Foreign holiday with two little ones

[Spainintherain]

Can anyone advise anywhere that would be good to go abroad with a 4yo and 2yo this summer? We want as easy a time as possible with children this age. But we just really want to go abroad-sun and sea! Thank you.

Is post-holiday quarantine a concern for you?

Yes.

Greece - probably quarantine free (although there are no guarantees anywhere) and Greeks generally love children. There are a lot of nice "small and friendly" hotels or self-catering type places that are usually very reasonable prices. Even these days, if you can be flexible there are decent prices to be had.

When my dc were very small, we liked to go to Portugal because there’s no time difference so we didn’t have to adjust naps etc... Praia do Ancao is a great family beach. It has lifeguards, plenty of space, umbrellas and sunbeds to rent, watersports and lots of choice for snacks and beach bars. The dunes behind it are protected, which had stopped too much hotel build up. The main reason we like it is because it’s really close to Faro so super short transfers.

Gibraltar

That restricts your options a lot.

Malta maybe then? Very hot, and the Mellieha Bay area has nice sandy beaches.

We took our two who were same age as yours to Majorca and stayed in Cala d’Or ..just a lovely resort with enough going on to feel on holiday but not too busy or tacky. We went back every year with their younger brother until they were at secondary school.

@osbertthesyrianhamster

Gibraltar

Gibraltar? Really? There's not really anything there, is there? Is it not just a rock with some monkeys?

France maybe? We load up the car and drive. Static van on a campsite. When ours were small we’d take our own paddling pool too. However, the drive maybe too long for you. When ours were that age we went to the Loire a few times.

Martinhal in the algarve. Absolutely amazing for little ones.

Obviously everything's up in the air with covid at the minute but in normal times Lanzarote is lovely for young families. Year round sun, very safe and clean, good value, spectacular scenery, lots of snorkeling/surfing/yoga/whatever for the grownups. All the buildings are low rise so it still looks pretty even in resorts. Very easy to get around and a nice wee vibe.

Personally I'd find places like Greece or Southern Spain far too hot for very little kids in high summer. We did it once when my youngest was 2 or 3 and the heat was too much for him. Northern France maybe?

Mine are a similar age and in recent years we’ve gone to Cyprus. We always chose a private villa on a resort - that way you have your own space and pool but there is stuff around like a shop, restaurants etc. This works better for us than a hotel as we can get the kids to bed in the evening and then sit outside and have a bbq and a few drinks. Also feels more COVID friendly as you don’t have to interact with anyone else if you don’t want to!

We’ve used James Villas a few times and always been happy with them.

Yeah I'd go self catering at that age too. You need to have somewhere outside of a bedroom to spend your evenings. Lanzarote has lots of nice quiet little complexes, all near the beach, with multiple pools, cafés, kept gardens and nearby shops and restaurants, where you can rent one or two bedroom apartments with balconies really very cheaply.

Another vote for Martinhal - absolutely brilliant for that age group. Has the added advantage of having villa / apartment accommodation within the hotel complex so you get the best of all worlds.

Where you mention villas as part of a hotel complex, please can you recommend any?