Atlantica Mikri Poli Crete

We stayed at the Atlantica Mikri Poli resort in Crete and it was an amazing experience. This family-friendly all-inclusive resort had a free children's club, nightly entertainment, pools and their own private area of the beach.

After arriving at the hotel and checking in at reception,you can re-hydrate with drink and snacks while waiting for the golf cart to take you and your luggage to your room (the resort is on a hill so it's a much appreciated service). If you stay at the main hotel building you can just take the elevators up. 

Kids loved the slushies they could get at the snack bar! It didn't take long for them to see it was included.

The staff at the resort were friendly and helpful. The cleaning staff were efficient and even provided some panels on the kids beds so they wouldn't roll off.

For tired parents needing some relaxation, the amazing Aegeo Spa offers relaxing Cretan massages. The spa area also has a hot tub, saunas and pools.

Sauna time needs to be booked for private use of the saunas.

The variety and quality of the food was great. We could always find something tasty at the restaurant. Kids always had something to eat. Staff were helpful with questions on allergies. Unfortunately, no dairy-free ice cream was available at the restaurant.

When it's hot out, the best is to cool off with a swim. At the resort, you can find 2 main pools, and an additional kids pool area and one for the water slides.

In the spa area, there are 2 additional pools, one indoor and one outdoor. The Spa pools however, are for 16 years and up.

Feel like a snack? There were 2 snacks bars, one by the main pool and one on the shops level. You could find, wraps, cakes, ice cream and an array of drinks.

On location there are also 2 shops and a fish spa. Hours vary.

Outside the hotel there are a few shops along the main street, for clothes, summer shoes, souvenirs, swim toys, and a couple of restaurants as well.

The hotel has a private beach with multiple sunbeds! 

The Children's club had drop-off options from 10-12:30 and 3:00-5:30pm. Teachers spoke different languages from Polish, German, English, French and even Swedish.

Craft time, swimming at the kids area, and taking them to the hotel's private beach were among the activities!

Evening entertainment took place in the outdoor stage and consisted of games, music, comedy shows. Of course, it began with music and game time for the kids!

It's truly a wonderful place for a family or couples stay. If you're looking for an all-inclusive resort vacation that offers delicious food, an amazing spa, a private beach and pool time, check out the Atlantica Mikri Poli in Crete! You won't be disappointed.

Don't forget your snacks!

Atlantica Mikri Poli Crete

Crete, Greece

Check out their website for more info

Riga with Kids

We had a wonderful time visiting and exploring the Latvian city of Riga with the kids!

Our visit was in late February and it was mostly cloudy and no snow. This meant we were able to be out with the kids and they didn't get too cold. 

We stayed in the city center near Old Town at Avalon Hotel and it was a great location. If you're visiting Riga, stay on the side of Old Town and not across the river. This way you are near everything and can easily walk around the city. 

Getting into the city

We took the city bus #22 from the airport to a stop near our hotel. The cost was under 4 Euros for 2 adults. The ride was about 25 minutes but it was unfortunately crowded on the bus into the city. 

There are also taxis available and the hotel told us it could cost around 25 Euros if they booked one for us. 

The kids loved exploring the city and finding new playgrounds. There were so many different playgrounds and lots of green space in the city. It's great to walk around then sit at a bench to have a coffee or snack.

We had a couple of days where it was raining for a few hours. We decided during that time to take kids to a museum for our indoor activity. 

Museums

There are quite a few museums in the city! We took them to Cosmos and the National History museum of Latvia.

Cosmos adults 10€, children under 6 are free and kids are 6€. Here the kids really enjoyed all the illusions. It was great that the museum wasn't busy when we visited so we could take our time at each of the rooms and stations.

National History museum is 4€. There is a search and find activity board you can pickup at the start and quite a few drawing stations around the exhibits. It's probably more interesting activity for older kids but we lasted an hour in there!

Coffee breaks!

Kids of course love to take coffee breaks or fika as we refer to it in Sweden. Riga has many different cafes and we enjoyed trying a few places.

Some of the kids favorites: 

Crumble cake - check out my blog post

Molberts - a nice ice cream shop

Coffee Academy - check out my blog post

We also really enjoyed trying traditional Latvian food.

Some restaurants we found to be family-friendly and had good dining experiences were

Lasite and DOM were very nice dining experiences even with the kids.

There is also a chain called LIDO where you serve yourself cafeteria style. Check out my blog post on LIDO. 

Cherry Fix - good for snacks after playing at the park

Playgrounds

We visited this amazing playground area that had so many areas for different ages! There were climbing structures, slides, trampoline, zip line and more. Kids loved it.

Near this playground there's this cafe called Yohoho Cafe. Check out my blog post on this cafe. 

There is a lot of green space in the center of the city and quite a few play areas along the canal and nearby. We visited a different area each day during our trip.

Overall, our visit to Riga was enjoyable and manageable with young kids. We stayed a week, but we enjoy traveling slow. 

Note: we flew in both directions, but you can also get to Riga as part of a cruise from Stockholm. 

Don't forget your snacks!

Arlanda Express Stockholm

There are a few options to get from Stockholm to the Arlanda Airport.

Depending on where you are in Stockholm and how many are traveling, you can choose a taxi, a commuter train, the airport bus or the Arlanda express train.

On a recent trip, there were some delays for the commuter train, so we decided to head to T-Central and catch the Arlanda Express. 

You can buy your ticket online ahead of time or at the platform. There is a ticket checker that comes by to checks tickets on the train.

A few great to know things:

*Kids (0-7 years of age) travel free on the Arlanda Express!

*8-17 travel free with an accompanying adult.

*8-17 travel on a youth ticket if not with an adult

*If you are traveling with more than one person, there is a Group Discount price!

The train had really comfy seats and a fast trip (18 minutes) from Arlanda airport to T-Central in downtown Stockholm.

We had a pleasant experience with kids on the Arlanda Express and would take it again for an easy journey to Stockholm center.

Don't forget your snacks!

Arlanda Express

Check our their website for more info.

Gimo Herrgård Sweden

Located in the town of Gimo in northern Uppland, you can find the hotel, Gimo Herrgård. We stayed one night during our road trip and had a lovely experience. 

Gimo Herrgård is a beautiful old mansion with gardens and several buildings where the elegant hotel rooms and suites are located. The 18th-century manor house functions as a hotel year round.

Dinner is served in the hotel's restaurant but remember to book a reservation.

The hotel also offers a delicious breakfast buffet, served at the restaurant. It features a cold section, a few hot items, yogurt and even a coffee machine for those who like to start their day with lattes.

There are also dairy-free alternatives for those who have special diets.

The family room included a sofa bed and a double bed and was located in a building a few minutes from the main reception and restaurant. A kettle with complimentary tea was included.

For those 15+ there is a lakeside spa with outdoor hot tubs and sauna that you can use for an additional fee (195kr as of May 2024)

If you're looking for a morning walk before breakfast, walking by the lake, Gimosjön, is perfect. There's a path along the lake and you can turn around when you like.

Friendly staff and good service during our stay. Gimo Herrgård is a beautiful place! We were also lucky to see the Northern Lights during that weekend.

If you're planning a roadtrip and looking for a nice hotel stay north of Stockholm, check out Gimo Herrgård!

Don't forget your snacks!

Gimo Herrgård 

Bruksgatan 24, 747 44 Gimo

Check out their website for more info. 

Avalon Hotel Riga

During our visit to Riga, Latvia we wanted to stay in the center of the city and Avalon Hotel located next to Old Town was the perfect choice.

We visited in the month of February and had a wonderful stay!

The junior suite with 1 large bed and 2 single beds was a perfect option for a family!

The breakfast buffet was better than we expected with both cold items like deli meat and cheese and hot items like kids favorite American style pancakes, warm veggies, sausages and eggs.

They even had kids plates and utensils available if needed so we didn't need to worry about using our own.

Each day at the Avalon Hotel, we always received nice, friendly service. The staff were helpful with suggestions and room requests. You can choose room cleaning everyday if you need. 

There is a little bar in the lobby and a computer to use if needed. The lobby was a pleasant place to sit and relax while waiting for other family members to be ready.

The Avalon Hotel is a modern hotel with elevators and a small gym for those interested.

If you're visiting Riga, Latvia and are looking for a good hotel option in a convenient location, check out the Avalon Hotel.

Don't forget your snacks!

Avalon Hotel

13. janvāra iela 19, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia

Check out their website for more info

Things to do in Lanzarote

We visited Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands in the month of October and had a lovely time in the sunshine and warm weather!

If you're planning to visit the island, here are some ideas of things to do during your stay!

Beach day

The kids enjoyed playing at the beach closest to where we stayed! There are few beaches that you need to drive to.

Shopping

Lots of snacks and souvenirs to choose from. We like collecting a small souvenir whenever we travel.

Hike a volcano

There are different volcanos to hike up! We went to Montana Roja! Beautiful views of the island.

Scenic drive

We did several drives, one to the northern part of the island and back which was harder for the kids. Shorter ones to see the Black Sand Beach were more doable.

Eat some delicious food

Sunrise/sunset stroll

We loved doing early morning or evening walks along the boardwalk. That's when the temperature was cooler and most people were still snoozing or already doing other evening activities. 

Scuba diving 

There are more than few dive shops around the island. If you're interested in trying scuba diving that's possible but also if you have been certified, you can check out the islands dive sites. We dived with Bonito diving. This shop is in Flamingo Beach.

Visit Timanfaya National Park

Read more about our visit to Timanfaya 

We stayed on Lanzarote for 2 weeks and really enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine 🌞 We have such great memories from our trip!

Don't forget your snacks!