Booking a holiday - talk to me like I'm an idiot

[BeanMeUp]

Because at this point, I feel like I am!

We (2 adults, 1 child) would like to maybe venture to Europe next year. Child will be 8/9 depending on time of year and is autistic.

It's been a long time since we've been out of the country - 10 years, maybe more.

We've gone away a lot but UK based, where I've booked transport/accommodation separately, generally staying somewhere like a Premier Inn as a base for a city break, or a self-catering lodge type accommodation for something more rural.

What's the deal with booking in Europe? Previously we've just booked cheap flights and found somewhere to stay when we've got there. Had some amazing places but also some proper dives, but it didn't matter when were young and carefree. We obviously need to be a little more prepared and responsible now!

Talk to me like I'm an idiot - because I think i might be. How would you go about booking say a city break in terms of travel and accommodation? Do you just pick a random hotel and book direct, or through a third party platform?

Or a resort type break? When I've looked online e.g. Tui every search ive done has come back with nothing meeting my criteria, or in countries way further than we can currently travel.

Also, I welcome any suggestions!
Main criteria: Eurostar/plane travel, short transfer times, flight length max 2 hours.

Thank you!

Oh- and also- DS1 has autism (he's 16 now) but when he was younger I found the key was to keep my epxectations low and to build in lots of downtime for him. So we got into a routine of doing things in the morning, being in the hotel all afternoon (DH and I would swap staying with him and going out alone) and then out for dinner in the evening. It was really hard at first because we both wanted him to see things and experience things and we had to step right back, take our foot off the accelerator and be guided by his pace. He's a keen traveller now - which at points I thought would never come.

If you need assistance because of difficulties queueing or with crowds do make sure you book it. We did a couple of years back when mum had a broken leg, expecting it to be a dreadful experience but it was actually excellent.

YouTube is your friend, I research like mad on YouTube.
Last year we did Barcelona, Prague and Budapest and had loads of fun for cheap.
Expidia is good for city break or break where you don't move too much (a bit tedious if you move to different cities) otherwise I use booking.com. For me planning a holiday is as fun as actually going😂.

Oh yes Youtube!

I watch an American guy with a channel called Wolter's World. He's great and has pretty much everywhere with his young family.

Thanks to him we saw things we would not have necessarily come across in Munich / Crete / North Queensland.

Don’t use booking.com as people often face issues and they aren’t that cheap.

First I’d use Skyscanner to find out where I can fly direct from my chosen airport.

I’d then have a look on the airlines’ own websites to check the price range and flight times. You may have opinions about how early you’re prepared to set off or arrive in the resort, for example. My ideal times are arriving in resort at check in time and leaving at check out time, but that’s not always feasible*.

Then I’ll look at a map to see where the airport is in relation to the resort, hotel, beach etc. and see whether public transport or an airport transfer is needed, or whether we’ll hire a car, and price that up/look at feasibility.

Then I’ll look for the best accommodation that fits the bill. After using the booking sites for information, I book direct if possible. I always read reviews across more than one site if possible. There are always some mad ones complaining about the weather or the colour of the carpet, but they can be helpful.

Always book everything with a credit card (using one that doesn’t charge exchange fees if you’re paying in Euros), and get your travel insurance sorted as soon as you book in case you have to cancel. Make sure the travel insurance covers you all for all pre-existing conditions.

*Sometimes we have booked an extra night in the resort so that we have the accommodation right up to the point of departure, if it’s a late flight home - sometimes that’s cost-effective as well as convenient. Your autistic child might appreciate that.

Valencia will be quieter and cheaper than Barcelona or Madrid.
I book everything through Air BnB and have found and stayed in some amazing properties all over Europe.

Look at duinrell in the Netherlands if you like a holiday park vibe with easy access to Amsterdam.

Such a wonderful place, walk 5 minutes to a lovely small town, amusement park on site, fantastic pool complex and a glorious beach within a mile or two.

stay with eurocamp and other similar companies or book direct with them in their duinglows.

It really depends on what you're looking for.
You can just book the whole thing through a package holiday company.
Or you can find a flight/train and then book either hotel or self catering.
There are pros and cons to all of the options.
I personally love a Eurostar and train holiday. Just as an example, you could get Eurostar to Lille, break the journey with a night there (Novotel is good for family rooms, free breakfast for kids etc), have a day or two exploring the old town, then get a TGV down to the south of France and stay in an Airbnb with a pool.
It's harder work booking it like that (lots of moving parts, lots of research to find accommodation you like that's near the station and fits the dates of the cheapest trains/flights) but it gives you the freedom to explore the places you really want to visit rather than just the big package tour destinations.
Use TripAdvisor and Google reviews to check reviews of accommodation and check Google maps to get an idea of how easy it is to get to from the station. Think about things like whether there's a shop/restaurant/bakery within walking distance if you're not hiring a car.

If you're interested in a train holiday, The Man in Seat 61 website is brilliant for planning routes, working out how to buy tickets etc.

If you haven’t been abroad in a long time and need everything to be simple (especially with an ASD child), I’d stick to a package break the first few times.

I am happy to book some of my trips individually but I’m also confident in what I’m doing. I wouldn’t have done it first few times abroad.

Hi op. I haven't rtft so apologies if duplication.

I also have asd teen.

I my experience you should as far as budget allows reduce all possible stress.

Fly with BA if possible on a BA plane. The staff are wonderful. Book a self catering not a million miles from the airport. Do a big shop when you arrive. Spend your day around the pool, in the local area.

We have a lot of success with VRBO.

I also saw someone recommend Novotel, we stayed with them in Lausanne in our way to Southern Switzerland and they were amazing with the children.

Eurostar can get you directly to Amsterdam as well as Paris or Brussels. Lille is another option, well worth a visit. You can also look at options to change in either Paris or Lille to go to places like Avignon or Lyon. You can also change at Brussels for Cologne.

For hotels, if you want to be sure of what you're likely to get, it might be best to choose a chain you're familiar with. My personal choice is Accor (obviously, other chains are available), as they have a range from budget to luxury, but I don't have to worry about the cleanliness or comfort. You also get ~ 10% discount if you join their membership scheme (which is free).

Good luck!

For sunshine breaks I usually use tui as it’s simple and as we book ai I know how much my holiday costs. For other trips I use booking.com usually but I will check the hotel through trip advisor and google as well. I’ve not had many issues, the one time they sorted it for me completely. Flights you can book directly with the airline, or look at train travel.

my dd is autistic and we found road trips easier and drive all around Europe, Italy and Spain went down very well as she likes architecture and art

We find British Airways holidays really good, we have had some great value city breaks and package deals with them.
we also use air bnb a lot and have never had a bad one. Sometimes you can get some incredible properties.

Check easyjet flights from Gatwick to Ljubljana. Book accommodation in Bohinjska Bela or Radoljvica (close to Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj but much prettier and less crowded) for a few nights. Then 2 nights in Ljubljana. Maybe also in Piran or Portoroz if you want to see the coast. Then home again from Ljubljana.

Horses for courses really, we never stay in hotels, we book airbnb or selfcatering via any other site and then book flights

Just see what you fancy or where is cheap, those two things might be the same!!

Our DS has SEN and we almost always book self catering. Usually through VRBO for preference as they seem to have fewer completely awful places than Airbnb.

Suggest you book package (you can select self catering) given potential fuel shortages etc and your ryanair getting cancelled or delayed

For European breaks you can book yourself or do packages. I've actually found Easyjet to be very reasonable for flight+hotel from Bristol. When I've tried to price up myself it isn't always cheaper. Check out trip advisor for hotels. If an apartment is better then try Airbnb or just search for check trip advisor listings and then try to book direct.

What are your child's trigger? I have a ND child and we found that a resort can be too much, it's the noise, the amount of people and no real way to decompress apart from staying in the room.

Berlin is a great city but I wonder if 8/9 is a bit young, a lot to see is WWII or divided Germany.
If you go during Summer, Paris can be also difficult as France is on holiday.

Good German areas are Baltic Sea, you can either get a s/c appartment or there are smaller hotels geared at families. Beach, nature, Hamburg and Lübeck are easy to visit.
Bavaria is often a good choice, you could stay around Munich for day visits, Starnberger See on one side is not too far by car or train or you go the other way to Herrenchiemsee.

Plenty of public swimming pools, indoor fun pools and lidos.

The Netherlands are also good, Zeeland in the south is great for beaches, easy to go to Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam.

We are going to Berlin, I have 2 young children eldest is autistic too. There seems to be a good mix of stuff for children and adults to enjoy. For us food will be an issue, although she has surprised us before on holiday so who knows! I would definitely recommend taking some favourite foods and snacks that are easy to pack. We also enjoyed Málaga, although the flight is closer to 3 hours.

Honestly, in the current climate I'd 100% book a package, so if the flight gets cancelled you'll either be offered another option, or get your money back.