What’s on your wish list for your next holiday? Gorgeous golden sands and bucketfuls of warm sun? Check out these dreamy (and surprisingly affordable!) long-haul sunshine holidays to paradise destinations such as Mauritius, Thailand and Jamaica. Or, if you’re desperate for sun but don’t have time for a long-haul flight, we’ve got plenty of each-to-reach mid-haul family options too.
If you’re on the lookout for a fantastic value for money family holiday to beat those ‘Brexit Blues’, our handpicked deals to destinations where sterling is strong are the ones for you.
Make your money go further when you travel to stunning destinations across the world, including Thailand, Jamaica, Marrakech, Croatia & Bulgaria.
1/10 Crown Paradise Club Hotel – Cancun ★★★★★
Crown Paradise Club is a large all-inclusive resort with 617 rooms; all with ocean views and balconies. Families have access to a baby club from 18 months to four years of age and a kids club from four years up to 12. Teens get their own exclusive area to chill out in with video and table games. The resort also has tennis courts, mini-golf, non-motorised water sports at the nearby Aquaworld Marina, a multi-purpose sports court, beach volleyball, a lively water park and lots of organised activities for all the family enjoy. Crown Paradise Club has six a la carte restaurants and one buffet restaurant. At night time the resort comes alive with live shows and music and a club.
2/10 Remisens Hotel Albatros – Dubrovnik, Croatia ★★★★
The newly-renovated four-star Remisens Hotel Albatros sits right by Croatia’s crystal clear coastline. The pebble beach has a bar and many water sports, while it is close to the centre of Cavtat town, with its many shops, bars and restaurants. Kids aged four to 18 can hang out at their own mini club in age-specific rooms, during which adults can chill out in the hotel spa or by the pool flanked by palm trees. Tennis fans will appreciate the nine floodlit clay tennis courts and tennis school. Remisens Hotel Albatros also runs an action-packed activity agenda for families that includes land and pool games in addition to a range of competitions. Guests can try Nordic walking, bocce, archery, water skiing and even scuba diving.
3/10 Sunrise All Suites Resort – Sofia, Bulgaria ★★★★
Four-star Hotel Sunrise All Suites Resort is a high-rise hotel in Obzor Bay, next to the longest white sand beach in Bulgaria. Obzor is a buzzy region with lots of shops, bars and restaurants to enjoy, in addition to a pretty park and promenade to stroll through. There is a selection of day and night entertainment at the resort, plus a wide variety of sports to try like volleyball, football, water polo, table tennis, archery and darts. This 175-room resort offers guests two restaurants where they can dine, one that is situated in the hotel gardens, while there is a snack bar for nibbles. Families have a choice of three main freshwater swimming pools and one lagoon-style saltwater pool, plus a trio of smaller pools for kids. The hotel-run mini club provides supervised fun for kids, leaving parents time to enjoy a signature cocktail at the lounge bar.
4/10 Heritage Awali Golf & Spa Resort – Mauritius ★★★★★
Heritage Awali Golf & Spa Resort is an all-inclusive high-end resort with direct beach access and pretty tropical gardens to wander around in. Bungalows are colonial in style. Children aged two upwards will be spoiled for choice when they are welcomed to the Timono & Friends Club, open 8:30 am to 11:30 pm. Activities include crab fishing, arts and crafts, cooking classes, beach games, picnics, splashing in the sheltered pool and even a kid’s spa with miniature hand and foot rituals and henna painting! The kids club also has a lovely outdoor space with ride-on cars and gardens. Tiny visitors can also be well cared for in the Timono Baby Club.
5/10 Crystal Sunset Luxury Resort & Spa Hotel – Antalya, Turkey ★★★★★
Five-star Crystal Sunset Luxury Resort & Spa is just 250m from its own private beach. It’s also home to the region’s largest aquapark complete with thrilling rides like the black hole, free-fall, flying boats and kamikaze. For something a little less adrenaline-inducing, there are two children’s pools, outdoor pool, heated indoor pool, huge spa with Turkish bath, sauna, steam room and salt room, and rooftop lounge to chill out on. Sports fans can get stuck into canoeing, tennis, beach volleyball, boccia and table tennis. Crystal Sunset runs its own kids club for four to 12-year-olds and a teen club for 13 plus with organised activities, films, games and tournaments.
6/10 Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket – Thailand ★★★★★
The Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket boasts a stunning location overlooking a secluded part of Karon and is the ideal choice for families looking for an exciting holiday. The on-site water park has four pools (including one adult-only pool), a lazy river, Jacuzzi and water slides. The beach offers even more water-based fun include sailing, kayaking, snorkelling and windsurfing. Younger children will enjoy a range of activities at Camp Safari, whilst older children can chill out in the E-Zone as parents relax at the award-winning Spa Cenvaree. Three restaurants and four bars serve up cold drinks and culinary delights from Italy to Asia.
7/10 Four Seasons Resort Marrakech – Morocco ★★★★★
Luxury Four Seasons Resort Marrakech is an oasis in the hectic Moroccan city, with 16 acre of gardens and pools. Rooms are high end too, decorated in soothing desert-coloured tones, with distant views of the Atlas Mountains from private terraces. The resort’s spa is a treat, with Hammans, plunge pools, indoor-outdoor treatment rooms and spa treatments as are the many unique excursions. Choose to take a tour of Yves Saint Laurent’s villa, cycle through Berber villages, haggle in the souks or spend the day out in the desert by quad or camel. Back at the resort, there’s a family pool built on multiple levels and pro-tennis coaching. Kids will love the Kasbah themed kids club with theatre, kitchen, outdoor play zone and swimming pool. There’s also a young adult centre here for teens, with tabletop football, movies galore and board games. Children under 18 stay free of charge at Four Seasons Marrakech.
8/10 Sunscape Splash Resort & Spa Montego Bay – Jamaica ★★★★
A stay at Sunscape Splash Montego Bay means everything is included. Rooms boast private terraces, kid’s amenities, mini-bar with soft drinks, water and beer, and 24-hour dining options – and with six restaurants you’ll be spoiled for choice. There are endless daily land and water activities, Explorer’s Club for three to 12 years old, live music, and more! Kids get a red carpet check-in, treats and resort passports, and teens enjoy social media events, photography and DJ lessons, and meet-ups at Core Zone Teens Club. Plus, the resort’s Pirate’s Paradise Waterpark features a full-size pirate ship and fort, lazy river and two 250-foot water slides.
9/10 Novostar Nahrawess Hotel & Thalasso Resort – Tunisia ★★★★
Four-star Nahrawess Hotel & Thalasso Resort is a modern, all-inclusive spa hotel with 350 relaxed rooms, four restaurants, two bars, a café and a pizzeria. Outdoors there are three swimming pools to enjoy, but the draw here is the dreamy spa with over 80 treatment rooms, saunas and steam baths, as well as a collection of indoor and outdoor spa pools, mud baths and many restorative treatments. At the nearby private stretch of beach guests can have a go at a range of water and land sports, such as banana boating, beach volleyball, jet skiing, sailing and windsurfing. In addition to the wide range of sports activities, kids get their own games room and pool, plus the hotel-run kids club provides daily entertainment for the little ones.
10/10 Disney’s All Star Sports Resort – Orlando ★★★
Split into five dedicated sports-related zones, Disney’s All Star Sports Resort does what it says on the tin, offering families the chance to enjoy American football, baseball, basketball, tennis and surfing right on their doorstep. Each one of the hotel’s 1,920 rooms features sporty décor with well-known Disney characters adorning the walls, while they also offer free WiFi, fridge and satellite TV. This family-friendly resort is ideally located just a stone’s throw from Disney’s Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course, while the Blizzard Beach Water Park is equidistant. On-site amenities will keep both adults and children occupied throughout their stay, with three swimming pools – including one just for children – a poolside bar, and a restaurant serving a wide selection of dishes. Day childcare and evening babysitting can be arranged at an additional cost.