My husband and I want to take our first holiday with our baby daughter in June. Can you recommend toddler-friendly hotels or villas in Greece or Italy?
Sarah Mills, Richmond, Surrey
Sean Newsom replies: Make life easy for yourselves and aim for a villa that’s part of a resort. The luxurious examples at Domes of Elounda, in Crete, have fenced pools, private gardens and space for toys, books and spilt milk. The restaurant is waiting when you’re hungry, and the resort has a crèche and a sandy beach. A week in June in the smallest two-bedroom villa starts at £3,834, half-board, for two adults and a toddler, including flights and transfers (domesofeloundaholidays.com).
If you’re feeling restless, Mark Warner’s Lakitira Beach Resort, on the Greek island of Kos, has a sailing school, kayaks, tennis courts and a crèche, and teems with other parents ready to offer advice and spare pots of Sudocrem. A week in June starts at £1,748, half-board, for two adults and one child, including flights and transfers (markwarner.co.uk).
If local flavour and independence are your priorities, check out Trullo Mandorla, in Puglia, southern Italy. It’s a cool, rough-hewn refuge near the restaurants and markets of Cisternino, with a gated pool (shared with another trullo), a cot and a highchair. A week in June starts at £2,070, self-catering, for two adults and one child, including flights and car hire (long-travel.co.uk).
For our silver anniversary, my husband and I are visiting Australia. We would love to see Uluru, but it seems expensive. Must it cost a fortune?
Amanda Roderick, Bridgend
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Helen Ochyra replies: It doesn’t have to. The issue is that there are just two places to stay — or eat and drink — near the rock, and this lack of choice means prices are on the high side.
Rooms at the ultra-exclusive Longitude 131 (longitude131.com.au) will set you back at least £705pp a night, so that’s out. Which leaves the Ayers Rock Resort (ayersrockresort.com.au). Doubles in the hotel there can cost £200 a night, excluding breakfast and any tours — but there are cheaper options within the resort. Assuming you don’t want to camp or sleep in a shared dorm, how about a cabin at the campground? These have two bedrooms, air conditioning and a kitchen, so you can make your own meals, and prices start at £84 a night. The downside? You’ll have to use the shared bathroom facilities.
To save paying for tours, which start at £31pp, hire a car on arrival at Ayers Rock Connellan airport (from £33 a day; holidayautos.co.uk), then drive to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to see the parched red desertscapes, dramatic sunsets and brilliant night sky at your own pace.