The Pros and Cons of Family Holiday Accommodation | Travel Tips ...

As with most families, going on holiday is one of the high points of our collective calendar. From spending more time together to discovering shared interests, those one or two weeks away from home can make all the difference when it comes to communicating and understanding each other further down the track.

I have a particularly young family ? a three year old and a one year old, so to be honest I haven?t been on too many holidays as yet, however I have picked up a few insights that I?d like to share with you in this article.

One thing I do know is that as long as the kids are well-rested then the chances are that they?ll be better behaved and more inclined to go with the flow which brings me to the subject of sleeping arrangements.

At home the task of putting the kids to bed is relatively straight forward: bath, story and sleep ? ha ha, in theory ? but in a strange environment with all the excitement associated with being on holiday, the chances are that your standard routine may just go out the window.

Below I?ve highlighted five forms of accommodation that I personally have stayed in with our little one. All have their pros and cons and I don?t profess to have any ground-breaking news, however these are my experiences and I hope they will help you in the future.

Mobile homes

Static Caravan Holidays

Last year we went to Italy as a family and stayed in a mobile home. There were two bedrooms a kitchen/lounge, a bathroom and an outside decking area. We had a wonderful time and as the home came equipped with a travel cot and high-chair we didn?t have to worry too much about excess luggage.

Pros: fairly cheap, travel cot provided, didn?t matter if we made a mess and we could go outside on the decking area when the nipper was going to sleep.

Cons: a bit cramped, kitchen not child-proof, could get a bit noisy depending on your neighbours

B & B

The other month we stayed in a bed and breakfast in the New Forest. The cottage was lovely and our hosts, Marion and Ian, were very accommodating. There were plenty of chickens, dogs and horses to play with and even a visiting grandchild thrown in for good measure.

Pros: a home from home environment and a wonderful cooked breakfast in the morning.

Cons: we were basically staying in one room and when our two-year old went down at 7.30pm we had to turn off the light and keep quiet until she was sound asleep.

Hotel

We?ve stayed in a couple of hotels in New York ? one with a separate lounge and the other with just one living and sleeping space. As you can imagine, the separate lounge version was much more suitable for getting our little one to sleep without us having to join her.

Pros: black-out blinds, relatively quiet, fridge for food and very clean.

Cons: expensive, if you only have one room you all have to sleep at the same time and some other guests don?t appreciate kids screaming at 7am.

Camping

Camping Trip

Although we haven?t undertaken many adventure tours or stayed in a tent as yet I?ve just purchased a colossal second-hand five-man tent that I?m hoping to use excessively for many long hot summers to come. I?m also a keen festival goer and as soon as they?re old enough I?m planning on being the annoying dad that stands in front of you with a child on his shoulders just as your favourite band comes onto the stage.

Pros: cheap, no TV and gets you completely back to nature.

Cons: cold, not very secure, no fridge, can get grubby and no way of curbing noisy neighbours.

Self-catering

We regularly go on walking holidays with friends and stay in self-catering accommodation. As we?re all getting older, and kids have joined us, our time away has become slightly less pub-orientated and more evening-in based although, the bbq is still the only way to cook our evening meal.

Pros: a home from home, can be inexpensive if friends come along to share costs and it?s also easyish to maintain a normal routine.

Cons: apart from the expense if you?re going on your own, I can?t think of any major cons to staying in self-catering accommodation.

So there you have it, self-catering wins hands down if you?re going on holiday with a young family. That said, you never know until you try and if you?re planning on going away for the first time this year then best of luck and remember that family holidays are a lie ? they?re actually kids? holidays!

Travel Tips by:
Chris is off to stay in a mobile home in Tuscany again this year but firmly believes that his kids will be joining him on adventure tours in years to come.

Let people on the other planets know that we have a beautiful earth... :-)

No related posts.

nl mvp verlander verlander justin verlander pepper spraying cop pepper spraying cop somaya reece