Holiday Ideas with Toddlers

[nobodygirle]

We're currently away for our first holiday abroad as a family. We have a 2 year old DD and another one on the way.

We've come to a lovely 5* All Inclusive in Greece thinking the convenience of it would be ideal for our daughter, that she'd love spending the day in the pool, the private beach and the ease of buffet style meals etc but she has been miserable (and therefore so have we by default).

She hates the food, doesn't like the heat or going in the pool and didn't much enjoy the beach either. Aside from the odd fun moment here or there she's seemed unhappy and would definitely rather be at home.

Either way, its been far from relaxing. We've had a stressful few months and thought the holiday would be what we needed as a family but alas....

So, leaves me with the question - where could we go for holidays in the future (over next few years when she and younger one are still young). I love going abroad so don't want to just holiday in the UK but can't do this again.

Anyone have any great ideas of holidays that kids will also enjoy? Sp far Euro Disney is all I can come up with.

I second the villa recommendation, Lanzarote has loads of villas with heated pools to rent at very reasonable prices. That way you have loads of space and privacy so you're not worried about wrecking the peace for everyone else. You'll also have a lot more food options. We used to utilise naptime to have a dip in the pool and a couple cocktails on our own.

We’ve just come back from Iceland with our two year old and had a fab time. He loves being outdoors and collecting rocks/stones. Lots of swimming in the hot springs and staying in cabins with wide open spaces. We rented a car and road tripped for a few weeks so we’re on our own schedule completely. Also we got to do a bucket list trip for us.

Quite a lot of organising and not for everyone but we all had a great time!

Amazing! I went to Iceland at Christmas back in the day and desperate to go back with little one in tow so great to hear it went down well with your toddler.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. She ended up enjoying the holiday more the last day or so, although the flight home was a bit much for her. Planning to keep it low key for next couple of years and see how we get on.

We just got home from a week's holiday to Majorca and our 2.5 year old had a fab time. We weren't actually supposed to go there but our planned holiday to Crete was cancelled last minute so we rebooked this and actually I think DD would have hated Crete.

Our hotel had an on-site water park for older kids and splash park for younger ones. My DD hated the proper pool but enjoyed toddling around the splash park pool as it was only waist deep for her, we got her a bucket and watering can and she just went around collecting water from the splashy bits. The hotel was full of kids so she made a couple of friends which meant she was happy to go play a lot. We had a lot of available snacks and activities (sticker books/colouring books etc) so if we were sat around the pool she didn't get bored.

Food was alright, all inclusive and very geared towards kids so there was always burgers and chips available which meant there was a guarantee she would eat.

We tailored our evenings to her, went to mini disco at 8pm (she didn't join in the first few nights) and then put her in the pushchair and went for a walk until she fell asleep, we then sat in the quieter bar area until bedtime.

We also went to Disneyland Paris earlier in the year and she loved that too.

I find with toddlers it's mainly about the bribes. Ice creams, little toys.... best thing about the day? I got a flag to put on my sandcastles!

I mean, they like the beach, the pool etc but don't have the same sense that being away is special in itself