Family holiday destinations in Europe?

Flame17

Hi
We have decided to have a family holiday abroad this year with our young family. We have a 3.5yr old and a 2 yr old. We are looking to go at the end of May.

Can anybody recommend anywhere to go, thats not too far? (don't know how they'll take to flying)
Would you recommend a package holiday in a hotel or DIY with a villa?

Trying to make it as cheap as possible too!

Thanks for any advice idea etc.

Debs

Rachie_B

Depends what you want from a family hol ?

kids clubs / creches ? etc typical "package" holiday?

we always tend to DIY and go self catering as find we like the informality and flexibility

when we used to holiday in spain regularly we would stay in apartments ,better than a hotel as the children could have a separate room and you have the living areas you dont get in a hotel

we would then tend to eat breakfast in the apartment,and eat out in the evenings

we always book the accom / flights / car hire etc separately

we liked the costa del sol area of spain,not too far on the plane

the canaries are nice too

Flame17

The thought of being all in one room doesn't appeal to me at all, I never even thought of that with regards to the hotel rooms.

I'm not bothered about kids clubs as I don't think either of them will want to be left with a bunch of strangers.

I just want it to have things to do with a young family.

Which islands in the canaries do you like?

Debs

budgetflyer

A mobile home holiday in Spain or Italy would be great.
Ca Savio, on the venetian Riviera springs to mind. Large shaded plots. Swimming pools, private beach.
You can fly to Treviso with Ryanair or Marco Polo with Easyjet,jet2 etc.

Alfrescodave

How about the west coast of France, the Vendee, great beaches, weather usually good. Overnight ferry plus a few hours driving. Lots of camping sites - Haven etc provide tents or mobile homes and have activity clubs for kids. We did it when our kids were young they really enjoyed it and made lots of friends.

gingin_2

I'm exactly the same as Rachie B. We self cater and go out in the evening and I think it works out cheaper than a hotel when you have to pay for all meals. We stayed near Torrevieja, Spain last summer (with a 2 and 6 yr old) and had a nice villa with a pool in the summer for £450 plus flights. It was such a bargain holiday and you could get it cheaper as you are going off peak.

We also book independently.

beefster

budgetflyer wrote:

A mobile home holiday in Spain or Italy would be great.
Ca Savio, on the venetian Riviera springs to mind. Large shaded plots. Swimming pools, private beach.
You can fly to Treviso with Ryanair or Marco Polo with Easyjet,jet2 etc.

Have you been there??? Do you recommend it or you have just seen it advertised???

kedj

I would recommend booking your own apartment and travelling with the budget airlines.
Try http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/ and http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/ (amongst others) for apartments/villas. As the name implies ownersdirect is exclusively private owners who rent their properties. holiday-rentals also has some agencies advertising (which in my experience have been local agancies). We have done South of France, Italy and Portugal through them and no problems. All have been good holidays - Portugal being my personal favourite, because the beaches are lovely. An apartment is great, with young children. Its nice to have a bit of space so you can relax indoors - sometimes kids like a break from the sun. Also you can do some meals / snacks there, which saves money. Get a big enough apartment for a proper bed each - messing with sofa beds every morning and night is not worth the hassle. It will still be cheaper than a package.

NafUk

Drive to the Vendee or Dordogne (Haven at Les Penyrals). Not crowded at end of May (when we also go), good weather (perhaps a few days of rain). We go to Les Pens for 3 weeks in a caravan/mobile home and costs £670, + food + petrol (£200). Lovely good value restaurant etc.

If you go for 3 weeks then you can do stopovers on the way down and back to break up the drive. Our kids are older so we blast down from Calais in about 10 hours.

We also went to the Vendee (les Ecureils in Hilaire de Riez) which was great.

I would recommend a privatley owned park rather than a chain (such as Yelloah) since the private parks have better facilities, tend to be smaller, more friendly and better value).

This is a much more environmentally friendly than flying.

Lady_E

My two are 3 and 6 and since they have been around we have done Costa Del Sol, Tenereife, France (Perpignan area) and Portugal . We always book independently as Stelios and Ryanair can do some bargain flights and it is just a case of paying for your apartment and a hire car. In your position ,I would do the Costa Del Sol, simply because there is loads for weenies to do , it is only a 2 and a bit hour flight, weather in May would be just right and worse case scenario , medical facilities are excellent. Tenerife is a 4 hr flight ,although weather is very good. We did a 2 night stay in a hotel witht the little ones and never ever again . No space and no privacy . Good luck and enjoy .
Ps Owners direct are an excellent crew to start looking at their properties .

Pinklepurr

My first holiday abroad with the children was Puerto Pollensa in Majorca when we were then 4 and 2. Its a quiet family orientated resort with a great beach and good restaurants. We self-caterered and there are supermarkets where you can buy pretty much everything you need including nappies etc. There are loads of apartments and villas you can rent. We've used Cosmos and this year are going with Mallorca Farmhouses - check them out as they have a great website.