Where would you go for first holiday with baby?

[EmeraldIsle81]

Hi Mumsnet
Want to book a week's holiday for myself, DP and DS (who will be just under a year old) in late spring/early summer. Where would you recommend we go? Home or abroad? I'm really nervous about anywhere the water isn't safe or I can't easily get baby suitable food.
Ideas welcome please!
Thanks all!

Centre Parcs is totally set up for little ones. If you go upstairs at Whinfell the pool area is or was lovely and quiet warm you can enjoy the water together tire them out and if your little one still has a lunch time snooze it’s fab as you get to relax in the warm while they snooze.

We went to the Devon/Cornwall border as I found it easier throwing all in the car and driving than thinking about flying. We fly often as our family is in Germany and we found that we just didn't like the restrictions on flying with a moving baby/toddler and just having one bedroom.

When we visited family by plane the first time DD was already on formula. We just used cold water solutions to sterelise the bottles and at that age she was done to 3 a day anyway, with very predictable timings, and just ate what we ate (never did mush as a main food source). A week with a bit more salt than you do at home is not casuing a major issue. The kids buffets in hotels are often prepared seperately and are as plain as it can be.

Slightly depends what kind of holiday you want, but we had a city break in Athens when DS was 11 months old which worked really well. We got a 2 bed Air BnB in the centre - walking distance from all the sights so really easy to pop back in the day for naps between museums etc and could put him to bed in the evening and chill out. The time difference actually helped - we didn't try to adjust him, so instead of sleeping 8-6, he slept 10-8, which meant we could go out for dinner and didn't have a crazy early start to the day.

It was definitely slower paced than previous trips, but really enjoyed it. Decided to stop bothering sterilising bottles for the trip given he was nearly 1, and took those little bottles of ready made formula. He was down to only one bottle a day though (Combi-fed) so it didn't take our whole luggage allowance! We took a pack of Weetabix for his breakfast, went to the supermarket and got sandwich ingredients/fruit/veg for lunch and took jars for dinner, supplemented with whatever seemed least ridiculously salty from our plates.

With a bit of planning and realistic expectations, it worked way better than I was expecting - was v nervous about the unknown and changed routine, but didn't need to be. Would fully recommend doing something similar. Go for it!

Oh, and should have said - we picked Athens solely because the flights were at sensible times eachway and the Air BnB was cheaper than a hotel! Definitely a good idea to not all be in the same room if possible.

We had a holiday cottage in Dorset on a farm when DS was six months old and then we went to Majorca when he was just under one.

We took DD to France at 9 months and Spain at 13. Both trips were fine but in hindsight UK or eurocamp via ferry is so much easier

Cala d'Or

We had a brilliant holiday with our 4month old in pefkos, rhodes. The most baby friendly place we have ever been (he is our 3rd child so we have tried quite a few places over the years with the others). Stayed at pefki islands resort which had a kitchenette with a sink, fridge and kettle. By then you will be only on a couple of bottles a day so won't need perfect prep machine or sterilizer.

We took Ds1 to Majorca at 10 months. Japan at 1 and Vegas/LA at 18 months. The flight will be what it will be no matter how prepared you are, ds thought his first flight was hilarious and he loves flying now. It's a challenge on the long haul but it's just two days.

Don't feel like all you have is uk breaks, you can have a fab time abroad and most countries are far more welcoming to babies than the uk plus warm. Have a great time

I have a gite in Brittany and have had 100's of babies here over the past 15 years! If you decide on self catering, make sure that there is everything you need on site so you don't end up carting loads of stuff around. Have a look at a site like baby friendly bolt holes to see what kinds of things are available - you don't need to book through them, but it gives you ideas of what people are offering and what is out there.

I agree too with Centerparcs, both the English ones and European ones are great with babies of all ages, and you're not tied to school holidays so the accommodation is more affodable (ime the basic lodges are very, very basic!)

At this age they're much more portable and flexible than toddlers, so make sure you go somewhere you would enjoy too as you'll have years and years of kids clubs and no holidays in term times too!

If this bit of Brittany (South, near Vannes) sounds good I'll happily waffle on for hours about it

I recommend Tui family life if going abroad, they are well catered for babies to teens.
Alternatively if you can afford it, tots to travel look good

Depending on budget, you might want to look at travel agents like Tots To Travel and Baby Friendly Boltholes.

They check the accommodation is child friendly and have their own villas / rooms whatever which are geared up to people with young children eg stair gates, nightlight, gated pools, enclosed terraces. They also supply everything you need such as sterilisers, monitors, baby bath, books and toys. They have a full range of destinations in the UK and overseas and not necessarily very expensive. We've had two holidays this way, once with an 18 month old and again with two DC. We had private hire taxis the company arranged which included age appropriate car seats. We didn't have to lug any extra stuff so it made packing easier. Best of all, the staff were all geared up to helping young families and the other people staying were in the same boat so no stress that you were the only ones with small children. One hotel we stayed in had a play area by the restaurant with trained staff who'd watch your child while you finished your dinner. It was still hard work being away with small children's but I felt we got the best holiday we could with the least stress.

I do know you can sort all this stuff independently but frankly it was great not needing to!

We went on a short caravan holiday when DS was 9 months. Stayed in a friend’s static right on the beach and the weather was fab. Because it’s just a friends and family thing rather than a proper holiday let, it had loads of extras like towels, wetsuits, various pots and pans etc. Which was really helpful.

I did find Playa Blanca (Lanzarote) just as easy when he was just turned one though. We took a lightweight folding pushchair and a travel booster high chair for restaurants, and the apartment we stayed in provided a high chair and carry cot. The buses there are fantastic so we used public transport a lot to get about. DS was still partially breastfeeding so no worries re:formula, although it’s easy enough to boil bottled water (the safe stuff usually has a baby on) and make it up or take pre-made. We’ve never sterilised DS’ cups for water so didn’t worry about any of that but you could easily pop a sterilising tablet in a large Tupperware box. Our only issue was that DS wouldn’t entertain the idea of swimming in the unheated pool 😂