Would you take a four month old to Bali?

[MauriceTheMussel]

Interested in opinions on this because I can’t figure out if I’m being unnecessarily cautious.

We haven’t been on holiday in forever and due to work can’t do long haul. For various reasons we can do long haul this year but would like to go before weaning the baby, so this is for all intents and purposes the “holiday of a lifetime”, well, for the next 8-10 years. We would fly Business and I’m not worried about the flight and the baby.

We are thinking about Bali with a stopover in Singapore. The vaccination schedule for babies is the same in SG as it is here and, as far as I can tell, Indonesia too. Baby has had the BCG.

We would stay right on the beach in a uber premium 5 star resort (and frankly not leave the hotel), so I’m not worried about the water or rabies or anything like that… just the mosquitos. Even if the baby didn’t contract dengue or something horrific, do babies scream their heads off over the itching over a bite?!

Part of me thinks: if all the other babies in SE Asia are born, how risky can a UK baby there be? Also, I’m no longer breastfeeding so no antibodies from me.

Would you take your 4 month old?

This was my thought, my baby was lovely and chilled until 4 months hit. We were actually due to go away and I scrapped it after seeing how awful she was in the heat, so glad I didn’t spend that money just to be miserable in a nice location 😂

To clarify for a few posters, to us, it’s not just “a resort”. The hotel is amazing. We can never go to the Far East due to DH’s job. We have family in Singapore, hence the stopover and using it as a hub. I wouldn’t want to do a whole holiday in Singapore. We want a few days to do zero, hence not leaving the hotel. So it’s “a long haul flight to be slobs which is exactly what we want to do”. If we’re paying 2 grand a night, I’m lapping up the luxury. The same hotel “chain” has a hotel in Vietnam which is also a comparable 2 hour flight away, but it’s the same mosquito/water/whatever issues.

We could do this trip when the kid/s are older, but it’s because we can’t ordinarily go to the Far East (or more than 5 hours outside of London timezone), so we’re like “fuck it. Just go now.”

We don’t care if the kid doesn’t remember it, I can take them when they’re older and DH is at work.

We’ve ruled out Europe as we’d be travelling in the next month and figure it’ll be cold/hit and miss here still. Also, we can do Europe anytime of the year and have the same budget. Same applies for the East Coast and a lot of the Caribbean. Those are “any time of life” options.

It’s not the trip of a lifetime money or experience-wise. It’s the trip of the next five years where we can go further afield and both of us can travel without having to worry about work.

I took my DD Bali when she was 5 months, neither me or her got any mosquito bites. Her dad on the other was covered, not sure why some people suffer more than others. We had a lovely time.

Go for it! We once took a 3 month old (and a 3 year old) to Barbados. Did nothing but sit by beach or pool/swim/water ski - elder dd was a water baby.
I would often park the baby under a nice shady tree in her pram while sitting very close by.

All absolutely fine - lovely holiday, The flight is shorter than to Bali of course, and jet lag is less!

I think it will be fine, especially as it’s a resort type holiday and you just want to sit by the pool. Having had a baby in a heatwave, you might be spending a lot of time in your air conditioned room! I felt so hot with a bay that age constantly on me, really sweaty and uncomfortable (and obviously they’re not supposed to go in the sun at that age), so you may end up taking it in turns to sit inside with the baby whilst the other goes in the pool.

Personally, I’m not really keen on resort type holidays, but they are amazing when children get older and can enjoy the food and facilities. We did a lot of city breaks before 1 and made the most of galleries, general strolling around looking at the architecture, having long lunches. We really wanted to make the most of it before the ‘this is boring’ cries start!! We’re actually considering a resort hotel similar to the one you’re looking at this year to keep things simple!

I love Bali and it can definitely be the trip of a lifetime. I wouldn’t hesitate to go there with a baby. However why on earth would you never leave the hotel? There are incredible places to visit there and perfectly doable with a baby.

I don't think I could be bothered doing such a long haul holiday just to lounge around in a hotel.

It would make more sense to go and visit somewhere with lots of things to see for your last adult focused holiday.

Tbf, even pre pregnancy, we did holidays with zero to do!

This honestly sounds like hell to me, but that is because one of my babies did not sleep well at all. Going on a long haul holiday during that time would have truly been my nightmare.

Depends on the baby I think

i know you are worried about prop planes etc but I’d look at the Maldives as not a malaria zone. Considerably closer and can take a direct flight to Male then transfer to the hotel by small plane all in a day.

No holiday with a baby will be the holiday of a lifetime. I would save your money quite honestly.

3 months in Asia with a baby and toddler literally was the holiday of a lifetime for me - so hard disagree on this

we just had zero routine kids up late / sleeping randomly in buggies or in a tent on the beach or on Sun lounger

slept in late some mornings - whatever went and it was amazing

we travelled around heaps and there was so much amazing things to do

never had to do laundry or cook - actual
bliss

Why on earth would you go all that way and not leave the hotel?

Well yes that part seems stupid - not the actual trip to Bali ! But going this distance to be in a resort

Well, some people like active holidays, some people like holidays where they can be potatoes.

DH works 14 hour days, as did I pre mat leave. We’ve also both travelled Asia, so we don’t need to go see the usual sites.

Different strokes

Airlines have stated that flights to the Maldives could take significantly longer at the moment as they are going to avoid flying over the middle east

just out of interest, why can’t you go to the Far East due to his job? A workplace can’t continually turn down 2 weeks off AL, if that is the reason

Given my sister in law contracted amoebic dysentery in Bali I wouldn’t be too complacent about the water. She’s a seasoned traveller too so pretty cautious.

Whilst a low malarial risk you need to be aware of the risks of Zika, dengue, and chikungunya. Consider how you’ll prepare formula if not breastfeeding - most bottle water is too high in sodium to prepare formula with.

You shouldn’t usually use suncream on under six month olds, so factor that in.

I went to Bali in the 1980s and really enjoyed it. However I am childfree. I would wait until the child is older and then leave it with someone if you want to enjoy the holiday of a lifetime. Taking young children on a trip they will not remember makes no sense to me.

AL isn’t the reason, NY/European stock exchanges and trading hours are! Theoretically we could go to extremer timezones, but it would mean DH is working through the night on local time. Annual leave is never truly annual leave as he still has to monitor things, be on calls etc.

Of the 5 times in 10 years we’ve been outside of Europe, twice was when he was on gardening leave, the other 3 were: South Africa (so no time difference) and the Caribbean (so he could at least have an advantage when it came to NY, and a tolerable 5 hour difference to London)

Oof, no, I did consider this (and the Seychelles because no Zika etc), but (and this and where I don’t know if I’m being unreasonably cautious/anxious) I’d be worried about access to hospitals/being on an island

If you say you’re travelling in the next month, you’re on the edge of the rainy season in Bali. So you’ll have some nice weather but mixed in with frequent short heavy rains.

It will be absolutely fine and I did similar with both mine at that age (Thailand, Caribbean, Maldives), perfect time for travelling before they are mobile and on solids. Baby can get sick anywhere even in the UK but there are decent hospitals in Bali, probably a doctor on site at your hotel too. Bali is very child and baby friendly, you’ll have an amazing time. Mine never seemed bothered by mosquito bites, they got bitten less than I do and mosquitoes are not a huge problem at the beach in Bali.

To add - I did remote islands with no good hospitals when mine were babies but my youngest got very sick on a trip to a remote Caribbean island when he was 18 months, we flew back fine but it did make me think that perhaps I was crazy to do those other trips when they were tiny so I don’t think you’re being unreasonable to prefer Bali over Seychelles, Maldives etc.

The health risks wouldn’t put me off a trip to Bali with a 4 month old, but personally I wouldn’t do it. I had a really chilled out baby to start and then the 4 month old sleep regression kicked in. There is no way I would have enjoyed a fancy holiday at that time. We were exhausted and trying all sorts of things to try to address the sleep regression. You will be on the baby’s schedule so you will be stuck in the room when they (eventually) go to sleep and when they wake repeatedly through the night. One of you will have to be with the baby at all times so you can’t swim together and even eating together can be tricky if the baby decides they will sleep at meal times and will only do so in the room. The heat may be an issue and make them uncomfortable too.

My friend once described taking a child under 1 on holiday as the same shit in a different location. I think that is apt. We did Mauritius when our DD was just under 2. With managed expectations and an amazing hotel nanny that we pre-booked, it was lovely. No way would I have done it earlier.