First holiday for kids

[wineandsunshine]

Hello,

I am looking for advice or recommendations for any holiday locations please.

For context, it will be a family of 5 - one DS has ASD so will require beige restaurant food 🤣 it is also his first trip abroad!

Thanks!

How old? Budget? Have you traVelled uk with ds? What works? You can get chips most places

Cambrils Park in Salou, Spain. It’s close to the airport so the transfer is short, it’s also close to PortVentura theme park. Loads of different accommodation options and several restaurants/take aways.

Thank you!

DS are 17, 11 and 8. We haven't travelled before so this is our first family holiday - hence why I need advice/help!

If food is the only problem, don't worry. Most hotels do have buffets with plain pasta, chips, chicken nuggets etc.

I would say, it depends on how his ASD is. DD needs decent space and quite to regroup away from crowds and the last holiday in a resort in Greece showed that this is just not our type of holiday anymore. It worked until she developed anxiety on top of ASD/ADHD.
Pool areas and bars in the evening can be loud and busy.

Have you travelked in uk?
Maybe book a weekend cheap premier inn see what works / needs strategies
Take ds on a train
See how he copes and how to manage change
Use photos social stories
Visit the airport before some are good for this
www.airport-parking-shop.co.uk/blog/uk-airports-need-step-assistance-autism/

Get sunflower lanyard

Presumaby you have been somewhere in that time in uk ? What are the challenges for ds

Have you stayed in a hotel before with them? Asd is a wide spectrum, what is his specific needs other than food? Would self catering work better and crucially what is your budget?

We've traveled with dd a lot, she was diagnosed at 2 but is verbal. She now can travel on her own (adult) but asd is so variable I can't necessarily recommend the holidays we did, also we travelled from babyhood so she knew no different. Generally we drove, stayed in cities and towns and they loved a buffet!

Yes, we have travelled annually within the UK - lots of cottages etc and he's been mostly fine with this as long as he is clear with routine for each day.

Budget is around £5k

His ASD triggers can be noisy/busy locations, food and social situations - sometimes he's non-verbal if he feels under pressure in a conversation etc. He absolutely loves water though - it's a real sensory focus for him so we would love somewhere which has large pools/near the sea!

I wonder if a villa with a pool may be then better for you. A resort will be noisy and busy. Most have a buffet restaurant for most meals and that was often overwhelming for DD unless we went quite early.

Look for an area with other things to do and if he needs a break he can stay behind with one parent and the other takes the siblings for something.

It may also be cheaper as hotels catering for 5 of you will be expensive with the need for several rooms/appartment.

I found that locations which weren't typical family destinations worked well, road trips around Spain and Germany were big hits, I always ensured hotels had a pool and decent (hot) breakfast buffet. A villa with own pool if in budget or bungalow on a holiday park (cheaper) might make more sense for 5 as it's hard to get hotel rooms for 5. I recommend Germany all around though as they were so non judgmental about dd, the same cannot be said about france alas (and I love france) the fact she ate a limited diet (including being vegetarian) really seems to annoy restaurants despite them having suitable food options on the menu elsewhere (eg a starter plus fries but served as a main)

I would pick somewhere like Puerto Pollensa on Mallorca. A fabulous large bay and it's not party central.

Thank you for all of the suggestions! We are going to have a look over the next two weeks.

I like the idea of an apartment but with a restaurant to use - I definitely don't want self catering (as much as I know this is lazy, we want someone else to cook!).

The added bonus is - he has just started eating chips! This is a 2023 miracle 🤣

My daughter has ASD and we self cater as eating out 3 times a day would drain her. Also she needs quiet and space but is very social on her own terms. We find big campsites with amazing pools and 3 bed accommodation works for us. We buy bread and pastries for breakfast and lunch and either do campsite takeaway or eat out in the evening. I guess it depends what your DS triggers are. My DD can do the odd hotel buffet breakfast but a week of it would finish her off.