6 Ways Parents Can Actually Relax on a Family Villa Holiday

1. Share the Load Before You Even Arrive

A family villa stay can be wonderfully relaxing, but only if parents aren’t secretly trying to run a full household in a new location. Before you travel, agree on simple “holiday jobs” with your partner, older kids or other adults. One person handles breakfast, another tidies up after dinner, someone else is on “pool lifeguard” duty in the afternoons. When responsibilities are shared, it’s much easier for each adult to carve out time for a massage, a nap or a quiet hour with a book.

2. Build Rest into the Schedule Like an Activity

It sounds obvious, but most parents don’t actually schedule rest. Block out a daily “villa time” when nobody has to go anywhere—no excursions, no shops, no rushing to the next attraction. Let the kids know this is when they swim, read or play in the living room, while adults rotate between the sun lounger, the daybed and perhaps a massage on the terrace.

If you treat rest as a non-negotiable part of the holiday, rather than something that might happen if there’s time, you’ll finish the trip feeling lighter instead of more tired than when you left.

3. Use Simple Massage Techniques to Switch Off Quickly

You don’t always need a full spa treatment to feel the benefits of massage. Learn a few easy self-massage moves before you travel: rolling a tennis ball under your foot against the wall, gently kneading your own shoulders, or using your thumbs in small circles along the base of your skull. Five minutes of this on the balcony while the kids are drying off can be enough to reset a stressed nervous system.

You can also trade short “swap massages” with your partner—ten minutes each on neck and shoulders after the children are in bed. In the relaxed setting of a family villa, with no commute and no early alarm, these small acts of care can have a big effect. When your body feels listened to, your mind finds it much easier to truly holiday rather than just parent in a different location.