need some child-friendly holiday inspiration

[Denise D]

DH and I have our time off booked for two weeks in August and I don't know where to begin with finding a holiday for us. Last year it was a no-brainer because we went to America to visit my family. I have found in the past that the holidays we did were not that child-friendly and we ended up back in our hotel room rather early with bored, tired children. (They will be 5 and nearly 2.)

Does anyone have any recommendations for child-friendly holidays? We were thinking of staying in the UK if we go to one of these places with kids' entertainment like Haven or Butlins. Are they worth it? Any pitfalls to avoid? Or maybe we should just plan our own thing? If so, what is best? B&B's, hotels, a cottage? Aaaargh! There are just too many options!

I am open to any help you can give. :thumbsup:

[Roseolivia]

Last summer we hired a cottage with friends in France. It had a swimming pool and the kids loved it (2yrs, 3yrs & 5yrs). It had a huge garden and a huge covered bbq area which we ate at every night. We had days out to castles, villages, went to a circus, canoed down the Dordogne. The kids had a great time, a lot of travelling (overnight ferry then a 10hr drive) but in car dvd's are well worth the money.
I think hotels are great for a short break but we also go to the lakes a lot and stay at our friends log cabin as you can do what you want in your own time.

[TammyN]

my children are 5 and 3 and we go on a few breaks to Haven site up the road through the year, they love it and keeps them entertained and happy.
for our hol this year we are going to a haven site further away near a nice beach as then it's a break for me and my dh also as we can explore the surroundings abit!

[wendywu]

I would never consider this country for my main holiday, only for the fact that you cannot rely on the weather.

Give any young children a pool, a beach and constant sunshine and they will be happy from dawn to dusk.

If money was tight then i would drive the car abroad and use one of the static camp sites in Europe. :thumbsup:

[Chell]

I would never consider this country for my main holiday, only for the fact that you cannot rely on the weather.

Give any young children a pool, a beach and constant sunshine and they will be happy from dawn to dusk.

If money was tight then i would drive the car abroad and use one of the static camp sites in Europe. :thumbsup:

Each to their own though, I've three young children and couldn't be bothered travelling abroad. We've had some wonderful holidays in this country. We tend to hire a lodge for 5 days - a week. We tend to prefer several short breaks rather than a long one.

www.kellingheath.co.uk is one of our favourite places. We hire a Tern eight berth static carvan. Nearby areas of Sherringham, Holt and Cromer are child friendly.

We are going to the Lake District next year, we went pre-kids but have never taken them. Center Parcs is nice but extortionate in August.

We went to Butlins when DS was 3. He loved it but we hated it, it was over crowd, dirty and some of the people weren't the type we want to spend a holiday with! :blush:

[The Juggler]

the Haven's are supposed to be good, Centre parks fab in day but no evening entertainment.

overseas, the Siblu sites look amazing but you need a car at most of them to get to beach/shops but similar to Haven parks over here (bit more upmarket and offer wooden cabins as well as caravans).

Or, go Thomas Cook/Thompson with the kids clubs all day/all night.

[LOOPYLISA]

For the uk i would say haven , we had one of our best weeks away at one

Even if the weather is pants there is usually a indoor pool :thumbsup:

[Denise D]

Thanks for all your input everyone. I will check out everything that you mentioned. I like the idea of Siblu, as we haven't ruled out Europe. I am tempted to try Haven or Butlins because of the children's entertainment. I am just a bit concerned that they may be heaving at the time we will be there, though. I wonder how long we would have to wait in queues and if it may feel claustrophobic.

How do people actually decide??? This is strange for me; I am usually not so indecisive. :o

[PixiePetal]

We holiday in the UK - when the kids were young we stayed in holiday flats on the edge of seaside towns - walking distance of beach and town for shopping.

As they got older moved onto cottages outside of a town so we could drive in if we wanted. They loved arcades and penny machines. Had some lovely hols in Paignton, Devon :thumbsup:

Scarborough has been good too - we went for days out in surrounding areas/train rides/swimming/beach and had early evening arcade sessions and meals in town :thumbsup: Always looked up places to visit online before we went.

When you have more of an idea, post on here and ask opinions of people who have been there with kids :) More honest than a brochure!!

[MacFi]

We are going on a feather down farm stay, its very posh camping with proper beds on a working farm so loads to see and do for the children. Its cheap too, including bike hire and all the bits and bobs its going to cost £340.00 for a week. Never been before but I have read good things about them.

[wendywu]

We did Haven once on the Sun weekends it was the one in Hastings. Never again.

It was full of rabble getting drunk , the indoor pool make me and the kids throw up. The food was pants. :(

This was about 6 years ago so maybe they have changed.

[RachelE]

We have a touring caravan and have just booked 2 weeks in Norfolk.

I'd say, a cottage or a static on a smaller site - not necc a Haven/Butlins, but most still have a club house/bar and games room. The kids will make friends and you can relax a bit more than on a bigger site.

We've been to France for the last 3 years, but are more excited about this one as we can do a variety of things, include the whole family. (we have a 4and 8 yr old)
- we're also looking forward to not having a 20hour drive this year!
We're looking forward to beaches, cycling, walking, swimming, pub lunches, finding parks and just chilling on the campsite - the children making lots of new friends.
- all we need is a good heatwave in August! :laughing:

Let us know what you decide.

Rachel x

edited to say I agree with above about Haven - we went on a Sun hol 5 years ago and wasbt too impressed - full of chavs and squashed in like sardines!

[Chell]

http://www.jollydaysluxurycamping.co.uk/luxury-tents.php - this is out of our price range this year but it looks fabulous.

[Toothfairy]

WOW....those tents are amazing Chell :eek:

I must show my hubby :D

[LOOPYLISA]

We did Haven once on the Sun weekends it was the one in Hastings. Never again.

It was full of rabble getting drunk , the indoor pool make me and the kids throw up. The food was pants. :(

This was about 6 years ago so maybe they have changed.

I think it depends on where you go :thumbsup:

Like i say one of our best hols in uk and boy are we fussy :laughing:

[manjay]

Haven definitely not for me:rolleyes: but I have stayed on a Siblu site in the West of France which was OK. We usually end up in Cornwall but we have a new caravan so we are trying somewhere new and heading to Dorset. Weather really doesn't bother me. Can think of nothing worse than trying to keep a 3 year old constantly cover in factor 50. All I want from my time away is some time together as a family without the normal distractions of home. I can quite often be found in the middle of field (ish) on a weekend so we get away from this bloomin job;) . But it is definitely each to their own and not everyone would be happy with this. It suits our family at the moment but no doubt it will change as they get older.

[The Juggler]

Weather really doesn't bother me. Can think of nothing worse than trying to keep a 3 year old constantly cover in factor 50.

:laughing: :laughing: see now I would apply it every 20 seconds just so I can enjoy my time in the sun!!! my kids enjoy the pool and being outside in just a swimsuit so much they are so chilled and makes family time fun. My dd is so grouchy when cold/wet so it's the sun for us whenever we can afford it...

[Alibali]

We did Haven for years when the kids were younger and have always had a great time. Wouldn't have liked the hot weather when they were all little, spend all day doing suncream:laughing: :laughing:

We're going back to Haven this year, the Lake district this time as we're saving up for Florida for next year. The best thing about Haven is that it's all geared for the children and you get a bit of time to sit and relax and enjoy watching them having fun!

[Chell]

We did Haven for years when the kids were younger and have always had a great time. Wouldn't have liked the hot weather when they were all little, spend all day doing suncream:laughing: :laughing:

We're going back to Haven this year, the Lake district this time as we're saving up for Florida for next year. The best thing about Haven is that it's all geared for the children and you get a bit of time to sit and relax and enjoy watching them having fun!

Is this a park or cottage you are going to? We want to go to the lakes next year.

[sarah707]

When my 2 were little we went to Haven in France which was ok... though I'm not really a tent person.

We also went to each of the big Canary islands, one a year and those were great holidays! Really easy.

We did go to Butlins once but it was sooo expensive.

They go with their dad to Oasis up in Penrith and that's nice but again expensive once you get there.

Now mine are bigger we go all inclusive somewhere warm and they are happy with a pool and lots of food :D

[Gizmo]

We holiday in uk have done Haven a few times had a horrible one is Somerset and a great one in Mablethope, this year we are booked to go to Withernsea thru Park holidays we always book a gold caravan and make sure there is a beach nearby the kids love it :clapping:

[suzyblue]

When the kids were little we stayed in the UK and did Butlins, Haven, and Pontins. Haven was our favourite. Great Yarmouth is great and Devon - lots to do. When the kids got bigger we rented large holiday homes and took their friends with us. Now that they are grown up we go abroad.

[wendywu]

Anywhere as long as every time i wake up its blue sky and NO clouds.

I can think of nothing worse than packing jumpers and wellies for holiday. Sitting in a caravan in the rain, looking for a place to go for the day that is indoors. Running from caravan to the car, then running from car to museum to avoid getting wet. :(

It is only the weather that lets this country down.

I like luxury at this time in my life. But we always took the children abroad every year when they were little, along with my mum and dad to help. We just picked the holiday to suit our budget. I love watching the children in and out of the pool in the sunshine.:)

I get very cross and grumpy if it ever dares to rain while i am on holiday. I dont even like it on weekend city breaks when i am sight seeing.:panic:

[The Juggler]

Anywhere as long as every time i wake up its blue sky and NO clouds.

I can think of nothing worse than packing jumpers and wellies for holiday. Sitting in a caravan in the rain, looking for a place to go for the day that is indoors. Running from caravan to the car, then running from car to museum to avoid getting wet. :(

It is only the weather that lets this country down.

I like luxury at this time in my life. But we always took the children abroad every year when they were little, along with my mum and dad to help. We just picked the holiday to suit our budget. I love watching the children in and out of the pool in the sunshine.:)

I get very cross and grumpy if it ever dares to rain while i am on holiday. I dont even like it on weekend city breaks when i am sight seeing.:panic:

:laughing: :laughing: think we might have been related in a former life - I am the same. We did have a healthy experience last year in the highlands, lots of fresh air and walking but it was sooooo wet so really can't pretend I really enjoyed it. Saw lots of family and friends which was nice but the only think I truly enjoyed was being warm every night in our cottage with a glass of wine.

Love the sun

[venus89]

We did Butlins when the kids were younger and had a great time but it was during term time rather than holiday time - I imagin it could be hell then!

We go to Center Parcs for our holidays at the moment - we've done that 2 years in a row and are back this year for a week in August - can't wait!

We also have been known to book a night or two in a travel lodge near somewhere we want to go - last year we took a mini break and went to Monkey world (for ds) and Bealieu (for dh) and just stayed inthe travel lodge.

I can recommend Yelloh! http://www.yellohvillage.co.uk/ They have campsites throughout France and we've had a couple of lovely holidays there. We took the ferry and drove down - the kids loved going on the ferry. Slightly better weather than the UK and it was very affordable too. That's less the case now the euro is so weak though.....

[Denise D]

Thank you to everyone who has responded with ideas and your experiences. :thumbsup: I think I have narrowed down my focus a bit to try to find something that will not be choc-a-bloc with other people trying to have the exact same holiday we are having. So that leaves out Butlins and Haven. I have given the weather thing some thought, and even though I like nice weather, I wouldn't feel like the holiday is ruined if it rains, so long as we still get to see something new. I have fair skin and red hair, so I would be applying factor 50 to both my kids and myself 20 times a day when it's sunny. :rolleyes: I think I may try to get my hands on one of those lists that detail all the cool places/ experiences for children and see if any particular location seems to have quite a few of them locally. Throw in a nice beach and we're halfway there!

To go slightly off-topic, is anybody concerned about missing their holiday flights because of the volcano?

[venus89]

To go slightly off-topic, is anybody concerned about missing their holiday flights because of the volcano?

Nope - another good reason to stay in England :D

[wendywu]

You know what im off the Greece for 5 days end of this month.

What with the volcano, the strikes in Greece and the BA strikes, i think someone has got it in for me.:(

Mind you i dont mind getting stuck over there :thumbsup:

[nannymcflea]

For cheap Lake district hols

http://www.countrycaravans.co.uk/


:clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

[Denise D]

omg! My hubby just told me that he is trying to get some comp nights in Sharm el Sheikh! (He works for a major luxury hotel chain, and the perks include free nights at other hotels in the chain!) Easyjet fly there, too, so it won't cost the earth to get there! I hope he gets them! I am so excited!!!

Thank you to everyone who gave me holiday suggestions. I am keeping the information in case it doesn't work out.

[wendywu]

[
QUOTE=Denise D;712244]omg! My hubby just told me that he is trying to get some comp nights in Sharm el Sheikh! (He works for a major luxury hotel chain, and the perks include free nights at other hotels in the chain!) Easyjet fly there, too, so it won't cost the earth to get there! I hope he gets them! I am so excited!!!

Thank you to everyone who gave me holiday suggestions. I am keeping the information in case it doesn't work out.[/QUOTE]


Yipee, now that sounds more like it, thats what i call a holiday. I do so hope this all works out for you. What a darlin handy hubby to have :thumbsup: