How do I choose a holiday?

Cookie_monster_7

How do people choose a holiday? I've spent days looking through brochures but can't narrow it down....are there search engines that help with this?

Can anyone recommend a european destination that is suitable for families but not tacky and has lots of places to visit nearby eg zoo/museum/other attractions? We want to be near a beach but not spend every at the beach. We don't want to hire a car so we want to be situated within walking distance of attractions/shops or for there to be good transport links.

Any advise would be great!

LillythePink

Where are you going to be travelling from?

How foreign do you want to go?

What is the budget?

Do you like it hot?

Have you thought about the Channel Islands - whilst I live in Guernsey, I would probably suggest Jersey - beaches, zoo, museums and other attractions. (Guernsey is nicer than Jersey, but we don't have as many attractions ie zoo/other attractions) - but we have loads of lovely beaches and museums)

You can get some good deals to get there - some with hire car thrown in - we drive on the same side of the road as the UK. Failing that, there probably is a good bus service.

We take sterling so there is no exchange differences

You can get over by plane or ferry from Weymouth, Poole or Portsmouth

onlyroz

Rhodes is good - we stayed in Pefkos, which is better suited for families than the "night-club" towns like Faliraki. Rhodes has got good beaches, as well as historic towns and ruins to explore.

Buddingblonde

Trip Advisor has fabulous feedback on resorts and hotels. Have a look at some resorts you fancy and then look for feedback.

belfastgirl23

Another tripadvisor fan here. Would just say watch out for false reviews. You'll notice them because they will be glowing about the particular resort etc but the person will only ever have posted one review and they will say the resort/hotel is the bees knees with no down sides. Personally I almost prefer to go to places where people have written about the downside (after all one person's downside is another's upside - eg 'not child friendly' sounds great to me ). But a very good site as long as you're careful with how you use it.

Counting_Pennies_2

The overseas travel forum is very good. Many good responses come.

It depends how much time you want to spend with the children. Are you with them all day everyday and looking to get some quality time for you and your partner? If so a Mark Warner or SunSail holiday would help. Good child clubs, food for kids, all the baby equipment provided, included a sterilising room and milk etc. Downside of these are there are only a few things to do outside of the resort, so car hire and long drives might be needed. However if you would like your child to try out sports, meet friends then they might be good for you to try. We have found these really good. Latest was to Sunsail Vounaki and it was really nice.

http://www.sunsail.co.uk/beach-clubs

If you would prefer not to stay in a purpose made resort you could look at Simply holidays. They have recommended villas, hotels and some have information about suitability for children. http://www.simplytravel.co.uk/st/getHomePageSun.do

Somewhere that might also suit is Lake Garda, there is a theme park, beaches in places, and lots of boat rides etc. Eurocamps have a site there which may be of interest.
http://www.eurocamp.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=campsites.europeMap&ver=1

Other than that I would speak to friends and ask them what good holidays they have been on and go with recommendations for them.

I agree also Trip Advisor is good for feedback on places, although don't take it all as read.

hth

ninky_2

tenerife might suit you - not strictly european but you can get cheap enough deals and the flight time is short. good beaches but also great waterparks with slides and rides etc and large animal park with lots of shows and hands on stuff (loro park). have to admit i have ethical issues myself with animal parks / zoos that stopped me visiting myself but friends who visited said it was excellent. also everything is in driving distance. if you want an easy holiday go for an all inclusive deal with someone like thomas cook then you know all your meals and drinks are covered - although you will probably end up wanting to eat out sometimes it still works out cheaper.

Bloomin_Freezing2

Is this a first family holiday? How old are your children? For our first few with 1yr old I said "not too long on plane' and 'not too long on coach once off plane'. Our first hol was Mallorca, cople of hours on plane, although transfer to our less lively resort was almost 2hrs. Our 2nd hol when she was 3 was to Costa Dorada, again 2 hours or so on plane but only half hour ish on coach. Resort was La Pineda. Not too busy, lvely llong clean beaches. Water park 10 mins walk away. Was nice and quiet.
Our hol this year with 6 & 2 yr old is Lanzarote, longer on plane but 20 min transfer.

We always go all inclusive so kids who can be picky are suited. IF they don't like food choice they can bin it and start again.

How about looking in back of brochure at your chosen airport, look at where they fly to and departure times. You could narrow it down that way then look in brochure. You could find dream hol, book it then find taking toddlers on a 3am flight which would be awful!

ema_o

Depending on age of children, Valencia was fabulous, loads to see and beach nearby, prob more suited to older children tho as lots of walking and more sightseeing than activities.

Make a list of your requirements and pop into a travel agents...

NickyBat

One thing i would always recommend with kids is to go all inclusive. sometimes the initial outlay may seem expensive but it isnt when you break it down.
We have been to Paphos in Cyprus a few times and loved it, hotels are lovely and beaches are fab and most hotels cater for children with kids clubs and kids food and at least with all inclusive they can have as many drinks as needed without worrying about the cost ( water is 2euros a bottle).

Lunar_Eclipse

Cookie_monster wrote: »

How do people choose a holiday?

I start with my mental list of places I want to visit and then short list those depending on which are better to visit at the time of year we want to go on holiday. Two years ago our main holiday was in December and last year it was at Easter; we went to different continents. Last year we went to the USA and went at Easter, since this offered the best weather during a major school holiday (ie Easter, Summer or Xmas.)

Then I use Google and websites such as Trip Advisor to see what attractions those places have, accommodation options, pricing, images etc. By which point I've probably decided on my desired location and work on putting together a holiday there, using reviews etc.

Can't really help you out with European destinations that might suit. We had a lovely beach/watersports holiday to France last Summer and have been to Portugal a couple of times years ago, but neither have been to major towns or cities that would have museums & zoos etc. Venice is wonderful and does have plenty of museum type attractions and the lido, if that appeals, but not really a good beach.

Personally I'd recommend Italy. It has the perfect blend of beauty, great food, beaches and tourism. And look at Spain if that didn't work out. France would also be a good option, I just personally don't like it that much.