Between school, work, and running a busy household, it can often feel difficult to spend time with your kids. Travelling can provide an ideal opportunity to spend some quality time with your family, so you can all relax and bond.
If you are planning an upcoming trip with your children, you’ll want to ensure you all have an unforgettable time together. To do so, read how to plan the perfect family holiday.
Dinosaurs in the Wild is a brilliant immersive experience that makes a great family day out, especially for older kids. It’s located in the Greenwich peninsula near to the O2, and the experience lasts around an hour and a half. We went along to try it out earlier this week, and we were all really impressed with it.
The first thing we were struck by is how realistic the experience is. We’ve done lots of dinosaur themed attractions over the years but Dinosaurs in the Wild has a carefully constructed back story and narrative that makes it appear very believable.
I had heard that some aspects of the experience can be scary, so decided to emphasise to my kids before we went that it was not actually real, as my 6 year old can be a little sensitive at times and I didn’t want him to panic! After visiting, I would say that was the right decision as he was able to enjoy it without worrying.
In this review, I will tell you what happens throughout the tour including the ending. So if you don’t want spoilers, don’t read til the end, but if you do want to know what is included and whether it will be suitable for your child then hopefully this will help!
There’s a brand new and exciting family festival hitting the scene for 2018. Monstrous (July 29) is a new one-day family festival set to debut this summer with an incredible line-up designed to delight the whole family.
The event, which will take place at the award-winning Printworks venue in South London, will host over seven fantasy worlds jam-packed with live shows and amazing experiences for mini festival goers.
This weekend we visited Diggerland Kent, for a fun-filled sunny day out with the kids. We’ve visited before, three years ago, so I was interested to see what the boys made of it now that they are a bit older, and to take our toddler N to experience Diggerland for the first time.
Bing and his friends are going on tour in the first ever Bing stage show! Kicking off this week in St Albans at the Alban Arena, Bing Live will visit 50 venues over 25 weeks.
Join Bing, Sula, Coco and Pando as they learn how to tell stories by pretending, dressing-up and singing songs. Flop and Amma are there to help, but in this magical world of make-believe things don’t always go according to plan…
The CBeebies favourites are brought to life in a brand new stage production full of fun, laughter, music and magical puppetry. Bing Live is the perfect first theatre trip for pre-schoolers and their families. Going to the theatre… it’s a Bing thing!
Over the weekend, I took N (nearly 18 months) to go and see In The Night Garden Live at the Old Deer Park in Richmond. The show is still touring the UK, heading to Birmingham and Manchester next so if you fancy booking for your little one – it’s not too late!
The show takes place in a special purpose built and family friendly show dome which we were really impressed with. As soon as you go into the Show Dome, everyone is very helpful and welcoming, and there’s a large buggy park to leave your buggy before heading up to the seating area. We were also given a little In The Night Garden souvenir book for free, included with the ticket.
Seating within the dome is quite casual and flexible – which I really liked. With such a young target audience, the relaxed feel of the show dome was really appreciated. Instead of separate seats, the audience sits on rows of steps in front of the stage. If you’ve booked premium seating, then you will be within the first five rows, otherwise you can sit anywhere you like. I decided to go towards the back where it was less busy, so that we could feel the most relaxed. As the seating is in steps, you’ll get a good view from wherever you sit!
Just outside of London is the busy and fun-filled county of Hertfordshire. Part of Greater London, Hertfordshire has plenty going on and is a fantastic place to visit if you want the excitement of London, without the crowds and prices. If you’re travelling with the kids there’s more than enough activities and attractions to keep them entertained too. Keep reading to discover my top places to visit while in Hertfordshire with the family.
Paradise Wildlife Park, in Broxbourne, is the county’s best zoo and makes for the perfect day out with the family. Here, you can feed the tigers and lions, meet the meerkats and get up close with the monkeys and reptiles. If you have any dinosaur fanatics in your family, they’ve now opened their World of Dinosaur attraction too, where you can meet life-sized animatronic dinosaurs, set in acres of natural woodland. It makes for an epic day out the whole family will enjoy.
Tel Aviv, also known as The City That Never Sleeps, is an excellent destination not only for adults but for children as well. Flights to Tel aviv are now made more accessible, and family attractions in the area are also starting to grow. For those of you who are going on a family trip in this beautiful city, here is a list of some fun activities that both adults and kids can enjoy.
Tel Aviv Beach
One of the most popular family-friendly things to do in Tel Aviv is visiting its beaches. The place is basically a beach city with its beautiful sandy beaches located in almost every corner. All beaches are open to the public for free except for the two northern beaches of HaTzuk and Tel Barukh. In case you grow tired of the saltwater, there is a public pool nearby called the Gordon Swimming Pool, which provides slides that kids and adults will definitely enjoy.
Tel Aviv Port
If swimming isn’t your thing, then you and your family can take a stroll down Tel Aviv Port. It has a huge deck where kids can go biking, running, or skating. During the holidays, the place hosts a number of exhibitions. It also has a number of restaurants that offer kid-friendly meals.
Park Hayarkon Boat Rentals
Getting a boat rental and taking a tour around the river in Park Hayarkon is a great way to cool down from the heat. It is also a perfect detour from the beaches of Tel Aviv. There are two boat options– one where you can paddle the pedals manually for a bit of a challenge and the other boat which is motor-powered for a more relaxed exploration of the river. Either way, the Park Hayarkon rentals is suitable for all ages.
Luna Park
Going on amusement parks is a great way to spend quality time with the family, even during trips abroad. The Luna Park in Tel Aviv is known to be one of the best amusement parks in the area. It’s most popular ride is the Anaconda, which is a rollercoaster that would leave you and your family breathless from screaming after the ride.
If you are not up for the thrill, there are also other more timid rides like the Miniconda, Ghost Train, or the classic Bumper Cars. This amusement park also has traditional funfair stalls where you and your kids can enjoy shooting or ring tossing.
Meymadion Water Park
If you come to Tel Aviv during the summer, you can beat the heat by visiting this waterpark in the northern part of the city. The Meymadion Water Park is the largest one in Israel and is filled with pools and water slides. It even has a soccer field and a beach volleyball and basketball court. This waterpark does not open all year round. It’s only open from June until October. So if you plan to add this in your must-visit list, be sure to schedule your trip between these months.
Conclusion
Tel Aviv, Israel definitely has several attractions that are perfect for the entire family, so be sure to bring the whole bunch during your trip to this beautiful city.
A couple of weeks ago, we were invited over to the Isle of Wight to go and check out Island View Holidays Rookley Park. This was our first trip to the Isle of Wight, and I’d definitely go back. It’s a beautiful and really family friendly destination, and with the ferry ride being only 30 minutes from the south coast, the overall journey time from London came in at under 3 hours making it do-able even as a weekend break.
Rookley Park is located right in the middle of the Isle of Wight, meaning that it’s really handy to get to any of the attractions that you want to visit, without a very long drive whatever side of the island the attraction is on. We found that really handy with the kids, and the Isle of Wight is fairly compact anyway so you can get around easily without needing to spend a lot of time on travel.
The focal point at Rookley Park are the two scenic fishing lakes, one right next to the main entertainment building, and there’s another beside some of the cottages. It’s really picturesque and overall the site has a calm and tranquil feel – while at the same time having the facilities and activities that you need with kids.
These are the best tourist attractions in Hampshire
Hampshire is no ordinary place. Just think about the ports on the Solent from the south and the history of Winchester, and don’t get us started on the National Parks and the country idylls. Check the places to visit Hampshire for even more fun.
The only problem with Hampshire is that you probably don’t have enough time to see it all. There are medieval market towns and a Norman church, and, of course, we cannot forget about Chawton, the place where Jane Austen lived.
Portsmouth
This one is for those of you who are interested in England’s naval history.
The military harbours have been here since the Romans and you can find the great pieces of heritage here, such as HMS Victory, which was Lord Nelson’s flagship. He found its end in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 on this very boat.
After that, you can come into the beautiful world of Mary Rose, the Tudor warship which sank in 1545, this, before being raised in 1982 and restored. It was shown to the public after with all of its artefacts in 2016. You can tour the boat around the harbour, too.
Southampton