Family Holidays

When is the best time to travel?
When you’re at the mercy of the school holiday calendar, choosing where to go to balance weather, flight times, time zones, and budget can seem a bit of a conundrum. Help is here.

Unless you’re only travelling with preschoolers, the term dates might dictate when you’ll jet off on your holidays. We can help maximise your time during those shorter breaks in February, May, and October and help find pockets of great value during the longer summer holidays. 

Family holidays can get expensive quickly, especially the older they get when you might be looking at adjoining rooms, extra bathrooms, and more space. We’ll help squeeze some extra value out of your holiday, whether recommending off-peak destinations or different types of accommodation. Sometimes, booking early can help, which has the added benefit of paying the holiday off over time.

Check out our recommendations on where to travel to in the school holidays here - https://www.kuoni.co.uk/inspiration/where-to-go-when-in-the-school-holidays/

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What are the best holidays for single parents? 
Families come in all shapes and sizes, and we can help you find the perfect trip for yours. If you’re a single parent, our Personal Travel Experts can help give you the confidence to take a more adventurous holiday with your children or simply the right resort to give you all the opportunity to relax. If you’ve got questions about sleeping arrangements, we can advise you on adjoining rooms and occupancy to find the right setup for you and your family.

And what about large families? 
Whether you’re a blended family taking lots of kids on holiday or inviting grandparents on a multi-generational trip, holidays involving more people can seem tricky to organise. More hotels than ever have broken away from traditional room configurations. Multi-bedroom apartments and villas can strike the right balance between shared spaces and privacy and the right number of bathrooms to keep everyone happy, particularly once you have teens in tow (because no one should be squabbling over shower time on holiday).

I’m worried about flying with my kids. What help is available? 
Whether you’re a nervous flyer, worried about your little one’s ears popping on take-off and landing, or just wondering how on earth you’ll keep your children occupied on a flight, we know that flying can be a mental hurdle for some families. Our Personal Travel Experts are well-travelled and have plenty of advice to help alleviate your worries, from sharing tried-and-tested tips to keep kids entertained on the plane (however long or short the journey is) to ways you can all try and relax onboard. Travel days can sometimes throw some curveballs, so planning as much as possible in advance can help. For instance, we’ll help make sure you’re all seated together on the plane and pre-order in-flight children’s meals if that option is available with your airline. We can advise you about flying with buggies and car seats, which vary by airline.

Can my children share the same hotel room as me? 
Room configurations and occupancies vary from hotel to hotel. Typically, you’ll find that children under 12 can share your room with you, either in another double bed or on a sofabed, but once they’re older, you may need to look at adjoining rooms. On the plus side, this gives everyone a bit more privacy. However, more options are available to families (not just expensive suites!) with smaller bunk bedrooms so parents and kids can have their own bedrooms without splashing out on two hotel rooms. There are lots of villa setups within resort hotels, too, which are perfect if you’d rather your kids have their own bedroom and a proper bed rather than a sofa bed. And they’re also ideal when you’re on holiday with friends or extended family.

What resorts do you recommend so everyone can have the holiday they want?
A family holiday isn’t only about making sure it’s perfect for kids – it’s the adults’ holiday, too! To get the balance spot on, your Personal Travel Expert will dive into the details about what you all like so we can conjure up the best option that not only ticks the box for your football-mad daughter and your golf-mad husband but has restaurants that you’ll all enjoy at the times you want to enjoy them (we know some great options that offer kids teatime and then look after them while you savour a quiet meal for two later in the evening) and has nailed the approach where you’ll have quality time together – and quality time apart!

Will my car hire or transfer come with the right car seats? 
When you book a holiday with Kuoni, your Personal Travel Expert will check that all the details are right for your family, including ensuring that age-appropriate car seats are available in your hire car or your transfer.

Are there hotels and resorts that provide everything I need to travel with my baby?
A brilliant selection of hotels and resorts cater exceptionally well for families with babies. You can pre-order bulky items like sterilisers, buggies, and monitors, and hotel rooms can come equipped with toddler-proofing when they’re at the explorer stage. Your Personal Travel Expert can help you find the perfect hotel in the destination you want to go to, but if you’re just starting to think about a holiday with your baby and looking for some initial ideas, take a look at Martinhal Sagres in Portugal, any of the Ikos resorts in Spain and Greece, and Ela Excellence in Turkey.

What are the best options for a sustainable holiday? 
There are a lot of factors to consider if you’re looking to reduce your environmental impact when you travel. It’s an increasingly important consideration for children, too, who are often highly tuned into sustainability more generally. Minimising airmiles is just one element – there’s the environmental management of the hotel to consider, including how they manage waste and water, procure their resources, promote local heritage, and champion diversity, among a raft of other measures. We’ve made it easier to identify hotels aligned with standards set out by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, meeting criteria that cover sustainable management, environmental protection, supporting local communities, and promoting cultural heritage. These are our Engage hotels and are a great place to start if you’re looking for a hotel committed to good sustainability.

Where will we be welcomed as an LGBTQ+ family? 
We have a worldwide portfolio of family holidays, and attitudes around the world can vary. Many of our Personal Travel Experts and others in the Kuoni team have experienced the world through an LGBTQ+ lens. We can advise you on where to travel based on where you as a family will feel comfortable. Although your Personal Travel Expert can talk you through the best options, you might also want to check out Equaldex for a comprehensive look at LGBTQ+ rights worldwide.

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