Family Friendly Package Holidays

Holidays pre-kids are great. You can go last minute. You don’t have to worry about packing as you can throw some dresses, shorts and sandals into a backpack and be on your way.

Holidays post-kids however is a different story all together!

Gone are the days of travelling light with just a backpack in tow. It was brilliant being able to hop off the plane and head straight out of the doors. There was no need to wait for suitcases to come off of the conveyor belt or last minute pit stops for the loo! We’d find the nearest bus stop, train station or taxi rank and make our own way to our hotel.

Talking of hotels, my husband and I would always try to do things as cheaply as possible so for us that meant booking hotels and flights separately. We’d make sure breakfast was included, but when it came to lunch and dinner we liked to explore our surroundings and find somewhere off the beaten track to eat.

One of my favourite ever holidays, pre-kids, has to be Marrakech. It’s the furthest that I’d ever traveled before and it was so unlike any other holiday I’d ever been on before. We stayed in a beautiful riad which is a traditional Moroccan house with an interior garden or courtyard.

During this holiday my husband and I went on a trip to the Ouzoud Waterfalls and it was one of the best experiences of my life! We had a tour which was organised through the riad that we were staying in. We got to explore so much of the surrounding area, sample fresh mint tea, eat some local food that had been cooked outdoors and take in the breathtaking views of the waterfalls themselves.

When it came to the nightlife, Marrakech’s main square, Djemaa el-Fna, underwent quite a magical transformation. By the day it’s a hustle and bustle of snake charmers, dancers and people selling various wares, but by night a fantastic, colourful, busy market is set up, the smell of street food drifts through the air and music is a-plenty!

When our girls are older I would definitely go back with them! For the moment though, whilst they are only three, almost four years old, we tend to stick to destinations which are slightly closer to home!

Two years ago my husband and I, along with our twins who were around 18 months old at the time, all went on a package holiday to Menorca. My three step-children also came, along with my mother-in-law.

Menorca is such a family friendly destination. So much so, that we returned to Menorca  earlier this year and stayed in Hotel Victoria Playa which I have written about previously.

Package holidays when you have children are fantastic! You don’t need to worry about where to eat or about cooking anything because it’s all included if you go all inclusive. There’s no need to worry about doing the dishes either!

The other thing that I love about family friendly package holidays is that there is usually on site entertainment. This is either in the form of holidays reps, kids clubs and shows, plus you’ll usually have parks, swimming pools and beaches nearby too.

Menorca is one of my favourite family friendly holiday destinations. Hotel Victoria Playa is in Santo Tomas which is a fairly quiet area. There wasn’t much around in terms of night life or restaurants, but that didn’t matter because everything we needed was in our hotel.

I loved that the beach was less than a five minute walk away. Package holidays definitely take the pressure and stress away when going on holiday with toddlers.

As for 2016, we will be going on another holiday. I’m not sure that we’ll go to Menorca again as we’ve been twice now so it would be nice to go somewhere else.

Gran Canaria, Majorca and Corfu are possibilities. I’ve been to Gran Canaria when I was younger, but I don’t remember much about it. I’ve never to Majorca or Corfu, but they both look like great destinations that aren’t too far away as I think shorter flights are best with small children!

Have you planned your 2016 holiday yet?