Listed below are the 4 best family-friendly B&Bs and small hotels that we have ever stayed in! Our B&B Hall of Fame if you will. Our family criteria includes a wonderful setting, a friendly welcome or amazing food. These family-friendly places simply made us go WOW so we couldn’t recommend them more highly. (Price range from 120 euros per night for a family room).
Read MoreYear: 2016
Long Family Road Trip 2012: Scotland to Portugal
A drive from Scotland to Portugal (& back!) c. 2500 Miles through 5 countries. Children’s Ages: 7 and 3. [Also see: Why do we inflict these vast road trips on our kids?]
Read MoreOur Family Road Trip 2013: France to Croatia
A drive from Scotland to Croatia (via France and Italy) then back again! 3500 Miles Children’s Ages: 8 and 5 Why another long family road trip? Our friends were staying in Barbezieres in south western France and the grandparents rented a place in Istria, north western Croatia, which, as it happens, is nearly 1000 miles exactly due east. So in order to take advantage of the free accommodation on offer we needed to plan a road trip right across France, through the Alps and across the top of Italy (skimming the corner of Slovenia)…
Read MoreFamily Weekend in the Yorkshire Dales
High Rylands House, Arncliffe (Yorkshire Dales) [Sleeps15] Family Self-Catering Accommodation in the Yorkshire Dales High Rylands House, a traditional 5 bedroom farmhouse sleeping up to 15, sits in the middle of Arncliffe, an unspoilt village in the heart of Yorkshire Dales. Solid, robust and plain, both inside and out, this house is absolutely ideal for large groups and shared holidays. Our three families of old friends combined to make a party of 13.
Read MoreDragging the kids to historic monuments…
My children are well used to being dragged to various historic monuments. In the UK, I only need to see one of those little brown road signs pointing off to something ancient just a few miles off our planned route and we veer off ‘to explore’. The older the monument, the better…
Read MoreAwww… cute!
This is not our dog. During the middle of a violent lightning storm, this cute little guy snuck into our holiday villa in Croatia for shelter. He never moved an inch, and remained rooted to the spot cowering at every clap of thunder and flinching every time we stood up. (He gratefully accepted a slice of ham though). As soon as the storm abated he tootled off home.
Read MoreWhat are Pousadas?
What are Pousadas? Pousadas de Portugal are hotels created out of monuments and other historic buildings. They were originally set up by the state to be rustic, genuinely Portuguese and to help preserve these wonderful buildings. Although they are luxurious and historic, their prices seem more than reasonable when compared to the prices paid in Britain for corporate chains such as the Holiday Inn, They are well worth considering…
Read MoreHilton Coylumbridge, Aviemore
Family Playground at Coylumbridge Aviemore has a long-held family-friendly reputation destination. My own family visited regularly but it has been nearly thirty years since I last stayed at Coylumbridge Hotel, now part of the Hilton group. Returning with our own young kids brought back a flood of happy memories. (Though I was a little disappointed to discover that they no longer had one of those original table-top space invader games in the bar). There’s just something special about Aviemore surrounded by snow-capped mountains that combines a wonderful feeling of getting…
Read MoreWhat are Paradors?
What are Paradors? Paradors or Paradores are a chain of state-run Spanish luxury hotels created in the 1920s to promote tourism and preserve ancient buildings. They are usually castles, convents, forts and other historical buildings or more modern buildings in areas of special natural or historic beauty. Although luxurious, many can be found at similar prices we Brits pay for identikit corporate hotel chains so they are well worth checking out as you may well be pleasantly surprised. See: Paradores of Spain
Read MoreFTJ Actual Responses: DFDS Mini Cruise to Amsterdam
Travel Journal Example Questions Click here to fill in your own family’s answers Actual Answers by Ava (age 6) and Sam (age 10) for a Family Weekend Break: DFDS Mini-Cruise to Amsterdam What countries are you visiting on this trip? Holland Will you be staying in a B&B , house, tent or with friends? On the ship! What can you see from you bedroom window? A lifeboat! What do you think this area is most famous for? Amsterdam is famous for canals, museums and dancing houses. “7 bridges and load…
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