EL AV TR 10 03.0 7.20 16 / 11 Theyplay · Mika, the restaurant manager, will arrange for a groaning...
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a week of guilt-free immersion in either cycling or yoga (other activities are set to follow). There are instructors to stretch you, (social) debriefs on the day’s events, and like-minded enthusiasts with whom to have in-depth chats about downward dogs and derailleurs. The little whelps? They get to enjoy the sort of slickly professional, R emember the days when children were expected to be seen but not heard? That’s pretty much the role of parents on your average family holiday these days, it seems. The offspring get the activities, the clubs, the endless distractions. You might just get to slope off to the sunlounger if you’re good. Not every holiday company goes along with that. Step forward Mark Warner, whose new specialist weeks, being trialled at two of its Med resorts, provide parents with TRAVEL 10 Busy schedule From top, the Lobsters take to the water in the main pool; Anouk has a smashing time; and digging in for an afternoon on the beach Kids get masses to do on holiday — so why shouldn’t grown-ups? Duncan Craig tries a guilt-free childcare package that lets mum and dad off the parental leash They play... ...so you can too 03.07.2016 / 11 cream, and then your evening proper can begin. Want a night in? Mika, the restaurant manager, will arrange for a groaning platter of tzatziki and pitta bread, lamb souvlaki and syrupy baklavas to be delivered to your terrace. Heading out? There’s a squadron of babysitters on hand, or you can deposit your toddler in film club. This starts at about 7pm, and when the film ends, the kids are set up in comfy little camp beds until you carry them back, asleep, to your room at 11pm. It’s like a prisoner-of-war camp as imagined by Disney. Our toddler loves it. As the week progresses, the cycling is stepped up a notch. There’s a time trial, during which we’re let off, competition-style, at two-minute intervals. And we get to pit ourselves against the island’s highest peak, the 2,618ft Profitis Ilias, named after the prophet Elijah. It’s the scene of some biblical suffering, but we all find our own pace and regroup at the summit cafe, the sparkling Turkish coast visible through the pines. It’s 11am on a weekday, I’m on the roof of the island, and a 5½-mile descent awaits. I’m tired from the climb, but the most relaxed I’ve been in years. And there’s absolutely no hurry to get back to fatherly duties. Another chilled frappé it is, then. 6 Duncan Craig was a guest of Mark Warner, which has seven nights at the Levante Beach Resort for a family of four from £2,564, half-board, including flights, activities, transfers and childcare. Intensive cycling and yoga weeks from £175 and £125 respectively. Next dates September 3 (yoga, at San Lucianu, Corsica) and October 8 (cycling) importance of stillness in the saddle. With perverse pride, I realise I’ve been doing almost everything wrong. We quickly find a rhythm as a family, too. Breakfast together, with general mortification at Daddy’s Lycra. Then, little ones to childcare, me onto the bike, my wife, Eleen, off for aerobics or a game of tennis, or to take a paddleboard or kayak out in the bay. Then, in the afternoon, we all hang out together, building sandcastles, eating too many ice creams, or just lazing by the pools (there are five). Mark Warner has more than 40 years’ experience hosting family breaks, and the accumulated wisdom is much in evidence. The children’s tea, for example, is genius. It’s carnage. Cutlery-hurling, wall-redecorating carnage; they could bottle it as a contraceptive. But the kids do what they need to do, you order a glass of wine and furtively eat their ice village of Psinthos. It’s a 22-mile loosener, with the climbing offset by a taverna lunch. As we cycle two or three abreast on the smooth, traffic- light roads, our conversation is as easy as the riding. On the return, we practise our chain-ganging — cycling inches from each other’s back wheel while rotating the lead rider to share the wind-resistance load. Very Tour. The next day it’s Rhodes Town, the charming capital, a short distance north of Faliraki, the charmless fleshpot. Notorious resorts aside, the cycling is idyllic: breezy seafront straights; fragrant forests of pine; jasmine-scented back roads. All the while, Rich and Kyle dispense advice: hand position on hoods, head position for climbs, the zeal — if not the naked aggression — of the Russian “ultras”. Over the next six mornings, from 9am to 12.30pm, she makes paper jellyfish and new best friends, rides in boats and on mini-windsurfers, does face-painting, plays tennis and giggles so much she wins an award at the end of the week. You can’t fake that sort of thing. She loves it. My other daughter, Penny, bless her, is not the most discerning when it comes to entertainment (she spent much of the flight laughing at the seatbelt sign). Not that there’s any complacency in Baby Club, which runs for the same hours daily, with hand- and foot-painting, music (sort of) making, and regular outings to the beach in the three-in-a-line, Hummer-like baby stroller. Reassured, I meet up with my fellow cyclists. There are nine in all, overseen by the cycling co-ordinator Rich and former pro Kyle, who have devised the week’s programme and convinced Mark Warner to purchase a fleet of £2,500 Cannondale bikes. We clip into these and roll out of the resort, heading for the hilltop round-the-clock childcare that leaves A-listers banging on about how rewarding parenthood is. I’m sceptical, the default setting of any new parent. Even more so as we board the charter flight to Rhodes. Every family seems to mirror our own: three-year-old, (nearly) one-year-old, two parents who look prematurely old. Amid the din, there’s an air of resignation. Getting home from Greece with sanity intact seems to be the sum of the collective aspiration. Things look up as we arrive at the Levante Beach Resort, an inviting tranche of primary-colour comfort on the east coast: white cubist apartments; spongy green lawns; pools of deep blue. There’s a little introductory talk from the friendly staff. Only one detail registers: the whereabouts of the childcare wing. Our three-year-old, Anouk, is in Mini Club, and, within this, the Lobster team. Not the ones denied suncream, but rather the most vocal of the toddler gangs who will spend the week marching around the resort chanting their songs with the We breakfast together, with general mortification at Daddy’s Lycra, then all go our separate ways GREECE If you and your offspring return home from a Neilson Beachclub with any surplus energy, you’re just not trying. Its eight Greece and Turkey resorts have nine different kids’ clubs (for ages four months to 17 years) to keep the young ’uns busy (the sailing is particularly strong), while tennis and waterskiing are among the most popular all-inclusive activities for the oldies. 6Neilson has seven nights at the Aeolian Village Beachclub, on Lesbos, from £1,579 for adults, £1,263 for kids (under 2s £105), with flights and most meals. Departs August 20 (neilson.co.uk) BARBADOS Elegant Hotels has six luxury hotels on the island, offering complimentary watersports including sailing, kayaking and boogie-boarding. There’s a soft-play area for babies, and the Flying Fish Kids’ Club, with Wii, games and crafts, for ages 3-12. Kids can also take part in the Honorary Bajan Adventurer programme, with calypso dance classes, beach cricket and steel-pan drumming. 6Elegant Hotels has seven nights, all-inclusive, at the Turtle Beach Resort from £1,100pp (two adults, two children sharing), with flights. For travel in November, if booked before July 31 (turtlebeachresortbarbados.com) PORTUGAL No hidden costs is the mantra at Club Med, so you’ve got no excuse not to pile in once you’ve arrived at its Da Balaia resort in the Algarve. The various kids’ clubs (four months to 17 years) offer pretty much every water- and land-based activity you can imagine (trapeze school, anyone?). And, for you, there’s watersports, a spa and — this being the Algarve — a golf school. 6Club Med has seven nights, all-inclusive, at the Da Balaia Club Med from £1,069 for adults, £659 for children (under 6s free). Departs September 17 (clubmed.co.uk) Three other family hols with childcare No time to be board Surfing with Neilson in Greece Watch out for Rhodes rash Freewheeling down the island’s highest peak, Profitis Ilias. Below, the time trial Simon Coleman; Duncan Craig
Transcript of EL AV TR 10 03.0 7.20 16 / 11 Theyplay · Mika, the restaurant manager, will arrange for a groaning...
a week of guilt-free immersion ineither cycling or yoga (otheractivities are set to follow). There areinstructors to stretch you, (social)debriefs on the day’s events, andlike-minded enthusiasts with whomto have in-depth chats aboutdownward dogs and derailleurs.The little whelps? They get to
enjoy the sort of slickly professional,
Remember the days whenchildren were expected to be seenbut not heard? That’s pretty muchthe role of parents on your average
family holiday these days, it seems.The offspring get the activities, theclubs, the endless distractions. Youmight just get to slope off to thesunlounger if you’re good.Not every holiday company goes
along with that. Step forward MarkWarner, whose new specialistweeks, being trialled at two of itsMed resorts, provide parents with
TRAV
EL
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Busy scheduleFrom top, theLobsters take tothe water in themain pool; Anoukhas a smashingtime; and diggingin for an afternoonon the beach
Kids get masses to do on holiday — so why shouldn’t grown-ups? Duncan Craigtries a guilt-free childcare package that lets mum and dad off the parental leash
They play......so you can too
03 .07 . 2016 / 11
cream, and then your eveningproper can begin.Want a night in? Mika, the
restaurant manager, will arrange fora groaning platter of tzatziki andpitta bread, lamb souvlaki andsyrupy baklavas to be delivered toyour terrace. Heading out? There’s asquadron of babysitters on hand, or
you can deposit your toddlerin film club.
This starts at about7pm, and when thefilm ends, the kidsare set up in comfylittle camp bedsuntil you carry themback, asleep, to yourroom at 11pm. It’s likea prisoner-of-war
camp as imagined byDisney. Our toddler loves it.
As the week progresses, thecycling is stepped up a notch.There’s a time trial, during whichwe’re let off, competition-style, attwo-minute intervals.And we get to pit ourselves against
the island’s highest peak, the 2,618ftProfitis Ilias, named after theprophet Elijah. It’s the scene of somebiblical suffering, but we all find ourown pace and regroup at the summitcafe, the sparkling Turkish coastvisible through the pines.It’s 11am on a weekday, I’m on the
roof of the island, and a 5½-miledescent awaits. I’m tired from theclimb, but the most relaxed I’ve beenin years. And there’s absolutely nohurry to get back to fatherly duties.Another chilled frappé it is, then.
6 Duncan Craig was a guest of MarkWarner, which has seven nights at theLevante Beach Resort for a family offour from £2,564, half-board,including flights, activities, transfersand childcare. Intensive cycling andyoga weeks from £175 and £125respectively. Next dates September 3(yoga, at San Lucianu, Corsica) andOctober 8 (cycling)
importance of stillness in the saddle.With perverse pride, I realise I’vebeen doing almost everything wrong.We quickly find a rhythm as a
family, too. Breakfast together, withgeneral mortification at Daddy’sLycra. Then, little ones to childcare,me onto the bike, my wife, Eleen, offfor aerobics or a game of tennis, or totake a paddleboard or kayakout in the bay. Then, inthe afternoon, we allhang out together,building sandcastles,eating too many icecreams, or justlazing by the pools(there are five).Mark Warner has
more than 40 years’experience hostingfamily breaks, and theaccumulated wisdom is muchin evidence. The children’s tea, forexample, is genius. It’s carnage.Cutlery-hurling, wall-redecoratingcarnage; they could bottle it as acontraceptive. But the kids do whatthey need to do, you order a glass ofwine and furtively eat their ice
village of Psinthos. It’s a 22-mileloosener, with the climbing offset bya taverna lunch. As we cycle two orthree abreast on the smooth, traffic-light roads, our conversation is aseasy as the riding. On the return, wepractise our chain-ganging — cyclinginches from each other’s back wheelwhile rotating the lead rider to sharethe wind-resistance load. Very Tour.The next day it’s Rhodes Town, the
charming capital, a short distancenorth of Faliraki, the charmlessfleshpot. Notorious resorts aside, thecycling is idyllic: breezy seafrontstraights; fragrant forests of pine;jasmine-scented back roads.All the while, Rich and Kyle
dispense advice: hand position onhoods, head position for climbs, the
zeal — if not the naked aggression —of the Russian “ultras”.Over the next six mornings, from
9am to 12.30pm, she makes paperjellyfish and new best friends, ridesin boats and on mini-windsurfers,does face-painting, plays tennis andgiggles so much she wins an awardat the end of the week. You can’tfake that sort of thing. She loves it.My other daughter, Penny, bless
her, is not the most discerning whenit comes to entertainment (she spentmuch of the flight laughing at theseatbelt sign). Not that there’s anycomplacency in Baby Club, whichruns for the same hours daily, withhand- and foot-painting, music(sort of) making, and regular outingsto the beach in the three-in-a-line,Hummer-like baby stroller.Reassured, I meet up with my
fellow cyclists. There are nine in all,overseen by the cycling co-ordinatorRich and former pro Kyle, who havedevised the week’s programme andconvinced Mark Warner to purchasea fleet of £2,500 Cannondale bikes.We clip into these and roll out of
the resort, heading for the hilltop
round-the-clock childcare thatleaves A-listers banging on abouthow rewarding parenthood is.I’m sceptical, the default setting
of any new parent. Even more soas we board the charter flight toRhodes. Every family seems tomirror our own: three-year-old,(nearly) one-year-old, two parentswho look prematurely old. Amid thedin, there’s an air of resignation.Getting home from Greece withsanity intact seems to be the sum ofthe collective aspiration.Things look up as we arrive at the
Levante Beach Resort, an invitingtranche of primary-colour comforton the east coast: white cubistapartments; spongy green lawns;pools of deep blue. There’s a littleintroductory talk from the friendlystaff. Only one detail registers: thewhereabouts of the childcare wing.Our three-year-old, Anouk, is in
Mini Club, and, within this, theLobster team. Not the ones deniedsuncream, but rather the most vocalof the toddler gangs who will spendthe week marching around theresort chanting their songs with the
We breakfast together,with general mortificationat Daddy’s Lycra, then allgo our separate ways
GREECE If you and your offspringreturn home from a Neilson Beachclubwith any surplus energy, you’re just nottrying. Its eight Greece and Turkeyresorts have nine different kids’ clubs(for ages four months to 17 years) tokeep the young ’uns busy (the sailing isparticularly strong), while tennis andwaterskiing are among the most popularall-inclusive activities for the oldies.6Neilson has seven nights at theAeolian Village Beachclub, on Lesbos,from £1,579 for adults, £1,263 for kids(under 2s £105), with flights and mostmeals. Departs August 20 (neilson.co.uk)
BARBADOS Elegant Hotels has sixluxury hotels on the island, offeringcomplimentary watersports includingsailing, kayaking and boogie-boarding.There’s a soft-play area for babies, andthe Flying Fish Kids’ Club, with Wii,games and crafts, for ages 3-12.Kids can also take part in the HonoraryBajan Adventurer programme, withcalypso dance classes, beach cricketand steel-pan drumming.6Elegant Hotels has seven nights,all-inclusive, at the Turtle Beach Resortfrom £1,100pp (two adults, twochildren sharing), with flights. For travel
in November, if booked before July 31(turtlebeachresortbarbados.com)
PORTUGAL No hidden costs is themantra at Club Med, so you’ve got noexcuse not to pile in once you’vearrived at its Da Balaia resort in theAlgarve. The various kids’ clubs (fourmonths to 17 years) offer pretty muchevery water- and land-based activityyou can imagine (trapeze school,anyone?). And, for you, there’swatersports, a spa and — this beingthe Algarve — a golf school.6Club Med has seven nights,all-inclusive, at the Da Balaia Club Medfrom £1,069 for adults, £659 forchildren (under 6s free). DepartsSeptember 17 (clubmed.co.uk)
Three other family hols with childcare
No time to be board Surfingwith Neilson in Greece
Watch out forRhodes rash
Freewheeling downthe island’s highestpeak, Profitis Ilias.
Below, the time trial
Simon Coleman; Duncan Craig
