How Long is Too Long for a Family Holiday? - by Dea Birkett

How long is too long for a family holiday? I know Takethefamily.com's slogan is 'For family holidays that last a lifetime', but that's probably a little long for any of us. We all used to aim for a fortnight break in the summer, and hoped it might be topped up by the odd weekend away during the rest of the chilly year. If we were very fortunate, we’d slip out of town for a whole week at half term. But that was the pattern of our breaks – two weeks, one week or a weekend. Nine or eleven days just wasn’t the shape a holiday took.

But now, tour companies claim we’re demanding our breaks in all sorts of odd sizes. Thomson and First Choice say they’ve been surprised by the demand for ten and 11 day holidays, so have increased them by almost a quarter. I don’t think there are many other companies that are as flexible, without becoming bespoke.

I’m really glad Thomson is doing this, as we’ve always battled with the obligatory fortnight. It’s not that we don’t enjoy going on holiday, it’s just that two weeks seems an awful long time and one week not enough. We like ten days. I calculate that’s a day either end to settle in - discover the best bit of the beach buffet and the cheapest local cafe to purchase lunch - then a full week to actually ‘be there’. Perhaps it’s just my fidgety kids, but if the settled down middle bit extends to longer than seven days, they start to get bored. Instead of being a short, sweet adventure, the holiday itself becomes routine.

Our other ideal break length is a weekend. It’s surprising how refreshing just a couple of days away from home can be. So ten or two nights is our favoured formula. Just a pity more companies can’t offer us that.