Top Five Reasons to Visit Santa Ponsa Mallorca

Two years ago my family and I had the pleasure of holidaying in a little place called Santa Ponsa in the country of Mallorca. We enjoyed that vacation so much that we inevitably decided to head back there this year.

But why go back to the same place twice you ask?

Well that's what I am here to tell you. This small town in the South West of Majorca is extremely popular area with tourists and I'm sure you'll be able see why with plenty of shops and bars, even the obligatory mini golf and it's also still within reach of places like Palma on public transport of via taxi but these aren't the top reasons why you should consider taking your next break in this beautiful place.

With that in mind, here are

My Top Five Reasons Why I Think You Should Book a Family Holiday in Santa Ponsa, Mallorca:

1. Beautiful beaches - Maybe an obvious first choice because yes you get beaches wherever you choose to go on holiday but many of them require you to either walk some distance or even jump on a bus to reach your destination. At Santa Ponsa the beach is literally on your doorstep and it seems to go on for miles. With all the usual ammenities available when there like sun-beds, pedalos and showers for cleaning off. It's perfect for families and couples. Whether you are one to lay in the sun, jump in the sea for a swim or play in the sand, you'll definitely find yourself comfortable here. We often chose to walk round late afternoon/early evening time, slightly quieter and a little cooler too. 

Enjoying All That Santa Ponsa in Majorca Has To Offer

The last time we got to go away on holiday as a family was way back in 2013 when we went to our favourite destination that is Ibiza. That honestly feels like a life time ago and of course back then we had a lot of extra luggage that we needed to take which included things like nappies and a pushchair. Fast forward to August 2016 and we were on our way to Santa Ponsa in Majorca, having never been there before we were a bit apprehensive as to what this place would have to offer but we needn't of worried.

Great Yarmouth History & Heritage

Great Yarmouth is bursting at the seams with history. You can enjoy its maritime heritage and architecture from Row Houses to the herring industry Smoke Houses, churches and boats.

With six Great Yarmouth museums to explore, including the award winning Time and Tide museum and the remains of two Roman forts, come and trace the fascinating Great Yarmouth heritage and history along the Medieval town wall to Fisherman's Alms Houses via the old gaol. Admiral Lord Nelson was a frequent visitor to the busy port, where wealthy merchants built their houses.

The Saga of The Lost Luggage From Norwegian

Last month my husband and I were fortunate enough to go on a little holiday by ourselves to Ibiza. My amazing mum had kindly volunteered to look after all 4 kids for us.

Of recent months, stress levels have been high, with Justin needing to find a new job as his current one is coming to an end and last month our landlord deciding to sell our house,  this holiday was really about us having time to relax and unwind and forget about day to day life for a little while.

Now we're not new to Ibiza, this was my 4th time going and my husbands 6th time going however this was the first time that we didn't book it as a package holiday.

As we opted to stay at the Ibiza Rocks hotel, flights had to be booked separately. Not knowing what any of the airlines were like, the decision was made to book the flight purely on best time, date and

price.

Norwegian airlines fit the bill and after a little research, it seemed that they had a good reputation. So with flights booked, all that we needed to think about was getting some spending money and of course the dreaded packing of the luggage!!

Filofax Blogger Challenge

Recently I was asked to take part in the latest Filofax blogger challenge. The challenge was actually more for my eldest daughter than myself. She had to keep a diary during the October half term using the Springboard for Children charity organiser that was being sent to her. This challenge suited ELise to a T because she loves writing in her own diary.

When we received the organiser we also received some lovely chunky pencils for Elise to use. The half term diary that was inserted in the Filofax Springboard organiser had a page for writing and a page for drawing a picture for each day of the half term break. Elise was free to make it as bright and colourful as she wanted.

Here are Elise's diary entries about what she got up to during her half term break, a couple are slightly harder to read because of the colour of pencil that she used.

Eight other bloggers and their children also took part in this challenge, you can see their diary entries here, all of them are really great to read.

Filofax have now put one diary entry from each child up on their Facebook page, whoevers entry receives the most likes by the 2nd December will win a collection of Springboard organisers to give away on their blog, so why not go and take a look and like your favourite.

xxxx

Disclaimer : I was sent the Springboard organiser free of charge for the purposes of this challenge.

Jungle Formula Mosquito Repellent Review

You may remember a couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about Chemist Direct and just how many products you can find on there at really great prices.

I was sent two products from their site, not only to experience just how their delivery service works but so I could test out the products sent and review them too.

I gave them a rough idea of what products we use in our household and it just so happened that we were off on holiday so one of the products I was sent was Jungle Formula Mosquito repellent.

Now I have always been quite lucky when on holidays abroad, I rarely get bitten but I wanted to make sure that the children were fully protected.

My mum came on holiday with us too and the first night we were their, she got bitten a lot, they obviously found her quite tasty. I quickly remembered that I had the repellent with me, which she applied every day after and mum and I are pleased to say that she didn't get bitten again throughout the rest of our holiday and the rest of us also remained bite free. The only one I couldn't apply it to was Layla as it is only suitable from 3 years and upwards.

The jungle formula is easily applied as it is in a roller ball form, meaning no need to get it all over your hands and it also makes it easier to reach all thoughs little areas like wrists and ankles. 

It can give you protection for up to 10 hours so you only really need to apply it a couple of times a day maximum and not only does it protect you from mosquito bites, it also protects from general midges and insect bites too. The 50 ml tube lasts really well, we used it on 6 people and I still have some left now.

The size of the bottle also meant that it was easily placed in the changing bag along with all the other essentials we needed to take out with us during the day.

What is great with this product is that it is available in different strengths just like a sun cream : natural, medium, maximum or sensitive skin, so one to suit whatever skin type and wherever in the world you are travelling.

I will definitely be recommending this repellent to friends and family, I think my mum will be too.

xxxx

Disclaimer : I was sent this product free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fun in the Sun

The day the kids broke up from school, we were off on our jolly holiday to Ibiza. This was actually our third time going as a family and Daddy Hazelden's fifth time, can you tell we love the place!!??

What I love most about Ibiza is that it caters for both families and younger people and people who want to have time out without their kids. We managed to spend our days entertaining the kids and when the evening came around my lovely mummy was on hand to babysit the kids once they were in bed so Daddy Hazelden and I got some much needed couple time. I think as our relationship has continued I have found having time to ourselves more and more important!!

It is surprising how much there is to do out there and unlike in our country, everything is more than affordable. We did a different thing with the children every day of the holiday, we got to enjoy the gorgeous weather whilst keeping active too.

Our first day there, the kids spent there time on the go karts, it was 1 euro a go but as you can see from the photo, we all paired up sitting on them and they went round the track a good few times before their turn ran out.

I had a turn with Freya driving, I was scared for my life, she is definitely a girl racer, turning on corners at the last sec, banging into the tyres.

Her older sister sped round the track, not taking her foot off of the accelerator.

The good thing was, there was a bouncy castle, trampolines and a soft play area too and these were free, so both Gracie and Layla were kept entertained whilst their sister's zoomed round on their bikes.

We had so much fun here that we spent our last evening here too!

The second day Daddy Hazelden took the eldest two down to the beach with a couple of nets to try and catch some fish whilst Layla and Gracie were having an afternoon siesta.

This meant them spending time by the sea, climbing over a rocks, a real mini adventure.

Not surprisingly they didn't manage to catch anything, although you can see from the picture on the right the Elise did catch a Nannie in her net.

It was really nice for them to get a bit of time alone with Daddy Hazelden as this is a rarity when we are at home.

I think this may be something that they can do at home as Daddy Hazelden used to go fishing a lot so it would be nice for the girls to join in with something that he enjoys, rather than him having to play princesses!!

Day three was a park day. Even when away from home, the kids love going to the park, a free and simple way of keeping the kids happy.

There are a lot of parks to choose from in Ibiza, literally everywhere you walk there is a different kind of park and they all cater for younger and older children.

The problem is trying to find one in the shade.

With the average temperatures around the 30 degree mark, if the park isn't shaded, then the park apparatus is left extremely hot, making it impossible to sit on without burning your bottom.

Trust me, I attempted sitting on the slide, one word, ouchie!!

Day four came. Who could have a holiday without playing a little bit of mini golf!!!

Less than 20 euros for the whole family to play and there was 18 holes to get round.

We decided to go in pairs, Daddy Hazelden and Elise, me and Freya and Nannie and Gracie together.

Layla sat in her stroller watching and we took it in turns to push her around the course.

Now Nannie and Gracie won but there was a little bit of cheating here because Gracie didn't really play a lot!!

It was funny watching the girls trying to hold their clubs properly and get them hitting the balls in the right direction, lets just say it took a while to get to the end of the course!!

Day five we spent the day at the beach which was literally outside of our hotel.

We spent a tiny 13 euros and rented out a pedlo for an hour.

Daddy Hazelden ended up doing most of the pedalling but the kids took it in turns going in it with him.

At one point there was Daddy Hazelden and I pedalling whilst I had Gracie sat on my lap, a tad difficult.

It was nice being out in the sea, watching the ferries go by, seeing other people in their pedlos and watching people float past on their lilos, really lovely views.

Pity the kids legs weren't longer so that they could pedal whilst Daddy and I laid back and soaked up the sun, maybe one day.

One thing we tried to do every day, was spent at least an hour in the swimming pools.

There were three pools, a bigger one more for adults, older children, a smaller shallower one and one with lots of slides and showers etc.

We actually spent the time trying to teach the kids how to swim and by the end of the holiday Elise was swimming along with a float, Freya was almost swimming without a float and was quite happy putting herself under the water and even little Gracie was telling everyone how she was managing to kick her legs.

The one complaint I had, was that the pools weren't very warm, it was a shock to the stystem the first time I stepped foot in them!!!

Layla was able to go swimming thanks to the lovely people at Bambino Mio sending me one of their swim nappies to review. These adorable nappies come in fours sizes and eight different prints. I picked the pink daisy print, so cute.

However, I was umming and arring which size to get because Layla was at the top end of one and not quite in to the size that was bigger. I opted for the medium size and I was pleased that I did. What a fab fit, no gaping around the legs and a lovely snug fit around the waist. Both the leg cuffs and waist are elasiticated so made it easy for Layla to freely move around. It is so soft and Layla definitely tested it to the max.

She wasn't overly keen on going into the swimming pool and it took a while to persuade her to sit down in the water but she did enjoy people watching whilst cuddling with me. She gave me a clear sign when she wanted to get out though, little monkey decided a number two was in order, but I am happy to report that it was all kept contained in the nappy and unlike disposable swim nappies, it stayed the same size no bulging and hanging down between the legs. And because it is reusable, we only needed the one nappy all holiday, more space for souvenirs in the suitcase!!!

On the last day we took the kids bowling. Again amazingly priced compared to over here, 24 euros for 2 games for 6 people!!

The nice thing was that there was a ramp for the kids to use to help them with the bowling, I really could have done with this myself as I am truly rubbish at bowling.

Just to prove how rubbish, I came last overall and my 5 year old came first!!

The best thing in Ibiza is that you don't have to wear those horrible sweaty bowling shoes!!

It was a great end to an amazing holiday.

It was a real shame it had to end, even the kids are asking when can we go back again and it really didn't help that we came back to rain in the UK the day we came home!!

So where has everyone else been on their holidays?? What places do you recommend??

xxxx

Disclaimer : I was sent the swim nappy free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.