October half term family holiday ideas for 2024
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October half-term is the perfect time for a family holiday. Post-summer, pre-festive season, a week of winter sun or a European city escape is a sure way to keep all ages entertained. Whether it’s a family-friendly all-inclusive hotel that holds the most appeal, a private villa in Tuscany or an off-the-beaten-track adventure in Iceland, there’s something to suit. Here, we round up our favourite 2024 hotspots and the accommodation we love the most.
Getty ImagesTurkish Coast
Best for: Gentle coastal pursuits, ages 7–13
Turkey has sauntered into the spotlight this year, and for good reason. Locals love October on the coast; it’s quieter, and days start cool and hazy, but the skies and seas are still warm. There’s a laidback approach to life here. Imagine sailing, SUPing, swimming and enjoying catch-fresh seafood at simple blue-painted tables beneath the pink bougainvillaea. There’s history, too – rent a gulet and explore the ancient remains along the coast. Hard to find a better-value beach break anywhere in the Mediterranean.
Where to stay: The newest name to know in Bodrum is Maxx Royal, which opened in May 2024. Forget any kids’ club preconceptions and prepare to feel a pang of jealousy as tiny guests head into the gargantuan Maxxi Land, where age-appropriate ‘zones’ ensure everyone - from one year olds to teens - is catered for. Six Senses Kaplankaya has a beach club just for families, fabulous meze and grill restaurants. Kids clubs (for ages four to 12) lay on sporty activities as well as artful pursuits. See our pick of the best family hotels in Turkey for more.
Getty ImagesMauritius
Best for: Easy winter sun from toddlers to teens
Lava, pirates, sharks, crocodiles and bats: is there a more exciting list of things for kids to see on holiday than this? Mauritius has it all, along with tropical jungles, desert-island beaches, an interesting African-Asian-French fusion culture and a host of family-friendly resorts with warm, limpid Indian Ocean shallows for paddling, swimming, SUPing or diving. October is springtime, which means hot and sunny (rather than wet and humid) days and an island unfurling into bloom.
Where to stay: LUX* Belle Mare is made for families. There’s an adorable food station with a child-sized counter in the main restaurant, a menu of purees for babies and the kid’s club offers all the classics, plus immersive facilities and augmented reality experiences. We also love One&Only Le Saint Géran, which arguably has the best kids’ club on the island. If you're travelling with a baby, Heritage Le Telfair’s creche is included in the price. For more, see our edit of the best hotels in Mauritius.
Getty ImagesDubai
Best for: Endless entertainment for kids and teens
Guaranteed sun, glistening golden sand and equally shiny architecture - Dubai remains one of the most popular autumn holiday destinations, and there’s plenty for families to do here. From IMG World of Adventures to The Museum of the Future, stay-all-day water parks to chilled-out hotel beach clubs, filling a week is easy.
Where to stay: Atlantis the Royal is perhaps the most famous family-friendly hotel in Dubai and for good reason. A stay here includes complimentary access to the adjacent Aquaventure waterpark and aquarium, so there’s no need to plan an itinerary once you’ve checked in. At Bab Al Shams, giant chess, croquet, and cornhole on the lawn, an adventure playground with a kid-sized zipline, guided nature walks, camel and pony rides, falconry, and cultural sessions such as Arabic calligraphy and coffee-making are all par for the cause. For more options, see our edit of the best family friendly hotels in Dubai here.
Getty ImagesCape Town
Best for: Multi-generational groups
Those willing to brave a long flight won’t regret choosing Capetown as their half-term holiday destination. The perfect blend of city and sun with just an hour’s time difference on landing, you might lose a day in the air but you’ll be ready to explore (or relax) from the minute you land. Take a cable car up Table Mountain to see the city from up high, penguin spot at Boulders Beach and wander the Botanical Gardens.
Where to stay: Cape Grace is one of Capetown’s most family-friendly hotels, and there’s a focus on thoughtful touches like welcome packs for kids and spa treatments designed specifically for teens. If you’re travelling with a big group, Ellerman House is home to two beautiful large villas, one of which sleeps 10.
Getty ImagesIceland
Best for: Adventurers aged 8–14
Not all kids love beaches. Many prefer grittier, outdoorsy adventures – and for this Iceland has become Europe’s ultimate playground. Its epic and otherworldly landscapes – lava caves, smoking volcanoes, snowy slopes, steaming lagoons – will thrill children’s imaginations and give them some of the most memorable experiences of their lives.
Where to stay: At Hotel Rangá, a log-style cabin in the middle of Iceland’s south coast. Outside there are plenty of activities to keep the whole crew happy including snowmobiling or glacier tours. Inside, the rooms have a homely feel plus an outstanding observatory, complete with a local astronomer and northern lights photographer to guide you through the skies and how best to capture the dancing aurora borealis. See our pick of the best hotels in Iceland for more options.
Getty ImagesCrete
Best for: Everyone, from babies to teens
Down in the deep south of the Mediterranean, Greece’s largest island is a delightful 24ºC in October. Its white-sand-swirl beaches, backed with herb-scented scrub and olive trees, are quieter and sleepier, and so too its ancient golden-stone sites, the settings for so many Greek myths: King Minos and the Minotaur, Icarus and Daedalus, stomping ground of Zeus and Apollo, Hercules and Odysseus. History will never be boring again.
Where to stay: Minos Beach Art Hotel is one of the best hotels in Crete with its secret, secluded coves and seafront villas, perfectly designed for families who need that extra bit of space. Daios Cove is the five-star failsafe, where kids are treated to complimentary buckets and spades for the beach, and villas are split over two storeys, with sitting rooms leading out to the infinity pool and terrace, and the master suite and balcony below. Another option is Cretan Malia Park, with a private beach, river-like pool for little ones and a teens club so stylish you’d (almost) want to hang out there yourself.
Getty ImagesLisbon and the Silver Coast
Best for: Active families with older kids (buggies and those steep cobbled hills don’t mix)
Everyone loves Lisbon… even teenagers (it's highly Instagrammable). Its Bairro Alto labyrinth of excellent bars and restaurants and shops, its steep cobbled streets with trams photogenically zipping up and down, its bright beauty in old architecture and new design, street art and lively social scene. Pair a city break with Silver Coast surfing – the region’s mild Octobers average 22ºC, and half an hour north is the fishing town of Ericeira, the surf capital of Europe.
Where to stay: Locke de Santa Joana Lisbon is a city base with stylish appeal, and its larger suites feature kitchen and dining areas so self-catering is an option. Ericeira’s knockout Immerso is a five-star hotel aimed at surfers, and has interconnecting family rooms. In Lisbon, Corinthia Hotel has family rooms with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, plus little guests are treated to little bathrobes and slippers, as well as amenity kits. For a private stay, we love the look of this cheerful beach house located right on the dunes of Costa da Caparica. See our pick of the best Lisbon hotels for more.
Getty ImagesIbiza & Formentera
Best for: Teens will be in heaven, but younger ones love it too
Ibiza has had many guises over the decades: beatnik-bohemian isle, banging-techno isle, and now holistic-healing isle. But off-season, when prices and temperatures drop to something more palatable, Ibiza and neighbouring Formentera are a utopia for families. All those turquoise bays to choose from, so many excellent restaurants with tables under the stars, where children can play until long past their usual bedtimes and teenagers can slip away and do things they shouldn’t. If you want your kids to want to holiday with you forever, these Balearic Islands will do it.
Where to stay: A villa, if you're in a crowd – try Casa Serena a barefoot and boho house near the beach that sleeps 12. For an Ibiza hotel stay, Nobu Ibiza Bay has a standout kid's club as well as a chic pool-by-the-beach scene, and Petunia ranks as one of our best family-friendly hotels in Spain thanks to its pool-front suites, relaxed atmosphere and double-sized cabana beds overlooking Es Vedra.
Getty ImagesTransylvania
Best for: Active multigens and nature lovers aged 8+
‘The end of October is magnificent in Transylvania, with beautiful autumn colours and very few other travellers,' says Oli Broom, founder of the Slow Cyclist, who knows green-listed Romania well. ‘The fruit harvest is amazing – and means the puddings are especially delicious.’ Broom’s trips-on-two-wheels take sustainably-minded travellers through wildflower meadows and tumbledown hamlets, at a gentle pace that allows them to discover the region’s small pleasures. There’s also great walking, horse-riding, truffle-hunting, wildlife spotting and horse-and-cart rides.
Where to stay: At Bethlen Estates where exquisite guest rooms come with rural-chic interiors and artisan-made furnishings, while local insiders are on hand to tailor experiences for each family.
Getty ImagesNaples & Ischia
Best for: Curious travellers aged 13+
Italy’s gritty southern city might not be the obvious place to take children, edgy and visceral as it is. But there is much to intrigue teenagers: street art, mafia tales, the underground cave of skulls, the ash-preserved bodies at Pompeii, smoking Vesuvius. And the food! In Naples, where it is elevated to an art form, let them eat pizza. Then hop on the ferry to Ischia for beaches, healing thermal springs, and pastel-painted fishing villages with restaurant tables at the shore – and, in autumn, the marvellous feasts of harvest. This year, the island is extending its season, with restaurants and hotels staying open later.
Where to stay: Mezzatorre, if your children are the well-behaved sort, is Ischia’s most splendid hotel, set in a Saracen tower, its crenellated rooftop once a lookout for pirates. It has its own thermal spa and a beautiful pool set into the cliff, and cottages in the forest for families.