take a 1yo on a 2hr flight or 3 1/2hrs of driving

[rockinrobintweet]

i am planning a surprise 4 night holiday end of May/ beg of June for my daughters first birthday. surprise is for DH also as I'll have finished my degree and want it to be a thank you for helping me through those tricky 3 years! :

here's my quandary- my immediate thoughts were to book a flight from our local airport (40 min drive away) and go to the beaches of Barcelona for 4 nights. my DH is Spanish and hasn't been home for 5years so I thought he'd love the surprise. we could visit the football stadium on one day and spend time on beach n hotel pool or at national country park a train ride away with our daughter to relax. I know the flight isn't too long and are at reasonable times so I thought it would be perfect.

my second idea however has been to not put daughter on an aeroplane (some of my friends looked horrified when i shared my plans) and to use the eurotunnel to Calais for a 4 night stay in Calais on the beaches there. my Grandparents used to live in France so we have a connection with going there however there's no romantic gesture for DH. the only bonus is eurotunnel takes 35min and then we are there. BUT to get to eurotunnel it's almost 3 hours of driving. to get around this I thought perhaps we would go early morning (maybe 5am so that DD could sleep on journey and be none the wiser until we are on train and she could have her breakfast) but for some reason I feel reluctant..

there's no real difference in cost. the flight and hotel package is perhaps more ideal as we can go all inc and the weather will be a bit more predictable, but is the easier and maybe better option for DD to go to France by Eurotunnel??

Sorry if this is typed awfully- my phone won't let me proof my discussion!! TIA birand i

Spain all the way! I think apartments are best with a little one (can do your own basic cooking, have fridge and washing machine, can put cot in bedroom while you relax in lounge etc. It Is often cheaper than hotels. We used below company for Barcelona but loads of apartment websites out there and we've not had a bad experience yet (touch wood!). We have done apartments in Barcelona, Madrid, Palma and Granada so far (I get to travel for work).

Just search for child friendly and check which floor it's on (and if there's a lift). It's a good idea if you have an idea of m2 floor space - my standard new build 2 bed flat in UK was about 60m2 so when looking at the websites that gave me an idea of how much room we'd have as the photos can be deceptive.

www.friendlyrentals.com/en/apartments/barcelona/accommodation-1.htm

I dragged my babies all over the world when they were small.... It was WAY easier to take babies than teenagers!!!!
Enjoy your trip

Try airbnb for Barcelona rentals. It's a site where people can let out their room or whole apartment. We've done it a few times now in different cities and its much more relaxed than staying in a hotel.