Holidays when you have 4 kids or more

[bgbgbb]

Hi, I'm going to have a rant here because I'm fed up not being able to book a holiday for us all without paying an absolute fortune.

I recently considered a holiday to QLD and looked at accommodation in the places that have a kids club. But nearly everywhere gave us the option only of adjoining rooms, meaning we had to pay twice as much as a family with 3 kids. We could have taken a unit, but no kids clubs in those places. All the theme parks have a limit of 2-3 kids for a 'family' pass and trying to rent a car to take us all would mean booking 6 months in advance (driving up from Vic with 4 kids is a non-option).

Just for 1 year I'd love to have a holiday that's affordable, one that will give me a rest and not cost the earth.

Why cant these places accept that some families have more than 2 or 3 kids?

Feel free to have your own rant or offer tips on places you have found that were large family-friendly?

[mrsd]

I feel your pain !

What we do now :
*tent in a caravan park or in backyard of family who don't mind where possible. We're accustomed to our own spot in the tent and how it goes up / where stuff goes etc and we've got procedures for showers etc.
*holiday near family and have someone babysit for one evening so that we can go out together for a break

Frankly, we're past trying to book hotel etc accommodation for 10 of us. When we only had 4 kids, some apartments would turn a blind eye to the youngest one when we supplied our own bedding but I've noticed that they've got much stricter with the fire laws now and won't let you have more than a certain no. of people in your room.

[lavagirl]

Farmstays are great! Not everyones cup of tea though. We love them and they have houses/chellets of your own to stay in with plenty of beds :)

[jacethisa]

Oh this drives me insane too.. Can't get anywhere with accom for 6..

I find the Big 4 caravan parks great.. We bought a camper trailer so go camping a lot.. its heaps cheaper..

(bought a portable ac for summer) So in summer we stay at powered sites :) Winter we go bush

[chuckles]

Look at taking holidays in off-peak seasons and renting a holiday house - alot cheaper then staying in a hotel ect. U'll just have to take ur own bedding with u.

[~J'dore~]

We only have 3 kiddies but find a lot of places only let you have 2 children.

We book and stay at holiday houses, no limits on the kids and it's much cheaper too:yelclap:

[Crazyfamily]

We have this problem to. We have 6 children. I stayed at the gold coast and the only place that could fit us all in was treasure Island holiday park. We had a unit not a cabin. It meant driving to the beach but it was not far and the place is affordable.

[Roopee]

I know exactly how you feel! Next year we are heading up to the Gold Coast (hopefully) and we want to stay at Paradise Resort for the Kids Club there.

BUT

with all of us it's just too $$ so we are taking my mum and her partner- they are having two kids in their room and we'll have two in ours. ait works out A LOT cheaper and we have on hand baby sitters!!:smiliedance:

Is that an option for you?

[canberramomma]

Holiday? What's that??

We are lucky that my mum lives down the South NSW coast and we go for an overnighter every now and then, but we usually just hang 'round the homestead.:laughing:

Just buying hot chips and ice cream for them all costs a bomb!

[JabberJaw]

I know exactly how you feel! Next year we are heading up to the Gold Coast (hopefully) and we want to stay at Paradise Resort for the Kids Club there.

BUT

with all of us it's just too $$ so we are taking my mum and her partner- they are having two kids in their room and we'll have two in ours. ait works out A LOT cheaper and we have on hand baby sitters!!:smiliedance:

Is that an option for you?

It is great there, we went last yr, the pool is warm all yr, kids club is fantastic and we too took my mum sis and her son! we had to pay for 2 rooms anyway so we sure got our $$ worth, you will love it.

Anyway, now we have to pay for 2 rooms aswell so we have taken up to camping more often than we use to. We have just brought a super dooper mansion of a tent so the kids have there own 'rooms' they have canvas camp beds we have an air bed. The initial outlay was a bit pricey but we have made good use of it and now go regularly.
In saying that though, caravan parks often have cabins suitable for larger families, the charges cover 2+2 but it is like $9 extra per child. We have stayed in cabins before that fit us all plus more.
Look on the net for caravan parks with on site cabins, they usually have good pictures and also cabin layouts. Linen can be taken or hired, they get cleaned daily (sometimes) and caravan parks are extremely kid friendly, much better than a motel anyway :D

[Uenuku]

We have eight children, and have three or more camping holidays at different venues each year, usually for a reasonable amount of money, and occasionally we'll be offered a 'special deal'...