First holiday abroad with kids

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I am looking for a great family holiday for 2022. We have 3 children who will be between 10-12 years when we go away next summer and they have never been on holiday abroad. I’m getting overwhelmed looking at all the different holiday types out there. I’m not sure whether to go for a villa type holiday and make our own decisions on what we do or to go for a resort which caters for children and families and spend 10 days relaxing. Please can you tell me what and where your favourite family holidays have been. I think we’d prefer to do activities rather than sit by a pool most of the time. All our holidays as a couple have been more activity and exploring based, rather than sunbathing/beach/pool based, but do realise this probably isn’t what the kid’s want to do!!! Any help/advice would be really appreciated.

We had a few villa holidays abroad when DC were younger.It suited us having private outdoor space where DC could run around and play without disturbing others.Having a private pool meant it was easier for us to keep an eye on them if we weren't in the pool with them.We wouldn't let them in the pool unsupervised (even if they could swim)in a big hotel complex where all the kids look similar when they have wet hair and goggles.As a lot of villas are not within walking distance of restaurants,shops,beach etc we would hire a car so we could explore the local area.We're not a family for staying by the pool or on the beach all day so we'd mix it up by perhaps visiting a local town in the morning,have lunch in a cafe then back to the villa to chill in the afternoon.We'd also research things to do like go karting,adventure parks,old castles,walks.

Neilsons beach club with kids of a similar age. It was amazing, kids club was so good we hardly saw them (had to extract the youngest so he could go to bed every night!), option of as much activity or relaxing as you want for the adults, all inclusive food was really good too.

Thank you both. The villa holiday does sound really appealing! I like the idea of being able to keep an eye on the kids easily around the pool.
@emmathedilemma which Nielsen resort did you go to? I’ll take a look as I think ultimately, the kids would love this experience, even if we’d prefer the villa holiday.

I came on to suggest Neilson

If I’d never been abroad before and wanted a combination of relaxing and activities with pre-teens, I’d look at a place that caters for all requirements - Orlando/Sarasota could be an option if you want combination of activity parks and then relaxation on beaches (or resorts).
You could then opt for a combo of private home/villa for the activity portion where you self-cater and then a resort style for the relaxation part.

I went to the one in Croatia, can’t remember the name but I think it’s the only one.