ok we have decided to take DC abroad for the first time

[norksinmywaistband]

they are/will be 3 & 4 never flown before.
We want to go this year as dd starts school in sept, so are looking out of school holidays for the only time for the next 13 years!!!!

Ideally spain/algarve/??greece

Is it better to self cater or half board with little ones
Hotel or appartment
any location suggestions welcome

tia

We have gone all incusive with the babies/toddlers and older dc. Means they can try lots of different things.Have done apts and hotels. Don't mind either really.

We liked places like Menorca and Portugal. Felt they were not as hot as Cyprus/Canaries etc.

My lot have loved flying etc too.

Have gone self catering too but we tended to waste loads as the dc are never as hungry abroad in the heat iyswim?

Depends on how you want to spend your evenngs. I don't get how people with small children stay in a single hotel room - what do they do in th evening? (unless of course DCs are happy to stay up until late)

We've caravanned in italy for the last couple of years. Has been fab.

We have had a hotel room that had a seperate room in it,maybe an aparthotel?

Have to agree with mary - hav done the canvas/Eurocamp/Keycamp thing in France and Italy for 7 years now and all fantastic!! BBQ BBQ BBQ is the way to go!! As well as campsite restaurant which is usally great food but geared up for and tolerant of children too!!! Takeaway pizzas always a hit too!

Love SC with the kids, can eat out every night, or when ds was smaller we would feed him before we went out. Plus in an apartment you get your own room which you dont in a hotel room and they normally only take 3

Did Menorca 2 years in a row which we loved and I would deffo go again, great for families, no louts, very safe, very clean and a great hospital!!!!! Would recommend Viva Menorca apartments in Cala N Bosch, spotlessly clean, lifeguard by pool, great entertainment, lovely staff, family friendly resort with some lovely restaurants.
Doing the Algarve this year.

I cant recommend camping at all its just not me. I have my own toilet all year round, why would I want to share with a bunch of strangers for my two week holiday, and why would I want to cook my own food when I do it every night at home. IMHO a holiday is for everyone, which means I get time off too. At least I tried it, but never again, I just dont get it.

oh Mosschops I don't mean CAMPING in a tent with shared toilets!!! I do mobile homes which are vvvv roomy with a lounge, bedrooms, toilet/shower room and kitchen wit cooker/ove/ fridge frezer type thing!! And where it wins hands down over aprtments is that instead of a balcony you get your own pitch for the dcs to run around in!! Or paint seashells with disney princess nail varnish for 2 weeks if you are dd!!!

Did love my apt hols in cala n bosch, but have found the mobile home camping hols far more relaxing - you don't want to cook, you eat out! You're skint, you BBQ!!!

Oh now I could be talked into mobile homes but the camping thing is a no-no. I want my own toilet and shower!!

SC all the way, you can suit yourselves over meal times, what to eat, how much etc. Much easier with small children.

We did May or mid-September when DD1 was pre-school because it's cooler & quieter.

Usually went for bungalow, cottage type accom as you get a little garden area that's normally fenced in.

I highly recommend the First Choice Holiday Villages, there are loads of them now all over the world.

They provide so much for the little ones to do and the kids are happy there which equals happy parents.

The standards are reasonably high and there are opportunities for the parents to have some time on their own if you would like that.

We've been using them at least twice a year for three years now, off to the Red Sea on in four weeks and I can't wait!!!!

Oooh MHET thats what we're doing this year, we booked the Algarve one, it looks lovely and was a steal
Have you been?

We've been to the Turkish one twice Mosschops and the Costa Del Sol one. Never had any complaints so far.

The standard of service/cleanliness/food/rooms/kids clubs has always been very high and wherever we've gone outwith the HV's we've always found ourselves comparing them with them.

You'll have a wonderful time. They're brilliant!

I can also highly recommend the Swim Kids instructors if your dc's are at an age to learn to swim!

Haven't been to Portugal at all but do fancy the Algarve one, I believe it was a normal hotel which was expanded/fully renovated Summer 08 to achieve HV status. It looks really good!

x

Yes it has changed names in this years brochure. Im glad you speak so highly of them, I dont know anyone else who's been but I spend ages researching our holidays so always pleased when it turns out well.
I was thinking of the swim kids thing, is it really worth it? ds will be 4.4 when we go in May

Yes, they're definitely worth it, hv's all over that is, not just Swim Kids.

DS was just under five when he did swim kids. He has some behavioural problems so we booked some one on one with swim kids for him as well as the group lessons. He got his 15m certificate at the end of the week.

No where else compares now - at all!

Holiday Truths always have some good threads on the holiday villages, well worth having a read on there.