5 Tips on Booking cheap family holidays

It's been a long old time since the days when a family holiday meant a trip down the caravan or a weekend away in Margate or Bournemouth, with dad and grand dad wearing knotted hankies on their heads with their trousers rolled up to the knees so they could splash in the sea -adults just did not wear shorts before the eighties- and all the kids run around crazily, begging for ice cream and building sandcastles in the cold wet sand. As we move towards the end of the first decade in the twenty first century the only familiar bits from this whimsical and nostalgic look into the past is the kids running around crazily, and needless to say they are still begging for ice cream.

Of course as the travel industry has evolved so have our tastes, with the advent of the electronic era of entertaining children, is building sandcastles enough for most of the under fifteens? Sadly this bygone era of simplicity is long gone, a distant memory in fact, because the Smith's and Jones of today wouldn't be caught dead with a knotted hankie on their head, and I can assure you that the little Smiths and the little Joneses would give their mums and dads hell for giving them a plastic bucket and plonking them on the beach to build sandcastles. The twenty first century family has many things to deliberate and consider before booking a successful family holiday and as families needs are so very different so are the varieties of holidays you can book. The bohemian family is happy in a moderate self catered apartment preferably solar panelled, in a quiet resort, where Tristan and Tosha can read their new African folk tales; the classless both parents working a full week family holiday is usually preferred in an All Inclusive hotels where Billy and Sarah can be entertained by an animation team and provided for by a mini club, so that Mum and Dad can just laze around the pool, beer for dad and a nice cocktail for mum, they don't really want to stray too far from the hotel or think too much about what to do in the evenings, they simply want to have a hassle free relaxing break for themselves.

The work at home parents will usually choose a more adventurous break, I've seen many a groaning teenager been dragged along the foothills of the Atlas mountains in Morocco whilst their culture starved parents ooh and aaah appreciatively, as they finally get to see some natural light and not the light emanating from their laptop.

The one mistake or in this case trap that most families can fall into, is actually doing the dreaded comparison holiday with their friends and colleagues;because unless you have actually holidayed with your friends and colleagues two families will not necessarily have the same needs and tastes whilst on a family holiday. Personally I get on very well with one my colleagues, we can have a drink and a laugh outside work, we even like reading the same types of books but if I was to go on one of her chosen holidays I would probably chew my own arms off with sheer boredom. She likes luxury five star to be served hand and foot and to have everything splayed at her well manicured feet, on the other hand, chuck me on a beach with a tent and some books and me and mine are all happy bees (if I am happy, everyone is happy!) What people like to experience on holiday is very unique to them, and families are no different, a family holiday is a sacred one and a fortnight away with unhappy family members can make those two weeks, weeks of hell, you can never put a price on misery, and you can be in the best hotel in the best part of the world but if it's not your cup of Darjeeling then you will find fault with everything. If your kids are at the age where they are happy in front of a pc playing games then choose a hotel that will provide this, if your kids are happy mucking about in the sea and just playing about in the sun, then make sure you choose something that will make them happy, because despite what I said earlier, it does not matter how happy mum and dad are on holiday if your kids aren't happy you will definitely not be happy, and lets face facts here, the twenty first century family is definitely ruled by the kids and their needs. So for the perfect family holiday make them happy, and soon you too will feel your very own personal nirvana.

Top Tips on booking Family Holidays

1. When booking an All Inclusive holiday make sure you get a list from the Travel company of what exactly is included in the "All Inclusive Holiday"

2. Holidays with Kids clubs, make sure you check the opening hours and child ages - a lot of hotel kids clubs are for 4-12 year olds - as the do vary from hotel to hotel

3. This ones very important Always make sure you order any child seats for your car hire before you travel as they do not have many if any at the pick up point.

4. Sun cream, always buy in advance as its always expensive where ever you are in the world on holiday they rake up the prices.

5. Entertainment make sure the children have plenty of playing and reading materials.

Remember these holidays do no come cheap so make sure you spend time researching your chosen resort and hotel before you book.