Summer holiday - any recommendations

I've said it before and I'll say it again.
SIMPLY TRAVEL!!!!
They have creches attached to apartments/villa in Crete, Zakynthos, Turkey and Corsica - and in Portugal you can hire a nanny to come to your villa. We went to Zakynthos last year and stayed at Periyali villas - it was so brilliant that we booked our return the day we came home. My sister also went later in the season on my recommendation and loved it - and friends are coming with us next year too. Think the website is Simplytravel.co.uk - if you end up considering booking post back as I know of an upcoming promotion that will get you an "early booking discount" if you book before end of Feb. I'll post details if anyone is interested. (and no, I don't work for the company, but frankly I should be on commission for spreading the good word!!)

I mean friends are coming with us THIS year - can't get my head around 2003 yet, but Happy New Year to all mumsnetters.

ok - the promotion is due to go in to a mag' I write for in the next few weeks or so. So if you see something you like in their brochure and are going to book post here and I will whack details online as soon as mag is out (otherwise they might think something odd is going on!).

Just be sure that you can't book the same simply travel hols elsewhere cheaper - we went to france with them ( seduced again by the childcare option - and yes the holiday was great ) but if I'd booked direct with the owner ( on the internet/via Chez Nous brochure, and I did do a search but apparenly they were having problems with thier provider at the time) I would have saved about £500 on a one week stay!!!

bayleaf - I didn't know they did childcare in France, or was this a skiing holiday?

OOppps - you're right - we had the Crystal brouchure and Simply travel and now I've checked it was actually crystal we went with - Durrr!!!
It was a smallish group of gites with a lovely little creche - golf course and tennis courts - various other sports facilites - we had a gite that shared a pool with 3 others - the main site has a paddling pool and swimming pool for the 12ish gites there and there is one gite with own pool. It is very popular tho so gets booked up quickly for school hols. We're definitely going again!

Jardin Tecina on the island of La Gomera is a great family friendly hotel - they have junior suites, family duplexes and guaranteed interconnecting rooms. the flight is into Tenerife, but only a 40 minute hydrofoil over to the island, which is so much less developed and commercial than the main Canary Islands. Always had loads of good feedback from people I've sent there. Has a kids club, but as it is very informal, and you're not realy paying extra for it, then there's no pressure to send kids there for the whole day. And no need to pre-book the creche unlike Simply Travel. Can book through various tour operators, but not direct.

Tapestry Holidays do some really nice places in Turkey - Occakoy is a really nice converted Turkish village - they have 1 bedroom cottages with separate bedroom and living/sleeping area. Not right by the sea, but a complementary bus goes to beach twice a day. Tapestry run a kids club which you have to pre-book. IMO the Turks are some of the friendliest most genuine in the Med. Food is great, cost of living there dead cheap, and the scenery is gorgeous. Really hot in summer though.

Villa Vita Park in Portugal - v. expensive, but possibly one of the best family friendly hotels in Europe.

any other advice needed I'm happy to help!

Does anyone have a web address for villa vita park and bayleaf where was that place in france it sounds great

It was in the Dordogne area - about an hour from Bordeaux airport. here for more details. Let me know if you have any questions!

Bay leaf, thanks. You've cheered up an otherwise v dull day

www.vilavita.com

Can anyone recommend a nice quiet resort perhaps in Ibiza or Minorca? Hotel/apartment v. near to the beach and no lager louts. (Been to Es Cana before that was nice). Kids club would be a bonus. R

Son Bou in Menorca is great. Went last year & are going again this year. Stayed in San Jaime apts. This is a large complex, so you could be anywhere from a 5 to 20 min walk to beach. We ended up at the quietest end of the complex, which was great, but ended up driving to the beach as 5 & 6 yr old would have been a pain walking back. Not much to do in the resort, apart from bars/restaurants and touristy shops, but kids loved it. Def. the most laid back holiday we have ever had. Also, people there were all very 'nice' (IYKWIM), no late night lager louts or people swearing at their kids. If you're interested I can post more info.

Most places in Menorca are fairly lager lout free except maybe for Cala 'n' Forcat. We stayed in Arenal d'en Castell, which has a lovely horseshoe shaped bay, and some nice cafes and restaurants on the beach. It's a fairly small resort so shouldn't be too far to the beach wherever you stay. There is a huge beach at Son Parc, also with a cafe, and you can hire beds and umbrellas too. There is accommodation there but not that close to the beach I believe. Hiring a car would be a good idea because the island is quite nice to explore, Cuitadella is nice for shopping and Mahon is good for restaurants and boat trips, but are opposite ends of the island. A trip to the top of the mountain (think it's called elToro) is worth it too, and there is a great donkey farm with restaurant and pony rides on the main north road from Mahon , past the turning for Son Parc on the way towards Fornells ( swish fishing village great for eating by a harbour but not too sure about eating with kids).

And Cala 'n' Bosch has a nice but small water park with trampolines , a cafe and other amusements if you want to spend money!

Tillysmummy, we went with Sunsail last year on a resort based holiday and we were really impressed. The childcare was fantastic, accommodation OK and food OK. Although, there is a degree of emphasis on Sailing you don't have to go anywhere near a boat. They have resorts throughout mainland Europe and have lots of adjoining rooms so that children can sleep separately.
Hope you find something wonderful.

I know you've already made your mind up re hotel etc. But a cruise really fits your criteria: you and him time, great childcare, no flying. Could recommend P&O Aurora & Oriana have taken our children 4 times already - great value, excellent food and some great ports - corsica, barcelona, sardina etc...

bayleaf, have booked that holidat you recommeded in the Dordogne. Any tips for getting there, stopovers etc? we want to bring the car

OH good Cos - which accommodation did you book?
Did you talk to the owners on the phone? - They are very, very nice, English ( this isn't the place to go to meet French!)and bought the place pretty much derelict and have done it up gradually and developed it.
We stayed in one of the 4 sharing a pool a few minues away - and would go back there if/when we manage to go again ( My ttc/ivf plans are putting all holiday booking on hold)
We had very complicated travel arrangements as dh drove ( overnight stay near the port, early crossing, arrived around 6pm)and I flew with dd ( then 17 months) Birmingham-bordeaux - left around 2pm - hour's flight - taxi to train station - hour on train and got to village 10 mins away where dh picked me up. This last bit was a bit stressful tho as the train wasn't air conditioned and it was v hot.(and I do speak French which makes bits like this easier)
How old are your children?

Cos, you can fly to Dordogne - to Bergerac to be exact with Buzz (www.buzzaway.com) and they currently have cheap flights if you book under the Telegraph offer before 17/1/03 - the codeword is buzzoff - you need to put it in

Thanks bayleaf
the kids will be 4,4 and 6 (IVF by the way). Want to bring the car as flying and renting always gets expensive. We're staying in atleier, 2 bedroom unfortunatly but all that was left.

Yes I can see that with kids 4, 4 and 6 you might want a bit of time to yourself! Have you booked creach time now? I'd advice you to if possible as it's only small ( 2 nursery nurses) and get booked quickly esp on tournament days ( tennis/golf. For meals out I'd STRONGLY recommend one in the vaults of a chateau in nearby town - can't remember name but people in the bar on site will tell you as they recommended it to us. Nursery nurses do baby sitting - but get your requests in early as is first come first served!
Hope you have a lovely time!!!