OH FGS...please can someone convince my miserable dh that going abroad with children is not akin to having your fingernails pulled out <angry>

[DANCESwithaMuffinTop]

Last summer we went to Devon for a week with dc (they will be 3 1/2 and 5 yrs this summer). It p*ssed down all week and although it was nice to be away as a family we couldn't enjoy the beach at the hotel we were staying at or the outdoor pool, had to wear fleeces and rainwear everywhere we went - blardy crappy british weather.
So (unsurprisingly) I want to go abroad this year with dc. Dh is being a complete pain about it. He's worried they are too young and what we will do while we are there.
Basically I want to be able to go to the beach, eat out, go swimming and do the odd trip to visit things (don't care what, water park etc or cultural things). SOOoo please could you recommend holiday destinations...the more specific the better...hotels etc. Also, do you use 'kid's club' type things while you are away - dh very concerned that we get a break too. Anyway if anyone can help I'd be really grateful. THANKS.

I never got on with the SuperFamily stuff either. A bit too much for me. We did a couple of packages and then started booking ourselves flights/apartments/ car hire. With 3 children it's always cheaper to do it that way as you don't have to pay rip off under occupancy charges.

Dances - children that age will love a beach holiday - between the pool and the beach they really won't be bored. One of my fave places with younger children is Puerto Pollensa in Majorca, lovely beach, very safe, easy to drive to from the airport. Also Menorca has good beaches although it's a long time since we went there.

I reckon that the way to have a peaceful, relaxing, cheap and yet enjoyable holiday with little kids is to do a house swap.

We did one with Countess Dracula (London to Wales and vice versa) this half term and it was brilliant. I am now plannig to do it further afield. The Observer recommend this site which has some brillaint places on it.

you can swap my crappy 2 up 2 down in Bath with what ever you've got if you like

SheikhYer (I'm a Frank fan too btw!) have a look at the site.There's all sorts on there and loads of people wanting to come t obath!

Moondog, I had no idea that you are a Frank fan. Wow...

I have been here 3years and not known that. I don;t meet many FZ tbh, especially girl ones

(Tis IntergalacticWalrus, btw)

Saggar..We're going to Puerto Pollensa in May. Glad to hear you and the lo enjoyed it

Gah,bloody nmae changes!

City of tiny lights
Dontcha wanna go??

Baby snakes
Late at night when they come out...

My car is fast
My teeth are shiny

The plumber he said
never flush a tampooooon

He was fucking bonker eh?
I have his autobiography upstairs where he goes into the whole 'did he eat shit on stage' stuff. (He says no although he claims he came pretty damned near,the time he had breakfast at a Holiday Inn in Little Rock in 1975 or summat.)

We did a round the world trip for six months last year. DS1 aged 4 and DS2 aged 21 months when we left.

It was great.

Tell your OH to stop being such a wuss!

Is that the Real Frank Zappa book?

I read that years ago. I might have to dig it out again

I loved hims so much, I even wrote my dissertation on his music fro my degree, and I still loved him afterwards

That sounded so terrible, it was meant in a jokey way.

I meant to say that travelling with kids can be fabulous. Kids add a whole new perspective to travelling - especially abroad.

Let your DH read this thread, it may sway him.

Good luck

Oh really??
How did that go down then?
What aspect did yuo focus on?
He was a very disciplined musician so they reckon.

It was entitled "does Humour Belong In Music" (see what I did there)

I wrote most of it while out of my box on skunk

Them was the days

Fabtastic

My Dad saw him pwerform in Birmingham in the 70s. Said twas amazing - me and Dad are big fans, and bore all the fmaily about it

(sorry - will stop hijack now)

...

Yes Sheikh,tis the real FZ book.

hate to say it but I'm on your DH's side.

We wentto majorca when we only had ds1+2 and from the moment we got to gatwick to the moment we got home it was HELL.

Ok Yours are a bit older then my 2 were atthe the time but I can honestly say I would never to go aboard with young children again (I'm to scared to fly now anyway but even if I wasn't I still wouldn't go abroad...and we're completely outnumbered by the children now so there really is NO
WAY)

I'm not sure why but holidays in the UK are just so much easier.

Go to somewhere like Sunsdail where they can look after the children for you 9 - 4.30 - that might just clinch it for him. 7 child free hours a day to sail, swim, windsurf, eat or even have 4 hour sex sessions with you in the day. Whom could resist compared to a wet week in Devon with the children whining around you 24/7?

bloody hell, give me rainy devon any day over 4 hours of sex.

doesn't it get boring after that long

my dh is against daycare on holiday - he wants to spend time with the kids because he feels that he doesn't see enough of them when he's working

We went to a campsite near Perpignan France when dd was 8 months old. We booked and stayed in a mobile home which we did through Eurocamp. got cheap flights to perpignan and hired a car, all sorted out on-line.

It was busy but fantastic, dd coped really well with the flights (only 2 hours) and the weather and scenery were spectacular. We're going to the Loire Valley this year to a Eurocamp site but I'm booking directly with the site rather than thru Eurocamp because it's half the price!

We enjoyed the freedopm of being on a campsite but also having a really well equipped mobile home with a travel cot and high chair included. In the evening we were able to sit on the deck drink red wine and chill and we got a lovely reception everywhere from the French people as they're just generally loads more accepting and inclusive of children than in this country.

I had this discussion with my dh beforehand but now he's a true convert!