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

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

The Isles of Scilly are a hot topic in our household- we love going but we can hardly ever afford to go.
We can afford to go on the ferry ( and thank goodness for those special triple strength ginger biscuits you can buy onboard ! Else it’s 🤢🤮
But we cannot afford to stay for more than a few days.
Flying is very expensive and the new helicopter looks to be the same.
I was interested to read that there are campsites so maybe this would be an option.
So we are asking you what part of the holiday does your family love the most?
The travelling to get there and then all piling down to the beach to explore
What is your preferred family holiday - active one with lots to do, or lazy one relaxing on the beach?
Relaxing on the beach but with the odd outing or place of interest to visit too.
How do you choose between staycation in the UK or overseas travel and why?
Budget and how long the holiday is going to be. Also, time of year as we would be more likely to go abroad when it’s cold and wet here in the U.K.

What transport do you and your family use to get to the holiday?
Car, plane, ferry

What would you change about you travelling together, if you could?
Nothing really, as a parent you know it’s your role to oversee packing and make sure all documents are in order etc.

We enjoy the time together without worry daily chores. Our ideal holiday us which has The combination of beach/pool, sightseeing, culture and food, so that each member of family is happy.😃

Spending quality timw together as a family and making those magical memories that last a lifetime with the perfect holiday. We all chose and decide on the holiday together and look foe somewhere that has something for all of us. Weather that be a good water park, scuba diving, relaxing by the pool or exploring the scenery. Capturing these moments together is priceless.

The chance to relax and explore new places and ideas together. Fun, food , adventure and sleep!

To make our holiday special we always choose somewhere different and abroad to make it more memorable and more of an adventure. It gives us quality family time and a lot of fun. Good weather and different styles of accommodation add to the experience - eg camping near the sea

It's good to spend quality time together outside of daily life when everyone is relaxed and the normal niggles and irritations can be put aside. You have time to get to know and understand each other and have some fun!

Family holidays are special for quality time together. We have a digital detox and turn off all phones and tablets for the duration of the holiday. We talk together during meals, play games and reconnect. Its known in our family as the holiday love bomb!!

For us it's all about exploring new places together. Trying new things, chatting about everything, and just really relaxing together.

A technology ban, that way we get to spend quality time together doing different things in a new place.

We love just not having to rush, lazy mornings and long slow walks.

It is making memories together that matters to me. How you do this varies on every holiday.

What makes a holiday special is having activities each of us will enjoy, coupled with relaxed time where we can all just enjoy being together, making memories.

We have a 1.5 year old baby girl and our holidays have changed hugely. We have been on holidays visiting family members living abroad and those are our favourite now! Staying at grandma's house has amazing benefits from lovely home cooked meals to having the advantage of fully furnished house so that you don't need to pack half of the nursery in your suitcase.
We are lucky enough that we can fly to visit family and use the family cars while there. There are companies in Spain that will rent high chair, cot and car seat for a week for as little as 20 Euros!
As for Cornwall, it was our very first holiday with the baby, you cannot beat Cornwall beaches on sunny day!

It's the change of pace that makes family holidays special... sitting back and being able to watch the kids play, spending hours playgoing family game together over dinner...being around nature... You have to have a chance to forget the time is passing and focus on each other...

Lots of relaxed stress free time ( and chore free!). Time away from the world of tech and busy life. Time to learn more about one another and to enjoy each others company.

Sharing time together without the stress of school homework or work and just being in each others company. Best part for me is taking photographs to look at later especially when you're feeling a little down especially around January time!

Together time without the distractions of everyday

Island destinations are popular with my family- husband and 2 daughters aged 7 and 9. We have had so many very memorable island staycation holidays, mostly in Scotland but we would like to visit other islands in the UK. My girls love the simple pleasures like having a picnic on the beach, jumping over waves and making sandcastles, tunnels and dens. We look on maps, visit any historical/geological or other attractions and we walk in the fresh air. Ferry travel always features in our adventures and we all find the journeys a highlight. We love meeting local people and learning about their cultures. We have never been to the Isles of Scilly and we would love to go!!!

We love different type of holidays from beach, city breaks and camping.
We love swimming and discovering new places. Having fun and laughter makes our holiday special.

Taking into account everyone's likes - if a teen/partner wants to go out and have some time alone - let them. A family holiday doesn't mean you have to be together 24/7

We like to research before we go and all of us pick at least 1 thing we want to do. With everyone knowing in advance whats happening there are less arguments, and with siblings thats a good thing. We try to avoid tech when away as well

We love beach holidays but don't get to go often enough. We used to be able to afford one beach holiday a year but unfortunately that isn't the case anymore. Rarely do we holiday in the UK, it is so expensive so we would rather save that money & put it towards a beach holiday

Its hard to put my finger on it, but family holidays always offer something special. I think were more open to and more likely to search out new ideas and experiences. My last family holiday was in East Yorkshire, a supermarket checkout lady randomly told us about a model village on the first day we arrived. We hunted down the village and it’s the lasting memory that defined the holiday.

It's the small things for us - most of the holiday memories that we share together are usually about a comical situation that happens that no-one could ever have predicted. It's about small shared moments that just belong to the family.

We haven't had a family holiday for quite a few years, for various reasons, and in the meantime the eldest has left home and the middle child is not far off it. Foreign or domestic, exotic or really rather dull, active or lazy...I really don't care. I'd just like it if we could all go on one more holiday together.