Top 5 family-friendly travel destinations

If anyone deserves a summer after the rollercoaster that has been the last two years, it’s your children. For the average child, the coronavirus pandemic served as a massive disruption to their lives – physically, mentally, and emotionally. If you were in two minds about whether to book a holiday this year, take this article as your sign to do it. Not only do they deserve it, but so do you.

If you’re unsure where to start looking and booking, you might like to know that we’ve done all the heavy lifting for you. By exploring 187 cities on TripAdvisor, we’ve uncovered the most child-friendly holiday destinations by the number of appropriate restaurants, hotels, and activities. Start packing your travel bag, ladies and gents, because you’re off on a family holiday!

#1 Rome

Family hotels: 2,232

Kid-friendly restaurants: 5,461

Children’s activities: 736

A city famed for its ancient history, Rome has snatched the top spot as the most family-friendly holiday destination. Not only are there over 5,000 restaurants and 700 activities to choose from, but the city also scored the most for family-friendly hotels. You’re spoilt for choice! With kids in tow, we recommend looking for spacious rooms and quality amenities such as a television, free Wi-Fi, and on-site activities for children.

If you really want to push the boat out and make this a vacation your entire family will never forget, find a luxury hotel that goes as far as having a dedicated club just for children. As one example, Rome Cavalieri has a Kids Club that's reserved for children aged 4 to 11 and offers fun games, splashing around in the pool, and more.

Spending time together as a family has never been more important, but if there’s an opportunity for the adults to spend some alone time together… well, it is your holiday too, after all. Once everyone has built up an appetite, choose from one of the 5,461 restaurants to enjoy delicious pizza and traditional pasta.

#2 London

Family hotels – 529

Kid-friendly restaurants – 6,202

Children’s activities – 687

Coming in at second place is the capital of England with so much to see, loads of hotels to choose from, and, most significantly, plenty of places to eat. We have identified 6,202 exciting, kid-friendly restaurants across London, including Jungle Cave (formerly known as Rainforest Café) and Heddon Street Kitchen, both of which can be found in Piccadilly Circus.

Jungle Cave offers children an enchanting experience by mirroring an exotic climate with special auditory and visual effects. Equally as charming, Heddon Street Kitchen offers a ‘build your own ice cream’ bar where kids can let loose and create whatever cold concoction they feel like. That’s the dream, right?

London has a reputation for being quite pricey, but there are plenty of deals and offers to take advantage of if you look in the right places. Get involved in one of the 687 available kids’ activities by starting your search on Groupon or Days Out Guide.

#3 Paris

Family hotels – 692

Kid-friendly restaurants – 6,737

Children’s activities – 499

Give your children the opportunity to fall in love with the city of love! Based on our research, Paris came in third as the most family-friendly holiday destination, and the data demonstrates exactly why. There are thousands of restaurants offering delicious, kid-friendly food such as chicken baguettes and chunky chips, and there’s a fantastic range of hotels available.

Out of the top five family-friendly cities we discovered, Paris came second-to-last in terms of how many children’s activities are on offer, however, it does have one special attraction that surely makes up for the lack of others… Disneyland Paris!

This magical park first opened its doors to visitors in 1992 and since then has been responsible for enchanting over 320 million people from around the world. It’s the most visited theme park in Europe. If your child insists that visiting Disneyland is one of their biggest dreams (and they wouldn’t be alone in this), you need to book a trip to Paris this summer.

#4 Bangkok

Family hotels – 879

Kid-friendly restaurants – 2,251

Children’s activities – 274

One of the most popular Asian cities, Bangkok is known mainly for its adult-themed entertainment, such as red-light districts and bustling nightlife. What many will be surprised to find, however, is that it also makes a fantastic holiday destination for families, our data suggests.

International tourists spent a whopping 4.5 billion Thai baht in April 2022, which demonstrates further that this is a fantastic destination with so much to see and do (and spend your hard-earned money on).

Choose one of 879 appropriate hotels to host your family for the duration of your stay, and with 2,251 kid-friendly restaurants to pick from, you’ll surely find something to suit everyone’s tastes. Traditional Bangkok cuisine includes pad thai and spicy soup, which could be a bit too niche for your children, so you might like to know you won’t have to look too far to find western-style fast food.

#5 New Delhi

Family hotels – 475

Kid-friendly restaurants – 1,105

Children’s activities – 519

In fifth place is India’s stunning capital, New Delhi. If you want to spend valuable quality time with your children while simultaneously giving them an insight into rich culture and history, this is the place to book for your summer 2022 holiday.

First, choose between one of 475 family-friendly hotels, and then make sure you have plenty of restaurants and activities planned to keep you busy and fuelled each day. We recommend booking a spot at the highly popular Snow World, a kids’ attraction that has carried out in-depth research to master the art of replicating real snowfall! As temperatures in New Delhi often exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104° Fahrenheit) once April hits, you’ll probably appreciate the chill.

So, which one are you visiting first?

We hope we’ve given you enough data to make the best-informed decision when it comes to your next family holiday. What are you waiting for? Get the suitcase down from the loft, grab your passports from the kitchen drawer, and make those all-important bookings. Trust us, it’s in everyone’s best interest.