Unpackaged

What’s the most important thing to get right when planning a family holiday? For us, it has to be choosing the right accommodation. I’d say that we soon realised that self-catering works best when you have a young family. But the truth is that since having kids, we’ve never attempted to stay anywhere else! The thought of squashing ourselves into a single hotel room and having no access to a kitchen just isn’t appealing. Self-catering on the other hand offers us freedom, space and lots of flexibility.

So when we first tried AirBnB 3 years ago, we became instant massive fans! It’s our go-to website for self-catering accommodation. And here’s why I love it.

The view from our AirBnb in Strunjan, Slovenia

Live like a local – this used to be a big feature of AirBnB’s marketing, and for us, it’s still a big part of the appeal. When you stay in the home of a real resident, it really does feel more authentic. If you’re lucky, your host will offer you their own local tips and advice. So take their advice and discover where the locals eat, shop and drink. Or venture off the beaten track and discover somewhere the guidebooks haven’t written about yet.
The kitchen and the washing machine – some might argue that you’re not truly on holiday if you’re washing clothes, or dishes… but think of the benefits! Access to a fridge and cooking facilities means you can prepare your own food if you want to (making life with fussy eaters less stressful, and it can save money). As for the washing machine – let’s just say “kids”! Whether you’re at the exploding nappy stage, potty training stage or your children just seem to attract dirt – with a washing machine of your own, you won’t run out of clean clothes!
Plentiful options for all budgets – whether you want a private pool or a hot tub, or simply a place to lay your head for the night, AirBnB always offers a good range of luxury and budget-conscious options. Naturally you’ll find more choice in bigger cities, but I am constantly amazed by just how many AirBnB options there are out there – over 6 million worldwide according to the latest stats!
Toys – guess what you find in the homes of hosts with children? That’s right, toys, toys and more toys! This has all kinds of benefit, but the big ones for me are that when you arrive, your children will immediately have something to play with while you unpack and settle in. And you don’t have to take that many toys with you when you travel.
Flexible check-in and check-out times – this won’t always be the case, but in my experience, AirBnB hosts offer later check-out times, and earlier check-in times. Why is this important when you’re travelling with kids? Because it just takes some of the stress away! You can avoid a frantic rush on your departure day if your check-out isn’t until 11am or 12pm. Or if you take a cheap early flight, you don’t need to hang around until mid afternoon if your host offers an early check-in.

In the run up to last year’s summer holiday, whenever I got asked where we were going on holiday, my reply “Slovenia”, was nearly always me with either…

an “oh” accompanied by a face of puzzlement
or a brief pause followed by a “why?”

Truth is, before we booked the holiday, my reaction would have been exactly the same! To be completely honest, and slightly to my shame, I’d have been hard pushed to find it on a map. You see, Slovenia is still a bit of an undiscovered gem and a real best-kept-secret for a family holiday. So if you’re planning a trip to Slovenia, be prepared for some confused faces. And be careful about how many people you tell – we don’t want the secret to become too well known!

Once we stumbled across the idea of going to Slovenia, it didn’t take much convincing to soon realise that it really is the ideal family holiday destination. Here’s why:

It’s roughly the same size as Wales – making it small enough to thoroughly explore, without facing long drives between different destinations.
It’s got lakes, rivers, mountains, forests and beaches – from the Alps to the Mediterranean, beautiful scenery abounds!
It’s incredibly green – nearly 60% of Slovenia is covered in forest, which alongside its sustainable credentials led to Slovenia being named the world’s first Green Country.
It’s climate offers warm summers and cold winters – thinking of visiting in July and August? Then look forward to warm sunny days with highs averaging 30c and lake temperatures reaching over 20c. If skiing is your thing, the season runs from mid-December to March or even April.
Ljubljana is a pocket-sized capital – while capital cities usually offer a lot for adults, they can be daunting places to take the kids. No so with Ljubljana! There are no complicated transport systems to navigate – Ljubljana is easily explored on foot, something that will appeal to little legs and pushchairs alike. It’s also a beautiful capital with a whole array of attractions on offer which will appeal to families.
It offers a whole range of different places to lay your head – from AirBnBs (our personal fave) and traditional hotels and B&Bs, to Glamping and camping.

So if you’re looking for a small country, that’s only a short flight from the UK, that has both a fantastic climate and beautiful scenery and a huge variety of places to stay – stop the search and plan a trip to Slovenia!

5 reasons why AirBnB offers perfect accommodation for families

Slovenia – an ideal destination for a family European road-trip