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

@SheFearedTheWorst
@Magamaga

Do you think they would heat the pools out of season? (Clutching at straws...)

I have boys similar ages
we had a great week in holland. Overnight ferry but not far to drive when we got there
stayed at a Landal site (there a lots), very nice. Duinrell (as a day trip but you can stay), Amsterdam, and best of all Efteling

Not in Turkey. Try Canaries or some portugal pools.

I saw an advert for euro camp with an outdoor heated pool earlier in France. An hour away from an airport. There are some you can get to by flight and public transport.

In Europe if not a city break we tend to do AI - they vary massively, some are very meh but tick boxes and usually good for the value but don't expect standout food. Others are really lovely, with great restaurants and facilities, those ones are pricey in school holidays though. We have found some of the Greek chains (Atlantica) etc good.

Easter is not an ideal time for pools in Europe, especially this year with it being April, as there's a good chance lots won't be heated and just too cold. We've found it like that at May half term and early June too.

There will be some with heated pools but need to be very sure that will be the case.

Can you go in the summer instead? Then you could do Eurocamp, try that first for abroad maybe?

Your DC are also good age for going further afield which we find much better value if we can get flights when released, SE Asia etc.

We loved L'atlantique last summer if that's worth looking at. A yelloh! site. Lovely beach and really quiet. Nice walk to it straight from the site. Great to cycle North or South asking the coast and stop off for crepes. The kids loved the pools, splash park and slides. Good day trips, we loved Concarnae. We got the ferry to Roscoff and it was a quiet drive.

This year I think we've ruled out Turkey and Croatia as being a bit too cool early in the year and too party party at the times we can make in the summer. Many places the pools and sea are too cold in April. We looked at Portugal a bit but same issue. So we talked about forgetting the sea and doing inland sightseeing or river and mountains. We looked at Eurocamp type places but many are not open in April. I looked at Slovenia which I love, the Netherlands, Black Forest, the Dordogne. We then talked about either going somewhere hotter in October half term, such as Cyprus, Canaries or Greece. Or forgetting hot and going to somewhere in Scandinavia. Or going cold next winter, like Iceland. And then we said some people don't even book a hol until much closer to the time!

As an alternative for Turkey, have a look at Morrocco. We have been to both Marrakesh and Agadir, and booked places with water parks for the kids, but did tours so the adults had some culture too. The pools were cold when you first got in, though they heated some of them I seem to remember.

We like holiday park holidays. Definitely look at Landal sites in Holland, some have amazing pools. Lots of lovely areas to cycle. Also, look at European centre parcs, they're cheaper than UK but lots to do and mice mature nearby.

We really enjoyed a Yelloh! Campsite in Normandy, lots to see in the local area. Driving in France is super easy, roads are much quieter than UK motorways. Could take a ferry to cut put driving time (to Dieppe, Caen, etc).

In many of the Turkish hotels I have visited, they have multiple pools, usually there is at least one pool that is always still heated IME.
Many have other heated indoor pools in addition within the spa areas.
The temperature at that time of year is ideal for walking and exploring - before it gets too hot.
AI buffets aren't generally beige, I find the sheer variety and flavours outstanding.
Don’t be put off by AI either, you can take the things you all enjoy, and just disregard what doesn’t appeal.
Antalya and the old harbour area is worth a trip from there too.

Not at all. There are big complexes with pools and entertainment but self catering apartments. You can find them in resort centres eg Playa Blanca or Puerto del Carmen.

Centre parks in Belgium is cheaper?

Germany? Some areas you can drive if you take a break in France for a night or you hire a car when flying direct.

Bavaria is great for outdoor activities, plenty of historic sites, fun parks, great swimming pools, museums etc.

Baltic coast or North Sea - weather can be more unstable but still lots of things to do. You could fly to Hamburg and rent a car to go to Travemünde.

There are normally plenty of s/c options, maybe more a flat than a house but we never really stayed indoors a lot.

I thought we weren't AI people, always did self catering, mainly because we wanted separate bedrooms, ability to cater to fussy foods & eating times, and did child centred day trips/activities and the beach.

One of our first was the sister hotel to the one you listed, same area, in the height of summer and it was amazing with kids from 0-7. There was so much for them to do, we got a break as they actively enjoyed the kids clubs, all the kids pools, the big pools and the slides. And every food fussiness of that age was catered for, I didn't spent an extra £ on ice creams, endless branded fizzy drinks or food that they tried and decided they actively disliked that day/week. We actually relaxed. Unfortunately we started high, and every AI we've gone to since has paled in comparison to that first wow...we were even upgraded for free to a huge 2 bed suite. With 3 free minibars restocked daily.

We enjoyed the fresh fish, meat and sushi, while the eldest 2 chose their own much to their great delight.

Negatives were the heat, summer was boiling, and some of the many russian guests, who can be astonishingly rude to everyone. And the cost of food and drinks at the airport on the way home.

We did go back, and even without the upgrade, all of us in one room, the DC were so tired after every day swimmings and playing they slept well.

But Easter might be still be cold, May half term would probably be best if tied to school dates.

We didn’t think we were package holiday people. First one we did was when dc were 11 and 13. And we really wished we had done sooner. It was Mallorca half board rather than ai. But it was so easy. No need to decide where to eat or what to eat and the buffet was good quality. Kids loved their first experience of a pool in a hot country and snorkelling etc. previous we had done uk holiday and to be honest it was a nice change to try abroad.

Yeah I would just reiterate the weather again, it's very different having heat on an AI holiday vs an active one. I am fair skinned and not brilliant in the heat but for a holiday that's predominantly in and out of water and sedentary you do want it warm, so long as we get a lounger with parasol I can handle it quite warm vs walking around.

We were in the Canaries in winter when it was early 20s and whilst the kids managed (as the pools were heated) it wasn't warm enough for me to go in, I didn't even wear swimwear as I found my feet got cold so remained dressed. A lot of European resorts don't heat pools, but you'd have to research the hotel and find out, and find out the cut off as they likely switch it off at some point (around April for the Canaries often).

If you don’t want to go in the height of summer to Turkey, my friend went in October half term and declared it to be nice and warm. Pools had warmed up nicely over the summer and were apparently fine.

Yes I'd do October too, the Greek resort close to Turkey we like isn't open in Easter (opens in May) but is open in October, and I gather is warm enough, just requires a cardigan in the evenings.

We love driving holidays to France. It's such a fun experience. We get the overnight ferry to st malo which really cuts the driving on the other side. We are doing it this year.
For the UK our favourite is the New Forest. Stunning and so much to do.

I admit I haven’t clicked on the link you’ve posted so I’m not sure whereabouts it is but there are lots of excursions you can do in Turkey - there’s a huge aquarium near the main touristy bits (with a McDonald’s there which the dc might enjoy - it’s always fun going to a foreign McDonalds 😂), there are boat trips to see the turtles, you can go round all the markets and laugh at all the knock off Nike stuff, there are lots of ancient ruins and historical trips, trips into the forest areas etc. People who tend to be the type just to go to an AI and sit by the pool don’t research them but there’s definitely a lot you can do. Get watching some You Tube blogs about the area you’re going to for ideas. We always go to a really nice 4/5 star AI resort wherever we go and then use that as base for exploring. We mix it up by having some meals at the resort and some at good restaurants outside too so we don’t get bored. We like the AI base though for not having to worry re money for snacks / drinks etc etc. Basically best of both worlds.

My dc are adults now but we always did (and do) a week in south Pembrokshire in the summer. One of them is a teacher, so I know you can get a two bed house in a pretty coastal village for under 1k for a week in august. You can book surf lessons, canyoning, activities like that, but the beaches are amazing and loads of fun, you can walk the gorgeous coastline, enjoy some National Trust beautiful estates, and there is Tenby for the bright lights, arcades, and chance for the dc to go round the shops on their own sort of adventure! Obviously weather-dependent tho....

Haven't read the thread but if you're looking at Turkey I can recommend Patara close to Kalkan (fly into Dalaman).

Gorgeous village with ancient ruins and a beautiful enormous beach. The beach is not in the village itself but you can walk through the ruins to get there or cycle / drive. There's also a regular little shuttle bus.

Lots of lovely restaurants there and cheap places to stay including villas or hotels with pools.

You can do loads of activities from there such as boat trips over sunken ruins, pony trekking over the sand dunes, canoeing down the river and the food is great. Also trips further afield for mountain gorge walks or markets.