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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Planning is key. Lists of what you need to take with you, information about local area and activities etc. Much easier to be spontaneous if you know when places are open and how long it takes to get there. Painful memories of my DF driving for hours to places to discover they were closed on Mondays or there was nowhere to buy food etc!

All inclusive is absolutely the way to go.
Adjoining rooms with yours having a balcony so you and DP can have a drink outside in the evenings.

For ease, we would most often choose a hotel with: all inclusive, kids club, pool & play park, preferably with beach nearby because those are the things that keep DD entertained & if she's happy we're all happy!

We all love water parks so throw in a few slides as well and it's spot on.

We all enjoy a bit of exploring so somewhere nearby to go is good, preferably on foot (we all enjoy a walk) or on public transport.

Our ultimate favourite holiday though is Florida, nice easy airport at Sanford & reasonable flights in school holidays if timed right. Florida has something for all of us, we all love rides, characters, water parks & food.

I like to leave booking quite late so as to look for bargains. Other in the family disagree!
A to z list for things we need to pack, keep a copy on phone.
List of postcodes for places we want to visit if in uk.Is
Most importantly, let small dc get older, everything is a million times easier😊

I agree with All Inclusive, with a pool and by the beach as this works best for my DD. Problem is all inc really does bump the price up so I sometimes search for full or half board pool hotels.

I think resort with kids is sometimes more important than where you go. If you're in the next county in the world but a rubbish resort there's only so much days out kids can do especially on a budget given you've already forked out hoping to be all inc and by pool.

As kids get older they may be more interested in days out and cultural trips but most young kids like to be by the beach or pool.

For the adults a good book while they play is obviously recommended.

For things to go smoothly, we plan our holiday well in advance, and have a list of possible things to do when we get there, far more than we could reasonably do! Then we allow the weather and our mood to determine which activities we will follow for the day.

This year, for the holiday abroad, there are a couple areas where my husband and I will decide certain aspects to make the holiday easier (for our sanity ) all inclusive being the main thing for ease of eating choice, travel time to destination, expected weather and temperature, amenities and entertainment for young children.
When we have a selection of around 5, we will let the children decide which place they would prefer. Hopefully no-one can complain then!

We like to book Airbnb's as they are often quirky spaces, with separate living and sleeping areas meaning that I can keep my young children's routines as similar as possible. Also have the benefit of parking often. I like to keep away from screen time as much as possible and plan days out so we aren't using the car too much.

Go self catering and take as much on perishable food from home as you can fit in your suitcase! Make for a much easier life.

Do you aim to book family friendly accommodation?
Yes, but more so when the DC were little, eg travel cot available, no stairs etc.

Are there certain facilities that make your holiday easier, or that you couldn’t go without?
Ideally a swimming pool and entertainment for the children.

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 buy them a magazine and make sure they have their favourite toys, colouring books and crayons etc to hand, plus drinks and snacks.

What’s the one thing you always forget to pack and only realise as you arrive at your destination?
Nothing yet, but DH often forgets something.

What do you wish someone had told you before you went on your first summer holiday with your children?
Just relax, it won't be as bad as you think!

Back pack with magazines colouring books and sweets for on the plane 👌

We try to find holiday parks that are accessible by public transport, with a town/ restaurants within walking distance. CBA driving on wrong side of the road. The stress of it always used to put the holiday off to a bad start! Now I plan the route from airport. Would love it if holiday companies provided this service - usually rely on TripAdvisor or Google

Do you aim to book family friendly accommodation?

Yes, always

Are there certain facilities that make your holiday easier, or that you couldn’t go without?

Definitely wi-fi, a fridge in the room, and a bath rather than a shower.

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 take a tablet and headphones, snacks and a blow up pillow for a snooze.

What’s the one thing you always forget to pack and only realise as you arrive at your destination?

Nail cutters, I always trim DS2's nails weekly, because of eczema, and they seem to grow twice as quickly on holiday. - I had to buy adult ones on holiday.

What do you wish someone had told you before you went on your first summer holiday with your children?

The amount of changes of clothes you need (having no laundry facilities in our hotel)

The first thing I look for is a hotel or accommodation with a separate sleeping area for my child. It’s not a holiday if I have to struggle with bedtime every night, then sit in the dark until my own bedtime.
Your website often doesn’t make it clear if there is a separate room and if I like the look of a hotel I then have to spend ages looking at trip advisor or the hotels own website to get a feel for this.
The second thing we look at is swimming pools and kids club reviews.
The pools have to have more than just water and the kids club needs to be good to keep my child entertained.

Planning ahead is key for me. Looking for money off cinemas, meals out etc. If we go away anywhere making sure they have WiFi is number one priority and near to a local town/village for entertainment and eats.

Plan early, stick to a budget and make sure a family friendly resort. These days there is so much information and reviews online to research, not like years ago with just a couple of photos in a brochure.

Make a list 2 weeks before you go if all you need to pack and keep adding to the list as you think of things, then when you start packing cross off the list as you go.

We always try to book a holiday that has something for everyone, whether it is activities for the sociable ones or a quiet corner to read a book for the book worms.

Make sure you take Books, small toys, medicines and ointments, creams, plasters etc etc reserve jar foods Or dried in case you have trouble getting baby food.

Don't do it!:)
When young I prefer to stay with close family and go out for the day
If you must go treat it like a military exercise, list everything you need to think of and pack. Prepare for every eventuality.

Start planning early and do lots of research! The more you know about your destination the better your holiday can be planned! Knowing what to expect means you can take the right things with you! Having ideas for various entertainment/days out is good.

I love to have recommendations from friends and family. I then look online to see how the price works out and the attractions close by :)

We spend a long time researching where to go and stay beforehand. Choosing somewhere which doesn’t take too long to travel to is something we have learned (by mistake). We loved listening to story tapes to help with boredom and stop regularly for snacks and a walk about. We try to book somewhere which is child friendly as it helps us relax, too.

Always get your sun tan cream at home . Much cheaper than abroad!

Lists, all the lists! Lists for packing, lists for the airport, lists of taxi numbers etc.

We love the space of a villa or self catering - makes it so much easier to cater for everyones tastes and much more economical if not eating out all the time

Number 1 on our wishlist is a pool - its always a dealbreaker.

We always take phones/ipads - if it keeps everyone happy during travel it works for us. But number one forgotten item is...
iphone chargers!

Best thing to know about holidays with kids is to go at their pace and not yours - plenty of downtime is always needed.