All inclusive holiday or Villa with 2 young kids?

[Biosblbay]

I haven’t been on holiday since my first born was 7 months old, which was back in June 2023! I have since had another baby who is now 11 months old and I am now desperate for a holiday abroad! It just hasn’t happened due to lots happening in such a short space of time, we had a baby, got married, moved to our new house and fell pregnant when we moved! So money has been tight and it just hasn’t been the right time, now I am more than ready!!!

I am looking to go away for a week in September or October, somewhere in Spain, my son and daughter will be 4 & 1 by that time.

I just want to know from other’s experiences, which is more relaxing with two young children, but also what is more beneficial for the kids.

Part of me is thinking an all inclusive because I don’t have to cook or clean at all, then theres also the entertainment and kids clubs, or is a villa the better option because it’s easier in terms of the baby needing a nap, easier for me and my husband to enjoy an evening while the kids are in bed, can go out for dinner every evening if we wanted to but would have breakfast and lunch at the villa, which means basic cooking and cleaning. Would the kids get bored at a villa. We would of course find somewhere with a pool and close to a beach but there would be no kids splash pool like a hotel would have.

I am so stuck! Please help! Thank you in advance x

Personally, at those ages, mine would have been bored at the pool all day. I’m also not a sun person, so I wouldn’t want an 11 month old in the sun much (and I wouldn’t want myself in the sun much). AI was nice with older ones who can play in the pool independently or who are happy to read a book on the sun lounger.

At those ages, we always did city breaks in an Airbnb. We could go to the beach if we wanted (easier in terms of supervision because no deep pool to just fall into). We could find a little water park, in Spain, lots of municipal swimming pools have splash parks. The one I took my dc to was nicer than the one in our AI resort. We had days out we could do or we could just go to the market and buy fruit and pastries and play in the playground for a few hours.

I liked not having to eat at a buffet or restaurant 3 meals a day. With older dc, it’s easy, but with little ones, it’s an awful lot of work and hard to actually eat your own food. We’d do a supermarket shop or go to the market for 2 meals a day. Have a picnic in the park or on the beach, or go out for lunch. Then we had flexibility for dinner depending on how everyone is feeling, we could eat out, kids could just have some pizza and ice cream on an evening stroll. Adults could have snacks and drinks on the balcony. It felt much less pressured than the herding of the cattle to the buffet when it opened.

I’ve done both and much prefer self catering when they’re little, but in a city, not stuck in a villa that’s far from everything. You won’t really get much time to sit down and relax like days of old, so you might as well be close to restaurants and things to do.

We’ve done both and I would say 100% all inclusive.

I actually came back home feeling refreshed and like I’d been on a holiday. No cooking, no cleaning. It was absolute bliss. I loved every second of it and was gutted to come home. The kids clubs etc were really good too & there was also a kids disco/entertainment in the day and evenings. It’s also less pressure and worry if the kids are being whingy when going to the restaurants etc because everyone else is in the same position.

I found staying in a villa a bit annoying really. Having to buy food and cook my own food wasn’t really a holiday with young kids. Then there was the effort of going out to try and find entertainment for the kids.

I’m team all inclusive for sure.

We also did a bit of exploring and went to water parks etc

Def the villa, I am in an AI and no child seems happy as all I am hearing is crying and screaming. Just about to pack our stuff to move rooms as the baby next door won’t stop crying. So we have been up from 5am 2 mornings in a row. Can’t be pleasant for them stuck in one room. Literally insulation is so poor, so not the babies fault.

I much prefer a nice, small all inclusive to a villa.
My 4&2 like to see other children at the pool, after dinner etc.
I don’t want to have to shop for breakfast or brush up crumbs on holiday, I don’t want to turn down the beds every day.
We always book the sort of place with a living space, terrace, maybe a pool or hot tub so you have space to play but all the perks of a hotel.

I am team villa... I find it easier with our picky eater to cook. I also don't mind cooking- and tend to stick to 15/20 mins meals when away....
But for me bedtime is easier- being able to sit and watch TV or sit with my book when she is upstairs.... (However our put to bed has been leave in room since 16 months otherwise bedtime is dragged out for hours)..... I also find that lots of hotel rooms don't have any space to play early morning/early evening which is part of the wind down routine for us (and I don't want to leave my room before 7am to ensure no one else is disturbed)....
So I think it depends on your kids and your routine more than anything

It's doesn't have to be either/or. You could stay in an apart hotel that has more space and hotel facilities like splash parks and kids clubs.

If you stay AI, you have to get properly dressed for breakfast, which to me seems like more hassle than the minimal cooking and cleaning required to make your own breakfast and simple light meals when you don't eat out.

Surely you’re getting ready for the day anyway?
Why would swimwear and a dress over for breakfast be any more hassle than going to the shop, making and cleaning up from breakfast every day, plus still getting dressed?

We liked villas on apartment complexes that had a mix of hotel/villas. Best of both worlds - could still pay to eat at the resort restaurant, and still had nice pools with entertainment. But also had onsite mini supermarket and could just flop at the apartment if we preferred.

I don’t think we would have made good value usage of the inclusive alcohol with small kids!

The nice thing about a villa is there is so much space … you can put the kids to bed and then adults can sit with a bottle of wine and some snacks from the fridge and enjoy the evening without fearing waking up the kids or feeling like you’ve somehow wasted money by not using the entertainment properly .

With AI, I don’t know if you can get that same benefit if your kids are in bed by 8.30pm. Maybe you can bring drinks back to your room? You definitely want a separate room division for the kids and a decent sized balcony.

We don't shop every day or clean up straight after breakfast and getting dressed includes getting a wash and putting on suncream so would probably not be done until after a leisurely sit around and breakfast.

If you want a hotel breakfast, it's done by 9.30/10 at the latest, so you need to be properly ready well before then.

I think on threads like these, people overestimate the amount of 'work' self catering involves, listing a load of stuff that doesn't really need to be done, and underestimate how mediocre a lot of hotel food is, unless you stay 5 star. Plus its more work to unmake a hotel bed to get in it than it is to just pull up a duvet yourself.

We have found AI easier with young children but we get a 2 bedroom rather then one with sofa-beds etc and that allows us best of both worlds of us chilling out in the evening on a balcony and not having to go to bed at 8pm.

Either way villa or AI my biggest tip with young children would be pick your country wisely based on what time they typically have dinner and restaurants open! We struggled with Spain/Spanish Islands later eating times. My children were way too tired and a nightmare (we ended eating in after 3 nights).

We have found Greece and Italy to work well and very child friendly.

I’ve never stayed in a resort style hotel that ends breakfast before 11am.

I don’t know what work you think I listed that doesn’t need to be done, you do need to shop for groceries, make the breakfast and clean up.
Cool if you want to do that, I personally don’t want to do all the boring domestic chores of home while I’m on holiday. I just think it’s crazy to suggest wearing clothes to have a breakfast made for you could be less work than shopping and preparing for yourself.

Plus its more work to unmake a hotel bed to get in it than it is to just pull up a duvet yourself.
What on earth are you talking about? How is it more work to get into a made bed??
I don’t want to get into a messy bed at home, I definitely don’t want to do on holiday. It’s just more pleasant. You don’t have to agree, but it’s just nonsense to claim it’s more work to have your bed nicely turned down for you.

All inclusive all the way. No cooking, cleaning, other people to play with!

Our 2 yr old loves all inclusive. She loves playing in the pools and little water slides and enjoys the atmosphere with other kids playing as well. Plus no cooking, cleaning etc. We find it much easier than self catering. Plus one of us goes back to the room each day for her nap and the other has an hour or so in the sun.

How do you feel about being around other people a lot? I hate it so we always choose self-catering so we can have long leisurely meals without anyone at nearby tables etc. I also love a foreign supermarket or shop browse for ingredients. I also love sitting out late at night, just us, with the kids asleep and a bottle of really good wine, which tips me towards villa.

Have you compared cost of all inclusive vs take out/eating out every day in villa/ You might find the latter is cheaper.

There are also hotel villas - villas within a hotel complex where you have your own kitchen, washing machine, living room etc and the villa is serviced like a hotel every other day, pool etc. We stayed at a Marriott hotel villa and have a Best Western Villa booked for later this year. Means no cleaning for you!

I think AI can be a bit much for them at that age. My parents live in Spain BTW and we go there a lot. You are vastly overestimating how much time you will spend at the beach and pool. Our pale skin just can't take it. And a 1 year old can only play in the sand for like an hour before they get bored.

So I'd go villa near somewhere with lots of stuff to do.

Caveat with - how helpful is your DH? If he's the kind that will leave most shopping, cooking, cleaning, child prep to you then fuck it and go all inclusive.

Same here. We did both.

A villa would only work if you have other family members helping with cooking, looking after the kids, etc. (my family didn't help...), so it definitely wasn't a holiday for us.

We only go for all-inclusive holidays now. No cooking, cleaning, or thinking about booking restaurants. Plus, a lot of hotels have great kids' entertainment, such as mini discos and other activities.

We're 100% all-inclusive. I won't go on any other type of holiday until my kids are teenagers.

All inclusive trumps a villa every time for me.
AI takes so much pressure away from the parents on a basic practical level. There’s also entertainment, safe places to explore & play, and of course bars & cafes to escape to!
A villa, whilst it is a lovely idea, is simply catering in someone else’s kitchen. The shopping, prep, cleaning, tidying etc etc are just a grind, a chore that you don’t deserve because you’re on holiday!!

Why are they overestimating how much time they will spend at the beach or pool just because you’re pale and can’t do it?

My 4 & 2 year old are pretty much in the pool from breakfast until dinner time! Same when they were 3 & 1.

Give yourself a break and book AI but book a family suite set up or apartment within the hotel. Then you have a lounge and/or balcony to relax on once the kids are in bed. There will be kids clubs and pools and no washing up or cleaning!

We went to Greece many moons ago and had a two bedroomed place within a hotel that did half board. There was a mini kitchen that was perfect for preparing purées for the baby and snacks. It had a lounge and a large terrace so we sat in when the kids were asleep and read or would take it in turns to go down to the bar/order room service.

I base my hotel choice almost entirely on one thing: how much shade the kids' pool gets.

The last hotel we stayed at had loads of trees around the kids' pool, so it was shaded all day. We practically moved in. You couldn't get my toddlers out of the water if you tried.

We’re not going until September so it hasn’t happened yet, but we asked ourselves all the same questions you are beforehand and we’ve settled on all inclusive for a week in Majorca. Like you we first went abroad when our oldest was 7 months old and had a dream holiday, he’s now 2.5 and our youngest will be one so these were our positives for AI:

No cooking/washing or clearing up, our two are little foodies so they will relish the restaurants and we’ll be in heaven with no having to cook or clear away
Access to pools - both our children love “swimming” and water in general so will benefit from the kids pools on site (10 pools altogether!)
Close to the beach so we can take little trips if we want to get out and about
Being able to come back to our rooms with beds made and nothing to clear/clean up. We’ve booked a family suite so it’s like a little apartment and it’s got a lovely balcony that we plan on spending lots of time on while our two are asleep!

Good luck, I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time whatever you pick 😊

We’ve got two aged 4 and 18 months so a bit similar. We’ve just done AI. If you pick the right resort it can work very well. We went to one in Turkey. The flight was probably the upper limit of tolerance for DS, but the location meant we could keep kids on UK time while they also got to ‘stay up’ for kids’ disco etc in the evening. That was a hit with both of them, and they also both enjoyed a couple of sessions in the crèche & kids’ club.

Oh and our kids absolutely will be in water all day! Pool and slides were DD’s favourite activities and this place had a few to choose from. The resort also had a playground, garden, sensory room, games arcade, and its own stretch of private beach, as well as tonnes of shade to hide in, so it wasn’t too hard to fill a week there around the usual routines of eating and sleeping. DS just napped in his buggy as usual (and we’d pick that time to eat the AI ice cream!).

We didn’t do any excursions because DS is a terror atm, but it wouldn’t have been difficult to book them. It’s not the way DH and I would chose to travel alone, or indeed did travel pre-kids, but what I really appreciated was the lack of thinking and domestic chores. (Although I was delighted to find a self-service laundry on site 😂)

With villas I worried a bit about child safety (DS is just at that age), and would probably only book somewhere recommended to me by friends with kids the same age.

I’d go villa or, more realistically, Airbnb. The only AI we had were when the kids were late teens and eating us out of house and home.