A week with children

Seven nights

Seven nights built around the two things that actually decide a family week here: the heat, and how far you are from the room.

Suits:: Families with children roughly four to twelve, in a resort bay or a hotel with its own beach.
Not for:: Anyone hoping to dive properly. Minimum ages and depth limits make this a snorkelling week with a try-dive in it at best.
When it works:: Avoid July and August with young children unless you are confident about the heat. April, May, October and November are the comfortable months; the Christmas fortnight is warm on land and cool in the water.

Day by day

Day 1
Arrive, find the shade
Work out where the shade is, where the shallow end is, and what time the sun leaves the beach. That is the whole first day and it is enough.
Day 2
Masks on, in the shallows
Buy or borrow masks that fit — a leaking mask ends a child’s relationship with snorkelling in about four minutes. Stay inside the marked area and never let anyone stand on the reef.
- What actually goes wrong here
Day 3
A short boat day
Half a day rather than a full one. Orange Bay and the island trips are shallow, sandy and short enough that nobody melts down on the way back.
- Orange Bay
Day 4
Nothing, on purpose
Pool, ice cream, an early night. A family week that schedules six days out of seven is a family week that ends badly on day five.
Day 5
Something that is not the sea
A desert trip in the cooler months, or the aquarium and the marina in the hotter ones. Quad bikes have a minimum age and a genuine injury rate — read that page before booking one.
- Days out
Day 6
Back in the water
By now they can snorkel properly and want to. This is usually the best day of the week and it costs nothing.
Day 7
Pack slowly
One more swim, an early dinner. Charter flights home are often at unkind hours and the day goes faster than you think.

The catch

Sun and heat affect children faster than adults and neither is dramatic until it is. The most likely thing to spoil this week is not an accident — it is a burnt back on day two.

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The other plans

A first week on the Red SeaSeven nights, no certification needed, one inland day and two days with nothing planned. The plan for someone who has never been and does not yet know what they will like.Ten days, diving-ledLearn to dive in the first half, use it in the second, and keep the last day dry. Built around the eighteen-hour no-fly gap that most published plans ignore.Two weeks, north to southA fortnight that actually moves: a week in the north for the wrecks and the town, a week in the south for the reef and the quiet. One transfer in the middle.

A week with children

Seven nights

Seven nights built around the two things that actually decide a family week here: the heat, and how far you are from the room.

Suits:

Families with children roughly four to twelve, in a resort bay or a hotel with its own beach.

Not for:

Anyone hoping to dive properly. Minimum ages and depth limits make this a snorkelling week with a try-dive in it at best.

When it works:

Avoid July and August with young children unless you are confident about the heat. April, May, October and November are the comfortable months; the Christmas fortnight is warm on land and cool in the water.

Day by day

Day 1

Arrive, find the shade

Work out where the shade is, where the shallow end is, and what time the sun leaves the beach. That is the whole first day and it is enough.

Day 2

Masks on, in the shallows

Buy or borrow masks that fit — a leaking mask ends a child’s relationship with snorkelling in about four minutes. Stay inside the marked area and never let anyone stand on the reef.

What actually goes wrong here

Day 3

A short boat day

Half a day rather than a full one. Orange Bay and the island trips are shallow, sandy and short enough that nobody melts down on the way back.

Orange Bay

Day 4

Nothing, on purpose

Pool, ice cream, an early night. A family week that schedules six days out of seven is a family week that ends badly on day five.

Day 5

Something that is not the sea

A desert trip in the cooler months, or the aquarium and the marina in the hotter ones. Quad bikes have a minimum age and a genuine injury rate — read that page before booking one.

Days out

Day 6

Back in the water

By now they can snorkel properly and want to. This is usually the best day of the week and it costs nothing.

Day 7

Pack slowly

One more swim, an early dinner. Charter flights home are often at unkind hours and the day goes faster than you think.

The catch

Sun and heat affect children faster than adults and neither is dramatic until it is. The most likely thing to spoil this week is not an accident — it is a burnt back on day two.