There might not be such a thing as the perfect family holiday – it is often what you make of it. From sitting in a tent in gale-force winds to snuggling under the blankets in a lush hotel. It is often the time that you spend together that makes the holiday wonderful. Creating memories or long drives and plane rides is par for the course.
Here are some tips to help you get the most from your family holiday.
Unless you little ones are seasoned travelers start off with smaller journeys. Choose places that are closer with less time on planes or in the car, and slowly work your way to further off places. There are plenty of places in Europe that you can get to with ease. And with less stress for the parents, you’re already going to have a better time.
A villa is the best option for a family holiday as you have your own space and it is like a home away from home. These luxury villas on the Spanish coast have their own pools and you can arrange to have baby and toddler equipment there for you to save on your packing.
Another option is family friendly holidays that are more tailored to children than your average holiday company. With more entertainment places, food places that are likely to have highchairs and hotels with kids clubs that understand what makes family holidays fun.
Before you head out on any journeys, make sure you let them know that you are going to be traveling for a little while. Although time seems to have no real relevance to them while they are little, you can still keep mentioning it. It helps to pack some simple activities, teddies, books, and electronics to help them pass the time more easily. Depending on the age, you can give them an easy to read books or printed out factsheets about the place you are going to, and they can get to know the culture or some cool facts ready for when you arrive.
Once you know where you are going to go you can plan in a couple of surprises! You can keep them up your sleeve for when you arrive. You know your kids, and what they enjoy, you can find things not too far from your hotel and plan them for midway through the holiday. That way they won’t be too tired to enjoy it, and it won’t be crammed on the last day of the holiday.
Having one day where the kids get to choose where you go and what you might sound a bit like a recipe for disaster, but it can be a lot of fun. You could let them choose an activity to do, somewhere to explore or just what you eat for dinner that night – if you have an apartment-style accommodation, they can even help cook. It gets them feeling a little bit more grown up, and they will feel more involved in the holiday too.
Sometimes the best-laid plans can all go to ruin because of the weather or a circumstance with any of the activities that you had booked. So it pays to have a plan B. For bad weather, a trip to the cinema or an indoor animal attraction can be a great idea.