Recommendations for first family holiday abroad

[OneShyQuail]

Hi all!
I have two children (they will be 7 and 13 when we go away) and a partner....we would like to do a week long abroad family holiday next year.

Asking for recommendations as it will be our first one and no idea where to start!

Some stipulations

1. We are an active family so wouldn't want to sit at a pool for a week. No issues having a few days by a pool or a beach but we would like to sightsee or do excursions etc

1. We have to go in school holidays 🤦‍♀️

1. None of us like partying/loud music/drinking/rowdiness

1. Probs half board or all inclusive but food needs to be good!

1. We wont likely go abroad again for a few years so it needs to be a nice place to stay

Can anyone advise on a nice chilled family holiday, with some sightseeing (my children value history and sightseeing very much so).

I suggest you look at May or October half term holidays.

Summer holiday in the Mediterranean is extremely hot 35/40° are easily done and then having an active holiday is definitely not something you want to do.

I can't recommend a hotel because in the past, we were fairly disappointed with AI resorts and food. The only nice one we had was the Aphrodite Hills in Cyprus which has a mix of hotel restaurant and outside restaurants as there was a villa area as well and the restaurants caters for these guests. But the location is too remote without a car and notwhere near the beach.

Cyprus is a good mix of things to do and beach so you may want to look into it. We are actually going back in April to Nissi Beach, again an Atlantica Hotel.

We only booked AI this time as it was cheaper as a package than booking the hotel directly.

I highly recommend the Valamar Lacroma Hotel just outside of Dubrovnik. The city is fantastic for history but can get really busy in peak season so it was nice to be close enough to visit early or later in the day to avoid the crowds. One of the nearby beaches has good watersports, and there are so many activities for kids at the hotel.

Go somewhere like Greece or Italy (pompei). Crete might be good.