On the whole, a self catering holiday is cheaper and more flexible as a family accommodation option than staying in a hotel. It gives you flexibility and space to fit your family’s needs and your children’s routine and you have more privacy than staying in a hotel.

Self catering facilities can vary enormously and it is really a question of getting what you pay for. Top end properties and villas will have TVs with satellite channels, DVDs, dishwashers and good quality furniture and more basic accommodation can mean that you have more simple facilities.

At first glance self catering holidays may not seem much of a family holiday or a break from the home routine. The reality is however, that you can always eat out and in fact you will probably end up doing this anyway if you stay in a hotel. Self catering is also a great family accommodation option for large family reunions and groups of friends who wish to holiday together, perhaps staying in cottages or houses around court yards with shared facilities.

In Ireland and the UK most self catering options are in rural locations or near beaches. We would also recommend looking into serviced apartments and self catering accommodation in cities with companies such as The Apartment Service.

Decide if you are a going to book direct with a villa in or self-catering package company or directly with the owner.

Use the web

Many companies and owners will offer online discounts as everyone saves when a brochure does not have to be printed. Feel free to try to negotiate on price anyway as owners will often accept offers of 10% to 20% below the advertised asking price.

There is only so much that can be printed in brochures and the internet usually offers more information, photographs and in some cases user reviews. Look at photographs for image distortion where smaller room are made bigger by the use of wide angle lenses.

Check for currency savings as paying in a weak local currency such as the dollar at the time of going to print can mean great savings.

Family friendly self catering accommodation Ireland

Gulliver Ireland has Ireland's largest number of approved self catering properties and you can book Irish self catering properties here

Family friendly self catering accommodation in the UK

If you are looking for a family friendly accommodation on a self catering basis in either the UK, we would suggest you look at Welcome Cottages, Hoseasons or Scottish country cottages.

City breaks

Self catering accommodation in either serviced apartments or aparthotels is a great family accommodation option and we would suggest you look at our partners the Apartment Service or booking.com.

Self catering villas overseas

James Villa  provide excellent family friendly villa options. P&V Holidays are experts in self catering accommodations in France, Spain, Italy, Morocco and Tunisia and have fantastic options for ski, chalets, ski apartments and family beach holidays.

Self catering and camping and holiday villages

Hoseasons have a wide choice of self catering holidays in holiday parks. Keycamp, Siblu, and Eurocamp also provide excellent options full of family friendly activities and things to do for the family.

You can also try old family favourites such as Butlins and Pontins.

Top tips for booking self catering accommodation

Suitable for children

Check with the brochure, the owner or on the booking website whether the property is suitable for children. If it is not appropriate such as being filled full of antiques or has extremely high quality furnishings both you the owner and you may be uncomfortable with this as an option.

If you have young children and in particular toddlers check that the pool has a shallow end or a sheltered entrance. Check also if there is a pool whether it is big enough for the party size and not just a plunge pool and whether or not it is heated, which usually costs extra.

Location of the accommodation

Before you book, check out how far the accommodation is from the facilities you wish to visit such as theme parks, local towns, shops, restaurants and public transport. Investigate whether the property is on a busy road or down steep steps and whether you will need to hire a car. If times are given check if they are by car or by foot and read between the lines.

Beds and linen

It is important to check how many bedrooms and beds there are. Sleeping six for example, in a ski resort could mean a one-bedroom apartment with two pull out couches as spaces often are very limited. In Portugal, however a villa may provide 3-4 bedrooms for six people.

Check also is what is supplied and how you can use what is supplied. For example in some villas pool towels are supplied but you are not allowed to take them to the beach. If children are supposed to sleep in bunk beds whether or not there are safety rails.

Enquire also about linen and how often it is changed and if you need to bring any towels or sheets. Proprieties at the lower end of the market may be more limited in this regard.

Safety

Consider whether or not there could be any hazards such as a pool and if there are young children open fires and marble floors/steep steps may not be suitable. Safety is always a concern and if there is a pool check that it has a fence, an alarm or a hard cover. In France this is a legal requirement but this is not the case in other European countries.

Baby-sitting

If you are going for the self catering accommodation option, organizing babysitting can be a little more difficult. Try to make contact with the owner or the villa/self-catering company where possible and see if a good reliable baby sitting service could be made available.

Directions and checking in

Children have a finite amount of time that they can spend in the back of a car and while you can fill your car with interesting car games and things to do, getting to new destinations with children can bring obvious difficulties. We would suggest that you check the directions carefully before you set off and be absolutely clear as to your check in times as to allow for changeovers and cleaning you are not usually handed the keys until mid-afternoon whereas you have to leave a property usually first thing in the morning. Consider this also before you book your flights as you may wish to avoid a very early morning outbound flight. Think about also using some satellite navigation. We have found that our TomTom has saved us lots of time and got us to many unfamiliar destinations very effectively.

Aparthotels or hotels with self-catering family accommodation

If you are booking self-catering accommodation in an aparthotel or where the self catering accommodation is attached to the hotel check what facilities you are allowed to use. We have some Irish hotels with self catering for some inspiration. In some cases there are no restrictions on your use of the hotel facilities and in other cases there are restrictions so you need to manage your expectations. In other cases it may be possible to eat breakfast in the hotel to you really get the best of accommodation and the benefits are off the use of the hotel in its entirety.

You will find lots of family friendly travel tips and advice in our research and advice section to help you book the right family holiday. Check out also the experiences of other parents and travellers in our parents forum and add your own experiences as we are a great believer in real parent's experiences as the best measure of whether somewhere will suit you for your family holiday. 

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