Help, I need a sunny holiday now - any ideas

[seahorse]

dh comes back from the gulf on Sunday and he's been away for a total of about 5 months (short break for christmas). I moved house recently and ds (nearly 4) and dd (18m) are a handful at the moment. Recently managed to stave off horrendous depression and am feeling much better alomst back to norm but I think we REALLY NEED a holiday..asap.

Problem is I don't want to holiday to be stressful and I want a bit of sun, bit of luxury and v good food. Looked at the mumsnet list and looked at the italian one (top of the list but forgotten the name). It looked great but reminded me of a skiing holiday we went on with ds when he was little with Ski Esprit - found myself surrounded by london stockborker types (sorry if I offend anyone) and the thought of dh and me having to make polite chat at every evening meal put me off. Any other suggestions as I don't seem to be capable of making choices at the moment!

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You could try lastminute.com, Seahorse...maybe head for a nice hotel which is child-friendly rather than a "child-friendly" package.
I'm pretty ignorant about luxury holidays in the sun but Corsica is likely to be warm at this time of year and there are some nice 3-4* hotels in Calvi, for example. The food there is top stuff and the island is very relaxing before the real season kicks off in June.
I'm sure others will have specific recommendations. I hope you both get the sunny, peaceful time you deserve and that dh gets back OK.

For a package holiday, if you're not looking for all day childcare, the Thomson Platinum Princess hotels are of a good standard and have very good food.
We've been to a couple in Tenerife - had a great family suite in one which was ideal for putting ds2 down for his nap whilst we were in the other room.

We are having excellant weather over here at the moment - meant to be 37C by Thursday.Best check the longer term forecast though because that is very high for the time of year.Due to the war bookings are very low for the time of year so imagine that there must be many good cheap offers on for Greece.Probably for the whole of the med. actually.Here in Greece the further south you go the warmer it will be Crete Rhodes Cos will all be good bets at this time of year. If you want facilities for children check first with tour operator as to what is available this early in the season.There are several all-in type resorts in Crete around Elounda that are supposed to be lovely.HTH

Thanks all

Not too bothered about childcare as dh is really looking forward to spending time with them and he's probably had enough of sun and sand!!!
I've never been to greece - are the restuarants child friendly?

Do you think the lastminute discounts are better than you can get at a travel agent?

Everywhere in Greece is child friendly seahorse - as are all mediterranean countries - children rule the roost here!

Don't know what your budget is seahorse, but have you thourght of the Carribean??

Beaches all inclusives are supposed to be wonderful (part of the Sandals chain, dh and I had 2 Fantastic holidays at Sandals before ds was born)

They have childcare if you want it (Choose at anytime while you're there), lovely beaches and pools, excellent food and everything's paid for once you get there, so you don't keep thinking "can I afford the lobster " or whatever on the menu

I've talked myself into it, Just going to look down the back of the sofa to see if I can find the necessary cash ROFL

easy

funny you should say that - I've just looked on lastminute and was wondering whether ds and dd would be ok on long haul filght - haven't got much spare cash at the moment after moving house but think it might be worth increasing the overdraft!

easy - I was nostalgically browsing the Sandals brochure earlier today - went on honeymoon to Sandals Antigua and had a great time. The cost of 2 weeks at Beaches for the four of us is around £7,500 for 2 weeks in May (hope you've got a big sofa)

omigod - I won't bother even looking

Greece is great value for money for last minute holidays, and the weather should be great, though further south in Med you go, the more reliable the weather. Skiathos is a good place for families, and has nice beaches too. see if Simply Travel have got any good last-minute deals on their website
www.simply-travel.com
they do other Med destinations too - and they have 2 bed villas or spacious 1 bed, which is a little bit of a rarity in Greece.

I think Kosmar do really good last minute deals, and not always to the tacky resorts in Greece. So the quieter areas like the Pelion, Paxos, Wetern Crete and so on.

Always a big fan of Turkey, and even better value for money than Greece - Turkish people are so lovely and friendly, and forget anyone who says it's not safe - bollocks to that. The food is better than in Greece too! There are really tacky resorts (Marmaris, Hirasonu, etc), but places like Kalkan, Kas, Fethiye, Dalyan are really nice, tasteful, and TURKISH!! see if Tapestry has some good last minute deals - i know they have 2 for the price of 1 between now and 15th July. their properties are really lovely, and you can choose which rooms you stay in when you book.

www.tapestryholidays.com

Sounds like you really deserve a nice holiday - hope you find the right one!

Iota,
Unfortunately DH raided the sofa last week to buy petrol, so no Beaches for us either.

As I gave up work when DS was born (and I earned a reasonable amount before that) holidays seem to be unattainable. We managed a week self-catering in cornwall in 2001, and I took dh for a weekend in spain for his 40th last year (leaving ds with my sister). I'm still paying for that, switching the balance between credit cards as low interest deals come up !!!

How does everyone else afford hols, and how much rest do you get with small child in tow.

Easy
re how do you afford holidays check out the 'Money how much comes in' thread - a huge variety of incomes.

As for how much r&r do you get - not much, but it gives dh an opportunity to see how much work 2 small boys are (he he)

We're off to the Caneries for a week tomorrow - it's costing areound £900 at one of the before- mentioned Princess hotels - for 4 of us

£900 what a bargain.

Just for info. Three of us going to Corsica with simply travel for 2 weeks is costing us £2,800. That's off peak as well.
I don't know how bigger families do it when thay are tied to peak seasons.

simply turkey had 2 weeks to the tomsan villas or okaliptus apartments for £220pp leaving on the 19th may - it also included free half day creche at their in-house child care place.
THAT is a bargain!!

and no, I don't work for the Turkish tourist board!! though maybe I should!!

Saw this on e-bay
cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2173341183&category=3256
You might have to cut & paste it..

Seahorse, I know your original message said dh was just back from the Gulf, but I can highly recommend Sharm el-Sheikh or Taba in Egypt. Both on the Red Sea coast, weather fab here just now, lots of hotels to choose from at all prices, and even the 5 star ones are cheap now because all the tourism died during the Gulf crisis. Better still, it's only a 5 hour flight from London. Lots of flight & half board packages available, the food is great and plentiful, tends to be buffets in the evening so you can pile your plate high. Also, there's lots to do in Sinai apart from just lying on a beach, there's St Catherines Monastery on the way up Mt Sinai, fascinating place, you can also ride camels, do eco-treks with the Bedouins and loads more. And all Egyptians just LOVE kids, especially if they're blonde and blue eyed like mine - they just take them off your hands and play with them while you finish your meal - no more indigestion. Exchange rate is also very good at the moment so everything is dirt cheap once you're here. And the snorkelling/diving is out of this world. If you're here for 5 days or more you can take the PADI diving course if it takes your fancy.