Where is “worth it” with small children.

[Downbadatthegym]

We are looking where to go at the end of April/beginning of May with a nearly two year old and three year old. What are people’s opinions on Dubai, or a cruise? Or any other suggestions, I’m not feeling an all inclusive resort without much else to do. Probably a week to ten days holiday.

Do you have any specific recommentationns for Mallorca, either the which resort area to chose or a specific child friendly hotel that you enjoyed?

Any chance you (or anyone else) could make some recommendations of hotels / destinations?

Looking at Canaries for March...

Apartamentos Cordial Mogan Valle, Puerto de Mogan, Gran Canaria

Sandos Papagayo Beach Resort, Playa Blanca, Lanzarote (plus lots of other family-friendly hotels in PB, some of which are walking distance to the town like the Princess Yaiza - the Sandos is quite far away)

Iberostar Selection Anthelia, Costa Adeje, Tenerife (again, lots of hotels in this area that are family-friendly/have family rooms/suites like Baobab Suites, Flamingo Beach Mate)

You live in France and you have tiny kids. Eurocamp or similar would be the obvious choice. Pick one with lots to do in the area which is near enough to drive to. You don’t need to stay on the site. Anything else with tinies just seem unnecessarily stressful and expensive when they won’t get much out of it and all you’ll really do is chase them around trying to stop them from injuring themselves. Plenty of years for more fancy holidays when they’re old enough to appreciate it.

Thank you all for the ideas and advice, we will have a look this weekend. My husband has suggested we go to Texas 🤣 I think he might need reigning in but we will be definitely be looking for something we all enjoy not just for the children. We aren’t too nervous about flying- I do it every six weeks or so alone with both children so I feel with a one to one ratio we will be fine (and if not it doesn’t last forever).
Cruising seems like a good option and could have something for everyone in the family but I will take a look at the other suggestions too.

Kinderhotels - they have a number of them in Switzerland and also in Germany and Austria. Honestly they are so so brilliant with kids that age.

Easiest holiday ever is a cruise. Breakfast in bed. Childcare on tap. Great pools, loads to do, see different places, room service, what’s not to like?

The big plus is you drive to Southampton, park up and BOOM! You’re on holiday! Dead easy. And only one load of unpacking!

If you’re feeling flush, MSC Yacht Club is perfection. It’s a quiet haven away from the rest of the ship, private pools and spa, they’ll even pack and unpack for you.

Pitching up and down on the sea, having to queue to get off the damn thing, being unleashed on a small town with thousands of other people so it's swamped and no one can find a cafe to have lunch in, being stuck on a ship with said thousands of people and getting no real sense of the places you're visiting, shipboard virus outbreaks, storms, rogue waves ....

We went to Cornwall and Devon and got hotels on the beach more pricey but worth it. Indoor & outdoor pools and sandy golden beaches with safe waters for paddling and splashing. DC loved it. Breakfast included and dinner so lunch was a breeze.

When mine were little we got a self-catering apartment in Crete with a small shared pool and right by the beach. It was perfect - we just got in the usual stuff for breakfast so they could have it right away and nothing to fuss about! The beach was a few mins walk away and the water was so still and warm that it was just like a bath and they could splash about with us safely.
For dinner we ate out but just let them eat pizza and pasta all week. It was as relaxing as holidays with little ones could ever be!

It simply isn’t like that. It’s not the same as a ferry! You can hardly feel any movement at all! There are a huge choice of restaurants and cafes on board, water parks, amusement parks, all on site. And if you want to get off and go and do a touristy thing you can. Or not. Whatever.

Holidaying in CP or an AI somewhere with small kids doesn’t really usually give a sense of the region either. But at least a cruise is more pleasant for the grown ups.

I think it will be good, my three year old would definitely enjoy the shows with me too. My husband and I travelled quite a lot pre children so we aren’t too concerned about only seeing a tiny part of places.

Sounds gorgeous! We are visiting Brittany in the summer which I think is similar in a lot of ways.

cheezncrackers · Today 11:18
Pitching up and down on the sea, having to queue to get off the damn thing, being unleashed on a small town with thousands of other people so it's swamped and no one can find a cafe to have lunch in, being stuck on a ship with said thousands of people and getting no real sense of the places you're visiting, shipboard virus outbreaks, storms, rogue waves ....
Not true.

That sounds great! Is there a particular area of Crete you can recommend? I had a look recently and got overwhelmed by all the options.

@wishIwasonholiday10 yes, we flew into Chania and we stayed in a lovely little place called Almyrida in Crete. The sea has no tides so very safe, and was super shallow too. We took turns to take out a boat trip and snorkel while the other stayed with the DC. Lots of restaurants where you can get easy food - we liked it as the kids had pizza/pasta and we tried lots of nice Greek foods! It was quite a while ago now but I remember it fondly. There was a similar area just along the coast called Kalives which looked like much the same vibe. I can't remember for the life of me the apartment we stayed in, but there were lots of little apartment blocks with shared pools in the area so I'm sure you'd find somewhere.

It's good to be rich. I wish I was rich.

Sardinia is beautiful and child friendly with lots for both adults and kids to enjoy. I don’t mind flights with the kids at all - I do mind long car journeys and big time differences.

I think it's also people who don't have jobs. I work full time and on holiday just revel in still being in my pyjamas at 9am, even though I have a 5 year old and a toddler.

Singapore is fabulous for kids!

Dubai and Abu Dhabi are great for kids, there's such a child-friendly culture. But it's too hot for them at the time of year you want to go

It really depends on what you're looking for out of the holiday and the temperament of your children! We took a 3 month old and a 3.5 old to Dubai in November and we had a wonderful time. I took my DD to Australia when she was 18 months and it was worth it when we got there - but I won't pretend the flights weren't a killer at that age! Personally, my two were ok on the flights to and from Dubai, but I might feel differently when the second one is a toddler :) Agree not to go to Dubai when it's too hot. Are you hoping for a particular temperature/activities, etc? We've been away quite a few times with ours and I definitely still find it a holiday - even if it's not quite the same as pre-children! I've personally found that a bit shorter is better. We're going to Greece in mid-May for 6 nights.

Thank you, I did s seven hour flight when my eldest was 18 months and it was fine. My youngest I know it will be lots of walking up and down and climbing in the chair but I have accepted they are high energy.
I might sound mad but I would like high twenties to 30’s. I am always freezing in those kiddie pools at any less than 30 degrees really!
We are used to up to 35degrees for 8 weeks in the summer where we live- we tend to just change our routine to later evenings and a long nap.
I think we are just looking for something a bit more interesting than pool and beach but having it as an option also.

Which part of what I said isn't true? I can't think of one single thing that I wrote that isn't true of cruise ships, so please enlighten me.