Stress free travel • Ensure the car is large enough for all the luggage and passengers! • Is the car reliable enough for a long journey? If not, consider upgrading to a rental car. • Travelling with children? Take wet wipes, drinks, snacks and pillows. • Make sure children are sitting high enough to see out of the window • Use a Sat Nav to avoid mapreading arguments • Keep the car well-ventilated to avoid travel sickness •Consider travelling overnight so children can sleep and then stop for breakfast • Use CDs, DVDs and play word games. • Give children a map, so that they can follow the journey. Tips from Europcar
is FREE
and will remain so as long as the advertisers are aware of THE magazine that Hampshire parents read! Please mention ABC when replying to adverts, give copies to your friends, and help spread the word!
W
Holiday decisions
hen you are going on holiday as a family there is a lot more to think about than when you were planning a holiday with your partner or friends. Your priorities change. If you can keep your children happy, whatever their age, the chances are that you will all have a better holiday. Young children may find long flights and time differences very tiresome and many parents decide that long haul holidays are best kept for when children are older. Children will love a week on the beach, in this country or abroad, and unless you really want to you don’t need to travel for hours on a plane. If you want good weather to be guaranteed it is probably better to go abroad! Villas allow great flexibility and you don’t need to worry if your baby is crying all night or is up at 5am ready for a day on the beach. But obviously, this may mean more work for you as parents regarding cooking and keeping it clean. There are many child-friendly hotels with holiday clubs for the children, babysitters, separate mealtimes for children and a large children’s pool. which many families love. However, these can become over-run with children in the school holidays which isn’t what everyone is looking for. So, you may want to look for a hotel that isn’t primarily for families but still welcomes children. If you decide to stay in this country there are some wonderful areas to discover within a few hours drive. You don’t normally need to worry about excessive heat, airport delays, or changes in the food and water. Most children love to stay on a farm where they can help with the chickens or feed the lambs and there is normally
plenty of outdoor space for them to run around in. It’s often nice to not have to get in the car every day so you may want to choose somewhere within walking distance of the beach or village. If you are self-catering; make sure it is a holiday for you too. Try to eat out a couple of times and keep washing and ironing to a minimum - if at all! Most of us only get one holiday a
year and it should be a time for you to all enjoy being together, rather than worrying about clean clothes or home-cooked meals every day. Hopefully, you will have already booked your holiday, but if not try not to delay too much longer particularly if you need to go in the school holidays. Once it’s booked, you can relax and start looking forward to it!
Choose a 1 or 2 bed apartment for 1 week
Family fun in the sun in Tenerife The Pearly Grey Ocean Club in southern Tenerife offers you the chance for a fantastic family holiday in a lovely selfcatering apartment at ‘the friendliest resort in the world'! For just £199 (flights not included) you and your family can enjoy a luxury week in the sun. Perched on the clifftops in the lovely little coastal village of Callao Salvaje ‘Perla Gris’ has two pools including a children’s pool, a choice of restaurants, regular entertainment for all ages and a fantastic terraced cocktail bar with fabulous uninterrupted westerly views perfect for those extraordinary Tenerifian sunsets. A short drive from the airport, with a superb beach and plenty of shops, restaurants and bars nearby there is no need to go anywhere else - just relax with your family and enjoy.
For more information please call 0161 408 0139 and quote reference 108281 or email lee@perlagris.com
www.perlagris.com
ABC MAGAZINE - HAMPSHIRE 33