First ever Mom & Dad holiday.... alone!

[flowerfluff]

I know, I am kind of in shock myself!

OH and I have two kids (13 and 8) and an amazing family. Our 8 yo is diagnosed with ASD and since birth she has been attached to me, she has major separation anxiety. OH also has a 16 year old who is an amazing big brother.

I jokingly said that "me and dad are gonna go to Japan" and expected a lot of fuss and kick back, but instead got shrugs and 'meh'. OH then had a convo with his mom who is amazing, and she said she will take the kids on holiday in the summer holidays so we can get away on our own!

I've now gone on a mad holiday hunt and tried not to click book on every one I've found as haven't been abroad without a child since 2007 lol

I'm looking for recommendations! We've figured we have a £3500 limit, 15th Aug for 7 days. We are open to the world. Literally. Aware it's right in the summer hols so will pay the price for it but worth it for the getaway. I'd personally like a bit of sun and not a lot of walking, OH is happy as long as we're away for a few days!

We've looked at Corfu (I've been before and loved it so a strong contender), Crete, loads of cruises but no idea where to start, Caribbean but think it might be hurricane season? Maldives but tad too expensive where I looked.

Any recommendations are so gratefully received xxxx

How exciting! And what a wonderful MIL you have. A few recommendations:

Madeira - enough to do that you will easily occupy your time, but not so much to do that you will still have plenty of time to relax. Really beautiful island. Fairly short haul travel.

Sri Lanka - if you want somewhere a bit more exotic. Beautiful and exciting!

Cinque Terra - just wonderful. Very easy to get around between the five villages once you are there. Definitely needs booking ahead as very small so limited accommodation options. Would recommend staying in Monterosso for beach access.

Montenegro - currently not too spoiled as not yet over-popular with tourists, but definitely worth a trip. Kotor and Budva would be good choices.

Albania - as above, not yet picked up by mass tourism, so you get wonderful beaches at a fraction of the price. I've only had a beach trip here so can't recommend anywhere inland though I'm sure there's plenty to explore.

How exciting OP!

How hot do you want it?

My favourite holidays have been Kassiopi in Corfu and Fiskardo in Kefalonia.

What do you enjoy doing when you're on holiday - do you want to laze on a beach all day, or do you like historical sites/great bars/activities? Will you hire a car or rely on public transportation?

I don't think you can go far wrong with the Greek islands, it would be a shame to go back to the same one though. We enjoyed Rhodes - the town is pretty and you can get around on the bus to visit Lindos/Kalithea springs. Kefalonia is very pretty! People I know love Zante although I've never been.

I really love a cruise, so I'd be tempted to book an adult only cruise so that you get to see several different places through the week. Food and service is always excellent in my experience.

Amazing! What do you want to do on your holiday? Dh and I had a holiday just us 2 for our 10 year wedding anniversary and we went to Kos, we lay by the pool ate gorgeous food walked into the local town for tavernas and cocktails, lay on the beach, went to a vineyard and went wine tasting it was perfect!

What an amazing MIL you have.

Greek islands are very hot in August, we had 35 degrees in Rhodes most days. It depends what you like.

What kind of things do you want? Mix of beach and town/sightseeing? Things you can't do with your children? Adult-only hotels? City break? Exotic?

The Caribbean is getting more and more hurricans in August, it's not a safe destination anymore.
Take flight times into account, you don't want to loose 2 days just travelling. For 7 days I would stick to Europe.

Island may be something but obviously not warm and it's expensive.

Oh I am so jealous op. Very similar situation but no one to look after kids so it will be a good 12 years plus till me and my husband could go on our first ever holiday alone!

I've always thought Stella Island in Greece looks amazing. Might be too hot in August? Although if you're just going to live in the pool or on sun lounger might be doable.

Stella island is lovely but way more than 3.5K in the summer

I'd be looking at short or medium haul for a week any longer you'll be spending your holiday in a plane.

We had a lovely holiday on Guernsey. We were lucky with the weather though but there's a lot to do.

Another place I'd recommend is Czesky Krumlov in the Czechian mountains. You fly into Prague and can either drive if you want to or there are buses and trains. It's quite small but incredibly beautiful and we met a lot of very friendly people including the locals.

Oh is it that's a shame. Good job I've got a long time to save up for it 😂

Thank you for all these wonderful replies

I know I'm so blessed that my mil is so amazing, she is fab with the kids too and they adore her.

I have osteoarthritis in both knees and ankles so walking isn't amazing so a lovely chill holiday in the sun would be ideal. Not sure if all inclusive would be a good idea given we won't be wandering off too far. Another reason why we considered a cruise.
(This is why I'm so stuck, when the world is my oyster and I have no idea where is good to go to!)

Given you're looking for a chill holiday - go on TUI, Easyjet and Jet2. Put in the airport(s) you can fly from, set to any destination, put in your dates. Filter by your max. budget, then filter adults-only and all-inclusive, and I usually filter by minimum 4 stars. You probably won't actually have that many options (but still plenty of really good ones!) so it'll be easier to make a decision.