Somewhere we loved or somewhere new?

[savehannah]

We don't take a lot of holidays as a family, mostly camping in the UK/France. Kids are 12,14 and 16 and have really only ever had two big foreign holidays, to Efteling and Centerparcs in The Netherlands, and to America. As a child/teen/student I was lucky to travel a fair bit so have seen a bit more of the world but still lots I haven't visited.

Was discussing with my eldest and she said could we go back to Efteling sometime? We loved it there and had a fantastic time at Centerparcs too so I can see why we would like to go back, especially as some aspects would be better now they are older. But on the other hand there are so many places in the world the kids haven't been.

Do you tend to go back to places you loved, or always look for a new experience?

New experiences so that my kids have travelled to many places.

We have travelled a lot and we always, always go new. Never regretted it, always new adventures to be had.

We did just once repeat a long weekend trip we had made to quite a unique location which we had all loved. We had a really good time but somehow it didn't recapture the experience.

However as it is something your DC has specifically asked for, I would consider it - could you incorporate into a trip to somewhere new?

I think developing a deep relationship with somewhere is wonderful, I like to return. I have such strong memories from childhood of returning to the same part of France each summer, the same house, the same beach - those holidays were brilliant.

Particulalrly for children there is something very special about a holiday in a place you love. 'Newness' is only valuable if for a specific reason, it is not something to chase in itself IMO.

Somewhere new, we aren’t returners. The second time is never as good IMO.

It's interesting that people have such different takes on this! I always go somewhere different, there are so many beautiful parts of the world to explore. In your position, I'd look for a similar site in a different European country.

We’ve done both over the years. We loved Portugal so went there quite a few times and it was lovely to deepen our knowledge of the place and people. The children when they were little loved the familiarity and we went back when they were teenagers and they enjoyed remembering the places they’d been. We also loved Canada and plan to revisit.

When going abroad we go to new places everytime- we returned to a country/hotel once and as a PP said it wasn't as good the second time- I think we'd built it up too much!

@savehannah I've been back to resorts I've been to before for short stays but stayed in different bits of town etc to keep some of the new.

I've been to Efteling and absolutely loved it too. Magical. But to me a park more for younger ones, whereas your children are a bit older. Plus I do think there's something in the magical first time experience that is hard to replicate.

Have you looked theme park Europa Park in Germany? That's where we want to go next. Fantastic reviews and loads for older children.

There's also Duinrell in the Netherlands. Lovely theme park set in lovely town - we thoroughly enjoyed it. Great water park onsite too. Plus can hire go carts/ bikes for children to whizz around site. If you stayed here, you could even do a day in Efteling and enjoy the nostalgia!

Depends how long ago a holiday was.

I do prefer new locations but I also like going back to places as there is always something I missed the first time round. Or the child is now older and will do other things/see things with a different eye.

For teens I would try something new and maybe do Efteling for a short break?

Europa Park is amazing!
We always go somewhere new. I'm scared that if we go back to one of our favourite places, it might ruin the memory by not being as good

Thanks, lots of food for thought. @ovenchips I feel like when we went to Efteling (probably 5 or 6 years ago now) there were a lot of big rollercoasters they were too scared to go on which they would now go on. Maybe just a day trip there combining with a trip somewhere else in Europe would be cool... will think on.

We are returners, there are a few places that my kids always wanted to return to, often even renting the same houses. We are lucky to have a lot of holidays though so it’s a bit different as we can do some new places too.

There are a few roller coasters at Efteling, but the fairy tale vibe of the place probably wouldn't work so well with older kids, I don't think. Europa Park might be better, or what about PortAventura in Spain? That would definitely appeal to teens and is in a nice part of Spain for families. Easy to get to as Reus airport is just inland from Salou.

We do a mix of going back to old favourites and new places, but I agree that the second time is never quite as good. You build a place up in your mind, I think, and memories are always a bit rose-tinted. Having said that, it is tempting to return somewhere you loved, but I'm currently looking at options for next summer and we'll definitely be going somewhere new.

We just returned from our second Efteling trip and it was totally different but just as amazing! You’re right, all about the rollercoasters and less about the fairy tales. They’re asking to go back again!