Please help me find a holiday for me and my 4 year old!

[BarbaraVineFan]

I am a single mum to a nearly 4 year old DD and am starting to think about taking her abroad for the first time, maybe in the October half term or at Easter next year (I'm a teacher). I am a bit overwhelmed by all the choices and wondered if anyone could help me find a holiday with the following criteria, or at least give me suggestions :

• no driving required - I don't drive due to a medical condition
• Beach nearby, but not too hot - ideally max 25 degrees
• Countryside rather than city
• Can be self catering
• a pool would be nice, but is not a requirement
• If possible, some kind of kids club that I can put her in for a few hours to give myself a break

I really have no idea how much to budget for this kind of holiday, but I don't have loads of spare cash so can't go for a 5 star resort! I don't mind cheap and cheerful as long as it meets the criteria above.

Thanks in advance- I would really appreciate any help!

Abroad?

If you want warm in oct then the Balearics would be good. Menorca is good for young ones.

The Canaries are typically warmer during our cooler months. Longer flight though and the sea is colder.

I would consider camping in the UK at his age, it is very exciting for a little one, and there are loads of campsites around - you don't have to go far - search one with fire pits near a beach, or whatever your criteria are

@ArianaGrande thank you, I'll check those out!
@Market1I'd love to take her camping, but I can't see how to do it without a car :(

Following as I'm in a similar boat!

I'm thinking about Eurocamp in the next few years maybe but can't recommend it as I haven't done it yet!

Menorca would be nice, probably better for Easter than October half term. May half term it’s usually glorious weather but not too hot if you could wait until then.

Royal Son Bou Family Club, Son Bou is always my recommendation for families with young children. They do half board or all inclusive rather than self catering but it’s all apartments so you do have kitchen facilities if you need them. Fantastic kids club, soft play, lovely pool, direct access to a fantastic family friendly beach. It’s about a 20-25 minute taxi ride from the airport or you can book through Jet2 or other package companies to get transfers included. Son Bou is a short walk away with cafes / restaurants / shops. It’s a really lovely place for a relaxing holiday with young kids.

well, you can filter for public transport links on lots of campsite websites such as pitchup and uk campsite- we camped by public transport for years

but a 4 year old won't need to travel far, in any case - for your first trip choose a very close campsite and use a taxi?

Also, there are site which have ready pitched tents, or huts, if you want to try it out before you invest in a tent

(Get a very lightweight tent, I would suggest at least a 4 man tent for the two of you)

Can you do May half term? The south of France is lovely then. I’d find a Eurocamp. You can filter by it being close to a train station.

Pools will probably be too cold to use in Med at those times of year, consider May half term instead. Go and do some searches on the TUI and jet2 websites.

I second Son Bou, didn't stay in a hotel but took my kids when they were similar age and they loved it. Beautiful long beach, lots of different cafes and restaurants and there's also Club San Jaime (I think it's called) which is a restaurant with a pool and water slide you can use as long as you're buying food. Menorca season is really May to September though so you might want to contemplate May half term instead.