first family summer holiday advice please

cloverfan

Hi I am currently looking into taking my children on our first ever holiday next year. I have seen a campsite type holiday that involves driving to calais and going on a ferry then driving down to spain or somewhere......the thing is I think this is the only type of holiday I would be able to afford but am slightly worried about driving over there on my own:o what if get lost? what if i dont know what if but just what if?????? if you know what i mean? really want to take kids away but feel its such a big responsibilty on my own??? does anyone else do this?

Alikay

Don't want to put you off if you're determined to go abroad, but why not try a nice campsite type place in the UK? At the moment it's really expensive in Spain because of the euro/pound exchange rate and it's a heck of a long way to go driving alone with 6 kids! The little ones are very young to cope with such a long drive, and if you're on a tight budget a stopover would cost a lot.

I know you probably want to give your children a fabulous holiday, but IMO they'll have just as much fun in Devon, Cornwall, South Wales, Norfolk....all beautiful places with some lovely campsites but without the long journey.

cloverfan

The older ones want a holiday abroad like all of their friends and also I want to take them before the older ones fly the nest so to speak! We live in cornwall so older ones wouldnt really count devon etc...as a holiday....they are not spoilt brats but it really is a one off! as a second thought have been thinking of france with a day in disney but would one day b enough? of course maybe stupid questions as i have not checked tonights lottery ticket yet!!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Savvy_Sue

Personally, I think 1 day in Disney would be enough ... but possibly only if the older ones can go off on their own, which possibly with the ADHD they can't.

Parc Asterix is IMO nicer, very French ... but they're quite close so maybe do both!

Only you know what they're like in the car, and whether ANY of them would be any use at mapreading and that kind of thing. It's not the kind of journey I'd look forward to, even now mine are big and sensible!

busiscoming2

When we first went on a family holiday abroad (2003), we looked into the eurocamp, keycamp places too, but found it to be just as much money to fly to spain and stay in an apartment. Have you looked at this option or do you not want to fly? Personally we like to eat out every night and in the UK it is so expensive to do this.

VeganClaire

If you really want france or spain there are ferrys that will take you to souther france/spain reducing the amount of driving you would need to do. We have done lots of eurocamp/keycamp type holidays as kids and they are great (I even worked for them for a summer as a student).

Look into what facilities are at the campsites. Some have kids clubs (usually included in the holiday price) which take children over 4, some also have a teenagers club which is free but some activities have a charge (e.g trip to water park=pay but beach games=free).

Campsites really vary in what they have to offer, what is included and what cost extra. (This may vary in low and high season) Also check ages for activies I was at a site where only over eights were allowed to use the water slides - some very disapointed little ones didn't know before they arrived. Campsites are also usually very safe so the older ones may be able to have a bit of freedom.

Disney also have a "davy crocket ranch" its a little bit outside the park so you still have to drive to it but is much cheaper than disney hotels and would accomodate a family.

margaretclare

As you live in Cornwall your best bet might be to enquire of Brittany Ferries https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk Overnight from Plymouth to Roscoff. We've recently come back from the Pink Granite Coast in western Brittany and that was brilliant. Brittany Ferries also go to Santander (Catalonia in Spain).

You've either got the choice of a long drive via Calais OR an overnight ferry crossing.

Everywhere in the EU is expensive now because of the exchange rate. Even Ireland.

I've just looked at the ages of your children, and 2 boys with ADHD? Driving long distances OR overnight ferry crossing, with 5 of them, and just you to be in charge of everything, would seem to be a daunting prospect. Are you sure you really want to do this? 5 children in a car, on a very long drive? I can see why you want to do this, but it could turn out to be a nightmare. Sorry!

seven-day-weekend

Even if you get the ferry to northern Spain (which is expensive), it's still a twelve hour drive if you want to go to southern Spain.

If you drive through France into Spain you will need at least one overnight stop in France (and then your twelve hour drive through Spain if you are going south).

If you insist on going abroad, go to northern France. It's an awful lot of driving otherwise.

Some ideas:
http://www.campingfrance.com/index.jsp?lg=uk
http://www.eurocamp.co.uk/
http://www.alanrogers.com/

ailuro2

Without soeone to take turns driving you're being overambitious. IT is daunting driving on the wrong side of the road in a car that's not designed for it.

Why not find a last minute package deal to somewhere? Do your homework about different resorts and what's available for the kids, and be ready to pounce on a good deal. Watch teletext, sunshine.co.uk, barrheadtravel etc. and of course your local bucket shop.;)

Baby steps will build up your cinfidence, maybe even hire a car for a day while you're over there.

If you're still determined to go to Spain in the car, then buy a satnav.;)

Jake'sGran

Perhaps you could do this cheaply by making your own package. The way you plan will not be cheap with ferry fares, petrol, tolls. food etc. I can't travel abroad anymore but when I did - just a few years ago - I booked my own plane tickets and hotel. If you make sure it is not far from the airport you could use the airport bus. It really would be different for the children but I must be honest and say it sounds daunting whichever way you do it. My two children really loved their first foreign holiday. If you were to do self catering, somewhere near the beach (Palma to Palma Nova as an example), buy fresh bread, their cheap tomatoes; take your own bacon, cheese etc. They'd love it but maybe the other posters are right about doing the UK instead.

By the way, you could probably get a map online if you are determined to drive. Google do a map service, just enter where you start and then where you want to finish.

laurel7172

As you'll doubtless know, it's the cost of eating out/doing things that really adds up when you have your kids with you, so a nice sunny European campsite with a swimming pool and cooking facilities is a really good idea. We drove from Lands End to John o Groats this summer (my 11yo navigated-could you get any of your kids interested?) and met quite a few glum familes in Cornwall who were spending a fortune keeping kids amused in the rain.

Navigating from France to Spain is dead easy if you follow the autoroutes, but the tolls are expensive, and you would need to budget for those as well. It would be much easier to take a longer ferry route-and not as expensive as you think once you knock off the tolls. But if you decide to do the France-Spain thing then please don't overdo it. My parents are regulars at driving to Spain and they usually take three days over it. Stop on the way and make the journey part of the holiday.

I travel on my own with two children, and have done since they were tiny. It would, unfortunately, be true to say that I've had much more discouragement than support. What I'd say to you is: don't listen to people who say you can't do it, but do listen to honest evaluations of the difficulties and then decide for yourself how and whether you can overcome them. And accept that you will have harder days-just like you have harder days at home (well, I do).

Have fun!