All Inclusive Holidays

Family Favourites

Kids' clubs, split-level pools and a buffet that opens at seven settle most of a family week before it starts. These five keep the airport transfer short as well.

• Tenerife: Costa Adeje's resort hotels sit on the sheltered south-west coast, where the sea stays warm enough for children from April through to November. Transfers from the southern airport take around 20 minutes, and most family properties run supervised kids' clubs from age four. Siam Park is the one day out worth budgeting for on top of the package.
• Costa Dorada: The beach at Salou shelves so gradually that you can walk out fifty metres before the water reaches an adult's waist, which is exactly what parents of toddlers want. The transfer from the airport runs just over an hour, but a flight time under three hours keeps the travel day manageable for young children.
• Lanzarote: Playa Blanca and Puerto del Carmen both have promenades flat enough to push a buggy end to end, and the volcanic park at Timanfaya gives older children a half-day out that beats another afternoon by the pool. Flight time is close to four hours, and transfers to either resort take under 45 minutes.
• Algarve: Resorts around Albufeira put a wide choice of family hotels within 40 minutes of Faro airport, with the shortest flight time on this list at under three hours. Praia dos Salgados has a lagoon behind the sand where small children can paddle in still water while older ones use the open beach.
• Protaras: Fig Tree Bay is the reason families keep coming back: fine sand, water that stays knee-deep for a long way out, and a promenade lined with places that serve food early. It is a quieter base than the party resort a few kilometres up the coast, and the larger hotels here run kids' clubs from May to October.