Holiday with the Kids in Sept / Oct ... Center Parcs?

John_M_Business

Looking for some advice here. There are four of us, myself and my wife, two sons - 4 yrs old and 1 yr old. We have decided not to fly for environmental reasons and would like to go on holiday in early/mid Autumn. Ideally to somewhere where there is lots to do if the weather is good or bad.

And that's about it.

We've heard mixed reports of Center Parcs, as this was one of our ideas... although some have said that the ones in Europe are much better than the UK. We're near the South Coast an can easily get to Portsmouth although Dover is a bit of a hike.

If you have experience of Center Parcs, or if you have any ideas of what could be right for us, then please post - it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

John B

michelleantoinette

Hi,

We've been to Center Parcs three times. It is good but it is expensive. You can save costs by:

1. Going out of season (ie school holidays)
2. Booking well in advance
3. Trying to find out about any discounts available
4. Self catering, bringing own food, as the restaurants are pricey and not even that nice sometimes (but we always said, "we're on holiday, what's the point in cooking!?"
5. Doing activities that are free or cost little (i.e walks, fun pool, play parks, nature trails etc.)

That said, Centre Parcs is a beautiful UK holiday, the views are amazing and riding around on bikes is such fun - our kids (all under 5) love the trolley you attach to the back of the bikes. We've had some great times but it can be expensive. We are now looking to do a similar thing abroad, we probably will not fly but maybe take a ferry to France or Spain. Check out http://www.siblu.com/

Good luck!

Michelle Antoinette

ixwood

Very expensive from what I've seen. And I think loads of sports stuff and activities aren't included, so probably be even more expensive.

You could buy a decent tent for a fraction of the cost and have cheap enjoyable holidays for years.

John_M_Business

Ah - Camping... no thank you! Not with a 1 year old who won't sleep at all and being tall, it means crouching the entire time... plus in early October it could be cold and miserable. Plus the 'it takes 3 hours to put together and cook a meal and then the kids won't eat it' experience.

Hiring a lodge might be an answer... because, in the end, we need a break, not a trial!

Expense is all relative and something that MSE often fails on is considering the difference between COST and VALUE.

Rachie_B

totally agree with michelles post

yes center parcs CAN be expensive,if you want to do lots of activities,and eat out all the time etc

we went in january , and hired bikes ( bring your own if you have them) my son was 4 at the time and he loved cycling round,playing on the beach,swimming ( sooooo hard to get them out of the pool lol)
oh and he did do football which @ £3.50 hardly broke the bank

its as cheap / expensive as you make it ,def go during term time,make the most of it while your children are little still !

you can usually get a code to work ,in term time.

we paid £190 for a 3 bed comfort villa,4 nights in jan ( weather was fab ,though so we were lucky !) which we shared with my sister and her family so less than £100 for a family for 4 nights
we ate out twice,and made our own meals the rest of the time ,bring your own food as the shop is a bit expensive, ( we went to the longleat one and theres an asda not far )

again going with what michelle aid about mobile home type holidays

we have done 2 of these so far and we love it if you choose a site with lots to do and in sept it should still be warm

we go here : http://www.la-croix-du-vieux-pont.com/uk/ last oct and early july

both times weather fab ! and a lovely lovely site its an hour from Disneyland paris so we have a day trip there too

Doonhamer

Have a look at the european center parcs website, you will find the prices are much cheaper. We stayed at one in Holland at easter and it was great. Was half the price of a UK one and we were able to spend a day touring Holland too.

sluggy1967

Personally, I think Center Parcs is probably THE best place to go for a holiday with toddlers. My 4 year old loves it, we have been 4 times. Rachie B is right, it is as expensive/cheap as you want it to be, don't forget your sons are young enough that they are not going to be bugging you for the expensive activities! There are a number of websites where you can find codes which normally get you a good discount - we've always managed to get 20 or 30% discounts! Try www.madaboutbargains.co.uk or I think there have been some forums on this site about codes.

John_M_Business

Thank you for all your help, looks like we're going to Les Bois-Francs for the last week of September. Because we're near the South Coast, Portsmouth - Cherbourg seems like the best route, then the car.

Samuel and Josh will be delighted...