Lone breaks with a young child

[AuntMarch]

It's just me and DC(4)

I've never been a massive adventurer. Not done a lot of travelling, never really camped, so I don't have anywhere from my own childhood I want to revisit but I do want to start doing more just the 2 of us.

So if anyone knows anywhere great for kids and relatively stress free for adults please share!

UK or abroad?

Menorca is fabulous for families. My go to recommendation for families with young children is always Royal Son Bou Family Club. Great facilities, set up for kids, beautiful beach, short walk to a nice little town, short flight from the UK, short transfer from the airport in Menorca.

UK holidays or abroad? Fun travels are coming your way I just know it.

Look up holiday parks by the sea. Somewhere with a pool, play park, soft play, access to a beach, maybe a restaurant and where you can stay in a caravan/chalet type thing. Bluestone or center parcs if you're feeling minted, cheap and cheerful if not!

We've also had some nice times just in an Airbnb in a different town or city, not necessarily a tourist destination. At 4, a different bed and unfamiliar house/flat, a few museums and the kids ice cream, plus lots of attention from you - that's exciting enough for a holiday!

What kind of thing do you want to do with them? And what sort of budget?

I take DS to European cities - just staying in an Airbnb and going to local shops, playgrounds and zoos can be pretty amazing. Somewhere like Stockholm or Berlin, where you can just soak up the atmosphere rather than dragging them round to see the sights.

Malta is also great for kids. We stay in Valletta not in the more touristy bits, and there are lovely places to eat, he loved Mdina, boat trips, and days by the pool. And again it is small enough that you can do maybe one or two “sights” (the cathedral, Mdina, the Neolithic sites) and not feel like you are dragging them about.

Cruise if you want to go abroad. A good value way to see interesting places around the Med. Spain, France and Portugal are easier to disembark at. Lots for a 4 year old to do and the kids club means you get some down time.

Isle of Wight or Jersey if you don’t have a passport. There’s a bit of water to cross so it feels like a proper adventure but obviously all the ease of knowing what’s what. Ryde has a huge sandy beach and plenty of kid friendly places to visit. In Jersey try the Merton ( great pool).

I took ds to Filey as a single parent, we stayed on The Bay in a cottage. We did alternate days, one on the beach & one going in to town, visiting the amusements, going for walks. Some nights we cooked a meal in the cottage, others we fetched a pizza from the onsite Italian restaurant, ate in at the restaurant or had a pub meal. Ds was 8 the first time I took him on his own, we also had a couple of holidays to Ingoldmells with my late dp & ds loved it, he made friends with another boy & spent nearly every day crabbing on the beach, we just went out at night, took him to the amusements & then to a bar with family entertainment.