Top Picks for Your Family Diving Holiday

Looking for ideas for a child-friendly diving holiday? Read on for Regaldive team member Helena's top picks for a family getaway in the sun!

Are you travelling with young children? Here are Helena's top picks for a child-friendly holiday in the sun:

I’ve worked in travel for 21 years which should qualify me for booking my own holiday… Shouldn’t it?! However, throw a couple of school age children in the mix and it’s a whole new ball game.

After a couple of disastrous attempts which ended in three wet days in August in not so “Great” Yarmouth (should have been four but we bailed early), I’ve learnt my lesson.

I no longer fall into the trap of believing it's possible to find a last minute ‘deal’ in the summer holidays. In my experience, it isn’t. The flights and hotels are either full or so expensive that it simply isn’t affordable.  

So now I book early. Very early!

With children aged four and seven, we want a family friendly holiday that is good value for money, has a swimming pool and a Kids’ Club. I also prefer all of us one room, due to the ages of the children, which is something that not many hotels cater for.

The Dolmen Hotel in Malta ticks these boxes for our family. It is also near Maltaqua Dive Centre who will pick up from the hotel each day, free of charge, so that’s everyone happy!

Flights to Malta are daily from Heathrow and Gatwick and offered from loads of other regional airports and with a flight time of just 3 hours and short transfers on arrival, it’s much easier to keep the children entertained!  Perfect for a summer holiday.

My other favourite option if you can’t wait until the summer is the Red Sea. 

Providing guaranteed sunshine almost all year round in Egypt, both the Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel and the Continental Hotel in Hurghada tick all of the boxes for a great family holiday. Hurghada is an excellent destination for some winter sun (February half term or the Easter Holidays) with Divers’ Lodge on-site at Continental and just next door to the Steigenberger Al Dau, kids’ clubs, swimming pools and rooms that accommodate the whole family. Combine that with transfer times of around 10 minutes and weekend flights, so no need for days off school, and all of our ideals on the family wish list have been ticked.

I’m just counting down the days now…