THE DOWDING FAMILY, CRETE
So is there any chance of romance on a familymoon? Debbie Dowding, 42, chief
executive of a public relations consultancy, and her husband, Andy, a
company director, tried to build some in to their holiday. But mostly they
ended up sleeping separately.
“I didn’t sleep with my husband for more than one night,” says Debbie. “The
children (Toby, 3, and Jake, 13 months) are used to their own rooms at home
and kept waking each other up. So we took it in turns to share with them as
it was less disruptive than being in our own room.”
But the holiday was not devoid of romance. The couple managed to get some time
to themselves most days, mainly by making use of the family-friendly
facilities at Porto Elounda, the luxury resort in Crete where they were
staying.
“Originally we had thought we wanted a villa,” says Debbie, “somewhere where
the children could spend downtime. But after looking around at what was
available we ended up choosing Porto Elounda because it offers the privacy
of a villa, but is less isolating for the children. It also has excellent
childcare from a young age.
“And bits of it were romantic. Really! Before going we had taken the
precaution of booking the children full time into the kids’ club and
prearranging babysitters every evening. We didn’t end up using all that
childcare, as it was nice to go to the beach with the children. But it was
there if we needed it and meant we could chill out by the pool with our
books every morning and have lunch alone in our suite. In fact, for a few
hours we could almost have pretended to be alone.”
The Dowdings booked Porto Elounda through Argo Holidays (0870 0667070, www.argo-holidays.com).
Their budget for the whole trip was £10,000.
THE HOGGART FAMILY, AMERICA
Anyone brave enough to take teenagers? Yes, says Kuoni. More people are taking
older children, particularly to the US.
“It would have felt peculiar without them,” says Paul Hoggart, 54, a
television journalist. “And, anyway, Elizabeth (a college lecturer) and I
thought that holidays with the children — Rose, 10, Edward, 14, and Matthew,
16 — might soon stop as they got older.
The children did not know that the highlight of their tour of America was to
be their parents’ wedding in Las Vegas. Paul and Elizabeth chose to do it
that way because, after 25 years together, they thought a drive thru’ would
be more fun than a register office.
The children loved it, although, as Paul explains, Rose took it badly at
first. “We hadn’t told them. When she saw the armed guards at the County
Court House where we went to pick up the licence, she panicked. But all was
well when she realised she was to be maid of honour. Matthew was my best man
and Edward the official photographer.
“After the minister pronounced us ‘ma-an and way-ife’, we went to an
over-the-top show at the Stratosphere Hotel and for a celebratory meal at
the Rainforest Café at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino —
top-of-the-range junk food in a jungle setting, which the children loved.
“Earlier in the trip we had been upgraded to a plush suite but the wedding
night was spent in an ordinary double room. It still felt like a honeymoon,
though. Only having the children there made it extra fun.”
The Hoggarts booked their familymoon through Funway Holidays (020-8466
0222, www.funway.co.uk). Their budget for the whole trip was
£10,000.
THE ROBINSON FAMILY, FRANCE
The trend for familymoons is causing excitement among holiday companies, not
least because of the high-spend factor. “It’s not unheard of for a family to
lay out upwards of £30,000,” says David Barber, of Sandals and Beaches
Resorts. But the Robinsons — Charlotte, 37, a medical secretary, Simon, 41,
a lawyer, and Joel, five months — found a trip that did not cost a fortune.
“We booked our familymoon to a caravan site near Fréjus in the south of France
while I was pregnant,” says Charlotte. We picked the site because Simon used
to go there as a child — in fact, his parents went there on honeymoon —
although they didn’t have any children at the time.
“We wanted to keep it as reasonable as possible since I would be on maternity
leave. We got flights on Airmiles, rented a small car and paid just under
£400 for two weeks’ caravan rental.
“It was a good choice because we didn’t have to worry about long flights or
vaccinations. The caravan site was a beautiful, long-established place with
lots of trees, and large pitches that made it feel more like a leafy suburb.
“Joel was just the right age to have a proper bedtime and an afternoon nap, so
we were able to have long wine-soaked evenings (I had just stopped
breastfeeding) with our feet up outside the caravan.
“We went for lovely lunches during which Joel loved watching Fréjus market
pack up after the morning trading. We also went on some trips in the car and
explored the Roman sites in Fréjus, the mountains and the coast.”
The Robinsons stayed at Domaine du Pin de la Legue. Mobile homes are
rented privately through websites such as www.directholiday homes.co.uk and www.holidayhomes-france.co.uk.
They spent less than £1,000 on their familymoon.
And now for some more moons . . .
Weddingmoon
Want to tie the knot without offending your ex, Aunty Edna or divorced parents
who can’t stand the sight of each other? Then try a weddingmoon, a combined
overseas wedding and honeymoon. Many tour operators will now organise a
holiday plus all the paperwork. You can even get married at a Disneyland
park, although you may be teased relentlessly by your colleagues.
Babymoon
The latest buzzword in the travel industry refers to a last hurrah break,
usually with lots of pampering, for expectant parents. The trend started in
the US, and there is an American-based website (www.babymoonfinder.com) with
information about special packages, mainly in the US, Canada and Caribbean.
In the UK, spas are leading the way.
At The Grove (01923 296010, www.thegrove.co.uk) in Hertfordshire, couples can
combine an indulgent pre- baby weekend (from £130pp a night B&B)
with a baby shower (from £65pp, based on six attending), with all sorts of
goodies, including a postnatal treatment in the Sequoia spa and babysitting.
Champneys (0870 3300300, www.champneys.com) offers two-night weekend packages
including a massage, facial and thalassotherapy session from £310pp that can
be combined with a mother-to-be day from £90pp.
