2 under 2 abroad

[SillySausage21]

Hello, I'm looking at a holiday next year, 2 infants under 2 and we don't want to spend more than £500pp.
The only family friendly place coming up in budget is Turkey but whilst in the holiday shop today a different rep told us about Side in Turkey being very German and Russian dominant. This has put us off a little bit, so we looked at Antalya but the transfer is close to 2 hours on top of a 4/5 hour flight, one child will be nearly 2 the other will be 3 months.. is this absolutely do able or should we do a caravan holiday instead? I'm absolutely fine caravanning as I love it but I'm just wondering how much of a holiday it will really be with 2 under 2? We wanted to go next year as both kids will be free so will be cheaper than waiting till they're older.

I think it was this one

www.eurocamp.co.uk/campsites/france/languedoc-roussillon/la-chapelle-campsite

We did ferry to France and stayed at Domaine des Ormes with Eurocamp. 7 days in September was about £1200 all in (that was having the biggest caravan with air con so kids could have separate bedrooms). It’s a great toddler friendly park with a heated indoor water park.

£1200 includes the ferry and driving cost), they had smaller caravans available too if your baby will be in your room

Can you go later? Balearics and South Spain will be warm by early June and the kids went free for us. We've done it two years in a row and paid 1550 and 1700 for them.

I agree with taking a look at Spain. It's a much shorter flight than Turkey or the Canaries and I wouldn't want to do 4 hours with a wriggly 2-year-old on my lap, particularly with a long transfer the other end.

Reus must only be a couple of hours, you can rent a car and I'm sure you'll be able to find a reasonably priced Airbnb or similar for late April or early May as that's term time and quite early in the season. There are lots of lovely little towns all along that stretch of coast, nice sandy beaches, etc.

Try the Balearics late May/early June.
2 hour flight. I would try to choose somewhere with a short transfer too.
Personally I think you're slightly bonkers & would be sticking with the uk until the youngest is at least 3.
If you do go abroad an apartment might be a better option as you will have more space and separate rooms if you need to put them down for afternoon naps etc.

I wouldn’t go to a cheap AI in Turkey with two under two. You are likely to get at least one kid with diarrhoea. We went in April, frankly it was too cold and soulless. Flying with 2 that age is a nightmare too. Save your money, your kids won’t know the difference anyway.

@FusionChefGeoff that looks amazing! Eurocamps really do seem like the best of both worlds

@Moonlightsonatas did you spend a lot whilst there?

@Maryandherlamb do some places still have free spots for over 2's? I was thinking of going earlier because DD will be free as she turns 2 at the end of May 😂

@cheezncrackers Yeahh we've looked at Spain, but even somewhere like Benidorm was coming up at £1200 just paying for the 2 adults in an awful looking hotel.. can't pay that for that! Back in the day I would pay £200 for a Benidorm weekender 😂

@MissAtomicBomb1 I am bonkers, you're right 😂😂 I just wanted to go as it's a big birthday for me too next May so wanted it to be for that and our first proper family get away

@LiloP ahh sorry you've had a rubbish time and your child ended up poorly 😫 there's nothing worse! Thanks for the heads up

I'm all for traveling with young kids but since 12-14 months old we've always just paid for an extra seat for our child on the flight.

It might depend how active your toddler is I guess but to me it's worth the extra money to have a much more pleasant journey and with 2 under 2 I would definitely want to have a 3 seater to yourselves.

Where are you travelling from?

Twins here, we camped in France for the first 10 years, they loved it! Not eurocamp but similar, booked direct with sites as it’s cheaper.

God I couldn't cope taking 2 that age abroad. Even Eurocamp type holidays, we've done those for years but with slightly older children.

Personally I'd be looking to pack up the car to a cottage for the week or Center Parcs.

Holidaying in SW England in early June outside school hols is nearly always lovely weather. Honestly with kids that young I’d stay here or France they don’t care where they are as long as their parents are chilled out and there’s icecream..keep it stress free as possible

Oh, we have stayed there. So, so lovely!

@SillySausage21 really didn’t need to spend much when I was there. Having your own car means that you don’t have to worry about car seats either. We just did a big shop at the local supermarket then got top up bits from the Spar shop on site. The pool is free and there are kids clubs if you go in the high season. The didn’t run in September but at that age my kids were still napping so we did walk and playpark in the morning, nap then pool in the afternoon. The pool was just young families as the older kids were all back at school.

Eurocamp provide cots, high chairs, bed rails etc so that meant we didn’t need to take as much. The more expensive caravans provide bedding too. The caravans are basically lodges, they were bigger than expected and ours had an enclosed wooden porch so they couldn’t escape 😂 it was nice and safe walking around as people only used their cars to go on and off site.

My kids were 10 months and 2.5 years old when we went. I wouldn’t want to stay in a hotel at that age unless it’s a suite otherwise I’d have to be sitting in a darkened room every night from 7pm!

@NancyJoan we've picked a different toddler friendly park in Holland this year but wonder if we should have just gone back to Domaine des Ormes. My daughter still talks about the big, blue roof on the pool.

We booked a week in Gran Canaria for 2 adults and a child (12) for the week after Easter. We got a free child place. It's with jet2 and came in at £1100 for self catering.