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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Does anyone else find looking for a good holiday so confusing and go round and round in circles?

51 replies

Dartj · 29/10/2022 19:15

i seem to spend hours and hours on the internet looking at options and not being sure what to do. I am so jealous of people who just jet off on a holiday to Greece/ Spain etc or other exotic places. I can’t seem to make any decision. The choice is so vast. My parents never took us on package holidays and they are a mystery to me. So far with kids we have just done cottage holidays in the uk next to a nice beach for sandcastles. The options abroad seem so varied and the reviews are always so mixed it’s different to know what’s right. The one time I went to Cyprus with dh and it was awful, we chose a hotel in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do! I don’t want to make that mistake again.

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A580Hojas · 30/10/2022 18:13

Yes, it is my number one most hated "life admin" job. I put it off and put it off and then DH books something last minute that we pay over the odds for.

Dartj · 30/10/2022 19:03

A580hojas well it is nice to know I am not the only one. It’s such a difficult thing. Dh doesn’t seem to want to get involved in choosing but doesn’t really like what I suggest. And I feel like this time I really must chose something good for the kids. But if feels like the stakes are high when I am spending eg £3000

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SimonaRazowska · 30/10/2022 20:33

It all depends on your budget

we blew the budget on a Neilson holiday once in Greece and the boys loved it, DH and I too, as we all loved the activities and location

but that was a one-off as ££££

we usually organise our own hols, and Norway was a favourite, hiking, swimming in lakes, boat trips through fjords

not been able to afford a holiday for last 4 yrs though 🥲

Mosik · 30/10/2022 21:28

Dartj · 30/10/2022 17:51

I worry Tenerife is too hot in summer. Is it better in October?

That's the beauty of the Canaries, they never get as unbearably hot as Greece or Cyprus in summer. They are warm all year round though I wouldn't expect to use the water park in mid winter. October is a great time to go.

Dartj · 30/10/2022 22:17

Oh I just assumed the further south you go the hotter it gets

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JaninaDuszejko · 31/10/2022 07:36

Islands in oceans have mild weather, they don't get as hot or as cold as continental areas at the same latitude. That's true for the Canaries where it's always warm (but not as hot as the Sahara) or Shetland where it's always cool (but never gets the deep freeze you'd get in Canada or Russia).

Dartj · 31/10/2022 07:43

Ah, that makes sense, thanks

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EnglishRose1320 · 31/10/2022 07:58

So we've just done exactly what you are planning, first family holiday abroad, both boys already teens and we went with Bella Italia at Lake Garda.
It was an amazing holiday, just the right mix of adventure, relaxing and culture. Didn't need a car, used a mix of public transport and bike hire.
The site had a nice mix of things that the boys enjoyed for their age, table tennis/archery/swimmingpool (although because it was the last week of the season, the pool was only open for the first few days).
We took a bus to the other end of the lake, then took the cable car up Monte Baldo. We cycled to two local towns and explored them. Also got the train in to Verona and a ferry ride as well. Loads of places to eat.
Only thing I would say is if you want to hire things for water sports, like paddle boarding/kayaks etc... or go to the water park/theme parks would would need to go earlier in the season than we did.
We didn't mind not being able to because there was so much else to do.

Dartj · 31/10/2022 08:11

Ah that sounds perfect. What time of year did you go ? I do worry it could be too hot when we plan to in July. But I think that is true of most places in southern eurpope

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BarbaraofSeville · 31/10/2022 08:50

If you want to fly from Edinburgh, you could do a lot worse than look at Jet2holidays.

Package holidays are just a way of booking accommodation, flights and transfers all in one go and aren't limited to beach/pool holidays in AI resorts miles from anywhere. They could look exactly the same as something you book yourself but you have more help/protection if things go wrong. They can be cheaper or more expensive than booking separately, I've seen it go either way.

On the Jet2 website, you can enter your dates, party size, locations you are interested in and then filter by board type, Trip Advisor rating etc and sort by price.

I like B&B but with at least a fridge and ideally a kitchenette in the room then you can mix and match with eating out for lunch or dinner and keep drinks, snacks, ice creams etc plus bread, cheese, olives etc from the supermarket in the room. I don't like AI unless it's a la carte and that is very expensive. A decent sized balcony or terrace is also a must as we always sit outside any time we are in the accommodation. We generally never use the inside living area except for sleeping, washing and food preparation.

Then use Google maps to check the location - we always want to be in walking distance from the beach, restaurants and at least a decent sized convenience store.

Anywhere like the Canaries, Greek Islands, Cyprus, Malta, Spanish Costas, Balearics, Croatia is likely to have watersports available locally (scuba diving, paddle boarding, coasteering etc) plus maybe museums, hiking, mountain biking, ancient ruins, castles, waterparks, Lanzarote has a volcano park, on Tenerife you can take the cable car to the top of Mount Teide (be prepared, it is bloody freezing, even on hot days).

Plus you mention Valencia, many Spanish Costas are close to cities where you can also have the city break experience (Barcelona, Alicante, Malaga, Palma).

Dartj · 31/10/2022 08:59

Yes I am liking the jet2 and easyJet holiday websites as they have lots of options. Even feeling a little excited now as think we have narrowed it down a bit

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rookiemere · 31/10/2022 09:14

@Dartj I'd highly recommend Jet2 holidays.

We never book a package but because in October we took a friend of DSs and I wanted to keep it straight forward we used them.

Communication was great and we could pay in monthly instalments, also price wise it was about the same as booking independently with no luggage and using Ryanair for the flights.

In terms of temperature, as a family we tend to avoid going abroad in the summer holidays as we don't cope well with 30 degrees plus temperatures. The last couple of years seem to have been ridiculously hot, but I don't know if that will continue. Having said that the Canaries in summer might not be quite as bad for the reasons others have mentioned. I find the October temperatures perfect, but it is pricey - probably more so than Summer - to go then.

Givenhud · 31/10/2022 09:29

We have boys who are 7 and 14 so a wide age range to cater for. Apart from a couple of years during covid we've been away many times with them.

We've realised that a hotel where we are sitting around a pool with music blasting and a load of strangers is our idea of hell and also that we'd rather not subsidise heavy drinkers by going all inclusive (food is rarely good unless paying big money).

So we go to tiny hotels with just a few rooms and private pools where they actually care about the guests or book villas or two bed serviced apartments with our own kitchen.

This year we went to a villa in Portugal with a shared pool but it was only shared between 4 villas so no one else ever used it.

Next year we have a private pool two bed apartment in Halkidiki in a quiet area where we'll hire a car. We also have two weeks in Thailand booked staying in a two bed serviced apartment and then a three bed villa with a live in cook.

Can't wait!

Frazzled2207 · 31/10/2022 09:34

No advice but I’m just like you. Spend make time agonising over where to go than I spend actually there (not joking). I envy people who just book then go and enjoy. I think I’m very picky which is the main problem.

Dartj · 31/10/2022 11:12

Yes I worry so much about getting it wrong. If we went to lake Garda in October would we find everything closed down after summer? I think the pools are generally not heated so would be cold? And the water park there would be too chilly. I guess September would be ideal but kids are back to school then

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rookiemere · 31/10/2022 11:55

@Dartj I've not been to Lake Garda in October, but I do think the weather could be a bit hit or miss.

October temperatures in most of Europe this year have been much higher than normal - ridiculously the ski resort I'm going to in December is still showing daily temperatures in the high teens - but who knows if this is an ongoing trend or not.

For reliable October sun I'd be looking at Canaries or Cyprus. It's possible other places will still be ok like Majorca, Portugal or Italy but not guaranteed.

WhatWouldTheDoctorDo · 31/10/2022 12:06

If you go in early July look at Newcastle as an alternative to Edinburgh to beat the Scottish school holiday prices.

Crete? Lots of hotels have their own water slides etc. and there are proper water parks you can visit. On the coast you'll find activities like diving, kayaking etc.

It is hot in the summer - we tend to get up and do activities in the morning, then find shade for the afternoon - long lunch, lounging by the pool, play cards in poolside bar, afternoon nap!

HotSauceCommittee · 31/10/2022 12:08

Lassi/Argostoli in Kefalonia.
Beach, tavernas, town square, shops, bars.
You can also get round the island well by boat and car.

kateandme · 31/10/2022 12:16

Our best with that age was going through France in campsites with great pools,restaurant lakes and activities. Stopped at about 3.Brilliant atmosphere.kids just hired bikes round the site all day sometimes.kayaking down the Loire was amazing. Then we headed through to Switzerland where we stayed at a place called manor farm.we did all the mountains and had our own lake. Again the atmosphere was wonderful. Then made our way back stopping again at campsites along the way.
30 years later it’s still the kids and cousins most talked about and best holiday.

Dartj · 31/10/2022 14:38

Manor farm looks really good

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kateandme · 01/11/2022 11:07

Dartj · 31/10/2022 14:38

Manor farm looks really good

It was incredible. Right where you need to be to do all the surrounding mountains. We did so many.little trains up the hillside to the snow capped mountains.wolf slegih rides.went up the James Bond mountain.into pretty Swiss villages. There are two parts to the camp.we stayed on the side of the lake.it had boats you could rent.and we swam everyday. Wonderful restaurant.it wasn’t the busiest or touristy or activity packed camp but it was just right for us. We are a family who likes to do the outside stuff but also then come back and just be.read.play monopoly.sit watching the stars at night.yapping to others on site. Days by the lake.

EnglishRose1320 · 01/11/2022 11:17

We went to Lake Garda last week, so the October half term. Had planned for average temps of 16-19 with a mix of rain and sunshine and got lucky with temps of 23-25 and only rain overnight.
However the water parks are closed and the lake has less boat hire etc.... so if those are top of your list I'd go earlier in the year.
Can you go near the beginning of the summer season? I'd think that would be less busy and hot than the main season but most things should be open.

gogohmm · 01/11/2022 11:25

I did an ai last year for the first time in over 20 years and I'm sold, so easy compared to booking everything separately. The up front fee is obviously more but that's 3 meals a day and drinks for you all - soft drinks add up too! Ours included self serve ice cream, lots of different sports and organised competitions etc for the teen age group (don't call it kids club!) they also arranged outings for teens at extra cost including surfing lessons and mountain biking (adults too) bus stopped outside to take trips to the local town but to be honest we mostly chilled out and took up darts Grin

Holidayexpert · 01/11/2022 11:59

I’d do the Canaries, probably Tenerife. Lots of things to do, and you can mix it up, with beach/pool days, do a jet safari, a boat trip, The water park at Siam Park is excellent fir kids.

Been in October before with kids and the weather was great.
We are going on Thursday, for a week, but sans kids to an AI adult only hotel.

Dartj · 01/11/2022 12:58

Gogohmm can I ask where you went?

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