Feature for July - Finding the ideal family holiday

1 July 2008

Finding the perfect family holiday seems to be getting more and more difficult in this house. With two teenage boys it is proving hard to find a place to stay that will suit us all. We, the grown ups,that is, would like peace and quiet. I would prefer that it is hot, whereas, my husband isn’t so bothered as long as he can go for some interesting strolls. By that he doesn’t mean hiking, he means a stroll with a view, such as a walk along the beach or through an interesting town. The children want to have a pool to play in for a while, but also space to play football, cricket or some other game usually involving a ball. They also want to visit gift shops and be able to walk to a shop to buy an ice cream. Easy. Well not so it has proved.

Our most recent holidays have not had exactly everything, but were generally good holidays nonetheless.

In Lanzarote we stayed in a villa near to Playa Blanca. The villa was actually a short drive from Playa Blanca and the shops, but we could walk to a local shop and bar, which was OK for the children. We could also walk to the beach, but it was a rocky beach until we walked for 15 minutes or so and then we found a sandy beach and a few more shops. The villa was great, although the kitchen was really too small to cook in, which is something we like to be able to do. It was fine for snacks though. However, we did have a barbecue, which we used. The villa had just the two bedrooms, so the boys had to share, which wasn’t ideal, but not an enormous problem. The pool was big enough to swim in and proved a great hit. Sadly there was only a small garden, but enough so that the ball didn’t get lost. Other than Lanzarote not having much to draw us back; we’d visited twice and we like to see something different, we’d have gone back to that villa again. The one complaint about location was that you could only take a left on to the beach from the villa!

Next was Fuerterventura. Sadly, I have to say that Fuerteventura lacked in the something to see stakes. We tried, but all we really found to see was sand and lots of it! This meant that the evening stroll was a bit bland. On the plus side the villa was huge. It had 3 bedrooms and three bathrooms. The boys ‘bagged’ the two best rooms as neither wanted to sleep in the remaining room which was downstairs! The two first floor rooms both had en-suites, but the master bedroom had 2 sinks and a spacious balcony. Outside we again had a barbecue, although the kitchen was equipped to be used. Outside there was a a fairly spacious patio with good high walls and of course a pool. The pool seemed quite big, but because of the steps going down to it there was little space to seriously swim. Nearby within easy walking distance was shop that made the boys hearts flutter! It sold ice cream and all sorts of cheap holiday souvenirs. They happily strolled their several times a day. Other than the shop there wasn’t much else. A rather tatty and rocky beach was nearby, but not worth a serious visit. The enormous sand-dunes are spectacular and there was a small bar on the beach where you could watch the windsurfers. The nearest resort of Corralejo was a short drive. It was full of shops and bar and restaurants, which is great for somewhere to eat, but we were accosted every few minutes by restaurant staff trying to get us to visit their particular establishment. It got a tad annoying after a while. Again I would visit this villa again if it were somewhere else! Click here to see this villa and check prices and availability.

During the horrible wet summer we had here we flew to Portugal. We landed in a storm and torrential rain! It didn’t last thank goodness. We stayed in another beautiful villa in a tiny place called St Barabara de Nexe, about 1/2 hour drive from Faro. Set up in the hills you could see for miles. The views were second to none. Surprisingly though we never saw a plane, which being so close to the airport you’d expect. We weren’t complaining though! The villa was stunning. It was clearly somebody’s holiday home and the furnishing reflect this. With a kitchen/ diner and dinning room as well as al fresco dining we were spoilt for choice! The kitchen had everything and more. The pool was plenty big enough for a swim and there was loads of space for the boys to play in all around the villa. The downside (because there has to be one!) was that the villa was in the most remote location. It was in a tiny village, but also down a rather long dirt track. There wasn’t a shop for quite away; certainly not within easy or safe walking distance for two boys. This is not a downside to me as I was happy to relax on one of the many sun beds around the pool, but it did mean we had to go for daily drives to please the youngsters. However, we all loved the Zoo Marine and I think the boys enjoyed Monchique and climbing up to the top. There was the obligatory shop, which helped! Another downside was the maid visiting unannounced almost each day. She cleaned and made our beds a couple of times, but other times came to use the washing machine or to borrow the vacuum cleaner. OK not crime of the century, but I choose a villa for privacy. Portugal was lovely and I would go back. In fact we are planning to do just that! Click here to see this villa and check prices and availability.

This year we visited Paris and actually stayed at Euro Disney in the New York Hotel. This was fantastic for the boys. They loved the theme park and all of the rides. We loved the day out in Paris, which was really easy to get to by train as the train station is at the gates of the park. The hotel had an ice rink outside as it was winter, which was used by many guests. We found we did not have skating legs or whatever the correct term is, especially me! It proved a rather expensive 15 minutes of standing on the ice unable to leave the side! In fact the whole trip proved to be rather expensive. Drinks in the bar were more expensive than those bought from up the Eiffel Tower! However, we chose the half board option, so breakfast and dinner were included. We ate in the hotel each night as we were not very good a organising and booking a table in one of the other restaurants that we could have eaten at with the half board deal. You do need to book; queues are massive if you don’t. The food was plentiful and filling if not very healthy, but we didn’t have to eat anything outside the meals provided. Disneyland Paris is a great place for children and adults, but it’s not the place to go if you’re not prepared to open your wallet and keep it,open! Definitely worth a visit especially if you can spend a day or two away from the theme parks and see the real Paris. The New York Hotel is ideal for visiting the parks as you are a short walk away. The Disney characters also visit, which little children will love. We have visited before and stayed off site. That’s not a great problem as most hotels provide transport to and from the park and of course are not so expensive to stay in.

Finally we tried an apartment in Spain, which you can read about here. As you will see we won’t try an apartment again for a while! Meanwhile, the perfect holiday has to be out there somewhere. One day maybe I’ll find the ideal accommodation and location to suit us all. It’ll be great fun trying to find it though!

Written by jane · Filed Under Featured Product