Considerations for Choosing and Booking Family Accommodation for Your Trip
Hotel Types
You have decided to travel as a family to get a change of scenery, relax, rest from everyday hassles, and of course to see and feel the wonders of the great world.
One of the elements that greatly contributes to achieving travel goals is the chosen place of accommodation. When embarking on a trip, you leave behind an apartment with all the comforts you acquired over the years and move into a single hotel room, as luxurious as it may be—sometimes 3 people in a room and sometimes 4 or 5 people. It is very doubtful whether you will be able to relax and get some privacy at the end of a touring day.
The solution is to stay in apartment hotels, farmhouses, villas, or holiday villages. Surprisingly, in most cases, this solution is no more expensive than staying in hotels. In most of these places, there are several bedrooms, a living room, a fully equipped kitchen, a bathroom, and usually a small garden or balcony.
For example in the following picture, the holiday village Lalandia Billund - Lalandia Billund Resort, in Denmark, about three hours drive west of Copenhagen, which also has Legoland Park right next to it! Near the town of Billund: (Further details in the article about Lalandia's holiday homes)
Recommended Apartment Hotels, Farmhouses, Villas, or Holiday Villages:
♦ Holiday villages from the Center Parcs chain in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France:
♦ Farm apartments in the Salzburg region in Austria
♦ Apartments, B&Bs, and farmhouses in the Carinthia region in Austria
♦ Villas in Positano in Italy
♦ Apartments and holiday villages in Lake Garda in Northern Italy
♦ Apartment hotels in Brussels - Belgium
♦ Apartment hotels in Budapest - Hungary
♦ Holiday apartments in Bled - Slovenia
♦ You can find more holiday apartments in our home recommendations for hotels in Europe
♦ The most recommended site for searching and booking a variety of hotels at low rates, which is also available in Hebrew:
On this site, you can filter search results by "Holiday Apartments", "Villas", "Holiday Parks" all over the world.
In holiday apartments, you can stock up on some groceries at the supermarket so that you can prepare meals for the whole family.
You will likely prefer not to be full-time homemakers during a trip, but it is very convenient (and also saves a lot of money) to prepare light breakfasts or dinners and not look for restaurants three times a day. This is especially helpful when traveling with picky or conservative eaters.
In some holiday homes, there are many facilities, some of which are included in the price of accommodation, such as: playgrounds, pools, sports facilities, water slides, bicycle or horseback riding, and more.
Search and Book Guided Tours from Viator:
Hotels for "star" Trips
It is better to settle in one accommodation location and travel nearby for several days in what is called "star trips". It is more comfortable to travel and see sites located an hour or even two hours drive away than to switch hotels every night or two. The hassle of carrying suitcases, organizing belongings, looking for the hotel address, checking in and checking out at reception is considerable, so it is much more pleasant to return to the same apartment and stay there comfortably for a few days.
It is recommended to combine vacationing with touring so that it is worthwhile to stay near the lodging place for a day or two and use the local facilities.
If you have decided that the main purpose of the trip is a vacation, it is recommended to choose a place that offers the widest variety of vacation services. If the main purpose is touring, the emphasis will be on an accommodation place close to the sites you intend to see and less on vacation facilities, which will also lower the price accordingly.
You will feel a sense of loss if you stay in an amazing holiday village, full of options, that is far from most tourist attractions and spend every day on long drives without having time to make use of the facility's amenities at all.
♦ Renting a car from the reliable and convenient Booking site: Booking.com
Recommendations for Places Suitable for "star" Trips
Below are several examples of accommodations suitable for star trips along with a description of the attractions surrounding them.
In Europe:
♦ Star trips in Austria
♦ Family star trips from a Center Parcs holiday village in the Lorraine region in France
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Star trips in Morzine in the French Alps
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Star trips in Slovakia
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Star trips from Montafon in Western Austria
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Star trips in Costa Daurada in Spain
Additional Star Trips Around the World:
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Star trips from Orlando
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Star trips from San Diego in California
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Star trips in several destinations in Costa Rica
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Star trips from La Fortuna near Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica
Standard Hotel vs. B&B or Farmhouse
When staying in a standard hotel or motel, especially one of the big chains, there are no surprises. You can imagine in advance what the room looks like and you won't be far off. When you arrive at the room, you won't remember if you are in France, Italy, Sweden, or the Netherlands.
On the other hand, if you stay in a B&B, farmhouse, or a house on the shores of a lake or fjord, you will feel the difference in character, culture, and style between different countries, and in addition, in many cases, you will enjoy a personal introduction to the hosts and their lifestyle.
Book Well in Advance
It is highly recommended to book accommodation well in advance. This way you will usually get a cheaper price and be able to choose the location and style that suit you best without having to compromise. This is especially true during peak tourist seasons, such as summer, Christmas, and Easter. Do not rely on luck to arrive in a town and find accommodation without problems. The end result will be that you find yourself sleeping in the car (sweet dreams guaranteed) or in an expensive hotel that will empty your wallet.
It is true that in the past there was no problem finding accommodation in various B&Bs, but today in the internet era, when every remote B&B is connected online to the world, the chances of finding last-minute accommodation are decreasing.
A summary of our recommended hotels in Europe: Recommended accommodation in Europe
Travel Insurance -
Don't forget to make travel insurance as soon as you start booking anything.