How to plan the perfect beach holiday for the whole family

Together with your family, start by compiling a simple wish list of holiday destinations ‘must-haves’. This might cover location factors such as a preference to be somewhere on the beach or off the beaten track. Perhaps you’d like to be within walking distance of a local village or town, or keen to explore cultural sights of interest whilst you’re on holiday? Somewhere with a vibrant local scene or a tranquil spot? And how far do you want to travel? Think about whether you prefer the idea of a short haul flight and a short transfer or happy to travel further afield.

The next thing to address is your budget – think about how much you can spend on a family holiday, factoring in both the actual cost of the holiday and the costs you’ll need to cover whilst you’re there (drinks, any meals not included, excursions and ice creams!).

Once you have your family holiday wish list and know your budgets, it pays to do your location research. Talk to family, friends and colleagues about where they spent their family holidays and where they would and wouldn’t recommend. You also have the world at your fingertips with the indispensable world wide web! You’ll find a wealth of family holiday destination inspiration on editorial sites such as Telegraph - family holidays, Family Traveller and on forums like netmums. Alternatively, find out a little more about the areas you’re considering and look at reviews from people who’ve been there. TripAdvisor is one of the most comprehensive.

Once you’ve researched the locations that will tick all the boxes for your family, consider activities you’d all like to enjoy whilst you’re on holiday too. Are you looking to relax together, get active together, explore together or indeed a combination of all three? Neilson holidays offer an excellent range of inclusive activities at each of its beachclubs but different destinations are particularly good for certain sports so it’s worth checking out what each location is best for i.e. if you, or any of your family members, are keen tennis players – Messini Beachclub or Alana Beachclub are the places to head for. Or if road biking is your thing, Sardinia is the place to go right now!

When it comes to booking, if you’re travelling with kids (particularly if they are of school age), it’s worth planning and booking ahead to beat the high levels of demand for peak season holidays. Look out for early booking offers… these are designed to provide you with an incentive to book ahead of the post-Christmas rush and you can often save money or take advantage of added extras. Booking early also gives you a greater chance of securing your first choice of destination, property and type of room(s). Family-friendly rooms (interconnecting suites or rooms big enough for you all) are an important factor to consider, especially if you’re travelling with young children but they are also very popular.

Booking early will of course also mean you’ll avoid last-minute panic booking. Instead, you can focus on planning your holiday wardrobe or stock piling sun cream!
 

Once you’re all booked, make a checklist of those holiday extras that’ll help ensure your trip goes without a hitch. Travel insurance, airport parking, flight extras such as guaranteed seats together or in-flight meals. Shop around for holiday extras like airport parking and/or airport hotels and it’s worth checking out Money Saving Expert for comparison site recommendations and discount codes. The following checklists cover a lot of the essentials and help you get yours started; mumsnet and Tesco - Your essential family holiday checklist.

This one might sounds obvious but don’t forget the passports! Check the expiry date on your passports to ensure they are all valid for your travel period. It’s easy to forget that children’s passports must be renewed every five years and for some destinations, you’ll need to have at least six months remaining until they expire. The renewal process can take at least six weeks so avoid passport panic and check well in advance of your travel date.

Save money on your spending money by checking out the currency exchange rates available at different outlets before you travel.  It’s also worth finding out what your bank or credit card charges for withdrawals or transactions overseas, to avoid any unnecessary costs or uncompetitive rates.

You can’t beat the excitement of a holiday countdown – especially now you have all the essentials in place! Once you’re booked it’s time to focus on the fun stuff. Regularly talk about things you can do together as a family on holiday and things you’re keen to tick off your own wish list – after all, it’s your holiday too. This may include cultural sights you’d like to visit in the area, new activities you’d like to try together, or simple things like making sure you enjoy a nice meal out as a family, a sandcastle building competition or a sunset paddle. Get the family calendar out and start ticking off the days to jetting off – not long now!