There’s nothing more exciting than planning your next holiday, especially in that lull after the buzz of Christmas and New Year. January is the peak time for families to start thinking about their travel plans for the year ahead. But what to do and where to go? For us, thinking about our must-visit destinations, what we want to do there and the type of places we’d love to stay makes up our ultimate wish list for an awesome family holiday.
With this in hand, we can start scouring the web for travel inspiration. So, what do we look for when planning our perfect family getaway? The holiday experts at asked us to share all!
An awesome family holiday
Before becoming parents, foreign holidays were a delightful mix of relaxing by the pool with a cocktail or two, enjoying hikes along dramatic coastlines and exploring iconic and historical sights. We’d dine out at local restaurants and enjoy the freedom of catering for ourselves while on camping, cottage or villa holidays. Barbecues and alfresco eating have always been a must during our holidays!
Now, with two pre-schoolers in tow, the pace and execution of our holidays has changed a bit (read: there are less cocktails by the pool), but we still enjoy a mix of relaxation and exploring in our holidays.
Our girls have also added to our wish list with their own requirements for an awesome family holiday. They love building sandcastles on picturesque beaches, splashing around in the pool and finding new and exciting places to play. Their lust for sightseeing is in its infancy, but we continue to crave new experiences, so we plan our adventures in bite-sized chunks rather than lengthy expeditions. We also often holiday with their grandparents to give us a bit of a break and share some quality family time.
Our ultimate holiday wish list
All in all, our ultimate wish list for the perfect family holiday looks something like this:
Finding a family holiday we’ll love
We’ve tried a lot of different holiday styles and self-catering breaks always tick a lot of boxes on our wish list. Staying in a cottage or villa also allows us to do things at our own pace. This is particularly important when kiddie naps and early dinner times still feature in our daily routine.
You have a lot more choice over your destination when staying in in a villa over a hotel or resort. You can find a place that meets your personal wish list; whether you want to stay close to bustling town centres, in the heart of the peaceful countryside or within walking distance of a beach. It’s also not hard to find a place with a lot of activities and family friendly features like gated pools, especially when you book with a company like Villa Plus.
It will come as no surprise that self-catering breaks are going to feature high on our list of adventures in 2017. How about you? What’s your idea of an awesome family holiday?
Disclosure: this is a sponsored post written with . All opinions are my own and those of my family.
Agness of Fit Travelling
Monday 17th of April 2017
This is a great wishlist, Claire! :)
Lisa (Travel Loving Family)
Saturday 7th of January 2017
Oh completely agree Claire! We love self catering holidays. They provide us with the space and flexibility we need as a family and also allow us to keep our holiday spending down a little by dining in, usually fir two out of three meals a day. Not heard of Villa Plus before, I'll check them out;)
Claire Hall - Tin Box Traveller
Sunday 8th of January 2017
I love eating out but it can be so expensive. Self-catering really does help with the family budget!
Mummyandmonkeys
Thursday 5th of January 2017
These would be on our list too. We've stayed at my aunties private villa and it's lovely being able to do things at your own pace and have your own pool. Eilidh x
Claire Hall - Tin Box Traveller
Thursday 5th of January 2017
It's doing things at your own pace that really sells it to me, especially with little ones. They have a completely different time table to everyone else :)
Stevie
Thursday 5th of January 2017
I keep dreaming of a foreign holiday, I'm hoping I win the lottery at some point to help with that dream ;) A villa break sounds amazing and your wish lists sounds perfect to me!
Stevie x
Claire Hall - Tin Box Traveller
Thursday 5th of January 2017
Step aside, that lottery win is mine ;) We were really lucky last year and won our foreign holiday. The problem is that it's reminded me how much fun they can be. Now we just need to find the pennies!
Lucy Dorrington
Wednesday 4th of January 2017
When I was little we always stayed in villas, and I never really appreciated how much nicer they were for privacy and flexibility. I haven't been able to take my children yet, but one day I hope to.
Claire Hall - Tin Box Traveller
Wednesday 4th of January 2017
We're yet to have our first villa escape with our girls too. Having experienced a few cottage holidays with them in the UK we can't wait to try a self-catering break aboard too.