One child family holidays

[AsparagusGirl]

Other one child families- would love to hear your journeys through holidays!!
I grew up with siblings and have an only child not by choice, feel I can't get anything right!

When she was a baby/toddler we would go away to baby friendly hotels UK and abroad as a family.
As toddler/preschooler we loved hotels with little creches like the luxury family hotels brand in UK, Crieff Hydro etc. as well as UK and european center parcs.
(A little bit of Covid hit)
School age, we have enjoyed nice hotels with kids clubs abroad, disneyland paris, more center parcs (she loves swimming!)
DD is now 9, we have a disney cruise booked later this year and a hotel with water park and kids club in Crete next year, then she will suddenly be 10!!!
Even now she seemed to be the oldest at the kids club on our last holiday. Where's good for only children to go? People onMN and friends with onlies say "oh they just make friends at the pool" but mine doesn't? She will watch other kids and I will encourage her to talk to them but without an organised activity she finds it hard.
I was looking at Neilson holidays. Any experiences?
Navigating tweens is hard and we don't have the kind of friends we would holiday with (even family make it hard and complicated) please help 🙂

We did a lot of Eurocamp etc with kids clubs. Though to be fair, once mine got to about 11 she wasn't interested in the kids clubs so we tried nice accommodation in places with lots of things to do. The Dordogne was a big hit. Ardeche also and Italian Lakes. Mine loved Accrobranche type places and canoeing etc. Minigolf, boat trips, zoos etc. Interrailing was another successful one, as she could get involved in the planning, looking up things to see. We don't really do AI or package holidays though

To add to above, what my dd really liked was the freedom to do some things by herself when she got to that age. So e.g. popping to campsite shop on her own or getting an ice cream and watching whatever entertaining thing was happening.

Does she have a close cousin or friend that you could take on holiday with you? Ultimately from around age 10 it was really the only way to keep DD happy on holiday, you can plan all the activities you like but in reality kids do want to play + chat with others their own age.

DS never went to kids clubs we just did stuff with him. Like yours he wouldn't choose to mix with other children. At 11 we went to Rome. I think at 12 we holidayed in Scotland and did things like bike ride, canoeing, boat trip. At 13 we went to California where there is just a huge amount to see and do. Evenings there were things like film at the beach and clam bake. At 15 we went to Crieff Hydro and took a friend. They went off to zip wire, golf, segway etc and we took them white water rafting. They did us a bbq a couple of nights. Also went to Sorrento to see Pompeii and eat pasta. At 16 same friend came to Northumberland and they mainly played tennis and golf, leaving us to do castles etc. Short break to fascinating Iceland! After A levels DS went to Spain with mates. DS and I have just had a lovely break in Croatia so can't have got it totally wrong! (Yes I paid.) So long story short I think you need to put a bit of thought into destinations with more than just a beach and, depending upon your DC, sometimes a friend is a good idea.

Yes at Neilson and Mark Warner I reckon most kids do the activities including the older ones, the kids clubs are much more active and age tailored than the usual. Tweens and older teens might do a watersports/tennis course rather than kids club but still a way to meet others.

This summer we are doing a holiday in Morzine - Simply Morzine and Alpine Elements run holidays there with shared accommodation and group activities (Alpine Elements more so) so should give a chance to meet others. I would expect these holidays to attract slightly older kids due to the activities but we’ll see.

For teenagers there seem to be quite a lot of group activity holidays (kayaking or canyoning etc) around but mine aren’t old enough for those yet, but still a bit too old for many kids clubs…

I have two kids, but they still want to meet others rather than hang out with each other… same challenge with added squabbling…

I just replied on another similar thread. I've been a lone parent since DD15 was two, the best holidays we had were either with Scott Dunn (best kids clubs ever) or travelling to the US to see family.

Now she is older she loved Florida last year, we are off to an AI this summer.

Closest cousin is 3 years younger and a boy but they get on well! Just my brother has never seemed keen on going away together (they did come for one night at Crieff Hydro when DNephew was a baby) maybe when he is older we could take him for entertainment purposes and give his parents a break!
I think her friends are too young to come away with us at the moment but will def consider once she starts secondary school!

What does your dd think? At 10 some children prefer just to relax, read, draw swim etc. I definitely wouldn't have wanted to be in a kids club at that age. Can you take lots of games etc with you? Some that can be played with you and some she can play by herself? I agree that Eurocamp is good for meeting other families etc.

Neilson and Mark Warner are both good for active kids. We've done several Neilson and the kids clubs are brilliant but found that around age 8 they become a bit more competitive which hasn't suited my daughter so well.

We're actually going to their Croatia resort for May half term and at the moment she's asking if she'll find a friend (which she has in the past at kids club) whilst also being adamant that she's not going to kids club so not sure how that's going to pan out!! Hopefully she'll see the light, but if not at least there are plenty of activities to keep us all busy and she'll just have to suck it up when we want to have the off afternoon relaxing.

Neilsons was amazing, we hardly saw the kids they had such a good time!

I have never heard of Neilsons, so rapidly googling.

It's just me and DD11. A couple of breaks we've loved have been Iceland in winter for a few nights. Phantasialand in Germany, we did two days in the park (stay in Charles Lindbergh hotel for a real treat) and then a day in Cologne.
We tried cruising last year and loved it, so are trying a different cruise line this year too.

Definitely Nielson and Mark Warner etc. even the older teens do the activities. And plenty to do for the adults as well ( or just sit by the pool and do nothing...)

Hi OP single mum here travelling with DS since he was a baby just us two. I've mainly booked my holidays with TUI over the years I've done splash works holidays and last year I did Magic life Masmavi in Turkey it was fantastic. Lots of sports on offer, small slides the staff member from the kids club was so fab and the kids have their own restaurant inside the restaurant. DS is 9 and we will be doing Paloma orenda as it has a huge water park.

Stella village in Greece is a good choice too.

DD was ok with kids clubs until she was 9 and then outgrew them. She also wasn't really a type to make friends, bit of playing around in the pool but not necessarily spending time outside of it.

We always did a mix of pool days where she just hang out on the sun lounger and we played with balls in the pool as a family and did trips/activities together. She also took drawing stuff with her and ordered mocktails at the bar and just used that for quite time.

Since she is 12 we mainly did s/c trips or city breaks and do lots of sightseeing but she is a type who loves this.

We are in exactly the same position, have a 9 year old only daughter and no friends or family to holiday with (other than a one off which we would not repeat - she loved it, we did not). We also have a v similar holiday history: pre-school we went to a lot of hotels with creches and centerparcs. Since school age we have done:

Age 5 - Cornwall in a cottage (Covid times)
Age 6 - Cornwall in a cottage, Peak District in a cottage, Dorset camping (Covid times)
Age 7 - Cornwall camping, Menorca villa with family (one off after MIL died)
Age 8 - Iceland self-drive, Cornwall camping, France - Eurocamp, Paris and Disney

This year (age 9) we have booked a festival, a city break to NYC and another Eurocamp in France.

Last year she was happy to go to the kids club but was definitely at the older end of the spectrum. She is always desperate to make friends on holiday. Camping works well for this, as does Eurocamp. She is quite proactive about the friend-seeking though. When she gets a bit older I've been looking at small group family adventure type holidays and also Nielson/ Mark Warner. She has quite enjoyed city breaks which keep her occupied without needing friends.

What about a TUI holiday Village? Their kidsclubs run up to 15 years old afaik but they're broken into different age groups so 9-11, 12-15 etc. The kidsclubs are free but they have lots of payable activities as well such as parties, football and swim academy so lots of thinks to get involved in as well as lots of stuff and entertainnment around the pool during the day. Lots of opportunities to meet kids. Weve done Rhodes the last few years and my oldest daugter whos shy always manages to make a group of friends

My son is 10 and has never done kids clubs - he just wouldn't have wanted to.

For various reasons, including covid, up until last year we did UK holidays - usually self catering cottage in the Lake District/Devon/Cornwall. We've always had a great time just doing things as a 3.

Last year (he was 9) we went to Austria in the Lakes and Mountains region. Stayed in a fairly small hotel. He was very happy exploring with us, swimming etc. He did sometimes play with a couple of kids in the hotel garden.

We are going back this year.

Eventually, we might start taking a friend along but he is happy for now. I would ask your daughter what she wants to do. She may be perfectly happy doing things with you.

Not wanting to push Neilson, but just back from Croatia, and we all had the best time. Persuaded my daughter into kids club on the understanding she could leave after an hour and not go back....we hardly saw her for the rest of the holiday outside the scheduled family time. She had a blast and made friends with two lovely girls. Honestly all the kids, from little ones to teens, looked like they were having the time of their life. I can't recommend enough. And the other holiday makers are so friendly too.

I want to do a Mark Warner or Neilson holiday - I like that they do teen clubs/activities. I don’t have an only but a boy and girl four years apart and they don’t play together much anymore.

We’re going on a Norwegian cruise this year. There seems to be loads for kids, plus lots of exploring at the ports each day. We’ve recently been to Crete all-inclusive and it was hard work to be honest…DS wouldn’t go into kids club or make friends, so it meant that he was fully reliant on us for entertainment. We’ve also done Disney World and multi-stop in the Netherlands. We found them better for one child.

I was an only child. Lived with my not parents. Went abroad every year. Usually stayed in hotel complexes in Mallorca, Spain, Greece, Canaries. Always made friends, sometimes with other onlies, sometimes with sibling groups. I never went to kids clubs.

We’ve said to ds that when his older siblings stop coming on holiday with us we will invite his cousin along because at 12 he enjoys our company but it would be a bit boring for him I think.

I’d see if your nephew wants to join you, even though he’s a bit younger they would hopefully still have fun together.

So pleased to hear this!
Going to have to get DD happier with "the sea" but she's a good enough swimmer so hopefully can persuade her! We might start with a surf course in the uk next summer.

We did a lot of self catering holidays (we enjoy those anyway- just the chance to slow down!). But places where we could get out and do things together.

Centre parcs in both UK and Europe, and a french campsite with on-site sailing school, where again we were mostly self catering but had various activities most days, lots of swimming, eating out a good bit (an average of 1 meal/day in CO, abd every 2 days in France as not so many options). But dd loved the sailing (she was about 11 then, and had already done a few levels at home but they started at beginners).

When she was 14, we started going to world championships for her class in sailing, went to 2 before Covid hit. But they were our holidays, as there was a tour tacked on to 1 (far east) and we added a week of our own to the 1 in Europe.

Since Covid, she's moved more into hockey, away from sailing, so in 2022, she was 16 and we left her at the airport after the flight to go to a hockey camp while DH and I went for a weeklong city break (it's what she really wanted to do) and we met at the airport for the return flight. Last year, we dropped her at the airport on this side (loads of people go there and the system was very well organised for kids travelling solo and she knew someone else going last year so met them at the airport here) to do the same coaching camp.

She didn't always make friends, but was happy to have fun with us, do some silly things together, and get out to enjoy different adventures on various holidays.

She really loved the year we went to Florida (thanks to an unexpected bonus), we did Disney but also Cape Canaveral and a canoeing trip seeing a lot of local wildlife (flamingos, turltles and crocodiles) before going swimming in the creek.

The sailing trips were great as she knew lots of the participants from our club and national circuit, and from previous events.

She also really liked the year our big holiday was a ski trip.

We had planned to do a Neilsons type holiday with a lot of sailing (I'd get certified and DH do basics week 1, and charter flotilla week 2 with DD likely the effective skipper!), but Covid hit and she was gone beyond wanting family holidays at the end.

We found she never really took to kids club. She wanted to be with us - swimming, cycling, walking, cooking together... She loved being allowed go to the shop alone in Centre Parcs, which built her up for greater independence at home the following year. She would do some culture (museums, galleries etc) but somewhat limited. She was also happy to relax with a movie and us all together as we never got time for that, or a night of card games or board games, at home.

How much is an Easter Neilson’s holiday in somewhere like Croatia? Ballpark. I looked at a skiing one out of interest, and let’s just say it was somewhat out of my price range… and anyone’s that I know.