Holiday! I have 17 month old twins. Aboard or UK caravan breaks?

[RIRO25]

Debating weather to go aboard or do a few caravan breaks with my twins this year.. it will just be me, the twins and their dad
Aboard will be spain so flight is short, uk break will probably be caravan park like haven.

UK break with a heated outdoor pool. We went to the Newquay Parkdean and the pool was amazing, hotter than any indoor spa pool I've been to despite it being mid March!

Even with a short flight you lose a day each end to travel. And with a UK break you can take loads more toys with you with makes the holiday much more like a holiday rather than same shit, worse resources.

As a fellow twin parent - UK caravan breaks! We did a flight-based holiday once and are only attempting it for the second time now that they’re almost 7.

If you want to go abroad in the mean time, cruises that sail from the UK are also a good option.

In my experience, 17 month olds mostly like running around and screaming. They are not that bothered about what country they’re in, and are too young to grasp the concept of abroad anyway. Our worst holiday abroad with a toddler was S France in the summer, when he was just fed up by the heat, and I was paranoid about sunburn and heat exhaustion. Best holiday with toddler/young kids - anything with a heated pool!

I live in Spain at the moment and I have a 21 month old DS and honestly, if you're thinking summer time, stay in the UK. We ourselves go to the UK for July - August!!

It's so so hard being in a hot place at that age. My son is ginger so I'm probably extra careful but they really need covering up at all times, beach trips are messy, pool only entertains them for so long, you need to go indoors from 11- 5pm, and even at 5 it's still very hot.

Older kids will be more entertained by swimming and other activities and you can sit back and relax a bit more. But at 17 months their attention span is so short, the beach trips are a massive hassle.

Ah true my twin boy is bright blonde/ strawberry blonde! They’ve never really been in the heat before so I wouldn’t know what to expect and would worry!

I’ve never been to a caravan park, so can’t comment on that. But I would do a UK break with known attractions nearby for days out, so children’s farm one day, beach another, museum for a rainy day, etc. Bring picnics for lunch, buy ice creams/lollies when out, self-catered dinner, time for you and Dh to relax in the evenings after bedtime.

I found holidays abroad (city breaks especially) worked well as babies or from 4/5.

As an example, I took my son out yesterday evening. I didn't put sunscreen on as we were inside a restaurant but in the beach area. When we left, he ran to the beach (he loves it) and he was out in the sun for a total of 3 minutes at 7.30pm. He burnt his nose and cheeks, they're still red today 😭

I have to be very careful every time we leave the house. And there is no way we are spending July and August here!

Personally I think holidays with little kids are what they are. There are pluses and minuses to both but they’re not your pre-kids holiday. The kids don’t care where they are, they just care that they are having ice cream and get to play in the pool.

I find that holidays abroad you’re probably in one hotel room, so you go to bed when the kids do. So you either keep the kids up late or go to bed early. If your twins will sleep late if they’re kept up late, that’s a possibility but otherwise you’re just creating problems for the next days when they get over tired. With a caravan, you can sit outside or in the living room so your evening isn’t over when they go to bed. But weather is more unpredictable so you do have to have wet weather options and accept you might spend some of your holiday in a soft play or a museum that you have no interest in. Food is also a consideration, if you’re toddlers are fussy you might find it easier to be in the UK. Travel is a pain for both. UK you can take more toys and things that make life easy (things for bedtime routine) but you also need to pack some waterproofs and maybe a few jumpers, even with a good forecast.

If you think you might find yourself thinking “why we’ve paid this much to do the same shit as at home and go to bed at the same time as our toddlers”, possibly UK caravan works best.

Whichever you pick, you’re looking for a hotel or a caravan site that has at least a pool, a playground, entertainment, activities or holiday club. It’s so easy when they start getting bored to just say you’re going down to the playing field and having a game of football or just going to the entertainment even though you swore you wouldn’t step foot in them before you went on holiday.

I think.i would not bother for the sake of the children. They will enjoy themselves anywhere. I would see if you could get a weekend or couple of days away without them.while they stay with a family member

Does it have to be one or the other? Spain will be boiling hot and I couldn’t think of anything worse than being cooped up in a caravan with 2 young toddlers…

If my kids were that age, I'd take a "holiday" by taking leave from work but having them in day care and I'd relax every day.

I would stick to a UK break.. the kids won’t care where they are as long as there are fun things to do and you won’t need to worry about keeping them out of the sun / overheating etc.

Don’t even get me started on the airport / flight, having just traveled with my 2yo..

Devon Cliffs Haven is fab for kids that age, lots of activities and parks, the beach is nice, there's a farm park literally on the doorstep.

We took ours all over the place. Better to fly while they’re small imo. Personally I’d say big hotel with several restaurants and pool is the easiest.

Hoseasons lodges, somewhere with a pool and a
bit more space than a caravan if you get a bigger one.

we wouldn’t be coped up in a caravan. We will be out everyday doing bits. The caravan will be for sleeping and meal times

I dont have twins, but at that age a cheapo Haven or similar is probably your best value for money unless you'll particularly appreciate being abroad. The 17 month olds won't!

No we just use to go away all the time before my twins came haha! So was debating wether we should give it a try or not. Think I’m swaying more towards UK getaway like Haven. As parenting in the heat is not fun these last few days