First overseas family holiday

LlamaLlama

Hi, we are looking to book our first proper family holiday this summer. Unfortunately our eldest is starting school and my wife is keen that he not miss any so we will need to book in the school holidays, the latest we would be able to return is Sunday 8th September.
We are two adults and two boys of 3 and 4. A friend went to Tui Cala Pada in May and it was highly recommended, but putting in end of August dates it was around £2,400 for the four of us. Our budget is around £1000 to £1500. We could fly from the Cardiff / Bristol, possibly further if the deal is worth it.
I would prefer an 'easy' holiday such as flying to an all inclusive such as Cala Pada. But given the budget, a drive to Northern France may be more realistic...
Any suggestions?
Could the Tui holiday discount closer to the time?

z1a

Try same holiday from Glasgow at that time of year. That's what we do, Scots are back at school then. This year, identical holiday is £700 cheaper than Manchester departure, still a saving of about £550 after allowing for extra fuel and overnight hotel near airport.

jimbo6977

Depends whether it interests your family, but how about ferry from Harwich to Holland for £500 return inc family cabins, and CenterParcs Ardennes in Belgium about £740 for 6 nights.

You might be able to get the lot cheaper as a package but I’m not up to date since the Parc changed from SunParks to CentreParcs a couple of years ago.

zagfles

At those ages we found it so much easier to go on driving holidays - just shove everything in boot rather than mess around with suitcases and what to put where and liquids rules etc.

Also staying on campsites in static caravans rather than hotels, so much more family friendly with a young family, they can have their own room, you can watch them play outside while doing a BBQ, when they've gone to bed you can sit outside watching the sunset with a beer instead of having to stay in the hotel room or on some poky balcony etc...also ours loved ferries at that age, big ship to explore!
Ferries can be expensive if you book direct, but if you book through the likes of Eurocamp or Siblu you can get the ferries at massively lower rates (IME close to half price!), so it can be cheaper to use Eurocamp etc rather than booking the campsite and crossings direct.


Other thing is that Ibiza will probably be very hot at that time of year, young kids and scorching termperatures don't always go well together!

If you do fly Glasgow tip is a good one if you live in the north, there's a Holiday Inn at Glasgow airport if you have an early flight which is literally across the road from the terminal, last time we had a 7am flight and we just rolled out of bed at 05:20 and were in the checkin queue at 05:30

zagfles

jimbo6977 wrote: »

Depends whether it interests your family, but how about ferry from Harwich to Holland for £500 return inc family cabins, and CenterParcs Ardennes in Belgium about £740 for 6 nights.

You might be able to get the lot cheaper as a package but I’m not up to date since the Parc changed from SunParks to CentreParcs a couple of years ago.

Also look at Duinrell in Holland which is less than an hour from Hook van Holland or Rotterdam and is superb. You can either book direct with them or Eurocamp have accomodation on site - as above it could be cheaper using Eurocamp as it's far cheaper booking ferries through them than direct with P&O or Stena.

LlamaLlama

z1a wrote: »

Try same holiday from Glasgow at that time of year. That's what we do, Scots are back at school then. This year, identical holiday is £700 cheaper than Manchester departure, still a saving of about £550 after allowing for extra fuel and overnight hotel near airport.

Hi Z1a, I've taken a quick look and unfortunately for that particular location Glasgow is showing as more expensive. Im also not sure if i could convince the wife as going Cardiff to Glasgow before and after the holiday is a bit of a trek!
But i will the strategy in mind.

LlamaLlama

jimbo6977 wrote: »

Depends whether it interests your family, but how about ferry from Harwich to Holland for £500 return inc family cabins, and CenterParcs Ardennes in Belgium about £740 for 6 nights.

You might be able to get the lot cheaper as a package but I’m not up to date since the Parc changed from SunParks to CentreParcs a couple of years ago.

Thanks, i shall take a look as a Centre Parcs would give plenty of activities for the kids and allow me and the wife to have the occasional rest!

LlamaLlama

zagfles wrote: »

At those ages we found it so much easier to go on driving holidays - just shove everything in boot rather than mess around with suitcases and what to put where and liquids rules etc.

Also staying on campsites in static caravans rather than hotels, so much more family friendly with a young family, they can have their own room, you can watch them play outside while doing a BBQ, when they've gone to bed you can sit outside watching the sunset with a beer instead of having to stay in the hotel room or on some poky balcony etc...also ours loved ferries at that age, big ship to explore!
Ferries can be expensive if you book direct, but if you book through the likes of Eurocamp or Siblu you can get the ferries at massively lower rates (IME close to half price!), so it can be cheaper to use Eurocamp etc rather than booking the campsite and crossings direct.


Other thing is that Ibiza will probably be very hot at that time of year, young kids and scorching termperatures don't always go well together!

If you do fly Glasgow tip is a good one if you live in the north, there's a Holiday Inn at Glasgow airport if you have an early flight which is literally across the road from the terminal, last time we had a 7am flight and we just rolled out of bed at 05:20 and were in the checkin queue at 05:30

Thanks Zagfies. As it happens the in-laws have just bought a static caravan yesterday so we will be having plenty of weekends there over the summer!

Good call regarding the temperatures. Another option we have is to go to Cala Pada (or similar) in May next year, and checking the temperatures it is a much more reasonable 22 vs 27 in September.

ibizafan_2

Cala Pada is a really lovely area and close to Santa Eulalia which is my favourite place in Ibiza.

Mrsn

It will still be quiet warm at that point of that year but if you think you’ll be able to cope with the heat then have a lovely time. We had a lovely family holiday in ca’n picafort in Spain. We stayed at the son baulo which has its own beach at the back and there’s a little land train that can take you into the main resort. Our children were 9months and nearly 4 years at that point

CardinalWolsey

I would recommend the Loire Valley for how your family is currently comprised. I'd go further and recommend a specific campsite in the Loire as well - Chateau des Marais. If you did the first week in September you would be looking at around £420/week with Eurocamp. A very comfortable drive down from the ferry / tunnel, and you get to take all the junk with you that you'll need for the children. A great site for young toddlers, and hire a couple of bikes with children's seats and pedal up to Chambord, where you can watch the medieval horse display. An excellent site and location.