Read Mumsnetters' top tips for planning a family summer holiday with TUI

[LucyBMumsnet]

This sponsored discussion is now closed. Thank you to everyone who shared their tips on this thread

School may have only just started up again after the Christmas break, but many people are already daydreaming about their family summer holiday. But before you can imagine yourself poolside with a good book in hand, you’re quickly dragged back down to earth when you remember the planning that needs doing. With this in mind, TUI would love to hear your tips for planning a summer holiday.

Here’s what TUI have to say: “At TUI, we know that your family holiday is a time to reconnect and have fun. That’s why we’ve designed hotels especially for families to make it the best week, or two, of the year. From a wide range of fun activities to all day entertainment including evening family shows, kids’ clubs and children’s menus and buffets in resort, we’ve thought of every little detail to give you a hassle free and family-friendly holiday.”

Do you aim to book family friendly accommodation? Are there certain facilities that make your holiday easier, or that you couldn’t go without? How do you keep your children entertained while you’re travelling? Do you prepare activities for them to do on the flight or take easy to carry toys along with you? What’s the one thing you always forget to pack and only realise as you arrive at your destination? What do you wish someone had told you before you went on your first summer holiday with your children?

Tell us your top tips on the thread below and you will be entered into a prize draw where 1 lucky MNer will win a £300 voucher for a store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

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We've got two young children so go for the all inclusive TUI Blue resorts. They are not the type of holiday we would have done pre-children but having a family they just make everything so much easier and you can just relax and enjoy the time together.

We haven't had a proper holiday for years, so I'd be hard pressed to tell you how I normally plan one, not least as my kids are older and have completely different needs than they had last time we did it. However, this year it will be different and I know exactly where we're planning to go and what we want to do. We'll look at flying then hiring a car so we can visit a few different places, mainly rural or cultural. We'll be renting self-catering places mostly but with a nice hotel stay in the city we fly in and out of. The kids will want to take their electronic devices and we'll be taking a pile of decent holiday reading each. Thankfully everyone's out of nappies and beyond food fads, so apart from medication we'll travel super light. I really can't wait.

We now keep a book of family dos and don'ts. For example every year I think eight I want this this and this from a holiday and then when were there we realise all the things we thought were important weren't.
So as an example top of our list is we dont need a beach! Although it's hard not to be swayed by the beautiful scenery of the ocean, my kids HATE the beach and we always end up leaving after 5 minutes. We have a dont need clothes for every day as they dont get worn. We have dont book 4 lots of baggage.
We have do make sure the pool is deep enough for the boys to dive into. We have do make sure we pack medicine and plasters for accident prone children. And we have do book a late flight so that we can convince the kids to go straight to bed when we get there and wake up fresh and ready to start the holiday.
May more sound like much but every year I get my tick list out to remind ourselves what we needed and didnt need the year before.

I usually go on the Tui website and see what's available to fit in with local airports, price and school holiday times. I choose usually according to favourites on the Tui website and have had some great holidays!

Book everything separately, don't use a travel agent.

For me, choosing an all inclusive is a no brainer! I love not having to say no to an extra drink or ice cream, or a new meal after something new tried is disliked. It makes the whole holiday so much more relaxing for all of us. I think it represents brilliant value for money when you look at the same resort but self catering

Beyond that buying cheap 7 packs of socks and knickers for the kids in the sales whenever I see them during the year. Makes packing those bits that can be forgotten so much easier!

For me flight times is the big decider when traveling with my 8yr old dd. We made the mistake over the years of flying really early in the morning needing to get her up at 3am etc or flying home too late and night and it was really hard.

Now I want a flight that leaves between 11-1 and then returns around 7pm so that you still get a decent 'last day' of your holiday.

I prepare a small bag of activities for each hour-ish of flight time. It's kept our 2.5 year old entertained on very long flights!!

I haves load of medicines decanted into little pill jars & labelled calpol, neurogenic, piriton etc & so can take more stuff as it's a little of everything & always have the travel first aid ready. Just remember to renew it every so often!

My most important task, with having 2 young children, is to be well researched in as many alternative activities and entertainments as possible in the local area, as well as eating places or availability of snacks and drinks.

I always like to do my research before I go and get the kids involved letting them each choose a trip/activity they would like to do and get them involved in organising it. Everyone is less stressed if they know what they are doing.

I pack a busy a bag each for the kids for the journey packed with pencils, notepad/colouring book and small toys ect that are new to them and some snacks. Will also pack the tablet and the switch but hold off giving them as a last resort.

I always pack lollipops for the plane to prevent their ears popping on take off and landing.

My biggest tip would be to let the children set the pace of the holiday as they will tire quicker in the heat and to enjoy the family time.

Weirdly - I get quite a kick out of preparing & packing for the holiday - it's all quite exciting!
However, I will admit it is definitely more stressful when packing for children too! I always pack my son's things first - favourite books, cuddly & a few small toys, as well as the usual clothes, pants, swimmers, etc. I have been so anxious about remembering all my son's stuff before that we've then arrived at the destination & I've realised I forgotten to pack any underwear for me!!
In terms of entertainment on the journey - audiobooks are brilliant & something we can all enjoy. My son will usually only listen to this for an hour or so before getting bored - so we build in regular stops & pack a lunchbox with snacks & treats.
When we get there - we try & stay out exploring most of the day whenever weather permits so when we get home - we associate that with resting & sleeping!
If my son takes a nap, I usually try to take one at the same time so I don't end up totally exhausted while he has a second wind!! :)

Important things to us are:

• family friendly accommodation
• near the beach
• all inclusive (whilst DC are still small)
• child friendly activities in the hotel or nearby
• good flight times / nearby airport

Before booking I'll look at reviews on TripAdvisor etc and ask for recommendations from friends etc.

I definitely like to plan ahead & research!

Explore! We plan our day, we figure out what we want to see and do - always factoring in somewhere to eat and drink. And even play.

If you are intending to use a kids' club, make sure you have a Plan B in case the children don't like it/refuse to go. This could include ideas of child friendly places to go, or things to do, and you should also have discussed with your partner that the default child care doesn't fall on one person.
Try and make sure all adults get some "me time" if they want to do an activity/visit somewhere by themselves.
Listen to your children's suggestions as to what they would like to do.

We need something that is entertaining for the kids and decent accommodation for us (pref with good range of tv) for us in the evening when kids in bed so we can relax with a drink! Were looking at all inclusive this year for the endless drink and ice cream requests!!!

I find when planning a holiday with children its useful for me to remember that children live where ever I'm going. There will be shops to buy anything forgotten and medicine available.

Do you aim to book family friendly accommodation?
Yes

Are there certain facilities that make your holiday easier, or that you couldn’t go without?
A pool or safe swimming beach

How do you keep your children entertained while you’re travelling? Do you prepare activities for them to do on the flight or take easy to carry toys along with you?
I prepare activity bags with sticker books, mini games and puzzles, small bag of Haribo, colouring book, crayons and notebook.

What’s the one thing you always forget to pack and only realise as you arrive at your destination?
Nothing, I'm pretty organised.

What do you wish someone had told you before you went on your first summer holiday with your children?
To go to bed when they do as you'll be exhausted!

For me if you are travelling with young children it can be worth organising the following, as it makes things much easier:

1. Sensible flight times. Getting the kids up at 2am for a 6am flight, or having to keep them up hours past their bedtime can result is very tired, whingy children and make travelling with them a right pain.
2. Having accommodation with 2 bedrooms. It's just so impractical to have everyone in one hotel room when the kids go to bed about 3 hours earlier than us, meaning you either have to have 'lights out' and everyone be quiet from about 8pm, or you keep the kids up late (which usually results in over-tired grumpy children). Having a separate bedroom space for the kids allows the kids to go to bed at their normal time, giving us some time to enjoy having a glass of wine etc once the kids are in bed, and means we get some peace!
3. Bring some child friendly essentials. It's always useful to have some basic medical equipment on you such as calpol, plasters etc. It can also be really useful if you are self-catering and have young kids to take some plastic plates and cups with you, so you don't have the risk of the kids breaking china in your accommodation.
4. If you're kids are young, be realistic about how much you are going to manage in a day. Pre-kids I used to pack my holidays with as much as possible, but kids often need some 'down time' or a nap planned into the day, so be realistic about your schedule, and try and keep to their usual routine as much as is practical.
5. I have a rule that there's no limit on screen time on flights! Tablets are a godsend for bored, fidgety kids when you are stuck on a plane for a few hours. Even if you are usually quite strict on limiting screen time at home, it can make the whole experience easier for everyone to let them have some free-reign to use them on flights.

Basically when you have young kids a holiday is just same stuff but sunnier location! We just try and keep things fairly simple, the kids really just love being somewhere away from home and sleeping somewhere different preferably a bunk bed! Actually that's what I wish someone had told me, that you can spend a whole holiday trying to.make it memorable but what they remember is the bunk beds!

I have teens. We need WiFi! They are really up for going out and sightseeing often spending long days on our feet, but we need downtime too. For the teens this means going online, watching videos, posting photos, reconnecting with friends back home.

Also helpful for travel with teens. All inclusive. Interconnecting rooms. Places nearby to go out and visit, whether this is a city break or a resort with good transport links and local attractions within walking distance.

Do you aim to book family friendly accommodation? Are there certain facilities that make your holiday easier, or that you couldn’t go without?
Yes, it must have some child-friendly activities such as a pool or beach, soft play, and a crèche will be very attractive.
How do you keep your children entertained while you’re travelling? Do you prepare activities for them to do on the flight or take easy to carry toys along with you?
We pack lots of snacks and sticker books and a handful of small toys for the journey. I either fly long haul or drive within 3 hours.
What’s the one thing you always forget to pack and only realise as you arrive at your destination? What do you wish someone had told you before you went on your first summer holiday with your children?
Haven't really missed anything.

We always go all inclusive - it’s far easier with kids! Before booking holiday make sure to ask each member of the family what feature they’d most like in the resort and try to include it. Pack lots and lots of snacks for the plane, download their favourite shows onto Netflix and have a little stash of new toys to take out if things start heading south!

DH & I decide on our budget then we discuss the options within that budget with the kids. Once we've decided our destination we look on trip advisor for things to do or watch you tube videos.

For me it’s a case of biting the bullet and just booking something, rather than second-guessing myself all the time until it’s too late!