Holiday for next year - sunshine and snorkelling

[TooDamnSarky]

Help me choose a destination...
Budget = £4K (pretty flexible) for 2 adults and two DC (age 12 and 14).
DC2 will be happy anywhere warm with a pool. DC1 (and I) want a bit more to explore. Easily accessible snorkelling and some interesting wildlife would be fab.

Makadi bay in Egypt or somewhere in Malta/Gozo would get my vote for snorkelling and sun.

£4k won't take you far on longhaul unless you manage to get kids places. Maybe try Mexico. Diving and snorkelling there is good. Still quite cheap.

Thanks. Should have said budget is for flights and apartment/hotel only.
We did Malaysia last year for that but happy to up the budget if need be.

Malta sounds great!

What board basis?

I’m one adult and two under tens and researched for hours! £3.6k for 7 nights AI in DR.
If you are looking for AI then you will not get for 5 star for £4K but should do lesser star (but then do you want to go AI at lesser star??)

Prefer self catering apartment. Or hotel with breakfast only.
We like the freedom to explore local food options.

Try apartments or 3 star hotels in Thailand for that budget. Eating out is dirt cheap.

We had a great holiday this summer in Gozo - stayed in marsalforn, which is a lovely bay with lots of great restaurants and excellent snorkelling. We stayed at the hillock residences (on booking.com) which are v new self catered apartments with communal pool. Hire a car and spend days visiting all the different coves and beaches. There’s nice boat trips you can do too. We flew with Ryanair in July (school holidays) and the whole lot for 2 adults and 3 kids was under £2k. We also dive and it’s a great place to learn if any of you fancied it?

That sounds amazing!

www.booking.com/hotel/mt/hillock-residences.en-gb.html?aid=304142;label=gen173nr-1FCAEoggJCAlhYSDNYBGhQiAECmAEuuAEHyAEN2AEB6AEB-AELkgIBeagCAw;sid=c2d83baf321348ac8327073d9ab9c1e2;checkin=2019-07-07;checkout=2019-07-14;dist=0;group_adults=2;sb_price_type=total;sohad=1;type=total&

We had a 3 bed apartment and was great - we didn’t cook other than for the toddler but nice to have fridge and washing machine etc - came home with clean clothes!! We go to Gozo a lot and always have a great time. We took two 16 year olds with us this time (DSD and friend) and they had a great time too. Toddler didn’t care as long as there was water and his diggers!

What is the travel like? I assume you have to fly into Malta and then get a ferry?
I have a child who can get seasick in the bath :)

We flew Bristol to Malta, then it’s a 40 minute (easy, they drive on the left too) drive to the ferry, which is every 45 minutes (no need to book). Ferry takes 20 minutes tops and has always been flat calm when we’ve been. Then it’s about 10-20 minutes to anywhere on Gozo!

With kids, I wouldn't go further than Greece.
Spend the money on brilliant water activities and forget wasting time and carbon resources on flying to far flung places.

Thanks. This is really helpful. We've done longhaul the last 2 years, but somewhere on the med could suit us really well.

I agree-Malta!!

Don't forget Cyprus - larger than Malta and much, much more to do. . Trekking in the Troodos mountains, spotting Mouflon etc. Fantastic Caledonian Falls walk (unbeatable trek with kids - so much wildlife). Brilliant snorkeling and fishing boat trips. Super friendly people, child-friendly al fresco restaurants. With kids I would go to the Paphos end (West coast).

What month you thinking? Winter sun or summer hols?

August

It really depends how often you want to snorkel and what you want to be able to see. I have snorkelled off Gozo and in the Red Sea but have had to get a boat to the best sites. I have been 'ruined' by snorkelling from the beach on the house reefs off islands in the Maldives! Everything else pales in comparison. That was BC (before children) but dream of returning (without them) before I am too decrepit.

Agree Maldives is amazing but not doable on a 4K budget!! The house reef in makadi bay is pretty good - regularly see turtles, rays etc but not the regular shark sightings you get in Maldives! Gozo is by far the beat snorkelling in the med.

Welsh - I love Gozo. We went a couple of months before the Azure Window collapsed but I understand this is now a popular dive site. I believe Gozo has been used for sets in Pirates of the Caribbean and Game of Thrones. Wonderful island and they have 5G, drive on the left and have Aldi supermarkets. What's not to like? My boys are at internet school so I would happily move there but DH would moan about the commute.

We are going to Malta in late July/early Aug. 3 of us, for one week for about £2.5k. What swung it was reading about being able to snorkel off the bays in some places as well as some of the organised trips to go on.

I have friends with kids who have been to both Cyprus and Malta, and Cyprus wins hands down.

Of course, if you can afford it, there's nothing to beat Greece.

Anywhere particular in Greece?
And why Cyprus over Malta?

Cyprus is larger than Malta but similarly located in the middle of the Med. Being larger, Cyprus has more going for it, as I have described earlier above. For example, it has a central mountainous range (not found on Malta), the Troodos, which is great for mountain biking, trekking, wildlife etc and even skiing and snowboarding in winter. The sea is the same sea hence snorkeling sites are similar in the two islands.

Cyprus has also been rated more child friendly by people that I know who have been to both (not by me).

Warner holidays have great spots around the Peloponnese in Greece if you want mostly water sports.

But, I am biased as I never understand why people want to travel far afield when we have so much going on generally in Europe (and yes, Malta has its strong-points too, I believe).

Enjoy choosing. Have fun.