldn’t I miss ?

Do I need mosquito repellant ?

Will I never see my kids ?

It’s me, DP and the kids aged 12 and 14 BTW and we’ve never been on anything like this before. I’m trying to pack lite so don’t want to take stuff I won’t use .

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Haven't been to Croatia with Neilson, but did go to Granada and Egypt, with older teenagers. We all had a fantastic time. At 12 and 14 the kids will be able to join you in activities or their peers. We found ours spent the evenings hanging out with the other kids and had a great time.
They went biking first thing in the morning (with a guide) and again in the evening. They learnt to sail and got RYA qualifications. Ds2 at 13 got his Padi diving qualification in the first year in Granada, did a bit when we got back to the UK and the second year with Neilson reached advanced diver, wreck diver, and night diver.
The evenings are relaxed and the staff are amazing.
Have a wonderful time!

Just to add the diving was not part of Neilson just a PADI school at the resort, but Neilson staff kept up with what he was doing and presented his diving certificates at the end of the trip together with the RYA qualifications.
You can see as much or as little of your kids as you and they want, check out their forums to ask if similar aged kids are booked for the same week as you.

Thank you very much @superbstarling. Well impressed at your 13 year old doing night diving!

We are hoping that our teens will do as many activities as possible otherwise they hang around us, get bored and moan at us.

Well it was the second year that he got the specialist dives done so 14, but he did go diving in the uk a few times in between. I also think he's part fish, he went on to join the Navy!
But seriously they are great holidays for kids to have some fun without parents but still very safely.

You will have a great time and yes you probably won't see much of DC.
We literally had to schedule time with ours for lunch or dinner on order to catch up with what they were doing.
Quite causal dress wise as people mostly in swim/sports gear during day. Sometimes, it can make you feel like you need to do something 24/7 especially whist lying by pool as people back and for from different activities.

Evening dress as you wish, but would say it's quite causal.
We had 2 holidays with Neilson in Turkey, both fab but sadly those resorts have been cancelled now.

Oh that’s sounds perfect expat.

Shame about the Turkish resorts , so many have closed because of the security situation .

We have never been to Croatia but we’ve hired a car for a few days and hope to see the national park and other areas nearby.

Can anyone tell me how it works with the meals, with different meals included on different days of the week ?

It's pretty much half board from what I remember, paying for lunch.
and you have to eat out one night a week.

Thanks

You get all breakfasts and lunches and 4 evenings meals over the week. There are options to stay in resort or go out on the non inclusive nights, I have no idea about Croatia but the other resorts often have lovely towns locally where it's worth a visit for food. Water is included at meals but only then so we used to drink as much as possible then.

Don't expect to see your teens at all, I'm an ex neilson teen and I never saw my parents the whole week. The teen reps are fab at getting them motivated to do things.

Meals, you can dress up if you like or you can go as scruffy as you like and no one will bat an eyelid. I believe they ask you to put clothes on over swim wear but thays about it

They're fab holidays, you will spot the people who have been on them before. Go to the welcome meeting it will explain a lot......and probably confuse you a bit so work out if there are any sports you fancy trying before you arrive so you can be organised