Choosing Between Egypt in August or India in November—Need Advice for Our Family Trip!

I’ve never been to Egypt so can’t comment on that, but Dh and I lived in India pre-dc. It wouldn’t be my choice of holiday with an 18 month old. An older child, yes. Ours are 11 and 6, and we’ll probably take them when youngest is a bit older.

There are lots of reasons why India can be a tricky place for a tourist, but on a really practical level, you are very likely to get ill. Most people get some degree of stomach upset within the first couple weeks of getting there. Even if you are in a resort. Or only eating in hotels. It would be horrendous with a toddler.

If you haven’t travelled much yet with your dd, I’d do something easy and closer to home. I’ve been to Spain and Italy for city breaks when mine were little and it was great. If you really much go further afield, I’d consider Sri Lanka. It’s a much easier place to travel.

India with an 18 month old is, much as I hate to say it, going to be a struggle. Getting around will likely be a challenge - unless things have changed wildly since I was last there, strollers are really not a feature of day to day life in most places, so getting around on foot will be hard. And dangerous tbh. You’d definitely want reins I think. And you would need to be prepared to accept road safety conditions that are very very different to what you are used to in the UK. Very very different! If your little one is still napping at that age, which I assume they will be, that might also present a challenge or at least restrict you in what you can plan to do. As someone else said, you could possibly do Goa or Kerala, but even getting to say Arambol or Kochin from the airports would put you up against the challenges I described above. India is a genuinely astonishingly fantastic place to visit, and is absolutely suitable for a family holiday. But imo, wait until your child is no longer napping, can reliably walk decent distances and follow instructions in traffic. And look carefully into the transport options so you can make an informed choice. (Just occurred to me - if your kid would happily spend a lot of time in one of those toddler backpack carriers, that could potentially be a solution). Definitely go to India, just wait a few years 💕

Sounds like Hell on Earth - why would you want to expose your little one to either of these so young? Stick to Europe or tge UK at that age.

The time for adventure isn’t when you’ve got an 18 month old. Book a couple of weeks in September/October in the Med.

Goa, yes no problems with 18 month old in November.
anywhere else in India no.

You would be mad to travel to Egypt in August with an 18 month old.

You'll be too hot, get harassed and likely catch a tummy bug.

Neither. I’ve been to Egypt and India on holiday pre-kids and also go frequently for work. I consider myself quite adventurous on the subject of travel, and I can’t think of a good reason to go to either country with a toddler unless you are a sucker for punishment.

Neither. Egypt in August is cheap because it's too hot. India in any month will be a slog with your 18 month stressing about getting d and v.

Sad truth is child would be happy with the Isle of Wight. Or an AI in Tenerife with a kids pool.

Why would it be irresponsible? Thousands of families travel to both destinations every year?

I would absolutely not go to Sharm, especially not with an 18 month old in that heat.

India is hardly family friendly. I’ve been there sight seeing but can’t understand why you would go all that way for all inclusive/ a beach holiday. It’s such a long flight for an 18 month old when there are so many closer options.

Why don’t you go to the Canary Islands?

Crazy!
I think it would be irresponsible to travel to either.

🤣

Behave

I wouldn’t do either of these holidays with an 18 month old. August is way too hot in Egypt and both destinations (when I’ve travelled) will require you to have at least hepatitis A so ask yourself if you’re willing to inject your child?
Sometimes what appears a good deal isn’t by the time you’ve taken everything into consideration.

I have been to Egypt in August with an 18 month old. We had a swim up room so he could go into the air con and our older DS could still swim etc. I wouldn’t do it again with such a small child.

Surely you can find a safer and more civilised country to go to! There are plenty to choose from that would be better than either Egypt or India tbh

Having been to Tunisia which had a similar
cuktural view of women to most North African countries - hell would freeze over before I’d go back, which is a shame as I’d love to see the historic side of Egypt.

i’m not sure it’s a holiday, more
a punishment for being a female.

Sharm at any time of year would be hellish if you ask me. It's a complete shithole.

Never been to India but not somewhere I'd choose to take a young child.

Neither op!

Unless you can't go away outside of school holidays I'd go for mainland Spain/Greece/Canaries/Balearics.

Find somewhere with a nice splash pool, a mini disco and as least hassle as possible.

We took our toddler son to Greece in September, it was plenty warm enough and the locals were charming and adored DS. I wouldn't want to go anywhere hotter like Egypt or India with such a young child (when you don't know how well they'll cope with flights, sudden heat, etc). Greece has a good reputation for family holidays and doesn't need to be expensive, so I would be recommending somewhere like that instead. Or maybe Majorca?

Don't you need additional vaccinations for India also, or am I remembering incorrectly?

When I went to Egypt in August it was 46° and unbearable. I also did have a lot of “attention” as a female and unsolicited talking and offers to barter for me etc from men. It’s not suitable for young DC at all.

Ive never been to India but why can’t you go somewhere cooler/closer for a young child? India is known for being hectic, busy and hot. Why take an 18 month old there?!

Both destinations sound...ambitious with an 18 month old.

Egypt in August will be VERY hot and your little one might find it difficult. Everything outside will be hot to the touch, sand will be boiling hot and the sun very bright. It can also get quite windy. However, Sharm is a major tourist destination and (from experience) the harassment you will encounter will not be because you’re female, but because you’re a tourist and they want to sell you something/get you into their brother’s restaurant/take you on a tour etc

This has to be a joke surely?

We’ve stumbled upon a fantastic deal in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt that looks incredible and has good reviews, all at a reasonable price.

the “reasonable price” bit and the month of August may have some correlation

but also, there’s a Holidays forum on Mumsnet? This is AIBU?!