2 weeks abroad in Aug with small children; A&E within 1 hr drive

[ReceptionMum]

Hi, would appreciate some recommendations for a quiet-ish destination (abroad; near sea) for our long waited holidays this Aug (hopefully) with 6yo & 4 yo.

Wish list/MUSTs:

1. A&E hospital within 1 hr drive. My DS is finishing his long chemo treatment this month. He is ok, no mobility/etc issues, doesn’t need an everyday medical support but we need a proper hospital nearby just in case. We will, obviously, only go if he is OK-ed by his Doc here.
2. Flight 4 hrs max
3. Cannot book anything in advance, will be a last minute decision depending on how well/quickly DS recovers after his last treatment.
4. Don’t want an “all inclusive”. Self catering apt/small villa is what we are thinking about.
5. Somewhere with walkable restaurants/town centre, easy walks/drives nearby that children would manage.

Many thanks in advance.

Haven't read all the thread. What about Efteling theme park in Holland. I know it doesn't meet your beach requirement but it looks fabulous.
Wishing your son all the best in his recovery

I’m currently in mojacar in Costa de Almeria, it’s loveley and child friendly, google search shows there’s a hospital about 40 mins away.

Re the sunshine and chemo, I’m sure your doctor has mentioned it, skin can be very sensitive after having chemo so September might be a better time to travel.

Malta would be perfect.

Also Ostia (beach town just outside Rome). All the doctors (but not necessarily the nurses) we dealt with i the hospital there spoke English (ambulance, overnight stay and long term health diagnosis for our son requiring several visits and numerous tests)

Can I just say, if he will be neitropenic when he goes a flight is a really bad idea. The air is circulated around and germs will be passed about.

OMGKK Good point but I think it's just a matter of taking care and not being in the sun in the middle of the day, using hats etc. It's very sunny here right now... We'll be going to the beach from about 3pm/4pm after exploring the city/having a shady lunch in the morning/early afternoon.

www.nccn.org/patients/resources/life_with_cancer/managing_symptoms/summer_precautions.aspx

Corfu has a main hospital, but it will be hot in August.
And I think you'd struggle to fill your days in any beach resort if you wanted to be mainly indoors until the evening.

I'd say Balearics sound perfect for what you want and I'm sure by looking at all the Villa rental sites like AirBnB, VRBO, Homeaway, you'd be able to find a good deal as people who haven't managed to rent theirs are normally willing to compromise!

Friends went to Alicante on the advice of their nurse when their son was having treatment.

I'm guessing the OP wants sunshine?
Lovely as it is, Holland has pretty much the same climate as us. So could be blistering or could be cold and wet. We had lots of holidays in Holland when DC were little but in addition to a sunshine beach holiday.

I totally get why you want to go abroad. Hope you find something suitable and have an amazing time. Gibraltar is part of UK, I have no idea what it's like but maybe another poster might. Could make the hospital side a lot easier.

Corfu has a main hospital but it will be hot there in August.
Also I would think you'll struggle to fill your days in any beach type resort if you doubt want to spend to much time outdoors until the evening.

Another vote for Channel Islands, amazing beaches, lots to do for children and involves a flight.

AgentHannahWells Gibraltar is not part of the Uk. The Uk is England Scotland and Wales. You still need a EU health card as most patients are transferred to Spain for treatment

*and Northern Ireland. Bloody phone ate that

The French have a fantastic healthcare system. How about somewhere in the south of France, maybe near Nice or Cannes?

Irish Republic?

Nice, France! Cagnes sur Mer and surrounds have reasonable villas/apartments on airbnb - very close to beach, 10 mins from airport, 2 hr flight.... train rides to Monaco and Antibes. Heaven!

Saint Palais sur Mer on the French Atlantic coast might work - lovely sandy beach, a fair few airbnbs to pick from, and you should have Niort and Saintes within about an hour for hospitals, Poitiers, Angouleme and Bordeaux a bit further away.

Gibraltar would be a great compromise. Stay on the West Coast for the beach. English speaking. No need for car rental, walk everywhere or bus it. Short flight. Lots of tapas. Still just Spanish enough to feel foreign!

Somewhere near on French/Swiss border near Geneva....ok not a beach but some gorgeous lakes and mountains...fresh air and lovely towns as Chamomix
Weather is great in August

Channel Islands

Thank you very much for all the suggestions!

Having spoken to DH, decided to do some deeper research of villas/self catering options in Malta, south of France and Jersey.

Corfu is excluded as somebody I know had a bad experience in hosp there - most likely just unlucky one-off occasion but cannot get it out of my mind.

Tbh, we do not expect needing a hosp. We won't be going anywhere far if he is not recovered to a reasonable level, definitely not if still neutropenic. But just in case of an emergency, need to be absolutely sure about the nearest hospital.

Second the Costa del Sol, Nerja area. Also Portugal East of Faro is lovely and quiet with pretty good infrastructure.

Menorca is lovely and so chilled out and child friendly. Last time we booked through James Villas and my DN became ill. We called our rep who had an English speaking doctor with us at our villa within 15 minutes. The rep also came straight to our villa in case we needed to go to the hospital and needed a translator (thankfully we didn't need to go to hospital!) We were all amazed by their level of service and have used them since just for peace of mind. (I don't work for them I promise!!)

I hope you all have a lovely holiday together

OP - having recently finished chemo also I'm going to throw a few things into the mix. Your DS will be neutropenic for possibly a year post chemo,it is highly unlikely you will get travel insurance so close to finishing treatment,and does he have a central line still? Also not sure how long a course of chemo you have but chance are blood counts could still drop and he may need blood/platelet transfusions. Obviously you said if that was the case then you wouldn't go but just throwing a few things into the mix. I hope you have a great time wherever you choose,but perhaps save the big holiday for when counts have normalised and you won't have the "what if" worry quite so much?