Family-friendly holidays not to miss

Bermuda is a tiny archipelago of 181 islands where the colours dazzle: sapphire seas lap pink beaches, and the buildings are painted in the kind of hues you’d find in a box of Lego. The watersports are top notch, with reefs and more than 300 wrecks to dive, and adrenaline highs are guaranteed by kitesurfing and flyboarding (a sort of pressure-jet hose meets seaborne skateboarding).

For the most luxe of stays, book the Rosewood Bermuda. Recently renovated and sprawling (in a very manicured way) over 240 acres of the exclusive Tucker’s Point area, it has the largest private beach on the island. There are only 90 rooms, so you’ll never have an unseemly fight for a sun-lounger – though if pole position is your aim, stay in a room that comes with a poolside cabana. The Explorers in Motion kids’ club keeps its charges aged five years and up busy, and the Parents’ Night Out Friday and Saturday evening clubs are incredibly popular.

DON’T MISS
The Royal Naval Dockyard for its vast museum and historical battle reenactments, and new Snorkel Park Beach watersports and beach entertainment area.

STAY
Book a stay at Rosewood Bermuda. Rooms for two adults and up to one child aged 12 or under from £592pn.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Visitors from the UK need to apply for a Bermuda Covid-19 Travel Authorisation one to three days before departure. Unimmunised travellers who arrive in Bermuda must quarantine at a designated hotel at their own expense for 14 days.

The Balearic Islands attract millions of visitors every year, offering a hard-to-beat combination of beaches, history and a fabulous climate. Menorca, declared a Biosphere Reserve by Unesco, is the most family friendly of these Western Mediterranean havens, with an enormous number of pristine rocky coves and white sand beaches that slope gently into calm seas. You could happily spend a week splashing in the water or kayaking to a deserted beach but might be tempted out to enjoy a waterpark – the largest is the Splash Sur Menorca in Biniancolla – jeep safaris, visits to historic forts, lighthouses and over 1500 archaeological sites.

Stay in the east of the island overlooking Arenal d’en Castell beach at the Palladium Hotel. As well as a kids’ club and three pools (one just for children), you’ll be right next to the Parque Acuático waterpark, so you can enjoy the rides without having the noise in your own backyard.

DON’T MISS
The Lloc de Menorca Zoo is designed for maximum interaction with its inhabitants, and kids love getting up close to lemurs and native species of horse, goat and tortoise.

STAY
Book a stay at the Palladium Hotel. Rooms for two adults and one child from £190pn.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
UK visitors to Spain must provide either proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test and fill out a pre-travel declaration form.

The largest of the Ionian islands, but relatively quiet (despite a certain Captain and his mandolin), Kefalonia is a dramatic mix of verdant mountains and some of the best beaches in Greece. If your family gets itchy feet, hike Mount Ainos, a designated national park that’s home to wild horses and deer, or explore one of the many cave systems. The largest, Melissani, is home to a vast natural lake.

The Ionian Sea Hotel Villas & Aqua Park is a friendly, family-run option that has a small water park on site and rooms with space for at least one child. Kounopetra beach is a few minutes’ walk away, and its mineral-rich red sands are said to have restorative properties (tired parents, get your children to bury you in the sand).

DON’T MISS
Visiting the loggerhead turtles who pop up at Argostoli’s harbour to see if the fishermen have any tiddlers left over. You can also find the turtles on the beaches of the south coast, with Kaminia being a favourite.

STAY
Book a stay at Ionian Sea Hotel Villas & Aqua Park. Rooms for two adults and one child from £98pn half-board.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
UK visitors must fill out a passenger locator form before travelling to Greece as well as provide proof of a negative PCR test taken within the 72 hours before arrival in Greece.