Mumsnetters share what makes a family holiday special with Isles of Scilly Travel

[LucyBMumsnet]

This sponsored discussion is now closed. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share.

From picking the perfect place for your family getaway to planning what to do and how to keep everyone entertained, family holidays are full of emotions and stories to tell. Whether you travel abroad to a sunny destination or stay locally and explore what the UK has to offer, Isle of Scilly Travel would like to hear the ways you make your family holiday special.

Here’s what Isles of Scilly Travel has to say:
“Discover why the Isles of Scilly, a group of sand-fringed islands found just 28 miles off the Cornish coast, is the perfect family holiday destination and enjoy a return to a gentler way of life. One visit to Scilly and you’ll understand why the islands are famous for enticing people to return year after year; families often holiday on Scilly for generations and visit the same camp sites, holiday homes or hotels every summer.

Isles of Scilly Travel makes the journey as memorable as the destination. Short Skybus flights from Land’s End, Newquay and Exeter airports reach Scilly in under an hour, or you can sail on the Scillonian III passenger ferry, which departs daily from Penzance Harbour between March and November.”

So we are asking you what part of the holiday does your family love the most? What is your preferred family holiday - active one with lots to do, or lazy one relaxing on the beach? How do you choose between staycation in the UK or overseas travel and why? What transport do you and your family use to get to the holiday? What would you change about you travelling together, if you could?

Share how you make you r family holiday special on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where 1 x MNer will win a £300 voucher for a store of their choice AND family day trip on our passenger ferry the Scillonian (2 adults 2 children) – value depending on the day chosen is between £144.00 - £171.00.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

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What makes a family holiday special is the quality time you spend together, not how much you spend on experiences and stuff, it's the memories you make! When I remember my holidays as a kid I don't remember the expensive things, I remember the fun we had, as well as daft things like falling off my bunk bed while teasing my brother when in Jersey and having to find the only hospital on the island - I'd fractured my arm!
We love to go on caravan holidays in the UK with our daughters, they are so excited when we get the caravan out, they love playing at the sites and making new friends, and we can relax!

We actually love all types of holidays, whether it be hiring a cottage in the countryside or going abroad. I think it's more about how you use your time together as a family and having lots of fun no matter where you are.

Our perfect family holidays is beach and sea. We love swimming, playing with sands. Fresh air, lovely family time.

We haven't been abroad for a few years now but have managed a few trips down to Cornwall. We don't normally plan to go away, it is just if the weather is kind to us and we have some spare time. It is nice to get away, it is a treat for us as well as for the children.

We like to go camping in Cornwall at a quiet little camp site near the sea. We have been there many times and know what to expect when we visit. There is ample room for the children to play and wear themselves out a bit before bed and we are close to the beach and there are always plenty of places to explore around us.

As we don't tend to make plans the packing is normally a bit rushed and we grab the bits that we think we will need. Its always a relief once we have got in the car, all that running around to get things ready but once we have left we know that we will just make do with what we have. The car is normally full up by then anyway.

We choose to go to Cornwall as it is lovely and scenic there, we can get to a beach easily and we always take our surfboards too. It would be lovely to be able to go abroad but its not something we can afford right now and it seems a shame to go abroad when we have perfectly good holiday locations around us.

Its good to get away from the stresses at home and forget about things for a bit. I used to holiday in Cornwall with my family when I was younger and now we take our children too. When we last went we found some lovely little coves that we hadn't visited before and let the children explore. They love the beach and the sea, and they love sleeping in a tent and making friends at the camp site.

We would love to visit the Isle of Scilly one day, I went as a child but we are yet to take our little family.

The part of the holiday we love the most is the hotel room! We always try to get the best hotel room we can afford as it is lovely to come back to a nice room after a day's sight-seeing. Out preferred family holiday is one where we get to try lots of food unique to the country's culture! We prefer to vacation abroad as my child likes experiencing new languages and new environments. We usually fly or take the Eurostar. I do wish that there were fewer arguments as preparing to travel and the actual journey can be very stressful!

I think the meal times on family holidays are special because they bring everyone together. Perfect photo ops for treasured memories!

My DDs love the exploring and trying new things on holidays. I love visiting new places with them and seeing them learn and play.

We mix days up with busy and not so busy. We have a long list of local things and activities and each day a person gets to do what they want. On a 15 day/14 night holiday the girls get 4 turns and we get 3. Then we can mix up beach days with castle days; farm parks with playgrounds.

We've only been in the UK because due to jobs/studying we couldn't afford abroad. We were thinking about it this year but what we want costs £6k and last year's holiday including food, activities and accommodation cost £3.5k for 2 weeks so we can't really justify it.

We go to the Isle of Wight a lot and that's quite special because of the ferry trip which makes you feel like you're going abroad!

I prefer to go by boat or train just because of the hassle at airports. My youngest has never flown (4) and my eldest was only 18 months when she went so I'd love to give them that experience, preferably without the hassle!

Time together as a family, without needing to do housework or homework, without feeling that there is a bit more work you should be doing. Having a lie in while the kids play. I love finding new places to explore with the kids. Its also nice not having a plan for the day and seeing where you end up.

Definitely quality time together uninterrupted by the stresses of working/school home life so we can make quality happy memories

Choosing a holiday is hard as we have active teenagers as well as a toddler so meeting everyones needs is a tricky one. Plus my husband likes to relax and I like to do activities. We all agree though that lots of time outdoors is on the list and lovey food too.

@LucyBMumsnet

When will the draw take place this week please?

I love seeing new places when we go on holiday and seeing new things together as a family and having new experiences together.

When I was married we regularly holidayed in Florida which was lovely but so stressful travelling economy long haul with children. Our first post divorce trip I took my daughters to a UK resort and we had the absolutely best times with no frayed tempers, jet lag, or dare I say it, extreme heat! Keeping it simple really was the best choice for us and we relaxed from the first to last moment.

It’s time together and a great time for little family in jokes to develop. In France DH decided he wanted the local tripe dish, it was awful but as he had ordered in bad French and the waitress had asked him twice if he was sure he was determined to save face. He smuggled the tripe out of the restaurant in a zip lock bag. If anyone is not keen on something on their plate the old get a zip lock bag joke gets rolled out.

The night before when all our bags are packed and ready to go, I love the excitement in their faces. It doesn't matter where we go it's time together that is so special.

we enjoy Uk holidays, but look abroad for, mostly gauranteed, sunshine - if the UK, could promise better weather, I doubt we would go abroad, as we love the UK. whether it is UK or abroad, we enjoy water sports, especially kayaking and paddle boarding - last year, we did these activities in loch lomond and ullswater. i enjoy sun bathing and relaxing a bit, but prefer sight seeing, excursions or sports.

I think it's being able to spend quality time together which makes a holiday special and being able to build some special memories. Our hectic day to day lifestyles within our household means that it's difficult for people to get together and catch up in a relaxed way.

We love spending quality time, usually travel abroad as have the weather. Staycation we have not been lucky with the weather.
We prefer to have a mix of call with culture and relaxation, so beach time as well as sightseeing to broaden our minds.
We usually try and hire taxi for the day so We can travel to where we want, unless there is a good rail network to get about .

Always looking at what our next one would be so we can get something for everyone in our family.

So we are asking you what part of the holiday does your family love the most?
I love us just being together and having new experiences.
What is your preferred family holiday - active one with lots to do, or lazy one relaxing on the beach?
I like an active holiday, a way to explore new places and see new things.
How do you choose between staycation in the UK or overseas travel and why? I comes down to money
What transport do you and your family use to get to the holiday? Our car
What would you change about you travelling together, if you could? Nothing

Just togetherness - sometimes even when things go wrong the family tightens together and good memories are made. We try to go to places with the widest variety of activities and things to do and places to see so that we make as many memories as we can

Creating memories together that my girls will remember for a long time. x

For me its always the quiet moments early in the morning when we are holiday in France, when you make a quick trip to the bakery for fresh pasteries and eat breakfast outdoors as a family because everyone is happy, and excited about the day ahead.

Just spending time as a family is enough, without work responsibilities interfering. Oh, and Coco-Pops for breakfast!

For me it’s the experiences we get to do together. We just get to have fun, laugh and smile. Don’t need to worry about anything else, I love being on holiday with my family x

@LucyBMumsnet

Looking forward to the draw today?!