Holiday recommendations with short flight and transfer time!

[Moonshine160]

Hoping to go abroad this year with a 4 and 1 year old that struggle to sit still. So need a short flight (ideally Balearics or Portugal) but also quite a short transfer time because we’ve found the bus journey harder than the flight in the past!

Any recommendations please? I keep looking with TUI and Jet2 and think I’ve found somewhere but then the transfer time is about 2 hours.

well I would avoid a package with a coach transfer for starters - that's going to be a lot longer transfer time with drop offs. Take a taxi/private transfer instead

Pula in Croatia. Flight 2 hours. My transfer was 30 mins on nice coach

Look at Ibiza - there's a family friendly TUI hotel nw of the airport, was about 30 minutes transfer even with traffic. Also another hotel next door and they share an aqua park. Lovely little cove for swimming and the beach next to the Sirenis hotel.

Don't book a package with a coach transfer, but take taxi to the hotel. Coach transfers are just THE worst.

try easyJet holidays or love holidays
Mallorca is great 2 hour flight

Went to Mallorca last summer, stayed in Palma beach area. It would actually be possible to walk to the airport - about a ten minute bus journey. Planes take off/land the other side of Palma so not even any noise.
I was travelling alone with kids (older than yours) and the convenience was excellent!
Booked hotel and flight separately, would definitely go again.

I agree with Palma area of Majorca. We stayed in Can Pastilla. So close to the airport and a short flight.
Returning this year, and the proximity to the airport was definitely a factor.

Also agree with private transfer / taxi. It can work out more, but travelling straight to your accommodation is worth every penny imo.

We were in Can Pastilla, could not have been an easier holiday.

It was a revelation for us that it could be so easy 😄
Fabulous area too, gorgeous beach and Palma is lovely to visit.

And fabulous aquarium right on the doorstep!

We're going to Menorca, Arenal D'en Castell to be exact, with Jet2. Our package includes express transfers, so apparently our hotel will be one of the first three drops, so the transfer shouldn't be more than an hour. It's our first time abroad with our two children, and we're only going for a week, so we didn't want to lose too much time travelling.

We went to Pineda de Mar next to Calella - 30min transfer from Girona airport so easy booked via Tui too and got a cheap deal - the beach is immaculate and goes forever

Es cana in Ibiza. Lovely sandy beach. Harbour with boat trips. Little funfair that opens at night-time.
The Leonardo Royal hotel is great and right on the beach
Transfer is only around an hour. If you take a taxi for around £40 it's about 30mins.
It's a small island so it's quite quick to transfer to most resorts. We did lots of trips there when ours were little, they loved it & still ask to go back every year!

I love es Cana!

I went there last year with TUI - transfer actually only took about 30 mins as bus was going straight there.

Lovely resort, we had a great time!

@ScoobyDoesnt that's great to know thanks so much. It's the first time I've been away since 2009 so we're all really looking forward to it. My 12 year old can't wait to snorkel in the sea.

Oh me too @cherrypickles!
We've been to lots of places since but keep going back - there's something about it

Yes again to Menorca with a 30min transfer. A lovely island.

If you would like to consider somewhere within the UK as well, I would recommend the Isles of Scilly. I think that the little ones would love it there.

https://www.visitislesofscilly.com/

Nowhere in Mallorca is more than an hour from the airport. The problems come if you have a shared transfer that takes people from 8 flights and tours a dozen hotels dropping them off. That can make the 30-minute run to Palma Nova take over 2 hours if you get unlucky at both ends of the journey.

Can Pastilla is €15 in a taxi from the airport and only takes 10 minutes to get to. That said, the beach lost its blue flag last year (although it's not covered with poo or anything like that) and it's not the prettiest town. I'd look at Palma Nova and Santa Ponsa, and be prepared to splash out €50 on a taxi to get there if it looks like the tour operator's transfer is going to be slow.

Book somewhere near the airport and book a taxi. There's plenty of hotels near Palma.

Any transfer can be long if it's shared. It can take an hour or more to fill up the bus from 6 incoming flights. Then your drive between ten minutes and two hours, and then you tour the hotels, which can take another hour.

So if you want a guaranteed short transfer, however long you think "short" is, get a private transfer. Either pre-booked or an airport taxi. Pre-booked means you know the price but it can be a hassle if your plane is late. Taxi is more flexible if you trust local taxis (generally in EU countries they are well regulated, and it's hard for them to take you on a huge detour when everyone has Google Maps). Just choose as a function of how much you want to spend on transport.

For example, the longest private transfer you can make on Majorca is 1h10 to Cala Mesquida, costing €115. But people often spend longer than that sitting at the airport waiting to leave. Can Pastilla or Playa de Palma is €15 to €20 and ten minutes. Palma Nova is €35 and 20 minutes. Soller is €50 and 30 minutes.