what would be a good holiday if dh can't be with us?

[basildonbond]

dh works abroad most of the time, and doesn't yet know when he'll be free over the summer (if at all )

He's said to go ahead and book something and if he can join us he will ...

I was hoping to get a cottage with my sisters and their kids but they're both already sorted

So where/what would be manageable if it's just me and 3 dc (ds1(13), ds2(10), dd(7)) - ds1 has tourette's (but pretty ok at the moment) and ds2 has asperger's just to throw added complications into the mix ...

Are you thinking of the UK or abroad? What sort of budget do you have? Self catering, all inclusive or B+B?
Once those initial questions are answered you'll get a lot of suggestions.

id go somewhere activity based. pay a bit more money for the kids to pissoffclimb a tree or something whilst i got drunk relaxed

keycamp type holidays are ok for this - find the tour operator that does a teens club - the great thing is they arein a club mornings and some afternoons - you get some time to yourself but then you get afternoons and evenongs to go sightseeing or eat out and have a meal - also if there is entertainment on site thats a huge bonus.

i recommend les mouette as the best site that keeps kids occupied, with a great pool, fantastic animation programme - fromt he site itself - plus whatever ykeycamp or whpoever you chose put on.

there are great beaches, lovely little towns, supermarket nearby.

Depending on where your dh works, could you go to somewhere close by? Obviously this falls on its arse if he is in Saudi Arabia.

he's in UAE - have been considering going there for a couple of weeks before Ramadan but the flights would cost £2000+ and that seems a lot of money to go and sit in an air-conditioned apartment for 2 weeks! (I don't 'do' heat very well ...)

I'd originally thought of staying in the UK as I'm not sure if I could face a long drive on the wrong side of the road with 3 bickering dc, but will check out custardo's les mouettes recommendation

budget - not more than £2000, and self-catering preferable

feeling very bleurgh about the prospect of doing summer on my own - I've just about got used to doing term-times almost completely on my own, but the whole summer?

That's hard. Definitely stay away during Ramadhan, we lived in Oman and it wasn't a lot of fun. I'd recommend Croatia, we went there last year and camped. the people were great and the cost low. We did have a car though because we'd driven there.

Could you do an Explore type family holiday where its all sorted out for you - or would the ds' not enjoy that/need lots more flexibility?

I think they are good for knowing what you'll be doing everyday and you wont need to sort out accommodation or food.

We were thinking about one of the North African ones...the cheapest ones are £700 each though [winces]