Top tips for family beach holidays

When you take your whole family along on a beach holiday there are a few extra things you need to consider to make sure everyone is catered to and their needs looked after. What is suitable for a romantic couples’ escape is not suitable for a family; likewise a cultural city break won’t work in the same format when children are in tow.

If you’re now planning where to head this summer, here are some top tips on how to have successful family holidays. For specific destination inspiration, check out On the Beach family holidays.

24-hour entertainment

Children need to be entertained pretty much constantly. This can be anything from a book to a toy, but you need to bear in mind it needs to fit in your hand luggage and be relatively hard wearing. Books are ideal, but so are portable games consoles, mp3 players and card games such as Uno and Snap.

Heath check

You need to try and cover as many bases as possible, so take everything from plasters and painkillers to anti-histamine and antiseptic.

Don’t forget sun cream and after-sun and remember to use a high factor sun block on young children.

Other things you should consider are oral gels like Bonjela, broad-spectrum anti biotics and bandages. Have a look at the Travel Health section of Boots’ website.

Get active

Children don’t really like to sit still for any length of time. So although you might enjoy spending all day lounging on a beach, chances are your children will not. Look for holidays that offer plenty of sports activities such as windsurfing, kayaking, snorkelling, tennis and football.

Also check out what kids’ club facilities are on offer so you can take a break every now and then. Maybe try activity holidays rather than beach based breaks; learning new skills or getting active as a family helps bring you all closer together and is more rewarding for your children.

Cater for yourselves

Although the idea of cooking on holiday doesn’t sound too appealing, it cannot only save you money but a lot of hassle and heartache too.

This is particularly true if you have young children. Eating only at set times can be a big problem for younger children that are used to a rigid routine. It will also be easier for you as you’ll have control over feeding times.

Prepare for the worst but hope for the best

Never go on family holidays without travel insurance. It’s one thing telling yourself you can’t go to the doctor when you need to, it’s quite another trying to tell your son or daughter that they can’t go to the doctor because you can’t afford it because you failed to purchase travel insurance.