Cottage holiday with an almost two year old?

[neonyellowshoes]

Thinking of doing this. I'm a wimp and we haven't been away at all.

Any tips?

[Thurlow]

Look for one that comes with all the family friendly equipment that you need, like a travel cot, stairgates, high chair etc, makes packing a lot easier

[neonyellowshoes]

Cheers, will do!

Any tips on sleep? He's crap at it and that's why we haven't gone away.

[Believeitornot]

And a garden!

Our ds was a rubbish sleeper at that age. We still took him away and bought decent blackout blinds. He actually slept better as he was out much more!

[neonyellowshoes]

We have those suction cup blinds already. Cool

[Jackreacherswife]

We didn't go to cottages but static caravans. They are really nice inside have the advantages of all being on one level so no stairs to worry about and most of the furniture isn't free standing so can't be pulled over. This time we got one with a fenced deck so could leave patio doors open but not worry about escapees. The sites tend to have lots of things to do for tots. For sleeping though we took gro blinds which are amazing and really do work to black out the rooms.

[Yogagirl123]

Hiring a cottage is the best idea IMHO, as PP have said many will supply essential equipment, you can eat when you like, stick to your usual routine if you want to. Go out in the day, get plenty of fresh air and hopefully tire out your toddler.

[isittheholidaysyet]

That's a great way to holiday at that age.

Look carefully at the accommodation.
My big one is; is the child's bedroom on the same floor at the adults bedroom?

Or if he is in a cot in your room, is the room big enough for that?

[Wingbing]

Or a bungalow. We have just stayed in one for a week with a 3&4 year old.

Oh and an enclosed garden. Holiday was fairly relaxing and the DCs could go everywhere on the property safely.

[Jackreacherswife]

Ps ds is just 4 and DD just 2. We went to haven nr Filey Monday to Friday during term time so it was quiet. Did it through the sun holiday offers so it was cheap.

[neonyellowshoes]

Caravan is a possibility- already know where we're going and does have a caravan park.

[Ricekrispie22]

My LO was a crap sleeper too. That's why we stayed in this country for our first holiday... so we could pile the car with all the stuff that was familiar to him. And it worked! We literally took all of his bedding from home, his favourite bath toys, favourite bedtime storybooks, nightlight etc... and we replicated his bedtime routine exactly. It also helped that we went out for lots of long day trips so he was really tired and full of fresh air!

[Rainshowers]

As pp’s have said, look for somewhere child friendly which will have stairgates, enclosed gardens etc. If you’re taking the car you can pile it high with everything you may (or may not!) need.

Also, scope out a couple of places you can go if the weather is bad. We went to the Cotswolds when DD was 1, and one day it just poured with rain. Luckily I’d already scoped out a soft play place where we could kill a couple of hours.

We also like to stay somewhere where we can at least walk to the pub so can get the baby to sleep in the pram and then go for dinner or a drink in peace!

[neonyellowshoes]

This all good stuff!

Think I was more looking for reassurance that it wouldn't turn into a sleep deprived nightmare....

[LorelaiVictoriaGilmore]

I've done a couple of these with my toddler who doesn't sleep that well. The one that worked best was a little complex of holiday cottages in Dorset - it had an indoor pool and little playground so I was able to totally exhaust ds so that he slept. It was actually a very lovely experience taking him on holiday - he was about 26 months so really understood that we were going on holiday and was so excited! Enjoy!