Hi IM's,
We have been planning a big family holiday for the end of this year. (Been planning for over a year) we had planned on going to SYDNEY for a friends wedding mid Dec then travelling up through QLD (I have never been to qld) doing 1 or 2 theme parks Australia Zoo etc, we have 3 kids who will be 3, 2 & 1 by the time we go and have recently found out #4 is due in July :)
So Bub will be around 6mths old when we go.
Now because bubs is on his/her way we have to get a bigger car (an expense we had not planned for) and most accomodation I have phoned don't allow for 3 portacots we would have to get 2 rooms next to each other which I will not do.
So with the cost of a bigger car, accomodation etcjust from adding bub it's almost tripled the cost from what we had planned on.
Would we be better to fly to Sydney for my friends wedding then go overseas for our family holiday??
I have been told somewhere like Fiji would be a lot cheaper but just as fun. I want something that will be fun for all the kids and for us. Somewhere family friendly. It would also be a bonus if they had a babysitting service of some sort. Not to dump the kids at 24/7 cause that's not why we want to go away we are going away as a family BUT it would be nice to have an activity like snorkelling or lunch just Hubby & I as we never got a honeymoon and we don't get time to ourselves apart from when the kids are in bed and hubby is usually ready for bed once the kids are in bed.
So I guess my questions are where would be a cheap but enjoyable family holiday destination? Also good/bad places to stay and visit?
Is there more than 1 place we could stay (half the trip at one place half at another)
Any activities you did with toddlers that they liked and disliked??
We are also planning on having Christmas & New Years where ever we are so all up will be maybe 3-4weeks away :)
I hope I have covered everything and that it all makes sense :) thanks.
3 Replies
I think the theme parks at that age are pretty much a waste of money. They won't remember it in a few years and a large chunk if it is for older kids.
I have to agree with going to Fiji. They have beautiful family accommodation there, and I am pretty sure they have awesome child minding services too. So if you did want a day snorkeling with hubby than you could.
I also think the theme parks in QLD are no good for your childrens ages. They definitely won't remember a whole lot, and you won't be able to enjoy rides alongside your hubby as one of you will need to watch the kids.
I would definitely look into Fiji, the relaxed friendly atmosphere over there would be perfect for a young family :-)
Fiji is awesome, the people are lovely and babysitting for $3 per hr (they may charge more for multiple kids tho). Be aware tho that it is tropical so will be extremely hot at Xmas time and you may get a lot of rain or even cyclones. Winter is really the time to go as beautiful then. Otherwise look at package deals or get a serviced apartment on the Gold coast where u will have a kitchen, living room etc and a bedroom for the kids as well as yourselves. You will wNt to be able to make meals etc yourself or you will pay a fortune if u just have a room and have to go out for every meal. Will be horribly crowded to - how are u going to get them to have naps all in the same space and then what will u do if in the same room? Some resorts have kids club and water parks (eg Paradise Cove). The theme parks will be largely wasted on kids that age. I think u are very brave planning such a big trip with 4 kids under 4 - the younger ones won't appreciate it at all and will probably be v hard work out of their normal environment.