We learnt a lot about ourselves on this trip. Or at least a lot about ourselves as travellers with young children! Here you’ll read the good, the bad and what we did to turn it around!

We’d deliberated for a long time about what kind of holiday to book: we had the rare opportunity to travel during term time due to me being on maternity leave. The trip to Crete had been a great success but wasn’t especially relaxing so we decided to mix it up a bit for our second Greek island holiday: Zakynthos, one-week, all-inclusive with TUI.

Now, in all our years together, Dean and I have NEVER been all-inclusive or even on a package deal. And there were some great things about it:

1. Once we’d decided where to go, it was obviously almost zero effort to book it compared to our usual piece-by-piece approach. 
2. Having the transfers arranged for us made getting from the airport to the hotel and back so easy which was great with the little people in tow.
3. There was so much choice of (very good) food which was brilliant for an adventurous weaning baby and not terrible for a fussy three-year-old.
4. Constant pool access, especially to a smaller family pool, was a huge win. More about that in a moment.
5. We managed to get a family room which gave us that little bit more space than a standard hotel room.

There were some things that just didn’t work for us at this hotel with these kids at these ages though:

1. Tiny was turning 9-months-old and had recently learnt to crawl so, as such, she just wanted to be on the move constantly and we really struggled with the amount of supervision and caution required to keep her safe; it really wasn’t relaxing!
2. We had a tiny, poor fridge and a kettle and, unsurprisingly, no other kitchenette appliances in the room. This just made many things such as preparing milk, sterilising bottles, rinsing messed clothing, etc. time-consuming and a challenge.
3. The evening entertainment – which we couldn’t really benefit from with two exhausted small people – was insanely, unbearably loud. Obviously this was particular to our hotel but the entertainment can be a selling point for many all-inclusive deals.
4. Meal times were hectic which we hadn’t anticipated – one of us had to do several rounds to gather appropriate foods for ourselves and the kids whilst the other kept them still and happy. Then the other person would go and get theirs. Then repeat for dessert! Three times a day!
5. Seeing everyone else in the hotel relaxing and not chasing tiny kids around only served to remind us that we weren’t!

I did say that I’d come back to the pool. It was definitely our highlight.

When we were at the hotel, we were rarely out of it. We’ve never done swimming lessons with Small, and only occasionally make it to our local pool, but in this relaxed environment she came on leaps and bounds – literally! She got so confident with jumping into the water and, with the aid of her armbands or sometimes a pool noodle, she could swim independently by the end of the week! Watching the two of them bobbing about in (stolen) rubber rings was joyful!

But aside from the pool, we were soon reminded that, even with the kids in tow, we crave experience and difference from our travels abroad – we want to see what the country and its people are all about! I guess maybe we should have known that all along.

So we made the decision to get out of the hotel every day.

Twice, we found a very narrow stretch of beach fairly near our hotel that hadn’t been commandeered by other resorts and spent a happy few hours there. We paid a few Euros for loungers and a parasol. The sea was lovely and warm and both Small and Tiny had a wonderful time splashing about! Small also really enjoyed collecting stones to paint – a new relaxing beach pastime which we’ll definitely be repeating!

We took an evening stroll around the town one evening.

We also booked a turtle watching tour with a company called Nefis Travel who seemed to have good eco-credentials – no turtle feeding or harassing as well as a short talk onboard about how they support turtle conservation. There was a hotel pick-up (followed by a lot of other hotel pick-ups!) and then we were dropped off at a harbour where we boarded our boat which had a little snack bar. I would guess there were about 30 tourists. 

The turtles seem to hang about in the harbour and so it was relatively soon that we came across one. We spent a few minutes watching her bob about until too many boats joined us and, thankfully, our captain headed off. The rest of the trip took us around the beautiful rock formations of the area, looking at turtle nesting islands and stopping for sea swimming. Small and Dean went in whilst Tiny and I stayed (hot!) on the boat! It seems I took a lot more video than photo there so you’ll have to visit @four_go_exploring on Instagram to see it!

But our favourite day away from the hotel was the day we made our own adventure. We hired a car and off we went to visit some of the island’s sights. The landscape was picturesque: green, hilly and peppered with olive groves, little roadside tavernas and coastal views. There were also, as in Crete, lots of roadsigns full of bullet holes! Apparently a popular Greek pastime!

Our first stop was Navagio – the famed shipwreck cove in the north-west. You can approach on a boat but we opted for a viewpoint from above. It was pretty busy and we had to queue for a few minutes to get to the viewing platform but the reward was a stunning turquoise sea and a glimpse of the beached wreck far below. Further round the clifftop, we could see barriers forbidding passage and, just beyond them, a huge number of selfie-taking visitors with death wishes!

Stop two was the 15^th century Anafonitria Monastery. Unfortunately, it was closed (the internet informs me we missed out on some impressive frescoes) but we had a lovely time exploring the grounds and, for Small, talking to the many monastery cats. The place is dedicated to the Virgin Mary but also connected to the island’s patron saint of forgiveness, Saint Dionisios, who lived there as an abbot in the 16^th century. Nowadays. The local priest and villagers care for it.

Just outside was a little café selling delicious fresh orange juice and with a very quirky garden to explore.

Our next, and very brief, stop was at the island’s oldest olive tree. There isn’t much to say about it really. It is over 2000 years old – one of the oldest olive trees in the world – and has now split into two. It was very big! There were a number of tour groups there so I was pleased I managed to get a photo. A website refers to it as ‘ugly and monstrous, yet fascinating’ and I would have to agree!

And our final destination, in the far south-east of the island, was Gerakas Beach where we arrived in the late afternoon. It’s a beautiful spot with crystal clear water, made all the more picturesque by the time of day. The sun loungers and parasols were very expensive and not at all discounted for the lateness of the hour so we put our things in a heap and opted to just enjoy a dip in the sea to cool off from the heat of a day in the car. It’s also a turtle nesting beach and thankfully that area is fenced off to protect them.

After our adventure, we returned to the hotel, sandy, tired and pleased to have seen so much of the island.

So, yes, I don’t think we’ll be heading to an all-inclusive hotel again in a hurry until the children are old enough to be a little more independent (or attend a kids’ club!) but learning what we want and need in a holiday was valuable experience. Let’s hope the next one suits us better!

Mauritius: the countdown is on!