If you had an amazing holiday this year…

[Sunnydaydreams]

…please share what you did, wherever you went. Having spoken to friends and colleagues, no one seems to have had their best time this year (although most of us have had the ‘pleasure’ of taking grumpy teens bringing down the mood!). Not to everyone’s tastes, but our best family holiday so far has been to Florida, visiting Universal Studios and Disney - it was such good fun.

We had eight days in LA and the surrounding area. Our fourth trip there but first without the kids.
We did lots of sightseeing, we arrived a couple of days before the Oscars so went to Hollywood Blvd for a nosy at the preparations and I was pathetically excited to find that there was red carpet with clear plastic covering which you couldn’t help but walk on so yeah, I’ve walked on the red carpet at the Oscars 😜
We did the WB Studio tour, we’ve done it before and really enjoyed it. We booked the basic tour where you’re driven around in a group of 12-16 people but we were the only ones on our tour bus so we sat up front alongside the driver and had a personalised tour.
We had a picnic in the Hollywood Bowl, its open for you to just walk in when there isn’t an event on.
One day heavy rain was forecast for LA so we drove out into the desert to Joshua Tree National Park which was stunningly beautiful and we hiked through there.

I went to Canada back in April with my parents, husband and our 2 sons age 2 & 6, we went to Calgary, Banff and Lake Louise, Drumheller and Edmonton and had the most fab time. Forked out for a night at the Fairmont Lake Louise and woke up to a freshly snow covered lake, did a helicopter trip over the Rockies, Calgary Zoo, Calgary Tower and one of the best dinosaur museums in the world, the Royal Tyrrell. Absolutely fell in love with the Rockies as I knew I would and getting to experience it in the snow and ice was just magical.

I love western Canada in general, have been to Vancouver Island for 2 weeks a few years ago and I'm planning a return for next year, as well as visiting more of mainland BC. Then it'll be the Rockies in early summer 27 and then back again in March 28 for more fun and walks in the snow.

We only ever holiday outside of the UK, I wouldn’t entertain having a week off work and staying in the UK!
Every holiday is our best as we’re in the sun away from work!
We love Egypt & Cyprus so go there frequently and then go somewhere new
Next year though our holiday will be the best ever and I’m not sure we’ll do it again, we’re doing an Africa Safari as our new place!

2 weeks on the Moray coast. And when I say on the coast, the sea was on the other side of the garden wall.
Really relaxing

To a couple of music festivals and camping on the coast. We had a blast but it’s not for everyone!

RV trip in Canadian Rockies with 16yr old. The lack of mobile coverage meant she had to talk to us! Scenery was stunning (Vancouver, whistler, jasper, banff and a few other stops) people lovely, fab campsites. Lot of driving of course and it wasn’t cheap but would love to go again to the east coast

My sons recently said the best holiday was northern Spain 3 years ago. 2 weeks travelling from Basque Country to Asturias partly public transport partly car hire. What made it was the beautiful landscapes, the beaches and I think immersion in a different country. Last year I took them to a relatives house in the south of France and they really enjoyed exploring with me and my rely who took us to places we would never have found without him. They are very grumpy if I suggest a holiday in the uk though. Snobs.

Thank you so much, it means a lot Still havent got used to it, doubt i will. Hope you are mostly recovered now 😊

I don’t suppose you are able to share more information about your trip please? We are massive theme park fans! How long did it take? We did consider doing a driving trip to Europe to take in a selection of parks but the planning felt a bit overwhelming.

We did a weekend at Phantasialand at Christmastime a couple of years ago and it was brilliant! We’ve love to visit Europa Park. We’d also love to visit Energylandia at some point.

We are looking to return to Florida next year to do Epic Universe.

Sounds amazing! Ever since watching Race Around the World last year I’ve fancied exploring Canada. DH and I did a cruise a long time ago that visited Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Quebec and we thought it was so beautiful. Need to save…

Eurocamp in France. Weather was glorious for the whole 10 days. Some days we just stayed on site as the pools and other facilities were great, other days we went out exploring surrounding villages, markets, cafes and beaches. Kids loved it, so much so, we are booking for next year too.

2 weeks in the Cotswolds and South Wales wonderful weather, lots to see and do.

DH and I had out first childless holiday since the year 2000, we decided to go to somewhere we’d never been with the DC, so we wouldn’t make comparisons, we went to Turkey. It was amazing. We hired scooters and explored for half the holiday and then just relaxed and soaked up the sun, went swimming and ate. I missed the DC terribly but refused to allow myself to wallow in it, we’re starting a new chapter of our lives and we have to embrace it.

Glad to hear that you enjoyed Sorrento as we have just booked there for 2026.

This year we had a week in a villa at Lazise (Lake Garda) with adult DS and his partner in June and then DH and I had a week in Tenby in July. Both were lovely and I would recommend either place.

DH and I are heading off to Split in Croatia later this month. We stayed just outside of Dubrovnik last year so hoping we enjoy Split as much.

Most people who rent a villa actually leave it to do activities and visit other places! Why would you think that would be boring ?

Swedish and Finnish Lapland road trip in February , stunning landscapes and lots of snow based fun with 7yo DD, she loved it. Already looking for a similar non-skiing based winter holiday for next Feb if anyone has recommendations!

Skiing. Worth every penny. We’ve got three teens or almost teens now and they love it. Playing in the snow, learning a skill, the opportunity to be sporty (only one is naturally). Tired and happy by the end of the day. In my experience kids have not appreciated hot weather beach holidays, leading to grumpy or ungrateful kids. The fresh air and clean winter sun suits us all. We forego the summer holiday now for a winter one to afford it

This sounds great, can you share more please? Where did you fly to, what was your itinerary? What was driving like in the snowy conditions? Any tips?

Hi, we flew to Lulea in Sweden and hired a car there as a lot cheaper than Finland. Spent a few days there that coincided with their ice festival. The sea there freezes and you can just walk between islands. Then we went to Levi in Finland where we did a skiing lesson , a husky sled and lots of sledging (saw the northern lights twice)

On the way back to Sweden we called at Rovaniemi to do the the cheesy Santa stuff but Dd wasn't really taken with it (I believe much better experiences are available if that's important to you)

Lapland is what you make it really, if you want to do all the experiences it can get very expensive but we were just happy playing in the snow, skating and sledging. Husband did the driving but the cars are equipped and the roads well cleared, just need to avoid going too far too the side and ending up in a snowdrift!

Thank you for sharing, sounds fantastic! I’m going to look into this. I have older kids so no Santa etc but love the idea of a road trip holiday with husky sledding and snoe shoeing.

Visited Cumbria this summer and yes we had a great time. 4 DC and the dog too. Two teenagers included in that.

Japan over Easter was amazing, then this summer a week in Northumberland and a week in Sorrento all went down very well with our DCs 11 and 14. Although they like centerparcs best just before Christmas!

I nearly booked this holiday for our family but my teens threw a strop before I even got that far as they said it would be too hot. Was the temperature bearable?

reenon we also did that holiday! It was good although a little more full on sociable than my DH and I had expected 🫠 (afternoons and dinners ended up being with the group, as well as the activities) but our tweens really enjoyed it.

Re the weather, all the activities are water based except ziplining. Most activities start early before it gets too hot and by the time it warms up, it’s not long till you get in the water. And then it’s perfect. If you go, I recommend doing ziplining late in the day like 4/5pm.

3 weeks in Peru, Ecuador and Galapagos. Bucket list holiday with our 2 kids aged 20 and 16. Absolutely epic. Machu Picchu, all the Galapagos animals, saw Condors flying in Cotopaxi national park whilst horse riding. Just amazing!!'