Holiday with 8monthold and 3.5 year old

ocy

Looking for recommendations for self catering apartments in either Portugal or Lanzarote in September (or anywhere if anyone had a good recommendation)
Would like not to have to rent car so ideally close to shops, restaurants, beach, playgorund

crazy cat lady

We're going to the Holiday Village in the Algarve in just under 4 weeks. It looks like its going to be brilliant (fingers crossed!)

http://www.falconholidays.ie/sun-holidays/holiday-villages/

ocy

looks great any chance you could let me know how you get on.

Are you going self catering or all inclusive. My 3yo is allergic to eggs so eating out can sometimes be a problem (nuggets, some burgers, cakes, mayo, some pasta, etc)

crazy cat lady

No worries. I'll be giving a full update no doubt when we get back!

We're going all inclusive but we have an apartment with kitchenette so we have the best of both worlds!

cynder

IM supposed to be in the holiday village in Egypt at this moment, had to cancel due to everything going on over there, im off to los zocos (all inclusive) in lanzarote instead in august (coasta tequise).

(also with falcon holidays) I always wanted to go to the algarve but after the Madeline mccann thing Ive lost interest. I plan on renting a car for 2 days so i can so travel the island.

Crazy cat lady enjoy the holiday (you never know if you give it a good review you might change my mind)

Planning on Italy next year 3 weeks 1.5 in Venice and 1.5 in lake garda, did the same in France last year 1.5 in languedoc (south France spanish side) and 1.5 in cote d'azur (also south of france - monaco/cannes/ nice and st raphael)

Clearlier

We went to Las Brisas in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote earlier this year with a 3.5 year old and a 4 month old. They're self catering villas. We enjoyed it, managed to relax for the first time in a while, the 3 year old loved the pool, there was a mini-playground in the resort and a larger one about 5-10mins walk away. Staff were extremely helpful. There isn't that much by way of beach around there although there is a nice walk along the seafront out to a lighthouse. There's a shop onsite but you're better off going around the corner to the local supermarket which is less than 5 mins walk away.

You won't get any sense of local culture from the resort though. It's primarily a timeshare resort for British people - the owners actually have an agm in Coventry.

ocy

ocy wrote: »

Looking for recommendations for self catering apartments in either Portugal or Lanzarote in September (or anywhere if anyone had a good recommendation)
Would like not to have to rent car so ideally close to shops, restaurants, beach, playgorund

Algarve is lovely, and I would particularly recommend Alvor, but before you book any apartment you need to check out the location carefully. A lot of apartments along the Algarve coast are not as close as you'd need to shops, restaurants, beach, etc. Also, if you're staying in Western Algarve (Alvor is to the west), the coach transfer times from Faro airport can be a real drag, especially when travelling with children.

Bear in mind that the flying time to the Canaries is over 4 hours - which can be a bit tough when flying with a child under 2 who won't have their own seat.

When our lad was younger, our favourite destination was the rather unglamorous Caleta De Fuste (Costa Caleta) in Fuerteventura. It's not an exciting place for grown-ups, but it has some real plusses for people with young kids. It has an almost ideal beach for youngsters - flat, gently shelving, and shallow water. All the facilities you need, including a choice of apartments and hotels at different price ranges, are within a couple of minutes walk of the beach. The transfer time from the airport is less than 20 minutes. We went there 6 or 7 times over the years, though we don't go any more because it's not so good for teenagers.

I'd also recommend Port de Pollenca in Majorca, especially if you can get an apartment closer to the marina. It's a nice town, it has a couple of decent supermarkets (important if you're shopping to cook for a child with an allergy), and the beach is directly across the road from the shops and hotels.