Is there such a thing as a restful holiday somewhere warm and interesting with young children?

[DruidKnight]

Never taken the kids (5 and 8) abroad before because it sounds unbelievably stressful. We'd want to stay somewhere quiet and secluded. DH and I would want to visit some local sites for some culture, the kids would want a beach and a pool to play, and we'd need options for eateries within walking distance. Has anyone successfully managed a trip like this?? Tips for where we could we go/stay and how to make it work would be much appreciated! Am feeling massively overwhelmed by all the options 🙈

Places like that can be found in most countries - where are you interested in going to - Europe, US, Canada, Asia?

The Mediterranean, I think. That feels ambitious enough, although the Caribbean would be the dream if our budget could only stretch that far! (It definitely can't!)

Croatia is great. Lots of culture, nice beaches, good food, all v child friendly

Canary Islands?

Balearics, any of them

Yes we've had some great holidays like that when the DC were that age. Based on recent experience I'd consider October half term - everywhere is so much quieter and cheaper and you're not worried about scorching heat. We've had beach weather and sea swimming in southern Italy last year and it was glorious, everything you say you are looking for. But I know it's v different in summer - beaches we had to ourselves in October are packed with sun loungers and beach clubs in August.

What type of accommodation are you thinking of? Hotel, holiday village, self-contained property etc?

All Inclusive holiday village would be great for kids but personally hell for me 😆.

Basically, the whole world is on the move and everywhere is packed wherever or whenever you go.

Airports and holiday spots are heaving.

Where I live the population is under a million yet 13 million tourists come year round.
See Venice, Barcelona et al.

I think it's a "hangover' from Covid, it's now or never basically.

But just go for it OP, find a place that suits you as a family, financially etc.

We took our children to Majorca from 2 until 14 . Beautiful island,Spanish adore children and very safe. We loved Cala D’Or ,boat trips,relaxed. We stayed at Ferrera Park apartments,an amazing beautiful haven . We took grandchild there and it was still heaven 25 years later.

Sorry to be a Debby Downer but this is the reality.

The summer that tourism fell apart (bbc.com)

I found that quite/secluded and smaller children is a fine line to walk. You don't want too remote that you have to drive everywhere but also not the big resorts.

August in the Med is hot, keep that in mind. Depending where you go, May or October may be worth looking at. Canaries, Cyprus are good here.

If you are willing to risk the guaranteed weather, you could go to northern France, Brittany, Netherlands, Germany, the Alps. You still get beaches, lakes, public swimming pools, lots of good food options, plenty of things to do and see.

We loved Puglia with young kids - the Italians are so kid friendly and all the locals happily took their children out of an evening in prams etc - we felt so comfortable taking ours out for dinner. Weather was lovely, much cheaper than other parts of Italy we’ve been to.

We've possibly just been lucky but we're usually in northern Europe for our summer holiday and have never had a holiday spoiled by bad weather. Obviously it's not baking hot lounge-by-the-pool weather but honestly I think that's overrated with younger children who want to be active. We were in the Med last August and it was over 40C at times - frankly that kind of weather is more restrictive than a bit of rain!

We've had some lovely chilled out holidays in Scandinavia - go at the end of August as their school holidays are over by then and you'll have your pick of gorgeous summer houses in woodland, by lakes or lovely beaches. The nice thing is that owning a summer house is really common in these countries so you're typically not adding to a local housing crisis or anything (as AirBnBs often do).

Lanzarote. Tons of cultural stuff, water parks, beaches, volcanoes, English widely spoken (if that matters to you), children made welcome. Warm but not too hot.

We've been to Puglia too and loved it - October half term and the weather was mostly sunny and warm mid-20s. Honestly perfect with the kids who played on the beach all day without baking. Gorgeous towns to explore. Easy to get really reasonably priced accommodation. Need to hire a car to make the most of it.

We spent a month in Thailand with a baby and toddler and it was bliss! We spent 2.5 weeks in ko lanta end of rainy season so it was quiet

thai people love kids and we had someone to hold the baby while we ate our food every day!

we swam and chilled on the beach, my daughter became obsessed with hermit crabs and we followed them around the beach for hours

we rented a car and explored the national parks

saw wild monkeys

snorkelling trips

jungle treks

boat trips

my daughter spent a morning with me volunteering

flights were the only expensive part - the spending on the trip for food and activities was low

We used to take our boys to a villa with a pool in old town Pollensa in Majorca. You can get accommodation in the town itself , and there are lots of restaurants to choose from. The local butchers/ bakers are great and you can get amazing food for the bbq if you don’t want to always eat out.
The main square in the town is always full of children running around - Spanish as well as holiday makers. No one gets upset by this and you can watch them easily. It’s a very child friendly place.There’s a lovely market on Sunday mornings .
Pollensa is inland but Puerta Pollensa and the beach is a 5 minute drive away. There is a water park at Alcudia which is also very near by. Alcudia old town is lovely but parts of Alcudia are very touristy.

@BeanAround Don't you find mosquitoes a problem in northern summers? That would put me off Norway and the like.

Most of the Med will be too hot in the summer holidays unless you're all happy to toast; would you consider half terms? We went to a variety of Greek islands when the kids were young - Kos, Cephalonia, Crete, Rhodes - and Tenerife and the Algarve, but all in May or October. Variety of villas and apartments. Lots of Italy would also suit, including Sorrento, which I love, or Croatia. If you're looking at the summer holidays and would like a bit cooler, possibly the Italian lakes, otherwise you're taking your chances with the weather further north; it can be glorious but not always.

We've always gone abroad with ours, usually to a villa with a pool or camping (own tent. French campsites where you get your own bathroom).

So my vote is a villa in France with aircon. Go somewhere there are loads of castles to visit. Near a river and you can kayak with the DC and eat delicious food.

The words 'restful' and 'young children' don't usually appear in the same sentence for a reason. 😂

Webe been abroad every year since the dds were born (now 21 & 16) and have never had a non relaxing holiday, so it's definitely possible! One of our faves was self catering at Monte Dourado apartments in the Algarve. Not exactly secluded but 10 min walk to a lively town with lots of shops & bars & beach. The big plus for us was there's half a dozen pools spread across the site with only around 100 apartments so the pools never got crowded. You're also left to your own devices as there's just a reception room, nothing else, so no music playing etc

We rented a house with a pool in a French village. We drove out to interesting sites, cycled around local paths, went to local restaurants.

To be honest the children were quite happy playing in the pool all day!

For a first time abroad consider northern France, you can take your car, take the overnight ferry (kids love ferries). Normandy has amazing beaches, lots of history (the bayeaux tapestry has an excellent kids audio tour in English), great food. I stayed in arromache in a bed and breakfast when mine were that age but there's holiday parks with all the things kids love as an alternative too

Any of the Balearics, the Canaries, perhaps some parts of mainland Spain - all very well set up for family holidays, and if you pick carefully, you can find some quiet resorts. We loved Playas de Fornells in Menorca when our kids were small. A very pretty resort of low rise apartments with landscaped gardens and a couple of hotels, near the beach, a couple of restaurants, a bar, a supermarket and a very small waterpark within walking distance. A longer walk, taxi or bus ride to a lovely fishing village with numerous restaurants and a couple of bars.

But if you want truly secluded, then you are not likely to also find a choice of eateries within walking distance. You're more likely to have to hire a car in this case.