Let’s face it, if your children are happy so are you. Travelling and sleeping away from home with children can be challenging but if you find the right accommodation you’ll be well on your way to having a truly brilliant holiday.
Before you go - Do your research
The quality of your child friendly accommodation can really impact on your holiday. Think about all the factors which would help make it feel like home for your children and also any safety products you might need such as stair gates and fireguards.
Look out for the child icon on our property pages, this means the holiday cottage is child friendly. Some of our holiday cottages also have a "Tots Travel Bag" which means they have lots of little extras to make your stay with young children easier, such as steriliser.
Pack things from home such as favourite teddies, toys or blankets to make it feel familiar.
The Journey
Whether you’re flying or travelling by car make sure you pack a “Travelling Bag” fill it with toys, games, pads, pens, books, DVD player or Ipad plus snacks and drinks to keep your children amused until you arrive at your destination.
Try buying some cheap gifts before you go, wrapping them up and giving one to your child at regular intervals, this should distract them and give them something new to do to keep the boredom at bay.
If the journey is a long one, having regular stops will help with the boredom.
When you Arrive
If your children are small, spend some time getting them used to the property, particularly where they’ll be sleeping at night. Getting them used to their new surroundings should help everyone get a good nights sleep.
Child Friendly Holiday Cottages
A property with a good selection of indoor and outdoor toys will also be great for keeping the kids entertained.
Woodbarn Farms in Suffolk has bikes, including a tandem with a kiddie seat in the middle plus table football inside for rainy days. There are also fish and ducks to feed as well as the usual travel cots, high chairs, fire guards and enclosed gardens for safety.
The Salty Dog in East Sussex is a fantastic family friendly holiday cottage with everything you’ll need when you are away with children plus all important all black-out blinds at the windows. There is also a holiday buddy - Oscar Owl will send children a couple of emails, some stories and a bag with goodies before their stay and is then at the holiday cottage with a personal letter to great them when they arrive.