Going round in circles - any travel gurus about?

[HolidayHelpPlease19]

After a fairly tough year with potential redundancy on the cards we have left booking a summer holiday until too late and are struggling.

Travel agents are not really helping as they are mostly listing hotels and we’d like a villa and I wondered if anyone has any recommendations of places to look.

Things we are getting stuck with:

Dates: we can only do the last couple of weeks in August because of the new job/school.

Heat: James Villas etc seem to have lots left for Crete but we’re all blond or red headed so I’m worried about the heat in August. 29 is too hot really.

Activities: my step daughter and my son don’t always get on that well if they are couped up together so we could do with somewhere with lots of things to do/pools/slides so we can keep everyone busy.

Ideally we’d find a villa resort near a village or town in Portugal/France/Northern Spain but I’m drawing a blank!

Can anyone suggest somewhere they’ve been or know of? My poor DH could do with a proper break and I’d like to just have some nice family time with the kids for a week or 10 days!

Thanks

Have a look at Pierre eat Vacances Pont Royal en Provence
If you don’t have any luck there, try their properties at Port-Bourgenay and maybe even Le Rouret (which is a little outdated, but still lovely) or Belle Dune.

I would start with TripAdvisor: I post there regularly and also go there for information. Join the forum there, however take both forums and reviews with a pinch of salt.

I stayed in Crete in a beautiful location some 10min from airport and took the big bus to Heraklion where I visited all the museums and then a local town bus to the Minoan ruins. However I never travel in the summer months due to the high prices and how busy it can become, but in US as is so big.

Expect higher prices wherever you go in Europe in summer time so purchase well in advance.

Was also going to suggest Pierre et Vacances, or perhaps some of the big campsites in France/Spain? Friends often use Yelloh.

We had friends stay in an amazing campsite on the coast near Beziers last summer, it sounded amazing, possibly Camping and Spa Le Soleil or similar?

Have a look at the European Center Parcs. France or the Netherlands. Schools go back mid August there so end of August is a bit more out of season.
Alternatively, if you’d consider a large holiday park look at Duinrell in the Netherlands. They have holiday homes and there are loads of activities on site and nearby including a massive water park.

You could try Novosol - we have booked one for this summer in Norway so not been yet but looks fine.

Thank you so much everyone, that’s really kind! I’m going to spend this evening investigating the options you’ve suggested as there are several I hadn’t thought of or heard of!