Five is the magic number!
If you’re reading this thinking it’s irrelevant because you smartly took the decision to stop at one or two then congratulations. You are more than welcome to read on to help you reaffirm your decision but also please tag a friend, family member or colleague who is in the five club because it might just help them out!
The first thing you usually must change is the car, we went from our beloved Audi A4 to a Vauxhall Zafira. If that isn’t a wakeup call the change of house, or necessary extension, probably will be. Costs of a simple day out to the zoo or theme park seem to expediently increase by way more than just the one extra person and food bills, restaurants and general cost of living never seem to add up anymore.
Holidays will be the next thing to bite. You will have probably had to go without for a while, or just until your bank account manages to recover. If you have ventured out, then the third was probably an infant so you were still immune. But when they are all over two the realisation can strike, and it’s a sneaky one the comes at you from out of the blue!
You first realise when most hotels and websites don’t even have the option for a third child, I often think a rather smug parent of two is sat behind their keyboard smirking at your fruitless attempt to even get a price. Then if you can, you may fall for the trick of seeing a total cost. That doesn’t look too bad, you may think to yourself, until you get further along and realise it was a trap. It’s actually two separate rooms and the hotel are wanting to place your 6 and 4-year-old in the care of your 8-year-old in the same room. But that’s ok you think, we will get interconnecting rooms or at least they will be next to each other. Think again, you read the small print and the hotel won’t guarantee it either. They are clearly happy to let your rampaging four-year-old loose on the mini bar and TV remote!
The traditional package companies can work but do tend to be very limited to their offerings and destinations for five. Some just don’t have the technology and ability to make it work. Here is where hopefully I can help. With years of experience in booking my own family’s trips, I have first-hand knowledge of the perils and pitfalls and can help make it work.
There are obvious tricks of the trade. If you have three kids, the chances are you will have greyed earlier than expected but also that you will be taking your holidays during school holidays. There are rarely any offers on during these periods so booking early is the first valuable piece of advice. This is also the best advice for getting the best rooms. The hotels that I would probably be suggesting will have specific family rooms or two-bedroom apartments or suites. Most hotels will not have too many of these because they will probably be the last to sell outside school holidays, so rooms can be limited.
When there are five of you every £100 saved is times five so £500. I tend to look at every option to try and reduce the cost. For example, flying indirect may save £200 per person. If it was just the two of you it wouldn’t be a consideration but with five that could be over a £1000! Having said that I do understand the pain of getting a family through a connection, so it would be money very well earnt.
Knowing the best hotels that work is also key. There are specific hotels that I know work brilliantly and in places you may not have thought would be possible.
Mauritius can be a fantastic option, with several hotels offering family rooms. You also tend to find that if a hotel can accommodate you in an apartment they then very rarely will give you many food options. As previously stated these can add up quickly so getting the most included at an early stage is also vital and Mauritius can help with most hotels offering half board and then upgrades to all inclusive.
Thailand can also work and is a great option year-round. So, at Christmas and Easter Khao Lak and Phuket are perfect and have lots of family rooms across the star ratings to hopefully suit all budgets. In our summer school holidays Koh Samui is perfect and although not as many they are still some great options. Thailand also has a far lower cost of living when you are there for eating out, so bed and breakfast in generally all you need.
There are some great hotels in both Tenerife and Fuerteventura that will also work well. The shorter flight could also be appealing, and they are a great option for May half term. The hotel I like to recommend in Fuerteventura is also all inclusive, which is rare for the room type we will need!
The Melia hotel in Bali is one of my favourites though. A fantastic hotel but they have family rooms with a Mezzanine floor for your bedroom and the kids can sleep below. Because of this room configuration they don’t charge more than they would for a standard room, so it can really work. There are also lots of two-bedroom apartments in Bali, so it can work brilliantly in our school holidays. You can also easily tie in a stopover on the way to Thailand or Bali. Bangkok and Kuala Lumpar both have plenty of options and are more competitively priced than Hong Kong or Singapore!
If you’re really brave, then don’t discount America. Fly drives are always an option because hotels will put two doubles and a sofa bed in a lot of rooms stateside, making it a great option. Disney and Orlando also work as there are so many apartments and houses, although the tickets and cost of living can quickly creep up!
But if you leave this blog with only one lasting thought it must be don’t despair. There are lots of options for you just get in touch and let’s see if we can put together your family’s perfect itinerary. It might not be that bad after all and hopefully I’ll be able to make the booking process a joy rather than the usual chore. Holidays are a special time for families and there is no reason that slightly larger families should miss out!