How to get ready for a camping holiday

Holidays in Britain have become increasingly popular over recent years. A fantastic way to enjoy the British countryside is to go on a touring camping holiday. To make sure you enjoy your touring or camping holiday, there’s a few things that you should prepare before setting off.

Firstly, it is important to know where you are headed to. Decide upon a location and make sure you know how you are going to travel there. If you are travelling in two or more cars, it is a good idea to establish a few meet up points on the way so you can all have a break from driving and make sure everyone knows where they are going. Camp on legal campsites to avoid getting moved on.

Once you know where you’re going, it’s time to decide what to take. It is important not to overpack. There’s not much point in taking electrical appliances that you will not be able to use. Don’t skimp on the essentials though, especially if you are going somewhere quite secluded. If there are no shops nearby that sell food, ensure you have enough for three meals a day and an optional snack. Bottles to carry water are also vital. If you are taking food that will need cooking, make sure your portable stove works and that you have enough gas to power it.

It is also important to make sure you have an adequate first aid kit, and a torch with spare batteries or a wind up one. If you are hoping to have a campfire then old newspapers can make good kindling.

Another essential item is your tent. It is a good idea to pitch your tent in your garden for a few days before you go on holiday. This dummy run will give you the chance to find any leaks or broken bits, or find any missing parts that need replacing.

Enjoy your camping holiday!

Campsite Etiquette: Essential Information

On a family camping trip, where traffic jams and petty rows can make travelling a nightmare, nothing can beat the sight of a campsite road sign, indicating the journey is coming to its conclusion.

However, even if frustrations have been building prior to your arrival, it’s important to act responsibly and respectably as you turn into the campsite. Read on to find out more about the basics of camping etiquette.

Arriving at a Campsite: Issues to Consider

The kids may be anticipating escaping from the cramped conditions of the car to explore the site’s facilities, but it’s vital to take things step-by-step as soon as you arrive at a campsite. Never move your caravan directly on to a pitch without first alerting campsite staff to your presence, as this is simply a case of bad manners, and some pitches may be reserved.

In most campsites, the reception will be close to the front gate of the campsite. Only once a staff member has pointed out a suitable pitch should everyone leave the car and begin to relax, unwind and enter into the holiday spirit. On parking, ask reception staff for a quick breakdown on the campsite’s policies in regards to payment, checking out and additional facilities.

Ensure everyone in your party understands the basics of camping etiquette, especially in relation to respecting fellow holidaymakers. Noise should remain at low levels in the early mornings (before 8am) and at nightfall (10pm), as not everyone in the immediate vicinity will be appreciative of your voice interrupting their holiday relaxation.

Kids will naturally want to burn off some steam, but this should not impact on your fellow campers. Underline the importance of sticking to designated walkways and pitches as not to invade the privacy of your neighbours. Ball games should be kept to a minimum, and should only take place at a distance where it will not infringe on the relaxation of nearby campers.

Finally, the power of good research shouldn’t be dismissed. Whether you’re reading caravan reviews ahead of renting a caravan or attempting to track down a popular campsite, take plenty of time in the weeks leading up to the holiday to learn more about different caravan models and campsites.

The Best Balearic Waterparks for the Family

If you are heading out on recession beating a family holiday to any of the Balearics this year, try to make sure you get yourself over to one of these awesome waterparks.There is nothing more enjoyable than cooling off in a water park, especially when the sun is blazing. Its also quite a fun way to cool down.

Aqualand – Magaluf, Mallorca
This is a large park.With well over 15 slides and many other attractions, if you’re visiting Majorca and are in the west of the island you need to visit this park.  From unique slides like the boomerang, black hole and the tornado to the super slaloms and the 8 lane ‘multi-pistas’ there is an attraction for all.They even have a wave pool that can create 1m high waves, also there is a Congo river ride for the people that just want to relax.  For the younger children there is the mini park catering in smaller versions of some of the grown up slides

Hidropark – Alcudia, Mallorca
In the east of the island you have the Hidropark in Alcudia.  Hidropark is much smaller than the Aqualand but not short of slides. If you really want to make a splash take a trip on the kamikaze, this attraction is not for the faint hearted.This park is miniscule in comparison to Aqualand i’d reccoment going to aqualand due to the sheer size of it.

Aguamar – Playa den Bossa, Ibiza

The White Isle has two worthy waterparks the first, and larger of the two is the Aguamar located just 15 minute bus drive from Ibiza town.  The Aguamar has many slides all will depend how daring you are feeling in your quest to cool down.  There are around seven types of slides as well as your relaxing rubber ring style slides.They also offer have what other people describe as the high and fast one.  This slide is definitely one for the daring.

Agualandia – Talamanca, Ibiza
Talamanca is a family oriented resort that benefits from having Aqualandia nearby.  Aqualandia is smaller than the Aguamar and caters more for children with many more children’s slides and lots of sheltered areas.Aqualandia has the very fun multiple lane slides and also the twisty inflatable slides.  This is without doubt the family friendly waterpark in Ibiza.

Aquacenter – Los Delfines, Menorca

Family friendly Aquacenter in Los Delfines has many attractions for the whole family to get splashing.  The main highlights of this park are the Black Hole and the Giant Toboggan.They also have the rides that all water parks have like multi lane slides for the whole family to race to the finish. For the adults there is a Jacuzzi area to hide from the children.

Aquarock – Cala’n Bosch, Menorca
The main attraction in Aquarocks is the kamikaze slide.For anyone adventurous, this slide will pummel you into the water at a cracking rate.As with the rest of the parks in this article, this one also caters for the family. It has a dedicated children’s area with many smaller versions of the bigger slides.  For the water shy family members there is always the go karts to keep you occupied.

Find top things to do on your next family holiday when you head to Majorca

Choosing the right family holiday can be a daunting task. Ideally, it needs to offer a combination of activities and attractions that will keep all family members happy. Majorca, in the Balearic Islands, is one destination that is well used to providing that perfect balance. Boasting a Mediterranean climate, stunning coastlines, plenty of action and adventure and numerous family-orientated Majorca hotels, you can’t go wrong when you visit this island gem on your next family holiday. Here’s a selection of top activities awaiting you in Majorca to help you on your way when you book at one of the many hotels in Majorca:

Enjoy a safari experience
You don’t have to head to the depths of Africa to experience the magic of safari – see giraffes, zebra and much more when you go on an auto-safari through Majorca’s beautiful countryside and wander around its nature reserve enclosures.

Make a splash at the waterparks
There is plenty of waterpark fun to be had in Majorca. One of the largest waterparks in Europe – Aqualand, El Arenal – has in fact made the island its home. As if that’s not enough, there is a sister Aqualand in Magalluf and a number of other parks waiting to be enjoyed across the island.

Explore mysterious caves
Be amazed by the wonders of nature with a trip to the mystical Cuevas de Drach – or Dragon Caves – located on the east coast of the island in Porto Cristo. Stand in awe of the exquisite rock formations as you explore the caves or take a boat trip on their underground lake.



Take a trip out to sea
Enjoy relaxation in the sun and deep sea exploration all at once when you take a trip in a glass-bottomed boat. Set sail from a number of different locations, including various stops between Calas de Majorca and Cala Ratjada, for an adventure everyone will enjoy.

Learn more about marine life
For a fun family day out visit one of Majorca’s highly recommended marine zoos. Regular dolphin, sea lion and exotic bird shows are on offer at Marineland in Calvia, or head to Playa de Palma where you can marvel at the 700 species of sea life on show at the Palma Aquarium.

Go crazy on the golf course
Majorca offers mini golf with a twist at ‘Golf Fantasia’ in Palma Nova. Ideal for keeping the whole family entertained for hours on end, the park has three tropical-themed 18 hole courses.

Families can enjoy numerous opportunities for excitement and entertainment in Majorca. To maximise your enjoyment, there are some excellent deals on Majorca hotels around at the moment too, so your ideal family holiday could be just around the corner.

If you know a celebrity is around while your on holiday, do you try and find them?

The other day i came across this rather strange holiday. Surely most people just like to just enjoy the sun, relax by the pool. Some people go on holiday to just get away from home and to get some time away from work or even the family. However there are some that embark on Celebrity holidays….

After reading up on some holiday offers I noticed something in the Google searches that caught my eye. There are some companies that actually advertise celebrity holidays. At first i didn’t really understand, were they holidays that were designed for celebrities? So I investigated further, only to find out that there were several different types of this holiday.

One option quite basically told you where you can go on holiday and have a high probability of meeting a celebrity. There are even some hotels listed that are near these celebrities. So you can have a great holiday, but you also have the opportunity to meet a celebrity. Now would be a good time to let you know, that they don’t list where you can exactly find the celebrities.

Another is where you can go to actually feel like a celebrity yourself. Basically if you want, you can go and stay somewhere that one or more celebrities have been before. These seemed to be quite expensive from what I could tell.

The last one wasn’t a tour operator, but quite literally mentioned where the best places to find a celebrity were. This scared me a little; after all you wouldn’t want people knowing your every movement. Although they seemed to just suggest where they were, some of there directions seemed quite accurate.

I decided to look into all of these and find out where it is celebrities go on holiday, from what I could tell, the most popular destinations are St Lucia holidays, Barbados holidays and Egypt holidays.

Try something different this holiday with the Kids, take them diving!

There is a great sense in the world today that people need to start losing weight. There has been too much talk about our children getting fact and not enough acting. So instead of planting fear into these children about how they should lose weight, because they won’t fit in, surely we should be doing something to help them.

Everybody says that we do our bit for our children to help them eat healthily. Eating greens, vegetables and fruit can be very boring, so we need to find something else to keep them happy. The hard part is trying to set up something that they can have a good time doing, yet has positive effect on their health?

Well the one easiest way to do this, is to get them trying something that they enjoy. Something that involves exercise, but to also make sure it is something that could catch on. People wont generally have thought of taking a child on holiday to inspire exercise, but diving is a great opportunity for this. The main question is, do you have any holidays booked this year? If you don’t but your planning on it, maybe you should consider diving holidays. The cost of a normal holiday will be less expensive, but these diving holidays are getting very popular so the prices are coming down.

What you want to do is take them on one of these holidays and really get them involved in it. Then you have them in the trap, you can slowly lead them in the direction of swimming or something when you get back home.

The main point to this is trying something that may cost a little bit for one time. After going diving and enjoying themselves there is then the opportunity for them to go off and try swimming when you get back home. Another interesting one is to go out and go on a Safari; these are great for inspiring environmental thinking, leading to hiking trails or any other things outside back at home.