Where to go with kids by age: the right destination from baby to teen

With a one year old, the place matters less than the logistics. You want a short journey, somewhere to cook, a bedroom that gets dark and things to do within a stroller walk. A baby will not remember the trip, so choose for the adults and make it easy.

Beach resorts and flat, green cities both work. Itineraries with several stops do not.

• Greek islands such as Naxos, Crete or Corfu. Easy: sandy beaches with shallow water, relaxed tavernas, family-run apartments with kitchens. Hard: strong summer heat and ferry connections.
• Santorini and other cliff villages. Hard: steps everywhere, so a stroller is useless. Better saved for later.
• Caribbean all-inclusives. Easy: warm calm water, shade, cots and baby food on site. Hard: a long flight from Europe, strong sun, and hurricane season from June to November.
• Algarve or Mallorca. Easy: short flight from most of Europe, villas with pools, mild spring and autumn. Hard: an unfenced pool once they can crawl.
• Copenhagen or Amsterdam. Easy: flat, full of parks, used to prams. Hard: cool, wet weather, and in Amsterdam, canals and bikes once they walk.

Preschoolers want to dig, splash, climb and see animals. They do not want to stand in front of a monument. Beach holidays are at their best at this age, and so are farm stays and small cities where the tram ride is the entertainment.

Keep flights to about six hours if you can and avoid big time shifts. A jet-lagged four year old is hard work at 4am.

• Beach resorts with a shallow pool and a kids' club that takes their age. Easy for parents, though the minimum age for clubs varies, so check.
• Lisbon or Porto. Easy: trams, funiculars, an oceanarium in Lisbon. Hard: steep hills and cobbles with a stroller.
• Copenhagen. Easy: Tivoli Gardens in the centre, playgrounds everywhere. Hard: expensive.
• Farm stays and lake regions such as the Austrian or Italian lakes. Easy: space, animals, boats. Hard: you need a car.
• Legoland parks, built for younger children. Easy: many rides suit this age. Hard: school holiday queues.
• Big sightseeing capitals such as Rome or Paris. Possible, but you will see a third of what you planned.

From about six, the famous cities start to pay off. Children this age can walk for a morning, follow a story and remember the trip years later. They are also tall enough for most theme park rides and old enough to snorkel, ski and cycle.

This is the window for the trips that need stamina. Use it.

• London. Easy: the big national museums are free and built for children, good transport. Hard: cost of everything else and long distances between sights.
• Rome. Easy: gladiators, ruins and pizza do the selling for you. Hard: summer heat, queues and very little shade at the ancient sites.
• Paris. Easy: the tower, river boats, big parks with playgrounds. Hard: long museum queues without timed tickets.
• Orlando. Easy: the right age for almost everything. Hard: cost, heat, and days that are too long if you do not plan breaks.
• US national parks or Iceland by road. Easy: short trails, geysers, waterfalls, wildlife. Hard: long drives between stops.
• Japan or Costa Rica as a first long-haul. Easy: safe, varied, lots to do. Hard: jet lag and budget.

Teenagers judge a destination by what they can do there and whether it is worth showing to friends. Cities with food, shopping and street life work. So do coasts and mountains with proper activities.

Quiet resorts aimed at small children are the wrong call now. So is anything where the plan is to relax with nothing else on offer.

• New York, Tokyo, London, Berlin. Easy: food, shops, street culture, good public transport for some independence. Hard: price, and long days on foot.
• Surf coasts such as Portugal's west coast or the Canary Islands. Easy: lessons for beginners, relaxed towns. Hard: cold Atlantic water and waves that need supervision.
• The Alps or Dolomites in summer. Easy: via ferrata, mountain bikes, lifts up and walks down. Hard: weather can cancel a day.
• Road trips with real scenery: the American Southwest, Scotland, Norway. Easy: music, views, changing stops. Hard: hours in a car together.
• Adventure destinations such as Costa Rica or Iceland. Easy: zip lines, rafting, glaciers. Hard: activities are priced per person and add up fast.

Flight tolerance and jet lag tolerance are different things. A baby is often fine on a long flight and terrible with a six-hour time shift. A nine year old handles both. Choose the distance with the first three nights at the destination in mind as much as the hours in the air.

North-south routes with little time change are underrated for small children.

• 0-12 months: flights of any length are manageable, especially with a bassinet on long-haul. Time shifts disrupt sleep for days.
• 1-2 years: the hardest age to fly. They want to walk and cannot be reasoned with. Keep it short if you can.
• 3-5 years: up to about six hours is comfortable with a screen and snacks. Small time shifts only.
• 6-10 years: long-haul works. Allow two or three slow days on arrival.
• 11+: fly anywhere. They adjust about as well as you do.
• Any age: a trip under a week is rarely worth a time shift of more than a few hours.

Theme parks are sold as being for all ages. In practice each ride has a minimum height, and a child who is two centimetres short will watch a sibling ride and cry about it. Measure your child in shoes and check the ride list on the park's official site before you buy tickets.

Choose the park by the youngest child's height. Do not go by the oldest child's wish list.

• Under 3: most parks admit them free or cheaply, with a few gentle rides. You are paying for the adults.
• 3-5: parks aimed at young children, and the gentle rides and shows at the big resort parks
• 6-10: the best age for the major parks. Tall enough for most rides and still excited by the characters.
• 11+: parks with big coasters. Character-led parks may feel too young.
• Mixed ages: ask about rider swap, which many parks offer so adults take turns without queuing twice

With a toddler and a ten year old, plan for the youngest child's limits and the oldest child's interest. That usually means one base with variety close by: a city with a beach, a resort near a town worth seeing, a lake with both a shallow shore and a climbing park.

Split up for part of each day. One adult takes the big one to the thing with the height limit, the other stays near the nap.

• City plus beach: Barcelona, Lisbon with the coast nearby, Valencia
• Resort with kids' and teens' clubs split by age
• A house with a pool and day trips within an hour
• Cruises with age-banded clubs, if your family likes the format
• Avoid one-note trips: all museums, all hiking or all beach

Common questions

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