holiday time...need advice

itz me

well i'm here trying to decide on our family holiday...i was thinking about a holiday park in england such as butlins, alton towers etc etc...as we only have one child aged 6 we were thinking a holiday park would be the best for our daughter so she would have other children to play with and not get fed up looking at mammy and daddy for that week...so i'm looking for some advice on where to go, etc etc

any help appreciated
thank you

themysteriouson

Butlins is definitely a good place to consider. Theres a lot of entertainment throughout the day and also in the evening for kids and adults alike. Good option for a first holiday with the short journey you can get them used to travelling and then maybe try somwhere further away like spain/portugal next year. I'm hoping to do the same in the next year or two when the little one is a bit older.

itz me

themysteriouson wrote: »

Butlins is definitely a good place to consider. Theres a lot of entertainment throughout the day and also in the evening for kids and adults alike. Good option for a first holiday with the short journey you can get them used to travelling and then maybe try somwhere further away like spain/portugal next year. I'm hoping to do the same in the next year or two when the little one is a bit older.

ye ive looked in to butlins, but no one seems to have much feedback on it, we're not much of a sun holiday family...the heat doesnt seem to like us

thanks for that

eimsRV

Wherever you decide to go I'd make sure there is a kids club.
I know you said you aren't in to the sun, but how about going to spain or somewhere off season when its not too hot? Decent weather, cheap eating out, plus lots of water parks. We went here last yr http://www.solmelia.com/hotels/spain/torremolinos/sol-principe/home.htm
We had our 5 month old and 8 yr old niece Ella. ella joined up with the kids club and they had so much organised for them every day and evenings too. She loved it.

Back in the 90s, I went to Pontins in Wales. Think its similar to butlins. http://www.pontins-prestatynsands.com/
You can get the ferry which is handy. Maybe see if you can find any recent reviews on same?

Best of luck!
E

deisemum

We've gone with Irish Ferries and Stena Line, both do package holidays including ferry and accommodation in a number of holiday parks in the UK. We've been to 2 different parks in Wales and one in Blackpool. We enjoyed each of them. Plenty of family entertainment especially in the evenings.

Wales is lovely and the Welsh people are very friendly. Lots of places to visit outside the parks as well. My children loved those holidays.

Norfolkline often have cheap ferry crossing offers if you wanted to book separately and Liverpool may be a more convenient port.

We went to Butlins in Bognor Regis back in the early 90's for a themed weekend for the New Year. I can still remember the cold. It was a bit of a dive but I've heard that the one in Minehead is good.

CJhaughey

Have you tried Camping in France ala Keycamp/Canvas/Hello France? It is great fun and most of the bigger operators like Keycamp have kids clubs which are very good fun and cater for most ages >3yrs.
Brittany is nice, not too hot in early season.
Most of the campsites have water parks with slides and indoor pools.
There is reasonable service to Cherbourg, Le Havre and Roscoff, although if you were heading to Brittany, Roscoff saves a lot of driving.

Alternatively if you want to go to the UK Centerparcs is popular.

itz me

was looking at this, has anybody any experience of it http://www.haven.com/parks/blackpool_lakes/marton_mere/index.aspx

how about now

deisemum

itz me wrote: »

was looking at this, has anybody any experience of it http://www.haven.com/sw/BViewVoyage.do?extId=C0A81EE00000012685D56B9E00001C01&login=true

I cannot get that page to come up.

itz me

deisemum wrote: »

I cannot get that page to come up.

think i fixed it...sorry

deisemum

I still cannot get it to come up, it's saying

We have encountered an error, more information on the problem is shown below:

Cannot get sessionId from request context or cookies

Looks like a problem with that page. Is it a particular Haven park you're asking about?

itz me

deisemum wrote: »

I still cannot get it to come up, it's saying

We have encountered an error, more information on the problem is shown below:

Cannot get sessionId from request context or cookies

Looks like a problem with that page. Is it a particular Haven park you're asking about?

this one comes up, yes haven in blackpoolhttp://www.haven.com/parks/blackpool_lakes/marton_mere/index.aspx

deisemum

We stayed in Marton Mere in the summer of 2008. The park is fine, we stayed in a superior or superior plus mobile home. We have also stayed in Quay West and another park near Tenby, not Kiln Park. Quay West was of a higher standard but there wasn't as much nearby in the area. The other parks were fine though.

My boys are into rollercoasters so Pleasure Beach was just what they wanted. There are other things to do in Blackpool as well. They'd like to go back. We went to other places on day trips as well so we weren't just in Blackpool whole time.

RosieJoe

Was going to suggest a Haven Park to you when I read the OP.

Stayed in the Greenacres park last year and the kids had a ball. The were just gone 5 and 3 and the park was suited for them.

Might be a bit small for them this year, we were looking at going to Presthaven.

As said earlier, try booking through Irishferries. We did this last year and they were far the cheapest.

Davidth88

+1 for Haven

Went there last year and enjoyed it ....

steph76

Also did Haven last yr (with 3 preschoolers) and would recommend. Usually situated by the seaside, and have good swimming pools, entertainment in the evenings etc. Good base for day trips also. Going on hols by ferry is so much more relaxing than by air. Would also look up www.centerparcs.co.uk also, especially if your kid is a bit older and likes the outdoors!

itz me

thanks guys....has anybody been to the haven in blackpool??

itz me

deisemum wrote: »

We stayed in Marton Mere in the summer of 2008. The park is fine, we stayed in a superior or superior plus mobile home. We have also stayed in Quay West and another park near Tenby, not Kiln Park. Quay West was of a higher standard but there wasn't as much nearby in the area. The other parks were fine though.

My boys are into rollercoasters so Pleasure Beach was just what they wanted. There are other things to do in Blackpool as well. They'd like to go back. We went to other places on day trips as well so we weren't just in Blackpool whole time.

did you like marton mere...would you go back again??

deisemum

Yeah it was fine no complaints and would go back again. It's a couple of miles from the prommanade, 2 or 3 miles I think but it's better staying there than in the hotels on the prommanade that are usually full of hens and stags at night.

There's a big Tesco nearby which is handy, also not too far from restaurants and takeaways, the zoo etc.

ghosttown

Hi guys, want to book somewhere in the sun, 2 kids, 2 year old and baby 2 due this weekend.........:)............would like to take a break May or June, sunshine preferably. With children of these ages is there anywhere people could recommend, or should we wait a year and holiday at home ?
We didn't do sun for a few years now, and Mammy would really like it !!! Thanks

RosieJoe

ghosttown wrote: »

Hi guys, want to book somewhere in the sun, 2 kids, 2 year old and baby 2 due this weekend.........:)............would like to take a break May or June, sunshine preferably. With children of these ages is there anywhere people could recommend, or should we wait a year and holiday at home ?
We didn't do sun for a few years now, and Mammy would really like it !!! Thanks

Problem with sun holidays is it usually means getting a plane and this is no easy task with a baby! I have done it but would rather avoid it. Think of all the baby food, baby formula, bottles, sterilizing equipment, nappies and all the other stuff! We ended up nearly filling a suitcase with baby stuff alone.