First ever holiday abroad and don't know where to go !

xxdeebeexx

Hi I have collected enough Tesco club card voucher to buy a holiday worth £2800.

We simply don't know where to go. If I give a list of what we want I am hoping that someone might come up with a good idea.

I would like
Low rise buildings/ accomodation
Swimming pool
Walking distance to a safe sandy beach
Nearby restuarants
Not too hot DS1 has ginger hair and very fair skin
Maybe a bit of snorkling
Maybe a water park

OH would like
Reasonably short transfer times
Good food
Has a liking for Greek Islands

The two boys
Just want a fantastic time

I have spent hours looking and still can't come up with a holiday.

Any ideas would be fantastic.

TIA

Dx

McKneff

what have you already looked at?

Melc234

Proberly not much help too you, but i sold my deals on ebay, got just over half, used that money got 2 weeks half board in Salou with thomson for £1020 for 2 adults, 2 kids, 1 infant, plus 2 weeks of tickets for port aventura I just couldnt find anything with cosmos, that wasnt extorinate.

McKneff

Salou is lovely, all ages catered for, hotels are superb, beach great, port aventura would suit the bairns, cant go wrong with that

xxdeebeexx

anniehanlon wrote: »

what have you already looked at?

I have been looking at Majorca, Menorca (too pricey), Lanzarote (too hot in August), mainland Spain ( High rise )

Ireally like the look of Majorca but transfer times seem lon unless we go to 'lively' area.

Thanks

Dx

simpywimpy

Hurghada Egypt is nice. You could get a decent all inclusive deal there with the kids. There are a couple of hotel complexs that have waterpark type slides and pools if you do a search.

Cost of eating out etc is low and transfers from the airport are about 10mins. You also get away from the euro too

littlemissfrugal

we stayed in a fiesta hotel Club Don Toni in playa d'en Bossa Ibiza about 5 years ago it ticks all your boxes with a waterpark 5 minutes walk away and set on the beach. I have heard that one of the other hotels in the group the fiesta palm beach is far superior (it always looked nice from the outside) you don't say how old your boys are but mine DD were 14 and 2 at the time and there was something for both of them.

Salou is also good with Port Aventura but to be close to the park you are quite far from the beach - it would be ideal if you good buy Park tickets in with your booking?? I would recomend the Club Dorada Palace we went self catering and got a massive room the onsite restaurant was great
http://www.firstchoice.co.uk/holidays/costa-dorada-holidays/salou/club-dorada-palace/ cost us about £ 900 for 4 of us so plenty left over for park tickets if thats an option

xxdeebeexx

Thank you so much for your quick replies......

My boys are 13 and 11 years old.

Dx

dwileflunker

As much as everyone here will try to help it really is up to you to decide. Look at all the brochures and try and fit in all the things you want from a holiday. Spain is fairly good for first timers but you have to face up to the fact you might not like it. Temperatures outside of the UK are dependant mainly on the time of year. If we assume you are looking at Mediteranean resorts once you get into June and beyond it's pretty hot, but it's not so say it can't be hot earlier or later in the year.

My advice is try to cover as many of the features you want from the holiday and then simply go for it. We all started somewhere and a recommendation from someone is no guarantee that you will like what they like. Try to read between the lines of the brochure, for example lively resort probably means it pretty noisy, but all you can do is assess it yourself and then have a go. Look at the www.realholidayreports.com but keep in mind that the people writing the reviews may not be wanting the same out of the holiday as you. Once you've been you'll be able to refine your choices for future holidays. Enjoy!

Blue264

With that kind of money, you may be surprised what you can get this year.
If you want the Greek Islands, try for Santorini or western Crete (Chania or Rethymnon).
You're lucky that your boys are at an age when they are up for an adventure. I've never been to Spain because I figured that I could do that when I had small children so went to further flung places instead whilst I didn't have those commitments. But at their ages, your boys would probably be up for anything....the further the better.
You see...it doesn't matter where you go (except for America) ...after a few drinks I will guarantee that you end up walking down the street thinking "Oh my gawd! Nobody speaks English and I've forgotten the few phrases I've learned in their language! Panic!!!" And there the adventure begins...

In your situation. I really would take my lead from your boys. You will enjoy yourself a lot more if you know they are happy and have had an active part in choosing their holiday. What activites do they want and what climate do they want to be in?

If you like the look of Majorca, try the north coast. Quite a few of my friends have stayed at hotels in Alcudia where they didn't need a pool because the beach was right across the road.

mum2one

I would say if your looking at Spain, canary Islands etc, try and go for an all inclusive deal, as the exchange rate for the £1 to the euro is poor, basically £1 = 1 euro, and with kids the price of the drinks add up.

id suggest Turkey or Tunisa.