Planning a family holiday? Difficult, isn’t it? Taking children abroad is no easy feat, and not just because of their attention spans. The logistics of a family-friendly holiday can be a nightmare to manage – not to mention costly! As such, you’ll already be intimately aware of the fact that planning a family beach holiday involves more than just choosing a destination.

One of the biggest impacts to the viability of your family beach resort getaway is timing. When you travel and how long you travel can make huge differences for both the ease and the fun-factor of your next getaway. Here, we’ll explore the best months to travel, how weather considerations impact your holiday, and how to plan around school holidays – all in service of making your next family trip as stress-free and fun as can be.

Consider the Weather and Climate

Timing is important on a few levels, but the one you might initially be concerned with – and arguably the most obvious, at that – would be weather. Seasons change, and so too do climates, just as they do here in bonny old Britain. Thankfully, if you’re looking at sub-tropical sun-and-sea destinations like the Algarve, you won’t have much to worry about here. Indeed, you might find it preferable to go in Portugal’s winter, even if just to avoid the scorching temperatures the summer sun can reach at that latitude.

At the other end of the spectrum, though, there can be wild weather conditions during the cooler months. No one wants to be trapped in a beach resort during a three-day storm, and especially not when you have young children with you and at risk. As with anything, a little research on your intended destination with respect to weather will go a long way.

Align With School Holidays

Less glamourous to think about, but more important than anything else, there is also the matter of family schedules. If you’re taking children, you naturally have to account for term times and scheduled school holidays – unless you’re willing to interrupt their education and potentially incur some financial penalties, of course.

Unfortunately, the semi-rigid nature of national school holidays can make for some tight competition when booking at certain resorts. As such, you’ll want to book as far in advance as possible, and maybe pick a shorter, off-season half-term holiday instead of one of the big holidays.

Factor in Special Family-Friendly Amenities and Activities

Timing your holiday is particularly important for the availability of resources, activities and amenities at your chosen destination. Using the Algarve again, a resort like Auramar Beach Resort provides a kid’s club, but only in the summer months; if you want the opportunity to leave your kids somewhere safe for an afternoon while you soak up some quality rays, you’ll need to bear this in mind (and also that such clubs can be similarly high-demand in the on-season!).

Still, wherever you go, Auramar included, you can guarantee access to other facilities year-round, enable you to plan a great holiday whatever time you’re required to travel on.

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