Just don’t know what to look for...family holiday with 3 kids...help me!

[OkOkWhatsNext]

I’m looking at holidays for summer 2020. The kids will be 9,7 and 4. I think I’d like a villa with a pool, and maybe table tennis and pool to keep the boys happy. Within walking distance of a beach with not exactly water sports but a pedalo with a slide has gone down well in the past. A few decent places to eat, although have at least one fussy child who lived off chicken nuggets the whole time we were in Italy on our last holiday. On that previous (caravan park) holiday they loved in the pools with slides, but I wasn’t too taken with the crowds and not bothered about kids clubs or entertainment which is why I was leaning towards a villa. Somewhere we could have a wander round shops, maybe an aqua park for a day trip. So been looking at Balearics, but in school hols it’s looking like £7k for the five of us...That seems like holiday of a lifetime type money, and the places i’m looking at don’t seem like holiday of a lifetime type places! We’ve had holidays in France before where it rained constantly - not fun in a caravan - so want to avoid that. But am I being unrealistic hoping for a holiday in Majorca for under 5 grand?? I can spend hours searching, changing my mind and getting nowhere as I don’t want to spend thousands on a holiday to have bored kids or disappointed parents! I don’t know what to look for any more!

Can I follow this thread as like you we have 3 kids and all the deals seem geared towards 2 kids families.
We are thinking a villa on a Greek island. I don’t like the scrambling for a sunbed on holiday and with 3 kids (age 8-12) I want to be able to see all of them in the pool. I think a villa with a private pool or only shared between a couple would be ideal. We aren’t evening entertainment/disco people really so don’t need that every night and when we last went somewhere with a kids club none of the kids wanted
To go to it.
Have a look on homeaway and clickstay as they have some nice places.

Well obviously 5 of you in peak season won’t be cheap and £7000 isn’t holiday of a lifetime money for 5 of you. I think I would reconsider France. Places like Trinity Sur Mer in Britanny would be good. The French beaches often have play areas and I would look for apartment complexes or a caravan. There would be enough to do and it won’t rain all the time! If you don’t mind driving, go further south. I’m not sure your budget will stretch to a private villa with a pool to yourselves in high season for 2 weeks.

www.spain-holiday.com/

Tbh with 3 young DC 7 nights is enough, there are plenty family friendly hotels, France caravan holidays are great too with loads for kids. £7k for a family holiday is ridiculous.

Thanks everyone for the comments. Someone said to me today, that’s just how much things cost...! But I can’t justify spending a thousand pounds a day for a week long holiday. I will look again..!

Is it really £7 even if you book the villa and flight separately? That does sound like an awful lot of money. I've gone Easyjet/Flybe and booked through Owners Direct and it's much less than through a travel agent. Haven't been to Majorca though.

£7k I mean (£7 would be nice though).

Okok, what you have described sounds like our holiday to Lake Garda, except it's a lake instead of the sea. We absolutely love it there. If you book it all yourself it will probably cost you £2k instead of £7k.

We stay in peschiera at the bottom of the lake.

It doesn't have to cost £7k. We have been to USA for less. We are off to Thailand and it's £5k for 5 of us for 18 nights. Staying in lovely places. You just have to book it all yourself which takes a lot of time and research but worth it!

A villa and separate flights will work out cheaper than that

Every year we go away for a week in August and it's never anywhere close to £7k. We book cheap flights (Easyjet, Jet2, etc), and we rent an apartment through AirBnB, HomeAway or Booking.com or something. We only have 2 kids, but we often book a place with 3 bedrooms so they don't have to share and I'd say the basic cost of our holiday, for flights and accommodation is around £2k, although we don't book villas with pools - that will probably cost you more - although unless you're booking a 5* place right on the beach I don't think it would be £7k.

If you start looking now then you can be ready to book the flights when they come out (keep an eye on this page of the Easyjet website: [[https://www.easyjet.com/en/schedule-release])

www.easyjet.com/en/schedule-release

For instance, here is a villa with a pool and 4 bedrooms in Carvoeiro, Portugal. For 7 nights next August you could book it for just under £3k (and each of your DC could have their own bedroom!) www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/15244221?location=Carvoeiro%2C%20Portugal&adults=2&children=3&check_in=2020-08-08&check_out=2020-08-15&home_collection=1&source_impression_id=p3_1562141882_byQYaRoCddJQ7kXQ&s=XuSBvi1F

Second lake Garda. We stayed in peschiera, in a mobile home type place but I’m sure there are villas as well. Flights to Verona are fairly cheap, we paid c.£500 for four of us in August at convenient times. Lake has pedaloes and is great for inflatables. Easy day trips by boat around the lake and there is an aqua park and theme park nearby (we didn’t do the parks).

Look at the last week of August for villas (cheapest week of holidays). HomeAway has around 20 with pools and that fit 5 or more people for £804- £2k for the week which leaves 3k for flights. Check on release but you should be able to get return for £3-400pp easily (have seen £250)

On sites like home away and air bnb you can sometimes negotiate a discount, especially if you are taking a place for two weeks. Just send a polite message to the owner. We got 10% off a lovely villa in Majorca for two weeks last May.

www.campingstarragona.es/en/campings/Tarragona/Torre-de-la-Mora/121/

Lovely lovely quiet campsite here, grestbungslows. Safe sea, small bay, sand slopes gently into th sea, you can walk for give minutes with sea only up to your knees! I hour ish by train to Barcelona if you want a day trip for culture, or a 15 minute bus ride into Roman Tarragona with amphitheatre, shops, nice squares etc.

Jet2/ryanscare into BCN Reus airport.

Jet2
Pineda Park apartments
Big self catering apartments, sleep 5,,2 separate bathrooms, kitchen, plenty balcony space and living room, got everything you listed.

Pineda's nice, quieter than its neighbours, also a nice beach can rent bikes and bike everywhere, too. Has a waterpark.

Also bus to Barcelona runs regularly, take the kids to see the nou camp and the shops there.
Pineda is great, Salou a bus ride away with much more going on.
Pineda Park is spotless. Table tennis by the pool, a games room, lively airy bar and restaurant, very relaxed. 5 mins walk to beach. Great place.

No idea of current costs but Neilsons was brilliant when they were younger.
Our rooms were like a bungalow but we barely used them.
Buffets meals with huge choices and freshly cooked options.
Plenty of activities and children’s clubs but not constant hi de hi type entertainment. A spa!
A couple of meals out a week so not too claustrophobic.
Expensive bar bill though, as I recall.

Buy wristbands for the waterpark at the hotel get a free visit. Waterpark 15 mins walk away, Aquapolis. Fab for the kids. Salou, 15 mins on bus, has massive theme park and waterpark, can't remember the name, world famous.

Linking isn't working on my phone for some reason. But if you looked at a hotel package deal you'd get a much better deal. Filter to 4 star and above and 4 or more on trip advisor. We've been to the top one and it's cheap and cheerful rather than luxury but your budget could stretch to some of the other options.

Pineda Park is self catering, keep costs down.