First family holiday 2022 - 2 year old
Discussion
Have you considered a cruise? You can still fit in plenty of days on the beach and exploration if you pick the right one, and the kids club facilities on most ships will give you a chance to spend some quality time - dinners for instance - with your other half.
You can also avoid the hassle of flying if you cruise from a UK port, normally Southampton.
You can also avoid the hassle of flying if you cruise from a UK port, normally Southampton.
If it’s the first time n a plane for them keep it short. You don’t know how they will react and you don’t want to be that parent with a toddler who screams for 2 hours with everyone looking at you. Our first flight with them was the south of France with no issues at all as said previously lots of snacks, iPads, toys and hope they are ok and don’t cry for hours.
Gareth1974 said:
Have you considered a cruise? You can still fit in plenty of days on the beach and exploration if you pick the right one, and the kids club facilities on most ships will give you a chance to spend some quality time - dinners for instance - with your other half.
You can also avoid the hassle of flying if you cruise from a UK port, normally Southampton.
Unfortunately my partner gets sea sickness quite badly and has a phobia of being at sea for long periods.. i have good sea legs however as a child i was once stuck outside port in rough seas for an 8 hour period on the way back from holland. The whole ship was being sick and i managed to eat a mcdonalds and watch deep blue sea and stayed for the nutty proffesor too as no one came in to check tickets. You can also avoid the hassle of flying if you cruise from a UK port, normally Southampton.
BoRED S2upid said:
If it’s the first time n a plane for them keep it short. You don’t know how they will react and you don’t want to be that parent with a toddler who screams for 2 hours with everyone looking at you. Our first flight with them was the south of France with no issues at all as said previously lots of snacks, iPads, toys and hope they are ok and don’t cry for hours.
Yes i definately dont want to be that b
d parent ruining everyones holiday.. thats my worst nightmare Petrus1983 said:
Couldn’t agree more. I’ve done circa 6 transatlantic flights a year since my son was 10 weeks old, he’s now about to turn 7. I’d say it’s harder now than when he was a toddler. But proper planning for the flight really helps - have lots of snacks, don’t take drinks, an iPad/screen and some extra time at the airport to get to the gate etc all makes things easier. Usually the cabin crew are great with kids too.
If it concerns you I’d head towards the Canaries - easy 2.5 hour flight with lots of options when you get there.
Easy 2.5 hour flight to the Canaries?! Perhaps if flying by fighter jet. If it concerns you I’d head towards the Canaries - easy 2.5 hour flight with lots of options when you get there.
4 hours if not.
We have had a variety of holidays with our kids.
When we had the first one, of course the world was our oyster, as no need to worry about term times etc. Flew a mixture of closer to home (tenerife, Turkey) and further afield (Dubai, Florida). With our next one, as the oldest had started school shes only been turkey, other holidays have been centre parcs in europe (not UK) - where its considerably cheaper, can do as much or little as you want, space to do your own cooking etc.
Eurocamp we have also done, although I think we prefer center parcs.
It really depends what yhou actually want to do, as some center parcs / eurocamps can be out the way a bit. We have always used eurotunnel for getting across to france as we find it quicker and less hassle than the boat.
When we had the first one, of course the world was our oyster, as no need to worry about term times etc. Flew a mixture of closer to home (tenerife, Turkey) and further afield (Dubai, Florida). With our next one, as the oldest had started school shes only been turkey, other holidays have been centre parcs in europe (not UK) - where its considerably cheaper, can do as much or little as you want, space to do your own cooking etc.
Eurocamp we have also done, although I think we prefer center parcs.
It really depends what yhou actually want to do, as some center parcs / eurocamps can be out the way a bit. We have always used eurotunnel for getting across to france as we find it quicker and less hassle than the boat.
Jcwjosh said:
In all honesty i havent thought about a drive, the longest amount we have driven with baby so far is probably an hour and a half and we dont really have a decent sized family car for a holiday. Doesnt rule out maybe hiring a car for this kind of trip though
This is why centre parks is popular. I suggest booking a cottage in Northumbria, or Wales. How big a car do you actually think.you need?
We went on various holidays in a Citroen AX with a baby and toddler.
My favourite was a caravan near snowdon. 5 miles to the nearest beach. It had an indoor pool. Lots of open space, woods, and castles.
gazza5 said:
We have had a variety of holidays with our kids.
When we had the first one, of course the world was our oyster, as no need to worry about term times etc. Flew a mixture of closer to home (tenerife, Turkey) and further afield (Dubai, Florida). With our next one, as the oldest had started school shes only been turkey, other holidays have been centre parcs in europe (not UK) - where its considerably cheaper, can do as much or little as you want, space to do your own cooking etc.
Eurocamp we have also done, although I think we prefer center parcs.
It really depends what yhou actually want to do, as some center parcs / eurocamps can be out the way a bit. We have always used eurotunnel for getting across to france as we find it quicker and less hassle than the boat.
Have been to centre parcs somewhere in holland as a child and really enjoyed it, full on cycling roller blading etc little trip to Amsterdam thrown in was great fun but maybe not so much for a 2 year old.When we had the first one, of course the world was our oyster, as no need to worry about term times etc. Flew a mixture of closer to home (tenerife, Turkey) and further afield (Dubai, Florida). With our next one, as the oldest had started school shes only been turkey, other holidays have been centre parcs in europe (not UK) - where its considerably cheaper, can do as much or little as you want, space to do your own cooking etc.
Eurocamp we have also done, although I think we prefer center parcs.
It really depends what yhou actually want to do, as some center parcs / eurocamps can be out the way a bit. We have always used eurotunnel for getting across to france as we find it quicker and less hassle than the boat.
More recently visited Centre Parcs in longleat and this was great fun, would be ideal but with covid the only free activity ( swimming) is limited to like twice a week which is what we would want to do on most days at some point. Thought about camping too, has anyone camped with a toddler before ? not sure i could handle it
Pit Pony said:
This is why centre parks is popular.
I suggest booking a cottage in Northumbria, or Wales. How big a car do you actually think.you need?
We went on various holidays in a Citroen AX with a baby and toddler.
My favourite was a caravan near snowdon. 5 miles to the nearest beach. It had an indoor pool. Lots of open space, woods, and castles.
The family car at the moment is a 3 door polo which i really need to change but cant find much for equal money that we want I suggest booking a cottage in Northumbria, or Wales. How big a car do you actually think.you need?
We went on various holidays in a Citroen AX with a baby and toddler.
My favourite was a caravan near snowdon. 5 miles to the nearest beach. It had an indoor pool. Lots of open space, woods, and castles.
Im not a great lover of the UK caravan parks, admittedly i have visited some right s
tholes so maybe somewhere quieter nicer could fit the bill. But i do miss my holidays overseas and fingers crossed next year we will be able to travel somewhereWe had some really enjoyable holidays when our daughter was younger and our then only child. It's child dependant really, she was fine flying and went to Tenerife when she was ~8 months old, main land Spain when she was 1ish then again when she was 18 months, and every 6 months until COVID hit.
Our son is a different kettle of fish. Generally he's a maniac, my wife and I agreed that a holiday wouldn't be much fun with him right now so not that arsed about COVID putting a dampener on foreign travel.
There's a 2:1 ratio which is good, our holidays revolved around meal times, get up get breakfast, mooch around, walk, beach etc. Then lunch and back to the accommodation usually for an afternoon nap then pool/beach before getting ready for dinner. That was it, no bother at all had a hire car so did a few sight-seeing trips. We had some great holidays which felt like holidays.
With the exception of the first trip we stayed in apartments. It's nice to have separate living accommodation so you can put the kids down for the night and sit up and have a drink, sit on the balcony etc. Staying the a hotel room would mean going to bed at the same time for us. First trip we have a suite so had a seperate living area.
We stayed at a place on the Costa Blanca called Morira a couple of times. It's compact and fairly upmarket with loads of good places to eat, nice beach and a lot of small pla parks dotted around.
Our son is a different kettle of fish. Generally he's a maniac, my wife and I agreed that a holiday wouldn't be much fun with him right now so not that arsed about COVID putting a dampener on foreign travel.
There's a 2:1 ratio which is good, our holidays revolved around meal times, get up get breakfast, mooch around, walk, beach etc. Then lunch and back to the accommodation usually for an afternoon nap then pool/beach before getting ready for dinner. That was it, no bother at all had a hire car so did a few sight-seeing trips. We had some great holidays which felt like holidays.
With the exception of the first trip we stayed in apartments. It's nice to have separate living accommodation so you can put the kids down for the night and sit up and have a drink, sit on the balcony etc. Staying the a hotel room would mean going to bed at the same time for us. First trip we have a suite so had a seperate living area.
We stayed at a place on the Costa Blanca called Morira a couple of times. It's compact and fairly upmarket with loads of good places to eat, nice beach and a lot of small pla parks dotted around.
OP you are in that sweet spot with kids in that yours is pre-school age, so you can still go (start of) July to somewhere where it will be nice and hot but not ruinously expensive. Enjoy it whilst you can!
As well as my previous recommendation of Sardinia I would also consider Mallorca, can't really go wrong there, provided you avoid Magaluf!
Alternatively in mainland Spain, my parents have just sold their apartment on the La Manga resort, which is also great for a young family, we have been several times. Loads to do, you can rent a small self-catering apartment with access to a private pool, loads of family friendly restaurants in walking distance, and lots of nice beaches within a short drive.
We've rented additional villas thru the on-site Mar Menor Management Co previously. They are really good, I am happy to recommend. There's a fellow PHer owns a villa in the El Rancho complex, you might bump into them!
http://www.rentalslamangaclub.com/default.aspx
The key thing to remember is that your son will be just over two by then, so you will want to ensure that there's plenty of shade for him, and somewhere to sleep as he'll probably still be napping in the afternoons. You find that one of you will always need to be 'on duty' with him when awake, it's not like you can just bung them in the creche (well, you can, but that's not really the point of a 'family' holiday, in my view). Therefore your relaxation time will be at night, when he is asleep. This is why I would strongly recommend self-catering over a hotel, so you will have the option of a separate bedroom for your son. It's no fun tip-toeing about a regular hotel bedroom with kid in a travel cot, you being frightened of waking him. Get him in a separate bedroom then you can enjoy some time together. It's tiring with a 2yo, so you'll all need the break by then! It also means you can dance to your own tune in terms of schedule, rather than fit around specific hotel meal times.
As well as my previous recommendation of Sardinia I would also consider Mallorca, can't really go wrong there, provided you avoid Magaluf!
Alternatively in mainland Spain, my parents have just sold their apartment on the La Manga resort, which is also great for a young family, we have been several times. Loads to do, you can rent a small self-catering apartment with access to a private pool, loads of family friendly restaurants in walking distance, and lots of nice beaches within a short drive.
We've rented additional villas thru the on-site Mar Menor Management Co previously. They are really good, I am happy to recommend. There's a fellow PHer owns a villa in the El Rancho complex, you might bump into them!
http://www.rentalslamangaclub.com/default.aspx
The key thing to remember is that your son will be just over two by then, so you will want to ensure that there's plenty of shade for him, and somewhere to sleep as he'll probably still be napping in the afternoons. You find that one of you will always need to be 'on duty' with him when awake, it's not like you can just bung them in the creche (well, you can, but that's not really the point of a 'family' holiday, in my view). Therefore your relaxation time will be at night, when he is asleep. This is why I would strongly recommend self-catering over a hotel, so you will have the option of a separate bedroom for your son. It's no fun tip-toeing about a regular hotel bedroom with kid in a travel cot, you being frightened of waking him. Get him in a separate bedroom then you can enjoy some time together. It's tiring with a 2yo, so you'll all need the break by then! It also means you can dance to your own tune in terms of schedule, rather than fit around specific hotel meal times.
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