Tell me about your fantastic holiday with a three year old

[sarahb083]

Hello - I'd like to go somewhere with my husband and three year old this year. Ideally a flight of up to 2-3 hours or within the UK. Please share some insipiration!

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Desperately hoping you get a reply as I’m taking my 3 year old away soon too 😂

A few years ago we went to a farm / self catering place in Cornwall.

They did a feed run every morning, you could collect eggs, feed baby goats and sheep milk. Give food scraps to the pigs.

On-site mini soft play and other bits.

I think it has changed owners so may be slightly different but it was fantastic for that age.

Our little girl was 2.5 in Sept, so not quite 3. We took her to Majorca, Zafiro palace, the weather was perfect, flight was under 2 hours and kids team was brilliant they had mini disco and then kids activities alongside the evening entertainment (face painting, bracelet making etc). She talks about her holiday all the time and always asks when we are going back 😅

When DD was 2 we went to Sorrento for a week with PIL (4 adults to 1 child ratio ). Had a fab time - Italian ms love children.
We stayed in a self-catering apartment; there was a huge playground round the corner. You can get around on local buses or trains. We went to Pompeii & Herculaneum; down the Amalfi Coast, up to Ravello. Ate lots of gelato!
It was a really good price as it out of school holidays.

We've been to a lovely farm in Cornwall called Coombe Mill a few times ( think it may be the same place @Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky did), hasn't changed much with the new owners. First went when DD was two and her little face lit up getting so close feeding the animals.

@Jules912 yes Coombe mill. We went a few times and loved it.

We did Eurocamp in Italy when dd was 3. Union Lido I think. Fab pool complexes, Sandy beach, playgrounds, bouncy castles, baby disco. Loads of different places to eat.

Second the part about Italians living children. We had a fabulous time there!

Currently here with my 3 year old and he's loving it.

www.gloriapalaceth.com/en/gloria-palace-amadores-thalasso-hotel/

Splash pool with slides perfect for his age, playground, mini disco, two sandy beaches within a 5 minute walk. The sea is perfect for little ones, really calm and shallow.

It is a four hour flight though, iPad and lots of snacks required.

We did an all inclusive with our 4 year old for the first time last summer and it was great. She liked the kids club so that bought us a couple of child free hours each day which was great! (Some only take from 4 though so do check this.) food was easy as she could have whatever she wanted plus ice cream and soft drinks whenever. Kids entertainment/games throughout the day plus a little disco thing in the evening. She had a ball and we enjoyed it too. We went to the canaries which was a 4 hour flight, Majorca/menorca are supposed to be good though and much shorter flight.

we have also recently been to bluestone in wales which is like a cheaper centre parcs. Pool with toddler area, playground, option to pay for activities (go karting, nature art, mini go ape type thing, bowling), plus free soft play, bouncy castles, and an indoor dome with a big sand pit, water play, a park and free kids shows each day. Again my preschooler had a ball!

A few different places we enjoyed when DD was 2-4:

Broadstairs, Kent for beautiful sandy beach with gentle rock pooling and tiny funfair on the beach and loads of nice places to eat.

San Sebastian, northern Spain - ditto gorgeous beach with small funfair and funicular; a spectacular aquarium and lots of nice places to eat.

Butlins (in term time on the toddler focused weeks "Just for Tots"). Not everyone's cup of tea but DD always loved it. It has everything! We went a couple of times when she was a toddler but never fancied it in the school hols.

Thank you, I'll have a look at these. Please share any other recommendations!

The Isle of Wight! Had a brilliant holiday with children 5 and nearly 3

Second Bluestone - we went last year (DC are now 9 & 5) & loved it!
Oh for Sorrento - we stayed at the Rota Suites, but there are lots of hotels there too.

Haven't been away with our son aged three yet but so far have done:

18 months: Emilia-Romagna city hopping tour by rail.

22 months: Granada and Nerja.

2 yrs: Sicily (Palermo and surrounding areas) and Cornwall.

We have Vienna booked for September when son will be nearly four. They have some amazing looking kid friendly museums which I know he will love!

Anywhere in Italy is great with kids to be honest. My son was treated like a little prince everywhere we went.

If you have the budget I'd go with Scot Dunn they have the best kids clubs. Did that for several years with my DD when she was young.

We did the Sun Gardens in Dubrovnik and the one in Portugal Pine Cliffs. Both were great, she had a blast I got some downtime.

We went on a villa holiday with our 3 year old which was perfect. It was in Greece (where they also seem to adore kids!) so further away than you’ve suggested but the fact we had a villa made the holiday very relaxing.

DS had his own room so we could stick to a bedtime routine (albeit later than usual) and we could stay up drinking wine and chatting outside. It made mornings easy because we could make our own breakfast and have a slow start, and we had a pool and a bbq. We also rented a car which made it easier to explore, DS could nap on the drive, we could come and go as we wanted, etc. I was worried a holiday with a 3 year old would be stressful but it wasn’t at all.

Isle of Wight
2x Majorca - but self catering, DD wasn‘t hotel suitable at that age

I know this isn’t a popular opinion on here but Center Parcs was spot on for that age.

Our best one with a child that age was skiing. They were just old enough to ski and they absolutely loved it. Slept really well every night too!!

Mousses in Greece

I think it was that age we decided to only do self catering so we didn't have to go to bed early 😂 and had more space. Broadstairs, Isle of Wight, Sandy balls, a few Siblu ( I think la reserve was perfect at that age) and a few Eurocamp in Spain,

Neilson - from age 3 to 17. So many wonderful family holidays where everyone has a great time.

Mine was Mark Warner with DC that age but that was over 10 years ago

It was exceptionally brilliant for DC and all of us parents.

Friendly, sociable and planned activities for the DC including evenings so parents could have proper relaxed fun whilst all the DC watched a film and put to sleep in long little cute rows and parents then come to pick up and take back to room in the double buggies

Very fond memories