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Family Holidays

Making Your Family Holiday a Success!

Holidays can be fantastic, but with a small child, a realistic outlook is essential. They will not be like your holidays before the arrival of your child! It is hard to do, but if you plan for your children to enjoy the holiday as the top priority, you will find this is best for everyone.

We’ve divided this section by holiday type, use the left hand menu to skip straight to info on particular holidays. For each type of holiday we’ve pointed out the pros and cons and posted other parent’s experiences and opinions to help make your holiday a success. You’ll find info on the big tour operators, including luxury holidays and cheap flights and hotels. There are sections about specialist activity centers, family friendly hotels and self catering accommodation and your favourite holiday parks.

With school holidays just around the corner, get some inspiration from our new ‘time at home’ section and dip into the safety pages to brush up on your first aid and staying safe in the sun.

Tell us about your best family holiday in our short survey.

Our Three Top Travel Tips

Unless you and your travelling companions are very laid back individuals, a long journey to any location, with a small child can be a trial, so read our 3 top tips.

1. Travelling will now take longer

Young children can’t be expected to manage adult timings. In my experience when I try to get my daughter to rush, because I am running late, things always go wrong and I get stressed. Toddlers are especially difficult because they get so easily distracted, even a quick wee trip can take forever. To avoid the continuous ‘Hurry Up’ plan for every stage of getting to your holiday, to take longer than you think it should.

For example, plan for car journeys to take twice as long as normal, because children’s tolerance for travel will be far less than yours. You will get to know motorway services very well during the early years!

2. Plan the entertainment

When travelling with children, you need to plan the entertainment schedule, this is especially important for younger children. As their attention span is short, a variety of activities is essential, work out how many hours you have to fill and take enough things to keep them busy. The car is a little more flexible allowing you to control rest stops and meal times. You can set off during their nap times, for example, to get some miles under your belt. You can make the journey part of the holiday stopping at places of interest on route. Airports and planes can quickly become stressful places with a small child who is tired and bored. So plan a game to play while queuing and I always take a favourite snack for the sometimes long wait you have once seated on the plane waiting for take-off.

Activities on the move!
colouring book (check you have washable pens)	sticker books	small wipe-board & pen
travel sketch pads	story books	cards
travel versions of games like ‘Snakes & Ladders’	portable DVD	electronic games
loads of favourite snacks (remember wipes)	CDs to sing along to	traditional car games like ‘Eye Spy’
puppets	play dough	finally don’t forget the comforter or favourite toy

3. Consider travelling companions

Taking relaxed grandparents can really help share the burden and give everyone a break on the holiday itself. Alternatively, going with another family, with a similar outlook, can work really well.

Home or Abroad

One key decision is whether to travel abroad or stay in the UK. Here are some pros & cons to help you decide which will be best for your family.

Staying in the UK

Discovering your own country - how many parts of mainland Britain do you know? Before opting for foreign destinations, explore the fantastic regions of the UK, which offer great holiday choices.

Familiarity - this means if you forget something you'll know where to get it and the children will know what food to expect.

Fed up with sunbathing holidays! In the UK when it rains there is usually something else to do. As long as you are happy to think harder about holiday activities you will find enough to do to occupy the family whatever the weather.

Avoid airport nightmares - the great thing with a UK holiday is that you can pack the car full of everything you might and might not need and take as long as you like to get there. You'll avoid the stress of airports, luggage restrictions and coach transfers.

If you decide to stay in the UK, it is probably worth going somewhere with lots of amenities close at hand. Remote cottages can sound very romantic, but you may be happy to trade remoteness for an indoor play barn after three days of rain.

Travelling in the UK can be hard work, especially at peak holiday times. Try splitting the journey with an overnight stay.

Going Abroad

Good weather is guaranteed which is not to be underestimated. However, it's worth checking the expected temperatures, before you book, especially if you’ll be visiting at peak season. Climate guides can be found in holiday brochures and online. Also check out our sun safety advice.

Outdoor water play - above baby age, toddlers are usually very happy to spend significant periods of time in the sea or pool. This has the dual benefit of keeping them happy and wearing them out!

Show your children just how amazing the world is – explore new culture, food, and language abroad.

You don't always need to fly. A lot of people are put off travelling abroad because of the potential airport delays and baggage restrictions. Consider the car and a ferry as a way to get you to warmer climates.

Be very careful about flight times, going and coming back. I can vividly remember a distraught family finding out that they where leaving to go home at 3.00am. OK if you can stay out partying but not so good with an eighteen-month-old child.

Research as much as possible about the local amenities. If you need to buy fresh milk and nappies you don’t want to find the local shops don’t have what you need. Also during August many small businesses in rural Europe close, as the owners head to the coast.

If possible don't book a deal where you don't know where you're going to stay until you get there. Your holiday could be spoilt if, for example, you can’t access your apartment easily with your pram or the pool is a hike over to another part of the complex.

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