Family holiday ideas
☀️Winter sun family holidays
Where to find warm sea, short transfers and a real kids club when it is grey at home. Every hotel scored for families.
From late October the Canary Islands and the southern Costa keep the sun going while northern Europe shuts down. These are the family hotels that make a winter escape work with kids: warm shallow pools, indoor options for a cool evening, and clubs that run out of season. Booked early, they are the best-value sun of the year.
Our picks

in Lanzarote
Princesa Yaiza Suite Hotel Resort
Elegant suites and family suites in a low rise resort at the quiet end of Playa Blanca, most with a terrace or balcony. Family suites give you a separate lounge and a second bathroom, so bedtime and early mornings stay calm.

in Sharm El Sheikh
Rixos Premium Seagate
Large, contemporary rooms and family rooms, most with a balcony and pool or garden views. Family rooms sleep four to five and connecting-room options make it easy to give teens their own space next door.
in Costa del Sol
Kempinski Hotel Bahía
Spacious, genuinely luxurious rooms and family suites with fine linens and marble bathrooms. Baby equipment and bottle sterilisation come on request, so travelling with little ones is properly catered for.
in Fuerteventura
Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real
Spacious rooms and family suites in a Moorish-style palace, most with sea or dune views. Family suites have two separate bedrooms and two bathrooms, so parents and older kids are not sharing one space.

in Dubai
Atlantis The Palm
Big, solid rooms across two wings, nearly all with sea or Palm views, plus larger suites that give children their own corner. Connecting rooms are easy to request and cots are standard, so a family of four or five fits without anyone sleeping on a folding bed.

in Guadeloupe
Club Med La Caravelle
Rooms and family rooms set in low-rise buildings across tropical gardens, most a short walk from the beach. Family rooms and connecting rooms give parents and children a bit of separate space, and cots are free for babies.

in Gran Canaria
Lopesan Baobab Resort
Rooms are dressed up as an African lodge, and the family rooms add a sofa bed so four sleep without anyone on the floor. Ask for a pool-view room on a lower floor if you have a toddler and a buggy, it saves the lift queue.

in Sal
Hilton Cabo Verde Sal Resort
The newest big-name resort on the island, with bright contemporary rooms and family rooms, most with a balcony and many facing the sea. Family rooms and suites give you room to spread out, and connecting rooms are worth requesting for four or more.

in Dubai
Jumeirah Beach Hotel
Rooms are large by city standards and almost all face the sea, with family formats and two-bedroom options that give children their own space. Interconnecting rooms are common and the layouts leave room for a cot without blocking the door.

in Agadir
Sofitel Agadir Royal Bay Resort
Elegant five-star rooms and suites in lush gardens, with generous family rooms and connecting suites and, in most, a balcony or terrace over the gardens or sea. This is the polished, grown-up-comfortable end of family Agadir, without giving up a kids club.

in Djerba
Radisson Blu Palace Resort & Thalasso Djerba
Large, recently renovated rooms and family rooms set in low palace-style blocks among gardens, most with a balcony or terrace facing the pools, gardens or sea. Family rooms and connecting rooms sleep four comfortably, so you are not squeezing everyone into one space.

in Tenerife
GF Victoria
Every room is a suite, most with a separate lounge and a sofa bed, so a family of four never has to share one open space. Junior suites suit couples with a baby, and the larger suites give teens their own corner.
Winter sun family holidays
| Hotel | Score | Kids club | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princesa Yaiza Suite Hotel Resort | 92 | ✅ Free kids club | 380€ |
| Rixos Premium Seagate | 91 | ✅ Free kids club | 185€ |
| Kempinski Hotel Bahía | 90 | ✅ Free kids club | 340€ |
| Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real | 90 | ✅ Free kids club | 320€ |
| Atlantis The Palm | 90 | ✅ Free kids club | 420€ |
| Club Med La Caravelle | 90 | ✅ Free kids club | 240€ |
| Lopesan Baobab Resort | 89 | ✅ Free kids club | 260€ |
| Hilton Cabo Verde Sal Resort | 89 | ✅ Free kids club | 290€ |
| Jumeirah Beach Hotel | 89 | ✅ Free kids club | 340€ |
| Sofitel Agadir Royal Bay Resort | 89 | ✅ Free kids club | 250€ |
| Radisson Blu Palace Resort & Thalasso Djerba | 89 | ✅ Free kids club | 150€ |
| GF Victoria | 88 | ✅ Free kids club | 320€ |
Parents also ask
Where is warmest in Europe in winter?
Tenerife and the Canary Islands stay mild all winter (20 to 24C by day), warmer than the Spanish mainland. The Costa del Sol is a step cooler but still sunny.
Is the sea warm enough to swim?
In the Canaries the sea is swimmable most of the winter for hardy kids, but a heated hotel pool is the safer bet. We flag heated pools on each hotel.
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