Talk me through finding an all-inclusive

[Margo34]

Hoping to get away in Sept time. DC1 will be almost 3 and DC2 will be about 5m by then (hasn't arrived yet). I haven't been abroad since Dec 2019 and my usual holiday style is 9kg backpack and travel, few days here and there with just DH and a Lonely Planet. Obviously not practical with young children! So, for the first time I'm considering an all-inclusive 'dump yourself in one place' kind of holiday (the kind I always swore I'd never do).

Where do I start looking? How do you find and choose an all-inclusive? And when taking young children - what do you do about car seats for transfers etc? Any recommendations?

All of the dumb questions, assume I know nothing (I don't).

TIA

I'd start somewhere like tui or jet2 and when you see a hotel you like the look of check the reviews both through the travel agent and trip advisor! We cut out a lot of ones that look nice in photos by seeing reviews with people all saying the same awful things.

If you're getting a bus transfer which most of those kind of holidays would include you don't need car seats. Baby on your lap and older child on their own seat but strapped in with seat belt.

I was a holiday snob until my first all-inclusive too!

I’m really hoping to get an all inclusive holiday this year. 🤞

First decide what’s important to you. A lot of hotels have larger family rooms where all sleep in the same room - would that work? If so you have a larger choice. If you want a separate room for the DC you’ll have less choice. do you want to be on a beach (Costs more)? Or happy to drive to one.

Also look at half board rather than all inclusive (breakfast and evening meal). Depending how much you drink it might be cheaper.

re car seats we hired them with the car. Was surprisingly cheap (Canaries)

Sorry, saw you said car seats for transfers not car hire. You don’t need them for transfers.

We initially used the First Choice Holiday Villages and when children swimming the Splash world. We started more when kids were 4 or 5. Before that did catered apartments in hotels with pools which worked well. Definitely check reviews esp for food.

Have a look at Ikos . Total luxury and great for young kids like yours ! Greece and Spain .
Amazing hotels . I think you need to go top notch when doing all inclusive.

ikosresorts.com

Thanks for all the info! Hadn't thought about half-bosrd that's a good suggestion.

I guess I meant car seats abroad generally then rather than just transfers! I don't know how I feel about hiring car seats, makes my nerves twitch 🙈

Did you spend all your time in the hotel or did you take day trips and do things when in catered apartments? We've done (air BnB) self-catering UK holidays so didn't have any concerns about getting out and about exploring areas or finding things to do because we had our car. How easy is it to replicate that abroad?

I'll take a look at First Choice, thank you!

Thanks I'll have a look 😊

Go to Jet 2, EasyJet or use onthebeach holidays then check the ratings using trip advisor.

Really recommend jet2. We've done 2 all inclusive with them now. Not our pre children holiday style either but with little kids it's great.

We didn't leave the hotel either time lol.

Brace yourself before checking out Ikos, the prices are eye-watering.

Look at Jet2holidays, the search facility is good, even includes trip advisor ratings.

An alternative to AI that we normally do is B&B in an apart hotel so you get breakfast and kitchen facilities.

Make sure you're in walking distance from at least a large convenience store, beach, restaurants etc. Then either get lunch out and have bread, cheese, olives wine etc for dinner or have a snacky lunch and go out for an early dinner.

Cheaper than luxury AI but a nicer experience than the mid range buffet version.

Ikos is amazing. It's very expensive but unfortunately just so good that nowhere else quite matches up!

We stayed at a place called Eden resort in Albufeira, Portugal. Full of babies and toddlers - think it would be perfect for your age group!

If you do Greek Islands, Balearics, Spain or the Canaries then the local bus networks are fab and it's really easy to get around if you don't want to hire car seats abroad. I wouldn't recommend taking expensive car seats with you on the plane as they get trashed in the hold. I would recommend Mallorca or Menorca with kids that age, won't be quite as hot as Greece and plenty to go and do and see as well as lots of nice sandy beaches. Look for hotels that have some sort of kids play area either on site or nearby. Can Picafort or Pollensa in Mallorca are nice, lots of bike hire there too.

Highly recommend Zafiro hotels, they’re in Marjorca and Menorca. The one we went to in Menorca was very toddler friendly and walking distance to a beach which was nice to break the day up.

Thanks everyone! Lots for me to look at 😊

This one? Looks lovely! www.jet2holidays.com/portugal/algarve/albufeira/eden-resort

This one is on my short list for this summer too.

Do you think it would be good for 6 and 4 year olds?

Also watching as we are in similar situation but just one child so far. An AI seems so convenient with a toddler but the food aspect is putting me off a bit as eating out was a big part of our holidays pre-baby. Has anyone found a toddler friendly AI that actually has good food but is cheaper than Ikos?

Food is a big factor for us too, we are massive foodies! 😔

I really hope AI places reflect local food or has some offering of it - in my head though it'll be like a continental breakfast, perfectly acceptable but samey and disappointing 😭 I'm optimistic though because I just need a holiday!

Look online at companies like TUI, they have family friendly hotels they own that I recommend more than the 3rd party hotels they book for you.

But I wouldn't discount other holiday options, I went backpacking with mine, well a variation as we had them in a double buggy, I had a day pack, exh had an insulated cool bag back pack and we had suitcase with a further bag strapped on top - hopping on and off ferries, trains etc. Alaska was particularly good. We also took road trips, including when dd2 was 5 months camping in various places

@Margo34

The food at ai's tends to be formulaic. Breakfasts are very predictable especially, though will usually include the local breakfast as well as international staples. I choose hotel's with multiple restaurants included in the price normally. Also consider b&b instead especially places like Greece or Italy where children are welcomed in restaurants (Spain is an issue as they eat so late)

Yes that's it - lots of little things that helped for a family with young children - mainly staff being very friendly and accommodating of little ones, especially in the dining area. Splash pool for toddlers, you can take away the AI drinks in plastic cups for those needing to stay in their rooms in the evening. Plenty of beige/ safe options at mealtimes for picky eaters!

I also looked at the Ikos resorts but felt they were too expensive for us so this would have been cheaper, but I can't remember by how much!

The only downsides were that you need to get a shuttle into town/ beach (there is a free one provided but often full), and evening mealtimes a little late (started at 6:30pm I think) but the poolside cafe also offers food at an earlier teatime.

I would recommend the TUI Blue for Families hotels. They are very geared up for families with young children and babies, they have entertainment, pools and play areas for all ages and you can hire stuff like sterilisers, buggies and car seats from them.

I can’t say the food is the same in every hotel but we went to tui blue tropical in Turkey last year and it was great. There was so much choice in the restaurant, you could stick to what you know or you could try the daily specialties (they had different theme each night so Italian, Chinese, Turkish, Mexican) They also had a kids buffet if the little ones weren’t so sure about the main one with the usual kids menu fare but also lots of fruit and veg and salad.

It is quite cheap to eat out in Turkey and they welcome kids so you can still do that and not feel like you’re wasting the AI because you’ll get your moneys worth on the drinks and ice creams anyway!