Holiday help!

[rollerblind]

Desperately need some help/advice/suggestions for our holiday this year.

We are a family of four with DS10 and DD8. We have been going on UK holidays since the children were young and have been happy doing so. Initially we stayed in self catering cottages but a family friend bought a mobile home on a small Hoburne holiday site and we have stayed there for the past three years. The children love crabbing, fishing, swimming etc. We regularly eat out, visit different beaches, explore the area etc.

However, we realised last year that the children had outgrown the caravan site (the pools were too shallow and "babyish") and the only thing they still loved was the blinking arcade!

Fine. Now to this year and we are trying to find something to suit our family. I suggested a Eurocamp holiday but my DH wasn't overly enamoured at the prospect of driving to France, for example, and as soon as you add flights it becomes expensive and suddenly not a "cheap option" as I'd hoped. Accommodation very basic, too, but I thought we could still have our car and explore/eat out.

We have found a holiday in Turkey which is a 5* AI during the Easter Holidays for circa £3.5k. Whilst I'm confident the children will love it, I don't think my husband and I would want to just lie by the pool/ on the beach all day. My DH is a keen cook and I also worry that the food will be a beige buffet.

This obviously comes with compromises as would be our only family holiday and leaves me with 6 weeks to fill without a summer holiday. Also not convinced about Turkey.

We would never usually spend this sort of money on a holiday as the caravan is only £1k for the week. It seems like a lot of money to spend on a week away when we have other priorities including various odd jobs at home which we need to spend money on (new patio doors needed, decking needs replacing etc).
I find it hard to justify £4K on a week away but not sure what else we could do...
I feel like renting a villa will be even more pricey.

What other things can you suggest? Any help/ suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance

Bluestone in Wales? For a 2 bed lodge at the end of July you'd be looking at around 1.5K (they currently have 10% off 7 day stays), and there are lots of different activities such as kayaking, a wave pool, water slides, mountain biking (You can bring your own bike to save hiring them!), zip wiring, high ropes etc available (some paid, some free). Bluestone Wales | UK Luxury Short Breaks & Family Holidays.

Why not do a French site et Pierre et Vacances in northern France or Brittany. I particularly recommend Normandy those ages as my kids really enjoyed and learned a lot from the museums etc connected to WW2, plus bayeaux tapestry. The markets are great to buy food to cook. Take the overnight ferry and your driving in France is minimal.

Have a look at Les Mouettes in France. It's a Eurocamp but really close to the ferry port so hardly any driving.

We are put AI people, or sitting on the beach people. Have stepkids who Normally go abroad to stay with family and I prefer walking or sightseeing holidays.

Anyway dh, I and the stepkids went on holiday AI to Turkey a few years back when they were youn* teens. They loved it. The food was incredible, there was a beige buffet, but the majority of the food was grilled fishnor meat, incredible veg and lovely breads and cheeses. The food was honestly great.

We did excursions which were fun, boat trips up river, mud baths type of thing. Snorkelling, wondered round to see some archaeological sites. You can do excursions through the hotel, tour company or book privately for smaller tours.

There was some very mixed evening entertainment but we mostly just played cards.

You might not want to do it every year but I wouldn't rule it out. We've not done it again but not because we hated it or anything.

You don’t need to drive very far into France for Eurocamp - you could look at somewhere like Chateau Lez Eaux or Domaine des Ormes in Normandy/Brittany. The latter is less than an hour from St Malo. The weather is less predictable but lots to do on site at the latter.

Or you could try the Netherlands - we did Duinrell last year which is less than an hour from the Hook of Holland, or you could fly to Amsterdam and do a taxi transfer.

Personally, I’d aim for somewhere cheap and Eurocamp either within an easy drive of a port or on a site where you could manage without a car - French sites are often cheaper in the second half of August. I’d also look at places near Lake Garda as you could fly via Verona.

We had a lovely holiday in the Algarve last year. Rented an apartment with a shared pool near a beach but also rented a car and explored, did a coastal kayaking trip, ate out and visted lots of towns. It's very pretty and there are also water parks and other attractions for kids.

We always said we weren't AI people but when we went we loved it, it was so relaxing but still plenty of other things to do, we normally like very active holidays. But it's all in having a really nice hotel that feels spread out and not too busy and things to do, the hotel makes or breaks an AI holiday. I am happy to go budget when road tripping or similar, but not AI.

It's a matter of perspective and income, but I'm very happy to spend money on holidays, they were the highlights of my childhood as they are for my kids.

I would just check what the weather is like in Easter, I don't know Turkey at all but I know some Greek resorts close to Turkey like Kos don't open until May, and others open over Easter but very cheaply because the weather is very hit or miss. £3.5k is quite cheap in my opinion for 5* AI so I would just check the reviews and the weather to ascertain what the compromise likely is.

Thank you so much for your responses. I will look at Bluestone and the Eurocamp options. An apartment with a shared pool is perhaps a good compromise.

Interesting to hear that those of you who had thought you wouldn't like AI in fact did.

I think my biggest problem is that we aren't great at making decisions...

It depends what type of holiday you enjoy. Are you keen explorers even if it involves a strange language and culture?

I would go to skyscanner and set your local departure airport (or a couple of them if you can get to bigger ones like London or Manchester), destination “anywhere”. Then select the month you’d like to fly, and voila, cheap flights to some (sometimes random) destinations.

There are returns to Milan for £50 (before luggage) in August for example. Unsociable hours - or you can get daytime for £80 return. You could then look for accommodation yourself outside / near the city, and either hire a car or research public transport to a few local attractions and ways to fill your days.

A do-it-yourself holiday can be much cheaper, but you have to like doing all the research and not having the comfort of going to a resort or other holiday place as such.

If you are an exploring family I'd just look at caravan parks in other places.

Wales, Yorkshire, Scottish highlands or Norfolk etc

I love an AI but have never been to Turkey as it doesn't appeal. Previously when we've been AI we've still been out and about during the day and go out every other day. We've been to southern Spain and the train along the coasts from Malaga is really good and even runs from the airport.

I'm no help really because I'm happy with a caravan in Dorset, centre parks on Suffolk or an AI/HB in Spain!

But I think being happy with any type of holiday probably actually has its advantages!

https://www.loveholidays.com/holidays/turkey/antalya/alanya/delphin-deluxe-resort-hotel-all-inclusive.html?WT.mcid=pgo-173025860068-kwd-8629361287&ch=hn&gadd_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADy4and9W2mDDTCG53NQBpsIkxQID

This is the Turkey AI option. If anyone would like to critique it for me I'd be really grateful x

@rollerblind it's worth searching the hotel on Facebook to see if it has a bit of a fan club, I know that sounds nuts but the AI hotels I've been often have an unofficial Facebook group ran by a few people who love and frequent that hotel which a) tells you something in itself b)enables you to ask questions, the most important ones for AI being how busy it is and what it's like getting a sun lounger, and asking about the food. I'd also google the weather at that time as I say.

The pools will be freezing cold at Easter. We love 5* AI but only in the summer and then it's much more expensive. You could find a non-AI hotel in Greece in the summer, eating out and self catering isn't more expensive than on a UK holiday.

We used to holiday similar to @RobinHood19 is suggesting - but it does take a bit more planning. We would look at where we could get the cheapest flights to (mid week is normally cheapest) and then search out self catering accommodation, which is so much easier to do now than it was in the early 2000s.

I've seen a lot of threads on here recommending campsites around Lake Garda, and if you look at less busy airports you can often get cheapish flights there, eg Ryanair used to use (I don't know if they still do) Milan Bergamo which is convenient and was a cheap flight from East Midlands.

Love Holidays are not a package tour operator like TUI or Jet2 and you don't get ABTA protection. They are essentially a booking platform for hotels and flights.
Agree the pools will be cold at Easter.
Villas may be expensive but not all self catering is. Look at the Canaries, say Lanzarote in a complex which has pools but offers two bedroom self catering apartments. Then you get the benefit of the facilities but avoid the food.
You can do all this through a package and if you want to compare the cost of doing it independantly it's easy.

Unfortunately now you've posted it you might have driven traffic to the hotel which could theoretically drive up prices. When you're searching for holidays use incognito browsing and decline cookies, otherwise the algorithm realises someone is interested. The hotel looks good tbh, but going at Easter doesn't sound ideal and I assume you're priced out over summer?

So your caravan holiday was 1k, but actually once you factor in petrol, entertainment, food (cooking and eating out), what did you actually spend for a week?

I was raised by parents who said 'we're not all inclusive people' and holidayed in the UK for years, but actually it was inverse snobbery and lack of knowledge that made them say that. AI can be good, we are childfree so prefer to go adults-only and slightly more luxe now, but when I was a skint 20 year old an AI in Spain was a cheap and cheerful option. I imagine it's particularly handy for families as your water, soft drinks, snacks, ice creams etc are included if you choose wisely. Yes the food is unlikely to be great at your budget, but I'm sure DH can compromise and cope with a buffet for one week, especially if you budget for a couple of meals out too. Just because you go AI doesn't mean you have to eat at the resort for every meal.

I personally wouldn't go to Turkey, I've been before and don't like the country. The AIs are excellent for what you pay, but given your preference for a bit more rough-and-ready adventure, I'd suggest you'd be better looking at Spain or Portugal so you can go AI but also leave the resort easily and frequently. Not always as easy in Turkish AIs that may be further from family-friendly resorts, although as I say the one you've posted actually looks pretty good in terms of safety and activities.

@owlexpress

Thank you so much for your response. Really helpful and lots of things to consider. Perhaps I am being a bit snobby about the AI. I do think the right one would be a really good option for our family.

Whoops! I didn't think of the increased traffic ramping up the prices!

Summer would be unbearably hot for us- we are all fair skinned and burn easily and sadly we can't do May half term as that probably would have been better. I was thinking mid 20s would be a nice temperature but I hadn't thought of the fact that the pools will be cold...

Turkey definitely wouldn't be my first choice but it's so much cheaper than Spain/Portugal/Italy. I think I need to keep looking...
Thanks again for advise and input.

Your situation is really similar to ours, including age of kids, when you can go, and we are similarly stumped!

We also thought we "weren't AI people" but the one and only time we've done it was by far the most relaxing holiday DH and I have ever had with the DC, and they still talk about it now, 5 years later. We're doing another this year.
The last one was Rhodes, the next one is Mallorca.

As someone else suggested upthread, you could cross to Holland and go to a park there, maybe mix it with a couple if days in a city. We did Rotterdam and a Landal holiday park, there's holiday parks a plenty in Holland! You could do an overnight on the ferry and pick a park that's a short drive if your husband isn't keen on a long trek.

@Boffle
If we did the Lanzarote self catering option (which sounds nice), would we then need to hire a car to get to shops etc for food shopping?

@Monvelo

What are your thoughts? What have you done so far?

I agree. The pools won’t be useable at all.

@xmasdealhunter

I looked at Bluestone on your recommendation and it looks great! I think we'd happily go for a long weekend but maybe not a week. Lots of the activities are paid-for so I fear that would be potentially as costly as going further afield.

@CatStoleMyChocolate
Wow! Durinell looks amazing! Did you stay there for a week? What were the queues like for the rides etc?