In 2017, we drove home from a nightmarish camping trip in Somerset with our children, thinking we would never go on holiday again. We were miserable and a bit beaten, battered by the meltdowns and the stress.
That night, we reminisced about the holidays we had when we were just a couple, such as the fortnight in a white-washed cottage on Culatra, a Portuguese island in the Ria Formosa lagoon. As we looked at each other, I slowly wondered if it would be possible to return as a family.
New places can be anxiety-inducing for anyone, but for neurodiverse kids, the prospect can be truly hellish. My son, Thomas, has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), dyspraxia and learning needs, while Harry has ADHD.
We had never entertained the idea of venturing abroad as a family. Dealing with security queues, coach transfers, different time zones, no space around the pool and cramped apartments had always seemed like too much of a challenge.
But the Ria Formosa islands – Baretta, Fuseta, Armona, Culatra and Farol – are special, and we thought it might, just about, be possible to visit together.
Crucially, they are car-free, and commercialisation is minimal. In 1987, the Portuguese government designated the tidal lagoon a national park to protect its unique biodiversity. This means that human intervention is slight: while people have reportedly lived on the remote peninsula for thousands of years, development has been limited.
Fishing boats dot the harbours of Fuseta as the traditional industry remains. But there aren’t built-up hotels or busy towns. This is a place for appreciating the seasons, rather than squeezing them for their commercial potential.
Read more: How to escape Corfu’s crowds on the south of the island
Each island is flanked by vast, quiet beaches and most of the properties are the second homes of Portuguese families. Could we risk taking the boys there? Maybe Easter week: not too busy, not too hot? Was it worth a shot, at least? Yes, we decided, it was.
Planning was key. We had to simulate something as close as possible to home, so we rented a bungalow (a bedroom each for the boys, because sharing is a nightmare) with a kitchen, TV and wifi.
In such a home-from-home, we had the meal planner up in the kitchen,…
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