The Ultimate Roundup of Family Travel Planning Links and Tips

A comprehensive list of ideas from the Telegraph for the October half term and other holidays - including sunshine breaks, city breaks and UK ideas, too

5* resorts Ikos, Sani, Martinhal

i-escape - well-researched and curated shortlist of places to stay across the world, across a range of budgets, with a Kids Collection

Kid & Coe - curated list of family-friendly cottages and villas across the world

Sawdays - vetted list of self-catering, small hotels, B&Bs in UK and Europe, with family-friendly collection and camping site Canopy & Stars. Both sites have good searching, filtering and mapping functionality.

Welcome Beyond - shortlist of stylish accommodation across a range of budgets

UK specific rentals:

• Niche Retreats (UK wide)
• Boutique Retreats (UK wide)
• Glynn Barton Cottages (Cornwall, toddler friendly)
• List of UK rentals from the Guardian

Airbnb Plus and VRBO are 2 backstops to dig into when the above don’t yield what you need

For orientation: Where to go when from the Guardian (including Easter skiing); best family ski resorts in Europe from Family Traveller; Europe’s Best little ski resorts in Europe, Guardian readers’ travel tips

SNO and Crystal Ski are two ski package holiday providers with great search/filter facilities, if you have specific criteria (e.g. distance to slopes, resort altitude)

Chalet Finder has a multitude of independent chalet options with good search facility; Telegraph has a curated list of chalets

Ski Peak (Vaujany) and AliKats (Morzine) are two chalet operators offering charming chalets and good value for money

yourway travel - for a €169-199 fee, this company will design a week-long trip for you based on your specifications, covering flights, hotels and activities (they receive no commissions; recommendations based on your requests and research)

Global Nomad Travel does the same, for $10/day of travel for the ‘No Frills’ itinerary planning (still very comprehensive)

Kimkim offers organised itineraries for longer, sightseeing/activity-oriented trips to a set number of popular destinations; service fee depends on trip (no flights included)

Mr and Mrs Smith GoldSmith Club - for £400/year, a dedicated travel concierge

LuckyTrip will search Skyscanner and Booking.com for flights and hotels at the same time (‘a trip in one tap’) based on a budget and dates you set. It’s more geared towards city breaks and child-free travelers but it’s a good source of ideas that saves you trawling the sites you’re likely to visit anyway.

Have you ever thought about home swapping as a way to travel more cost-effectively? Intrigued? Here’s a good overview of the concept from the Telegraph. 

Mumsnet has a packing list along with other practical planning tips

Packtor will generate a packing list for you based on who’s going, where, for how long and what type of accommodation

Sign up for Lifemin for reminders in your calendar for the best time to book the cheapest flights for school holidays according to Which? and Skyscanner.

For bargain hunters, check out Money Saving Expert’s tips for beating school holiday price hikes.