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've just returned from a holiday in France with a 10 months old and a 3 year old. All I can say is stay well away from Parisians. Especially those in the 45-55 age bracket. They are moody, rude and unpleasant and very anti-babies/toddler.

All the nasty comments I received - and I received many, averaging 2 per day - came from Parisians. Today when one of the witches said, "Mais non, tait-toi!" to my 10 months old, I replied "Vous etes de Paris?" and guess what? She said "Oui". Where was I in France? South-western Brittany.

The locals were super, by the way. Understanding and friendly, always with a smile and ready to help. But trust me about those Parisians - they are a nasty lot.

I went travelling around Europe for 6 months this summer with DH and DS. DS was 2yrs 8 months when we left the UK and it was surprisingly easy, provided we made pit-stops regularly. We drove everywhere and visited Greece, Bulgaria, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Poland, France, Spain... I've got to say that the Europeans (ok ok, GB is Europe but you know what I mean...) are SO much more laid back about children than the British and if we made the effort to chat to locals everybody was lovely to us. No frowns or funny looks at restaurants at night-time, because there would always be other children around too. He stayed up as late as us.
And as long as DS had a bag of toys to occupy himself with, he was happy.
I've only used a kids club once, and then I stayed present all the time as DS is wary among strangers, but it was on a complex in Croatia in September and the people who worked there were soooo friendly and lovely and the weather still warm and sunny.
Oh, happy days...no holiday this year, can't afford it!!

Congratulations OP for triumphing - I am sure your whole family will have a great time and will be converted to more adventurous holidaying!

Hi Lupo. I will ignore my initial emotional reaction to your post as it is not uncommon to find the occasional sacrifical 24/7 mum on MN. Or maybe you are just .

We didn't have the kids in kids club every day all day and every evening! But quite a bit . Every morning they both said they wanted to go, but we did pull the 4 year old out every few days to make sure he had an afternoon nap (the two year old napped there just fine) and we did dine in the evenings with them for probably 5 out of 10 nights. The kids club also organised activities that the parents were invited to like afternoon pool parties and T-Shirt tie-dying, circus training etc. Before kids club we played tennis or soccer or golf with them. The 4 year old particularly liked performing on stay in the kids how - costume choreography etc. Mind you we put them to bed before 8pm every night and then we were in for the evening, although I gave my DH a pass out a couple of times and I had a couple of evening hours for myself 1 evening, but without DH ...

I had just finished up an 8 month contract where I was working 3 days a week. My DH leaves home at 6am and doesn't get home till 7pm and I'd been trying to conceive DC3 for over a year so this holiday was exactly what the doctor ordered! Thanks for asking.