Thinking about a trip somewhere warm(er) for the upcoming half-term hols. For us as a family (2 girls aged 12 & 9).

Not really that experienced in holidays abroad; partly we’ve not really had the money; partly an eye on our carbon footprint; partly our eldest has articulated an anxiety about flying (but she seem to be prepared to reconsider, so long as we don’t fly on a 737 and sit towards the rear of the plane!)

So, somewhere pretty, near the sea (or a big lake) with pretty reliable warm weather for that time of year. And on a budget.

Guess the obvious options are the Canary Islands, or Majorca, but anything else we should consider? Greece / Greek islands I’d be interested in but does winter come along more earlier there? Turkey?

And what’s the most cost-effective way of doing it? Straight forward package in a hotel, or put the internet effort in and book flights/accommodation separately? If the latter, any particular websites to use?

Canaries are a good call but you want to be nearish to an urban centre to diversify the experience and in case the weather is off. Malaga is a very good combo of city and beach, as is Cadiz. Seville is hot, lovely and with good galleries but I don’t know about entertaining kids.
We always do the flight and accommodation separately and have moved away from AirBnB because of the damage it’s doing to urban populations. Trip advisor is v useful.

You could be lucky with the weather in Spain and the Balearics in October, but you might not be. Therefore, the further south the better I’d suggest so Canaries most reliable.

Try an EasyJet package or look at Booking.com for doing it yourself.

Personally I look for cheap packages – IME far cheaper and easier than flight then find accommodation.