Destinations.

Here are a few of our favourites. Don't forget, we always welcome your stories and contributions.

 Choice of Destinations

Now that you’ve established what type of holiday the family wants, you need to choose a specific location. Do some research on the Internet or talk to travel agents; there are plenty of companies which specialise in family holidays and although you don’t have to use one, doing so would take the pressure off and give you the space to relax during your break. During our research we have found several specialist travel companies and search engines to find specific family friendly accommodation and destinations. Some of them are listed here for you to browse through for inspiration:

www.stickyfingerstravel.com
www.babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk
www.travellingwithchildren.co.uk
www.babygoes2.com

Obviously, your choice will depend on your budget. If you want a good deal, the Internet really is the place for the best prices and you can find some good deals if you're flexible with your departure dates.
Keeping the children amused will probably be your top priority. In fact, you might worry about it so much that you’ll spend much of your holiday in a state of high stress… which totally defeats the point.
Keep in mind the fact that anything new — including a new environment — has the power to completely fascinate and delight a child. Constant fussing from parents can actually spoil the experience for children, so loosen the reins and don’t try too hard to make them happy. Kids can usually amuse themselves when they’re left to get on with it! Just keep an eye on them, supervise, and unwind.
Finally, make sure you have as much fun as the kids. It’s your holiday too!

Some of our readers have already contributed their experiences.  We want you to share your holidays with us, good or bad.   Tell us where you went with your kids and whether it was easy or not “pure bliss” as Jo describes below – or a complete “never to be repeated again”!

We have also created an area for you, our guernseymums members, to share your family friendly tips and recommendations on our travel section in the Grapevine.  Click here to have your say.

Here are some contributions that we’ve already received that we hope are useful:

Jo H - Cruising with kids

“We have been on two cruises with our son, William. One, when he was 10 months and the other when he was 2years. Both times we have found going on a cruise a great holiday for a young family. There are many cruise liners to choose from so you need to do some investigation as to which one suits your requirements and budget. Many are family friendly but some are adult only and some do not take children under one, so check with your travel agent before booking. Some are specifically targeted for families, such as a Disney Cruise which are fabulous.
The family orientated ships we have been on have been very accommodating and are not too expensive (cost depends on what type of cabin you have). Here are some of the typical services they provide, but this can vary from ship to ship so read the small print!:-
• Cots,
• High chairs,
• Babysitting services (at a small charge)
• Special dietary requirements
• Priority pass boarding
• Activity playgroups
• Pools for children (for potty trained children only)
• Night time crèches
• Dial in listening device in room
• Friendly staff that play with your kids!
For the adults, well you don’t have to do anything other than enjoy yourself and relax. No washing, shopping, driving, cooking, making the bed, tidying up etc – pure bliss!”

Andrea O - France

“We take our kids regularly to Brittany. We rent a gite, which is pretty comfortable and cosy with a wood burning stove and central heating, all the mod cons and great for the summer - a built in BBQ outside. We’ve been going back for years and the owners are very friendly and welcoming

We’ve been able to go at all times of the year so have been able to experience all seasons – which means leaf fights in the Autumn whilst out on walks in the woods and some really icy cold weather, giving a “haw” frost – neither of those things we really get at home. The kids especially love catching sight of a fox or deer, hearing the woodpeckers and the owls. Again all the animals that we don’t have in Guernsey.

The French are really easy going about taking kids out to restaurants and we generally go out for meals at lunchtime so that we can go out as a family.

We get Condor to St Malo and then drive down, journey door-to-door takes about 6 hours and because there’s generally no waiting around – like you have at airport – the kids are never any trouble as we’re always travelling towards our destination in either direction. They love the boat and the staff are always really helpful – especially in clearing up after an upset tummy (or two).

France is great for us Guerns, certainly a home from home and feels more familiar than the UK. Loads to do for all of us and easy when the kids are young.”

Jane - City Break to Barcelona with 4 year

" I was dreading taking a four year old on a city break.  This was the thing nightmares are made of, going to a big city with lots of people rushing around and speaking a different language.  However, it was a breeze, he absolutely loved it and was a model child all four days.  We were staying with friends in their apartment so from that point of view it was much easier but they do not have children so still had to take along some toys, dvds etc for downtime moments.  Had we not stayed with friends I think that this experience has taught me that we would always book an apartment in future,  you can do this in most cities around the world and they are very flexible whether it be for one night or more.  The key to the success of this holiday was engaging him right from the beginning.  We were going to have a lovely holiday just him and Mummy and it was an adventure.  He took pictures on the camera of the plane that we went on, he learnt some new words in Spanish on thejourney, etc.  Once we were there he delighted in eating new things and going to new places, even if it was to the swing parks that we found or the supermarket.  I was amazed how easy it was.  Don't be put off. Even the flights where great, you can fly to Barcelona from Gatwick with easyjet which makes it even easier from Guernsey.  Give it a go, I'm glad I did and I think my son got allot from the experience."
 

Rachel D - Long Haul to New Zealand

This year we took our two kids to New Zealand for 3 weeks, as we had been invited to a wedding, and thought as we were going all that way, it would be great to see some more of the place. Who wouldn't dread the prospect of 25 hours on three different planes with a 4.5 year old and 21 month old? But I have to say, not only did we survive it, we actually really enjoyed most of it! Yes, it is a long time to be confined in a relatively small space, but that is just small part of the overall trip, and New Zealand is a really good place to visit with kids. My tips for having a stress-free and really enjoyable holiday:
The flights:
- Splurge on plane tickets - if you can manage an upgrade it will be worth every penny!
- Make sure you book the children's meal with the airline (we didn't realise that booking a child's fare doesn't automatically get you a child's meal)
- Bring two bags - 1 for nappies, wipes, a change of clothes and pyjamas, 1 for small toys, books and games (we found presenting a new book/activity at the start of the flight worked really well, and for the older one sticker books lasted for hours. Aquadraw mats are brilliant from 18 months, as no mess and reusable). You won't need as much as you think, even for 24 hours. They will sleep for quite a lot of the time if you are lucky, and the on board entertainment helps.
- Be prepared to spend some time walking up and down the aisle!
The jetlag
- Seemed to last about 3 days going out, 2 weeks coming back. We took it in turns to get up, and went with the flow - it is impossible to keep a tired child awake if they really want to sleep, but seeing new things every day, and being outside in the sunlight kept us all going much longer than I thought we would. We took turns getting up with them at 4am until things settled down.
The accommodation
- I would highly recommend using serviced apartments or apartment hotels. The main advantages are that you get separate living space (which meant we could take it in turns to get up with the kids), plus a kitchen and crucially, a washer/dryer. We found great apartments in Auckland and Queenstown, and were lucky enough to stay with friends in Wellington.
The country
- Lots of things about New Zealand were familiar - the language, the food, the driving, which removed a lot of the stress which can come with being abroad with children. The differences made for a spectacular holiday: the amazing scenery, very friendly locals, the opportunity to try loads of things we'ed never done before. Yes, you can take a 21 month old jetboating, and on a luge! We saw dolphins in the wild, went horse trekking (me and the 4 year old), and parascending (adults only!).
- Bear in mind that New Zealand is under the area of depleted ozone, so even on less sunny days you can still burn - we used factor 50 the whole time and came back the same colour as we went!
- www.kidsgo.co.nz has lots of kid friendly options, and each town has an i-site office which is full of useful information on the local area. They will also make bookings for you.
If you have the opportunity to go, it really is possible with small kids, and there is enough variety of activities that there will be something for everyone to enjoy

Back to previous page