…to ask for your best holiday locations with a toddler?

[Lifeisnteasy]

Posting in AIBU for traffic - sorry!

Desperate to book a holiday for this summer when DD turns 3. I have a fantasy about a week in New York but know this is probably a horrendous idea with a toddler - has anyone done it?

Where would you recommend for a holiday with a 3 year old?

Thanks in advance!

Iv done new York before having my daughter and I can't think of ANYTHING worse than doing it with kids! We were doing 25000 steps a day of exploring and it would be hell with a toddler.

The local park? Peppa Pig World?

I’m sorry to be facetious but I can’t stand the expectation v reality of holidays with preschoolers.

We’ve been abroad and in the uk. I found flying with a toddler hellish but other people might not.
Much prefer the uk based holidays. We’ve generally gone near the beach (walking distance) and done for days out from there.

@TheWayTheLightFalls

The local park? Peppa Pig World?

I’m sorry to be facetious but I can’t stand the expectation v reality of holidays with preschoolers.

Fair enough! I’m asking for genuine opinions so don’t apologise DD is my only so this is very much an experiment!

All inclusive Spain. Via Jet2 holidays. Wasn’t original or adventurous; but we could relax, play, eat and sleep with no effort.

We went to the US with Dd when she was 2 & the flight back was such a nightmare we stuck to holidays visiting family for quite a while after that! Babysitting on hand is a big bonus.

Holidays with toddlers are hard work, I definitely wouldn’t do New York, sorry. You need somewhere where there is space and your dc and you can relax. We found holiday park type places good or hiring a villa.

Made the mistake of going with childless friends once, don’t do that!

Somewhere with a short flight time. We liked Mallorca at that age. Hotel with kids pool/ playground. Walking distance to shops/ restaurants/ beach. Lots of v family friendly hotels in both Mallorca and Minorca

Depends if you want a road. We went o a place called Coombe mill in Cornwall. On-site farm with daily tractor ride to feed animals, collecting the eggs and sharing them out. On-site play areas, mini train. Free to wander round farm anytime you wanted.

My DD loved it at toddler age.

DS is the same age. We've stuck to UK or the south of France for holidays so far. The latter is a shortish flight (1.5 hours) which is manageable with an iPad and lots of downloaded CBeebies. We normally stay in a house with a pool so we can relax and have a bit of space.

Menorca is ideal for toddlers. It’s a short flight. The island is small so no long transfers, and car hire is very reasonable and easily accessible from the airport so no need to go on coaches. The beaches are all beautiful with very calm, shallow seas.

Of all the holidays we’ve done with DD (long haul, short, all sorts) the best was the one which was an hour’s drive to a little beach house in Kent. Playing on the beach, going to the nearest town for ice cream, that sort of thing. No airports, no stress about the weather, no uncertainty or drama at all. She still talks fondly about Kent, whereas I practically have PTSD about the time she screamed through Belgium or the staycation when I discovered that rural Wales is short on corner stores. Lucky she was conceived in Japan, because if it was up to her alone I suspect we’d never leave the south east.

We had a villa on Menorca with a garden and child proofed pool. Absolutely brilliant. Mornings spent at the beach, lunch out by the beach, head home for DC nap, DH and I had a swim / sunbathe, DC wake up and swim in pool, then late afternoons in the garden playing. Dinner at home and chilled evenings on the veranda after DC in bed.

Loads of new toys and activity books for the plane. Morning flight times.

A villa with private garden costs more but it's worth it for the freedom it gives you.

Forgot to say, as pp says the beaches on Menorca are renowned for being kid friendly as the water is so calm and shallow.

Depends all on your child.

DD loved going to museums and castles but obviously not every day and wouldn't want to be on her feet for a week pondering pavement.

Friends with a boy the same age could only do outdoor things as he wasn't happy being indoors or doing anything slow/looking at things.

We had the best holidays when we went somewhere where we could do a mix of things, parks, zoos, museums, beaches, woods. We went to Germany, Majorca, SW England, Derbyshire.

For us the biggest sucess was a self catering house/flat, enough space for all, no issues with finding food or busy restaurants in hotel resorts. I also didn't want to deal with jet lag.

With younger kids the Isle of Wight was great. We went with a baby and a 3 year old. And when we had a 3 yr old and a 5 yr old we went to Denmark purely on the basis of this blog and it was awesome. Copenhagen has so many fantastic parks we couldn’t even manage to see all of them and lots of interactive museums. www.eehbahmum.com/top-10-reasons-to-visit-denmark-with-toddlers/

I’ve done lots of holidays with toddlers and they’re brilliant, you just need the right place.
Majorca / Menorca are fab for the short flight time. Mine always sleep on the plane. Take snacks and activities for if they don’t.
Lots of family friendly hotels.
In Majorca I would look at Sa coma, Can picafort and Cala dor.
Lots of hotels have toddler sized water slides and more than 1 Childrens pool.
I would recommend going all inclusive as it means drinks and snacks are sorted for days you’re at the hotel. Usually only works out a couple of hundred pounds dearer so it’s worth it. It doesn’t mean you can’t leave the hotel to eat / spend the day out.

Centreparcs. The closest one to your house. .

Our holidays are cheap and cheerful caravan jobs in the UK!

When they were 4 & 5 we went to Cornwall (from Yorkshire) to stay in a damp shed chalet. The journey there & back was better than it could have been because we drove overnight and they slept in the car. We made the most of our English Heritage and National Trust memberships and went out every day and the dc enjoyed the play parks there.

I think any accommodation where the dc have a separate bedroom from yours and from the living area is a must so you can enjoy your evening without disturbing their sleep.

Beach holidays or center Parcs!

surprisingly uk breaks were by far the most stress free, and butlins was what ds enjoyed the most

Like a previous poster I think Menorca is ideal cause its a short flight flight and very child friendly. When ds was little we stayed at Talyot Apartments there. Splash pool, play areas, kids clubs, plenty to keep young kids entertained.

Mallorca, stay somewhere walkable to the beach, bring the Buggy and when they fall asleep in it you get a little break. Stay somewhere with a kids pool and entertainment, they love it. Don’t economise and pick silly flight times. Have fun :)

Butlins! Butlins! Butlins!

Sani (Greece) was pretty good for that age but not much for older kids. We did Sani Club though, maybe the other ones are different.
Dominican Republic - Paradisus Punta Cana had lots for kids if I remember rightly, very easy as all inclusive.
We’re going to Mousses in Greece this year, very excited.