Family Holidays – Amazing Ibiza 2018

I’m sure you’ll agree with me that when you go on holiday with a young family the thought of staying somewhere with loads of clubbers and noisy nightlife sounds like a nightmare.

Ibiza is known for clubbers and noisy (and late) nightlife.

Ibiza Family Holidays
You can have a great family holiday in Ibiza!

Well it turns out that having a fantastic family holiday in Ibiza may not be as difficult as you might think.

In this post I’m going to tell you exactly what our family holiday to Ibiza was like and how we achieved a relaxing sun filled holiday with the family on the white isle.

If you want to know more, and how you can achieve this too, all you have to do is to read on…

Work to Live

Your spare time is precious.

Am I right?

Of course I am. Whether you have a family or not, when you have spare moments you want to enjoy yourself. When you have children you want to make sure they enjoy themselves too. You want to make the most of your time.

That’s why people go on holiday!

We absolutely love going on holiday. We are firm believers in the principle that you work to live, not live to work, and what better way to show that than by going on holiday?

There are no better ways!

We’ve been very lucky this year to be able to go on a few holidays, like to Center Parcs, Seahouses, plus Wales, and now we are having an Ibiza family holiday!

We went to San Antonio Bay and stayed in the Playa Bella Apartments (I’ll tell you about the apartment later…see if they are right for you…).

We went with Clare’s side of the family so there were 11 of us in total, one young child, one toddler, two babies (including N) and seven adults. They got two people to check us in at the airport there were that many of us plus the bags!

Ibiza Family Holiday – Preparation

Flying with a baby. Stress levels going through the roof. The planning, non-stop thinking and preparing for the ‘what ifs’.

Ibiza Family Holidays
View from our apartments

Am I right?

We planned a lot. We came up with some great tips to reduce the stress as much as possible.

Let me explain…

We are organised people. We have lists prepared well in advance of going on holiday but find we still add stuff the day before. I’m not going to give you a whole list. I’m going to tell you the little things that made a big difference to us:

Firstly, if you bottle feed you can order your milk to be delivered to Boots in the airport. Yes that’s right, pick it up when you’re through security. No weight impact in your carry on or check in luggage.

We got Cow & Gate pre prepared milk. We ordered a couple of weeks in advance and got it delivered about a week ahead of when we wanted it.

Why?

In case of delivery delays! It would be pretty awkward if you order it for departure day and it didn’t turn up! We also ordered enough for a whole week. It really couldn’t have worked out better. No hunting for formula as soon as you get there or anything like that.

Another tip?

Oh ok then…

Packing cubes. Sure you can pay for extra luggage to check in. But what if you could avoid it?

Would you want to?

Of course you would. Packing cubes help you fit more in your suitcase. Essentially they are like mini fabric suitcases that you squash stuff in and zip it up. Then you stack these in your suitcase, a bit like Tetris.

No, I wasn’t convinced at first either. What difference do they really make?

Loads!

They enable you to really squash more clothes in to a smaller space. They are great. I would highly recommend them! You could pack everything into fewer suitcases and save money on extra weight at check in (though you have to buy the cubes to start with of course, but you’ll make your money back in the long run).

Another tip?

Go on then…

Organisation organisation organisation. The last thing you want as you work your way through the airport and on the flight is to struggle to find anything.

So what did we do to organise ourselves?

Firstly, everything that we had to get out at security (electric items, fluids, our emergency baby milk (just in case there was an issue or delay getting to Boots)) went in plastic bags. That way when we had to take everything out we knew exactly where everything was.

Secondly, when getting on the plane everything we thought we would need was in another bag which we put under the seat so it was easy to get. Food, changing bag and toys mainly. All of these things were separated into plastic bags too so we knew where things were when needed.

Lastly, as I’m sure you already do, we split everything evenly between the two suitcases we were checking in. That way if one went missing we still had plenty of clothes until the suitcase was found or we bought some more.

Ibiza Family Holiday – The Flight

So, we made it through security. We are rushing to get something to eat and look after N.

At the same time wondering what he will be like on the plane.

Will he scream all the way?

Will he sleep?

Will he just play, eat and be happy?

Will the flight be an absolute nightmare?

All these thoughts are going through your head so you prepare loads for the ‘just in case’.

What was our son like?

An absolute star! He had a bit of a sleep on me, played lots with different toys (and the in flight brochure and laminated safety card), had a little meal of a sandwich and finger food and had a happy little smile. On the way back he had a cold so slept loads bless him. He didn’t cry or whinge at all.

He didn’t even mind the take off or landing parts!

Thankfully we had everything prepared and ready in advance to entertain him so he was a happy little camper!

My tips?

Have a bag of entertainment ready. Toys, noisy things, maybe the odd TV programme on a tablet. Have food ready too, a drink and associated stuff to clean up, like a muslin, wipes and bib. Plus, I’d have a blanket ready in case it gets cold on the plane and they want a cuddly sleep. And don’t forget the all important dummy! Oh imagine the terror of forgetting a dummy!

It doesn’t bear thinking about!

Ibiza Family Holiday – What To Do

What can you do with a young baby or toddler?

Ibiza Family Holidays
Pool in the apartments

Time by the pool seemed to go down well with our family! Splashing, swimming, floating around, it’s all great fun for them, and for you! We spent a good few days by the pool in the apartments. There was a splash zone, slides, different sized pools. Loads to do for the little ones. We had a float for N to go in, and got a blow up car for him to sit in on the water too. He absolutely LOVED it! Smiling and laughing away. He loved being in the water too and enjoyed kicking whilst trying to swim, and also really wanted to drink the water!

Nearby there was also a street with lots of tourist shops (came in handy when my flip flops broke!), restaurants and pubs. The odd supermarket (well, a Spar) too for your essentials.

You’ll also find some great kid friendly soft play areas. We found one with trampolines, soft play, blow up huge slides and little dodgems to ride on, all at a very reasonable price and open very late. Plus, they serve beer.

Winner!

Ibiza Family Holiday – San Antonio

As we stayed in San Antonio Bay we were a little bit away from San Antonio itself. You know, the big party centre of Ibiza with all those clubbers and people selling ‘recreational’ medicinal items *ahem*.

But what’s it like in the day?

Mostly full of people who are clearly there for the nightlife, dressed in skimpy outfits with some pretty obvious dealings in those ‘recreational’ medicinal items!

There are very few children there at all. Mostly clubbers recovering from their night before. I’m sure there are hotels where families go, but by the marina area there are not many children and not much for them to do.

Even though I have a child I don’t mind the fact there’s not much to do for my child though. Let me explain…

By having a centre for all the clubbers to go to, all the nightlife to be concentrated in and all the ‘recreational’ fun to be had, it keeps much of the rest of the island free from that and for families to enjoy.

Ibiza Family Holidays
Here’s the water taxi we got

So yes, we went to San Antonio in the day (you can get a water taxi from San Antonio Bay for €3 each – it takes 10 minutes) and I’m glad we did so we could see what it was like. It’s certainly worth a trip, but we weren’t there for long. A drink, a wander and some food, then we got the boat taxi back.

However, I wouldn’t stay there with N. If I were you though I’d definitely consider San Antonio Bay for a relaxing family holiday (though how ‘relaxing’ it will be with a child I don’t know!!).

Ibiza Family Holiday – Playa Bella Apartments

Ibiza Family Holidays
Where we stayed…

So what were the apartments like?

Well on Trip Advisor they get 2 stars as the ‘class’ but 4.5 out of 5 from the reviews of the people that have been there.

We were wondering…why only two stars?

Apparently a large part of it is to do with the lifts. They do have lifts in each block but they don’t have the infrastructure for a large lift. The lifts are very small, only large enough for a pram and two people. That’s it, so they’re tiny.

However, the restaurants/bars (x2) are both nice with great service. The pools (splash park, baby and adult pool) are great, nice and clean with loads of sun beds and tons of umbrellas.

I really can’t fault the pool area at all, it’s fab. Loads to do for kids.

The apartments themselves are really functional. They’re not massive by any means but they have what you need. A fridge, hob and sink in the kitchen area with all the crockery etc you need. The bathroom is fab and looks like it has just been done up (with a rainfall shower that’s amazing!). The bedroom (in our one bed apartment) is big enough for two single beds, a cot and a dressing table. The lounge has a sofa bed, dining table and wardrobe for clothes (you can’t store them in the bedroom). There’s also a balcony to sit on with a sea view (at least in our apartment, not sure about all of them).

The one drawback of the apartments is the soundproofing. We really could hear so much that happened outside in the corridor and in the apartment above. I could literally hear the people above us drop a coin on the floor and hear it rattling. However, I’m a heavy sleeper so it didn’t impact me, but sadly it kept my wife awake at times.

It really is a great place to stay other than the soundproofing. Ok it’s two stars and around the edges you can see things that could be improved, but these things have no impact on your enjoyment of your holiday at all.

There is an abandoned building site next to the apartments though which is a shame. The economic downturn really impacted the area so there are a few buildings on hold. However, they don’t impact your enjoyment of your holiday or fun in the apartments so don’t let it stop you going here. There’s no work going on so it’s not noisy at all.

Ibiza Family Holiday – Summary

Have I shown you can go on holiday to Ibiza with a young family and enjoy yourself?

Hopefully I have!

San Antonio Bay is a nice small place to go for a great time with little ones. I personally don’t think I’d go to San Antonio itself, let’s leave that for the clubbers! You can always go there for the day.

Have you been to San Antonio Bay, or Ibiza with your family?

What did you think?

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