Centre Parcs vs AI abroad with toddler and newborn?

[BabyBeeCutie]

So my DH and I cannot decide whether to travel abroad (AI beach holiday) or have a UK based holiday (thinking centre parcs) with DS1 who will be 28months and DS 2 who will be 2months. What are your thoughts on the below?

Pros vs cons:

UK-trip Pros

• no airport hassle
• potentially cheaper
• can take dog with us
• centre parcs looks like it has plenty to entertain toddler

UK-trip cons

• not AI so need to sort out food
• newborn may want to feed often so may require lots of stops (thinking of travelling 3hrs away)
• split family time - DH will be taking toddler to activities and I won’t be able to join with newborn/dog
• limited restaurants availability/can get pricey

————————— Abroad - trips pros

• AI so food available whenever for us
• can all chill by the pool together (newborn in shade, yes)
• guaranteed sun
• newborn will be with me the whole time/no car travelling so can take boob out easily whenever

Abroad cons

• potentially more expensive as need to board dog too (and we ll miss her!)
• stress to sort out baby passport as we plan on travelling end of July and baby due 4th June
• peak season for busy airports

I'd probably stay in the UK but not at CP. I used to love it when I was a kid and we had some good holidays there when older DC were younger, but it's been declining IMO and we swore last time would be our last. Accomodation was very scruffy and some of the restaurants had seen much better days. The price has increased and increased but I don't think they've maintained the place enough to justify it.

Short flight like the Balearics? Love AI, my daughter is 8 and we've been doing it since she was a baby, she lives in the pool on those kinds of holidays, chasing sinkies or playing with toy boats etc.

I think it’s a very personal decision as in what works best with your family. I have done both and honestly would always choose abroad mainly because I don’t like cold/rain and I have come to realise that my kids are really good travellers

We went abroad with a 6w old and a 23m old and had a lovely time. The stresses came from the toddler, we barely noticed the newborn was there in comparison. It wasn't chilled out (because toddler), but it was nice to be warm and in a nicer setting.

We went to CP with a just 2yo and 4mo. It was fabulous. So much so we're about to go back for the 3rd trip, and eldest still isn't quite 3!
Really good value in term time. Especially if you can bring a couple of grandparents to share the lodge cost and help with the children.
We booked only 2 activities for the toddler. Rest of the time was in the pool, playground, soft play, woodland walks, duck feeding.
Personally DH and I have absolutely no interest in subjecting all of us to airports and flights until the children can really enjoy it. We plan the car journeys meticulously to fit with nap schedules for both children and plan where to stop to eat and play. I sit in the back with them, I can just fit comfortably between the car seats, and have many many books, toys and snacks. If you have a really long drive, leave really early if you can, lift the children sleeping from their beds about 5am and drive quick before they wake, then do the getting dressed etc at the first stop. Feels great to be nearly there by lunchtime!

July is peak holiday season and the school holidays for the whole of the UK and Europe. It is also the most expensive time to go on an all inclusive holiday abroad. Hotels will be at full capacity.

As you don't have any school age children, I would wait until September, holidays will be much cheaper and the hotels won't be mobbed with older kids going wild in the pools!

When my DC were that age we used to rent a holiday cottage in the UK and just have days out - beaches, country parks, zoo, wildlife centre....

I would go abroad or stay at home. How much of a holiday is centre parcs for you? You still have to cook, clean, tidy, shop for food and walk the dog. I would rather be at home then and do day trips together. Personally I also find CP overhyped and too expensive.

if you go abroad, at least you can all relax by the pool, nobody needs to cook, tidy, clean the kitchen etc. plus hopefully more chance of sun!
Passports are done quickly, make sure you register baby asap and then take photos. But can you do the jabs before the flight?

We're doing CP for the second time after this year. Last time they were 18mo and 3.5yo. Can your children swim? If no, remember you will spend 100% of your time whilst by the pool making sure they are safe. CP has a splash park which my two loved but even that had its limitations. We went to Longleat CP and the land train was a highlight. Basically did land train, swim, walk everyday. Mix with eating out/in with food. And a couple of activities. CP is also only 45 minutes for us so the travel time was a massive win!

We did an abroad holiday (although not AI) when DC1 was 21mo and I was 32w pregnant. We went to the beach but didn't swim once. Ate out a lot but ended up buying loads of things we knew he liked (bread, fruit pouches, fruit, pasta). The main highlight was watching DC1 fascination looking at the planes when we sat in the lounge. But the travelling was tough: travelled off peak but the airport was so busy DC1 was so overstimulated, we were grateful for the lounge. The flight was delayed. Travel time was 2.5 hours each side. Security took 45 minutes (both ways). Had to consider car seats, travel cots, checking pushchair (we flew BA and fortunately let us take it on board even though it was over dimensions).

try haven or hoseasons
much more dog and tot friendly - most havens the dogs can go everywhere you can (except night entertainment).

Also much cheaper than centre parks - I have been the abroad with kids - nope!

Centr parcs but leave the dog at home. The beauty of cp with children the age of yours is the pool.

I would probably go abroad to a hotel with a kids club that takes them as young as your eldest. Somewhere like H10 Lanzarote or Holiday Villages/ Royal Son Bou all have kids clubs that take children as young as two. Not suggesting you leave your DS in the kids club all day for the week but even a couple of hours a day so you just have the newborn so you get a bit of a break

Prioritise full board, whether in the UK or abroad. It’s only a holiday if some of your daily tasks disappear. Otherwise you are doing the same things in a less well equipped kitchen.

Out of those two options I’d say Centre Parcs. However, I also think U.K. but not Centre Parcs would be better.

When my DCs were similar ages we did a week self catering in a cottage on a farm in the Cotswolds; bought a load of easy meals from Cook and ate out a couple of lunch times. We went to lots of farm park style places, visited Oxford a couple of times, then sat out in the evenings looking over the countryside. It wasn’t fancy, but it was glorious.

You won’t be chilling round the pool together. Me if you will be chasing the two year old about and trying to entertain them while the other one keeps an eye on the new born.

i think I’d probably stay U.K. based with a baby that young. You don’t know how the birth will go and how you’ll feel. How well the baby will sleep etc. it could be fine, but it could be an expensive nightmare.

mthat said I wouldn’t do centre parks at the end of July and pay school holiday prices when my kids aren’t school age. I’d probably try and go early to mid July before schools break up. Though I guess if you go over due to could end up going only a few weeks after giving birth.

I was thinking this too; "what's all this 'relaxing by the pool' with a 2yo talk?"

I guess some 2yos are more chilled than mine were though as a few people have said it now. I don't think I was at "relaxed by the pool" stage at any point from about 18mo till maybe 6yo 😂

My 2yr old wasn’t chilled at all, but we had great times! It wasn’t a resort, so didn’t have to worry about them running away, that’s why I preferred villa holidays. Each to their own though, we did one UK trip and I didn’t enjoy it, just felt like it was expensive and nothing was different!

I think full board works better with older children. We found booking an apartment worked well when the DC were little. Toddlers don’t always want to eat at restaurant friendly hours and the baby may be napping or wailing or feeding so sometimes it was easier to eat in private. Best of both worlds as some meals in and some out. You could also get a grown up takeaway once the toddler was in bed.

Isle of Wight or Jersey would be nice for a seaside break & the ferry allows you to move about easier than a plane & it’s a short journey and less likely to be hideously hot like much of Europe is in the school hols.

Have a lovely holiday @BabyBeeCutie though you probably won’t be having a restful one for a few years to come but a change of scenery is nice and holidays are more memorable than mundane day to day life.

Centre parcs Europe - you're welcome

We did CP when ours were just 3 and 10 weeks. We had a brilliant time and found it very stress free. Baby was mainly sleeping in the pram or feeding. Toddler played in the playgrounds, went swimming, rode his balance bike etc. I don't think we booked any activities. We ate out at lunchtime then did a sandwich tea back in the lodge. Few glasses of wine when the kids were in bed.

A villa abroad is the best of all
Worlds at that age. Easy to cater with BBQ, kids go to bed and you can sit out together and swim. CP is over priced awful IMO. Flying with that age is so easy. Short haul is no issue or hassle. We did our first at 4 months and did 18 hour long haul with 10 month and 3 years and I'd have done it again in a heart beat. When they're a little older they get super bored on the plane!! We did villas every year (short haul) until school age when we wanted the AI (I did!!) and fun pools and entertainment etc.

I would do a UK cottage complex with family friendly facilities like pools and animals. Eg Bosinver in Cornwall, or Clydey Cottages in West wales.

I found full board great with babies and toddlers, though it’s even better with older kids (like every other aspect of a holiday). Mealtimes aren’t at 8pm sharp, there’s a two or three hour window so probably feasible for a toddler to eat a hot meal at some point in the day.

I was referring to people who specifically said "you can chill by the pool", not just anyone who went abroad with toddlers

@BabyBeeCutie what about somewhere like a Haven instead? They have loads of dog friendly accommodation and there will be lots to do on site for your older child, I think it will be much more appropriate than CP for a toddler and also the newborn might enjoy some of the entertainment so you'll be close enough by to just nip back and forth? We went when our little one was 9 months old with our dog too and it was great, the caravan was huge so we did a supermarket shop on one of the days and cooked mostly but also got some takeaways from the eating places on site. I'd really recommend it to anyone with little children and a dog!

This sounds absolutely amazing, is there anywhere is particular that you'd recommend that isn't tooooo expensive? We're planning to go abroad in January when one of ours will be just two and the other 6 months so something like this would be perfect for us!