With floods and icy winds still upon us, what better time than now to turn our attentions to a holiday? Those of you with children, Iʼm sure know only too well that holidays with children can be brilliant or a complete disaster depending on where you go and what is on offer for families when you get there.
Advice for families is often to book early! Many people seem to think that the best bargains to be had are the last minute ones. However, when it comes to family holidays the bargains are definitely to be had at the beginning of the year.

It is often possible to get good deals, including free childrenʼs places with only a small deposit to pay. If going abroad, it is sometimes considered good advice to fly from a Regional Airport. In this way you can forget about the problems of expensive airport hotel rooms, parking and petrol costs. Birmingham International Airport, for example, flies to 70 worldwide destinations.

By booking a holiday now, we can lift our spirits. Donʼt necessarily look for the obvious big names. A recent survey by Which Holiday? listed the top 10 independent Tour operators which showed some of the biggest names, at the bottom for overall satisfaction from holidaymakers.

What you really need is advice from someone in the trade. Someone who eats, sleeps and drinks holiday information, knows the best places to go and the best companies to travel with, depending on your destination. Above all, someone who will listen to the type of holidays that you like and put together a holiday that exactly suits your familyʼs needs!
A family holiday does not have to necessarily mean staying at a resort or beach. It can mean a city break, perhaps to with plenty of fun trips to child-friendly museums and attractions such as aquariums or zoos.

Here are some ideas:

• How about a Disney Cruise Ship? The magic of a Walt Disney resort vacation plus the romance of a sea voyage with wholesome entertainment for the family and lots of special activities for kids.
• The Indoor Snow Park in Dubai which is the size of three football fields.
• Many cities have Childrenʼs festivals, usually in May. For example, the Pittsburgh International Childrenʼs Festival has previously included Clowns from Finland, musicians from Iceland and dancers from Africaʼs Ivory Coast.
• In Fort Lauderdale, Wannado City, the size of three football fields (you will have noticed by now how good I am at measuring things in football pitches (at least children can relate to this measurement! The Editior) lets children from 4 to 11 play at being a firefighter, archaeologist, TV or news reporter, chef, judge, pilot, doctor and lots more.

According to a news article published by Travel Counsellors, the most child-friendly destination was named as the US, with a quarter of parents saying it was the most receptive of youngsters, followed by Spain, France and Greece.

The Best of Melton Mowbray is proud to promote Trish Griffiths at Travel Counsellors. Travel Counsellors is one of the largest independent travel agents in the UK. Trish can provide a quality service via telephone, e-mail or the personal touch. She can arrange an appointment to suit you to discuss your personal travel requirements and is available daytime, evenings and weekends. As an independent company, she can offer over 250 suppliers, most of which can be tailor made.
.................................and best of all, there is no charge for Trishʼs service!

Travel Counsellors have a unique system in place which no other travel agents or holiday companies have access to, which enables them to book flights, accommodation and transfers separately which more than often beats standard tour operator packages! All aspects of travel booked through Travel Counsellors are financially protected.

Click here to find out more information about Trish Griffths and Travel Counsellors