I am an obsessive planner. It’s what fuels me, keeps me going… no joke it’s what I live for.
Crazy I know, but it just happens to be the way I am.
Some people find their happiness relaxing in front of the tv, shopping for new things… me? planning my next fun trip, whether it’s down the road, in the UK somewhere or abroad.
On that note I have been very blessed so far this year. I’ve explored the beautiful country of Myanmar, spent a weekend in London, week skiing with my best friends in France, day out with the hubby in Liverpool… and next week I’m off to Dusseldorf (FYI If you have any tips please fire them over). I’m feeling like a very lucky girl right now, but of course that also means I’ve raised the bar and it’s not even April!
So when my lovely sister called me up to say she wanted to go away on a mini break for her birthday I didn’t even hesitate, I just said yes. I didn’t even consult Mo, I just couldn’t resist the allure of a family break centred around relaxation.
YES. This is exactly what I need.
I’ve often mentioned that I’m exhausted, I’ve fallen behind on things, I’ve had lazy days… but that’s all because working full time, running a blog and other writing services, keeping up with friends and family, it’s bloody hard work! Don’t get me wrong I love every second of it, but I go to bed every day, physically unable to keep my eyes open, wishing I had just a few more hours of awake time.
My sister and G visited Portugal last year and they fell a little bit in love with it. Their memories are that of good food, reasonably priced, beautiful natural sites and everyone they encountered was friendly and approachable. So as it’s her birthday trip, the destination was her choice and it didn’t take long before she decided on a sandy beach location back in Southern Europe.
Perks of choosing a family holiday in Portugal? Here’s what ticked our boxes:
It’s not too far to fly
On a personal level, this is quite an important factor for our family vacation. You wouldn’t know it by looking at her but my mum suffers with arthiritis. Now she’s a real trooper so she never lets her arthiritis stop her from doing anything BUT as her children, we’d much rather pick a location which we know will cause her minimal discomfort. The shorter flight the better.
Beautiful, clean beaches
My sisters one criteria is to have access to a beach. All of us are happiest by the water, but my sister and brother from another mother are especially fond of it. Being in the sea is their idea of a perfect holiday – I love it too, but just to watch or float over in a boat (I’m not fond of deep water, I mean who knows whats down there?!!?)
Its not too expensive
After a week of staying in a ski resort, wow group holidays can end up quite expensive! Worth every penny of course, but when you’re confined to certain areas it does limit your options and spending can get out of control.
We can relax 🙂
I’m always so quick to say how busy I am, I always forget about everyone else (selfish I know). All my family work full time, and they too work their bloody socks off. So Choosing a location that we can all indulge in some vitamin D and down time, well it’ll benefit us all massively.
There are six of us going and from the off set my sister and I both agreed a villa was the perfect arrangement for us. It means we can all be together, we can do things at our own pace and in our own time.
James Villa holidays have a fabulous resort on the Algarve which pretty much fits all our criteria. I’ve always admired James Villas from afar, their images of beautiful villas, perfect coloured serene looking pools, bright blue skies and sunshine… but as I’ve been a fan of doing things DIY always assumed I can do a better job. I recently wrote about the pro and con of budget travel and recently I’ve been really enjoying the benefits of having a reputable company help with organising my trips.
And then one day as if by magic a tweet popped up, with an offer on a villa. In Portugal. With a private pool. And it was SO reasonable?!?!
Logging onto the website I realised, ALL of it was quite reasonable?!?! Whatever had I been thinking. Since then my sister and I have been scoping out options.
I fell in love the Eden resort, Algarve. It’s actually part of their signature collection, which is probably why it looks so amazing.
I love that you have access to all the resorts facilities, but you can still have the privacy of your own villa and your own space. Oh and for the beach bunnies of the group – it’s a mere twenty minutes away.
My villa of choice was the Villa Roma, it’s got everything I think is important in a family villa and ticks all our boxes! My essential criteria:
- Air Con
- Outdoor patio area for potential barbecues
- Bath and shower facilities
- Shaded terrace
- Private pool
But of course… it’s not just me on this trip so we’ve got lots of exciting planning ahead when we all sit down and bring our options to the table, ready for discussion and judging. I’ll let you know one, if I survive and two, what we decide once it’s all sorted.
The sooner we get it picked the better!! It’s another exciting addition to tripcase and another exciting adventure to look forward to!!
Have you ever stayed in a James Villas property? Any recommendations? Or perhaps have you any tips on Portugal??
*** This post is sponsored by James Villas, but I must point out that my sister and I were both considering James Villas holidays options, and still are, before I was approached by them. All opinions are as always my own and are not influenced whatsoever by a third party. The images are thanks to James Villas holidays, I can’t wait to have my own picture of Portugal!! ***
