Greece
Getting back into travel and our first adventure as a family of four.
Testing the waters
Greece is somewhere close to my heart after living there for 5 years and knowing the warm hearted Greek people it was a perfect place for us to go coming off the back of covid and our first adventure as a family of four.
Crete.
We chose to do an all inclusive package as a base for this trip. Although this doesn’t sound adventurous some times the smallest steps can seem huge. We had traveled with our now 6 year old previously when she was 2 but then hadn't travelled since due to covid restrictions. We wanted some security and were slightly nervous to travel as a 4. We made this trip in 2023 with a 5 year old and 10 month old and chose Crete.
Relax
Something I think all parents need on holiday is to have moments where you can relax and not just feel like your parenting in another country. With the all inclusive we chose it had great entertainment and kids clubs available. Our eldest Poppy wasn’t to sure about going to kids club initially but whilst her sister was napping she popped in for a few hours and made some friends. After that she was loving the idea and it was lovely to see them all around the resort wanting to play and they were all together at the entertainment in the evenings having fun. It gave her some free time and also alowed us to have some down time whilst Zoe napped.
After Poppy had some her time and we had some us time, we were left ready to embrace the swimming pools together later in the day. We had managed to get a great deal by going at the start of the season and managed to secure a private pool for a fraction of the cost. Lovely though it sounded it was cold. Having lived in Greece I knew this could be the case so we packed a wet suit for our water loving Poppy. Zoe on the other hand was ok just to dip a toe in. The hardest decision we had to make was what to eat at the buffet most days.
A little adventure out.
We couldn’t stay put at the hotel and wanted a kid friendly adventure. We went for a wander and booked onto a local road train to take us through the mountains. We got to see oranges and lemons growing taste some local produce and see more of the island. It was a perfect length for the kids and Zoe fell asleep on the way back. It gave us a taste of local life and an outing.
What did we learn?
First and foremost we realised we overpacked. We took 4 large suitcases for us and came home with more unworn clothes than worn.
We worried too much about how difficult it would be to fly as a four and be divided between kids. We did however prepare with activity packs and entertainment for the flight along with snacks which helped and they were amazing on the flight even with a lap infant..
We learnt that mine and my husbands strengths and weaknesses balanced out and we made a fab team. We realised that we could be more adventurous as a family and discover more on our next adventure.