To want a holiday with wifi

[notanaturalmum]

Just about to book a holiday with me, DH and baby (who'll be 1 when we go)

It's not cheap but we've had a tough year adjusting to parent life and I'll cry if we have to forgo another year without going abroad

We've opted for a lodge because there is a separate lounge - meaning that we won't have to sit in the dark once the baby has gone to bed. --

I've discovered the lodges don't have wifi. I think this might be a dealbreaker.

Not because I'm an avid facebooker but just simple things like being able to watch nursery rhymes on you tube, or watching films on the iPad once the baby is asleep. We do like chess and scrabble etc but I think 14 nights of no wifi will be hard.

On the other hand, if we move to the main hotel block then we'll just have one room meaning we'll have to sit in the dark or on the balcony once the baby is asleep.

Am I being silly. I love my DH to death but I need wifi. Do I ?

I would buy a dongle/ mifi and download before hand or in the lobby.

I go to Greek islands a lot and whilst I love WiFi it isn’t always great so I couldn’t sacrifice what I really wanted to be in a WiFi area then get there and find out the WiFi is crap anyway

Yorkshire only thing about mifi is you can’t usually watch tv/ films
On them

We were amazed to find we had wonderfully fast internet in a tent in the middle of Serengeti!

YANBU.

Can't you just download films and stuff onto your tablet, and use mobile data for general browsing?

Also try taking DC out in the pushchair in the evening once or twice, they might cope with it really well and it'll save being confined to the accomodation in the evening.

I would absolutely take the lodge. And I say that as someone with 2 kids under 5 and we're all addicted to tech, tablet, phones Alexa, Netflix, Amazon Prime etc etc.

We are never doing a same room holiday again. It is awful when we do it. The oldest wants to stay up longer and the youngest screams because he can see us instead o going to sleep.

We went on a UK break last summer and it was a fab 2 bed lodge. Got there and we were told there was no Wi-Fi as it was broken and wouldn't be fixed for the duration of our stay and no tv as a result. Also there was not any phone signal ever. I panicked. A lot. It was actually really really liberating.

I took a portable DVD player that was very occasionally used in the evening for the kids and the rest of the time we just relaxed and probably stayed out later than we normally would have, letting the kids run about.

If I needed internet connection for anything I just waited until we were back in civilisation which was invariably the next day.

For me, a single room with kids, is not a holiday!

When DD was a baby and roaming data cost your life savings my husband downloaded a load of Peppa Pig cartoons for me to take to visit DM in France. Worked a treat. As for Fb etc, if it's not included in your contract pay for an add on, but use it carefully and enjoy as much time as possible offline ...!

No WiFi is normally a deal breaker nowadays. Ring them and actually ask if it's true in all lodges. It's a bad business decision these days.

Agree with wobbles - ring and check. We go for holiday rentals and often the advertised details are out of date so worth checking. I want WiFi on holiday, not bothered about films or telly but must have radio 4!

How on earth do you think we all managed before WiFi? My son is 17 now and we had some great holidays when he was little. No WiFi, or TV. He had a nap in the late afternoon, then we went out for meals, or made them in apartment. He either fell asleep in buggy, stayed awake looking around, or we went back to room, put him to bed, and chilled with cards and a few drinks.

If your with 3 and have Netflix, they have loads of bundles that you can watch as much as you want on netflix without it using data so I just tethered my phone to the iPad on an evening.

Really can't see why you can't manage without WiFi for a holiday. Your child is a baby. Very portable. Easy to adjust routine to have a later day with all that fresh air and even not, why not sit on the balcony with a bottle of wine and a pack of cards and chat to your partner whilst baby sleeps. Some lovely time together.

We watched a family when we were away where the kids sat eyes on the iPads whilst they ate dinner. Expect as babies/toddlers they had an iPad thrust in front of them and they can't live without it

We've always gone out with a pad, stickers, colouring pens and now Uno as he's older. It's hard work yes having to keep them amused and much easier to watch kids tv but it's far more rewarding.

A holiday without TV as adults is also brilliant. A chance to talk and laugh and chill.

Try it without WiFi people!

Go on a cruise, wonderful entertainment and shows every night, great time

Get him used to falling asleep in a buggy. I've never met anyone who sits in a hotel room because they have a baby.

But I agree that you shouldn't book until you known you can get WIFI.

I always book places with Wi-Fi.
Although I love fb I wouldn't miss it but I like the Wi-Fi for planning trips out, currency converter, Google Translate, bus train and tram times and Google maps as well as the radio.
Sure Wi-Fi hasn't been around for ever and we managed before but it makes things easier and more enjoyable.

Go on a cruise, wonderful entertainment and shows every night, great time = hell on the high seas!

We also use WiFi to look up attractions in the area - opening times etc. And for Uber.

Wow - this has certainly blown up. I clearly don't check my phone that often

Can't answer all comments but for clarity.
Of course we can holiday without wifi - we've done it thousands of times before. I'm old enough to have done interailing with just a book of train times before.
I'm just saying it would be useful given that we might not be able to leave the apartment at night.
And I've no plans to try for another baby!!

It's our first holiday with a baby and it's all new. The baby doesn't need an iPad - we rarely use one. I just feel like I might need some back up of nursery rhymes if I have to dry my hair or something.

I don't think the baby will sleep if we have the light or telly on after 7pm hence why we've got a separate room.

The atmosphere is completely different abroad. Surely you won’t be sitting in your lodge every night? And even if it was a hotel room a little bit of light in the room isn’t gonna harm your lo. Dinner is usually later in most places in Europe so you’re probably looking at eating at 8/9pm anyway and because your little one is quite small they can relax in the pushchair when you’re out. Remember it’s your holiday too. Don’t be held to ransom by your little one and their routine. Plus leave the phones at home. Enjoy time away from it all or you’ll just sit and flick through rubbish much like we do at home lol

We will try the buggy on an evening. It could be fine. He'll sleep in the pram if I take him round the park.

I also can't believe some of the assumptions or suggestions that I'm addicted to tech etc.
Like a PP has said. Internet is useful for finding the nearest bank, restaurant opening times etc. It doesn't mean I'll be sat on Facebook or mumsnet the whole time.

We are definitely not the types to be glued to our phones during dinner. After dinner maybe, but not during.

not don’t worry, a lot people understand exactly what you’re saying. Ignore those saying you’re an internet junkie. I’d want WiFi too with a baby, if they aren’t happy to sleep in the buggy at night time, you will be stuck in the lodge at night. The internet will be really useful.

I quite enjoy an Internet break when I'm on holiday but we download some films/boxsets to watch in the evening. Unfortunately my dd is a child who will happily fall asleep in her pushchair so we could go for a stroll but it's impossible to transfer her into her bed without her waking and being awake for 3 hours which is hardly a relaxing holiday for me so we don't do that.

I'm curious though, do those who lament OP and others for wanting WiFi bring books? Do you go for a stroll and then spend the evening on your balcony enjoying the evening air engaging in riveting conversation for 14 nights or do you sit next to your dp and ignore each other and read a book? Do you go and watch the hotel entertainment and ignore each other whilst you do so? I don't see any difference doing these and being on your phone/Ipad on the Internet.

OP - we had a 1 bed apartment when we went away with dd just after she turned one. It was great and a relaxing holiday for us. She went to sleep at 8 and we watched the box set we had downloaded. Also there was WiFi but it wasn't very reliable.

You need wifi for nursery rhymes when drying your hair? Don't you have mouths?
AS for finding stuff, you really don't need wifi for that.

Update: we've booked the lodge.

Thanks for all your opinions- I'm still amazed at some of the judgyness and assumptions.

To the PP who has only been abroad once - do please try it again if you can.

And yes I do sing songs to my DS. Having them on you tube is a bonus. It's not like I leave him there all day. He has 3 minutes you tube every morning while I brush my teeth. It's a godsend for both of us.

Lots of hotels these days have suites instead of rooms with a TV in each and excellent broadband at no additional charge. I can give you details of two we have been to recently (both with great food) if you PM me. One is on the Costa Brava ideally situated for Barcelona and Girona the other in Lanzarotte where they have a separate restaurant for families.