Holiday of a lifetime

[sloanedanger]

Next year we’ll have a no strings payout of about £5k and extra annual leave, so want to take DC (ages 8 and 5 then) on a special holiday. Not too long haul ideally (maximum 8 hours) and needs to be a pool/beach, ideally all inclusive holiday. I was considering the Maldives, but I’m not sure how child friendly that is, also to go luxury, all inclusive would that be an obscene amount of money? Alternatively, Mauritius?

If you live in the U.K. neither of those places are under 8 hours! What time of year are you thinking of going?

Have you checked prices? I doubt you can get Maldives for that price.

I'd do turkey AI. More likely to get 5* there with £5k

Yes I live in the UK, should’ve done my research eh!

Sorry I should’ve clarified, not looking specifically for a £5k holiday but as we have that money to go towards it, we are looking at a special holiday. We did Eurocamp this year for around £3,500 including flights.

I think you are going to have to compromise somewhere....

Maldives is 10+ hours, Mauritius 12. A luxury all inclusive for 4 of you in Maldives, even in school term time, would be nearer 7-8k than 5 I'm afraid.

When do you want to go?

We can go any time of year, preferably summer!

How about Thailand or Malaysia?

Honestly if you go in the summer I wouldn't bother going further than Europe. Flights will be much more reasonable and you can get some incredible resorts on the Greek islands or Ibiza etc.

I'm sure someone will know more but I wouldn't think the Maldives would be great for children .you will want somewhere with waterslides and activities for the children .There are lots of places like that in Europe like the Balaerics or Greece ?

What about somewhere in the Caribbean. Takes 8-10 hours depending on the island I think, plenty AI options and lots of family friendly resorts

You won't get the Maldives or Mauritius for 3 people for 5k

if you want to stay within 8hrs of UK in the summer you'll need Europe or Turkey. Middle East will be too hot.
5K for 3 people will not get you far. Certainly Maldives is a13hr flight and at least £4K a head for 2 weeks A/I. I would be surprised if you got anywhere 5star for 2 weeks for under £8K TBH

What about a Mediterranean cruise on a ship with good children’s facilities? Cheaper than many other options.

Best holiday I had with DC with similar ages was camping for 3 weeks...

It's 9 hours but what about Florida - so much to do and Universal/Disney too. Caribbean has some child friendly places (but check best time of year). Can't go wrong with Europe - some amazing hotels/villa's out there.

Off the wall but we took Ds when aged 7 to Jordan. He loved Petra (rode on a donkey as it's a big site), rode a camel in the desert, floated in the Dead Sea and we had beach time at the Red Sea. Some 5 star hotels there. He still talks about it now 10 years on.

Mexico very child friendly but you would have to go out of season September October time. 8/9 hours fight

Thanks all. I might look into the Caribbean, I have never fancied Florida and DH feels the same.

I am also open to luxury resorts in Europe, we have never taken the DC to Greece nor the Balearics. If anyone has any resorts to recommend that would be great! I have heard good things about Ikos resorts.

@Ylvamoon we have done Eurocamp in the past which are always great family holidays but this is extra money we will have as a one off and we’d like it to be special!

Our summer is not the best time to go to either Mauritius or maldives and you won’t get it anywhere close to £5k either, especially not in school holidays.
Lots to do for children in the Maldives but we took ours in April and it was over 15k.
October is good for Mauritius but again, doubt you’d get it for under 10k and it’s longer than 8 hours on the plane.

When ours were 9 and 6 we went on a safari holiday in Kenya at the end of August to see the great migration of zebra and wildebeeste - it was utterly unforgettable. I’ve no idea what that would cost now, but if it were within your budget I’d recommend it.

Greece has some amazing islands and luxury resorts op.
I'm sure with a bit of planning you will find your perfect family holiday on budget.

We didn't really fancy Florida either but gave it a whirl and it turned out to be one of our best holidays. We had a few days in Miami, drove up the coast to see the Manatees and croc safari (beaches are stunning and Ds loved finding the huge shells). Then had a week at Animal Kingdom/Universal. Dh hates all things Disney but in the end loved it.

April would be good for Mauritius, we got it for 9k for family of 4. The Maldives you won’t get 2 weeks AI for less than 15k. February half term or Easter are good times to go.

Id consider Mexico, you’ll probably get something for around £6k and it’s so child friendly. Loads of fun stuff to do, natural water parks, snorkelling with turtles, visiting the ruins, watersports etc. You can put your extra cash towards lots of activities.

I’d go for AI in St Lucia or Antigua - flight time would be approx 8 hours I think.

I agree that if you’re going in our summer don’t bother with long haul. It’s the rainier /cooler season then in lots of the obvious destinations (Mauritius, Maldives, Thailand etc). Flights would eat up a lot of £ leaving less for a nice place to stay. Personally I’d look at Greece, Balearics, South of France maybe and stay somewhere swish.

Ikos are supposed to be great. Sani resorts are also supposed to be fab and have all singing all dancing kids options. Depends if you are big resort people though.

Another option is hiring a lovely villa and getting some catering - lots of companies can organise a private chef or meals delivered. Depends whether you/your kids want to meet other people and have kids clubs etc or prefer privacy/peace.

You could do a sailing tour with a captain round the Balearics or Greek islands

You could speak to Intrepid or Explore (or lots of other companies) about a tailor made tour around a country you’ve always wanted to see

Lots of lovely options !

Do your research though.
We thought St Lucia would be amazing, tbh it was boring and that was 2 adults.
There’s only so much sand and sea anyone can be bothered with.
And any travel is expensive taxis.

IKOS resorts in Greece and Spain are awesome. Very expensive though.