…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!

Also to add I’d either do self catering or all inclusive. My daughters a snacker so having our own or the complexes endless supply of food was much easier and cost effective and kept out toddler happier.

Heads up- scrap New York. Children over 5 need to be vaccinated to go into buildings including hotels and restaurants etc. unless things dramatically change in six months I can’t see that happening in the U.K.

We are booked for New York for January but our daughter can’t go.

Try the Far East- child friendly, great value once you get there. We did Shanghai, Malaysia and Borneo at that age. Think possibly New Zealand was when DD was 3?

@TruffleShuffles

Also to add I’d either do self catering or all inclusive. My daughters a snacker so having our own or the complexes endless supply of food was much easier and cost effective and kept out toddler happier.

Agree that food wise this is easiest. When we’ve stayed in hotels we take a lot of snacks and also buy fresh fruit and water to keep in the room as soon as we arrive. Our children are pretty well behaved in restaurants and eat most foods but if they weren’t I’d insist on self catering.

Cromer in Norfolk. Long sandy beach. Lots of little fairground rides. Fab zoo, small enough for little ones to trot around happily. Lots of nice little cafes. Steam train ride available nearby.

We took DD when she was 2.5 for her last holiday as an only (I was 7 months pregnant at the time) and I remember it very fondly.

If you want abroad, and have a very large budget, the Ikos hotels are fabulous and provide amazing child care and entertainment. We took our two to one when they were 4 and 6 and they still talk about it three years later.

The best holiday we went on when our DD was small was with Simpson Holidays - at Mousses Lefkada. It’s a set of 12 villas around a big shared pool with taverna (amazing food) and bar. They have an incredible (very small and safe) kids club where you can book in (including an evening babysitting session). We just did a week of afternoons in the kids club only plus one evening and it was a HUGE success. In fact we went back three times. I would never leave my DD in a big anonymous kids club but this one is very well staffed with properly trained nannies and a very low kids-adults ratio. Just the most relaxing (and fun) holiday for families with young children. The island is great with lots to explore with nice beaches and villages. The family who own the villas are so friendly and it’s a wonderful relaxing friendly place to holiday with great weather. Simpsons organise everything. Highly recommended.

UK: Centre Parcs or Haven Holiday Parks
ABROAD: Tenerife all inclusive family resort

Done both several times. Brilliant holidays.

Another vote for Menorca. We took DS1 aged 2 & DS2, aged 10 months and had a lovely time.

@anothersantas

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.

I was going to say exactly this. We did villas in Spain during the toddler years and it worked perfectly. We'd have a car and go out and about during the day, have a nice lunch out and then a simple dinner back at the villa. DH and I felt like we had a break in the evenings and DC still kept to normal( (ish) bedtimes.

Not for everyone but I hated the idea of us all sharing a hotel room for 2 weeks.

I second the Isle of Wight. Went there every summer for about ten years. Was idyllic. Loads to do: beaches, fun parks (mine adored Black Gang Chine), chines, walks, Alum Bay (coloured sand, carousel, chairlift), Osborne House, windmill, etc etc
I have very fond memories. And it felt like we'd really gone somewhere because of going on the ferry 😂

Also agree that self-catering is easier with little ones.

We’ve travelled all over the world with ds since he was 5 months old. The only stressful holidays have been in the UK!! As a toddler the most relaxing and easiest holidays were in the Greek islands, hotel rather than self catering (I’m not cooking and washing up on my holidays!).
Make sure your hotel is right by a beach but in a quiet area, and your little one will spend the whole time paddling and building sandcastles.
The Greeks adore children and will go out of their way to welcome you.

Just to add if you travel abroad on a package type holiday then aparthotels are a good option if you want space, separate bedrooms and cooking facilities as you get all the perks of an apartment but the facilities of a hotel such as the pool, entertainment and dining options. We've always stayed in these when travelling with young children and found that it gave us lots of flexibility

We used to go to the Bedruthan Steps Hotel in Cornwall when our kids were younger. It's very Fulham on Sea in terms of guests (nothing wrong with that but everyone is kind of identical...). They have loads of stuff for the kids; soft play area, playgrounds, evening entertainment etc.

They did a high tea for the kids then you could have an adult dinner in the restaurant as they had baby listening devices in the room, monitored by reception (appreciate we may not be typical MN parents on that front). It was bliss.

Depends what your non holiday life is like really. We did a fair amount of trips out on buses and trains, and ate in lots of restaurants, so had a great time on city breaks with toddlers - Paris, Nice, Brussels, London, Edinburgh etc all really good. It sounds like you want the bustle of a city? Personally I wouldn't want the hassle of a long flight to NY but I wouldn't rule it out.

It's not the same as you'd experience child free, but you see the city through slightly different eyes with a toddler - find playparks for downtime and do museums at double quick speed (but stopping to scrutinise every fire extinguisher and no entry sign 😁, or whatever daft detail they like). Eat lunch out and dinner in the hotel (buy supermarket food so toddler can have plain, familiar-ish food). If you're able to use a toddler carrier or sling it's way easier to get around. Our two year old (turned 2 in Paris) insisted on walking everywhere though and climbing every metro staircase by himself. It was great as he slept well at night.

Ok NY is ruled out!

I’m literally open to anything! I enjoy hot holidays, cooler holidays, lazy holidays, activity holidays… not fussy.

The advice here has been really good (thank you), I will definitely look out for all inclusive & family friendly resorts not too far away (Greece looks very positive).

I think PP was right about NY being a great memory for Dd when she is a bit older, so I will be parking it for now.

We have done several U.K. breaks which have been wonderful (in the car heading off to the Peak District as I type this!) but I’m at the end of my tether with the crappy weather here & so I think I’ll stick with something abroad, probably Mediterranean.

Thanks again.

Somewhere near the beach. Spain is very accomodating for kids, lots of play areas.
Forget museums, think about stroll in the city to a playground and some lunch after, beach another day and so on. Don’t make fixed plans and busy schedules.

Private villa with a gated pool in Spain

Placemarking for some great ideas from this thread!

We had loads of great holidays when ours were preschool age. I love being able to go out with school holidays so it’s quieter and less hot.

We loved:
Scicily - stayed in various apartments, everyone seems to love children there so it’s very relaxed eating out etc. toddler loved the ice cream, beaches and we loved drinking wine in little squares in the evening while he chased pigeons 😀
Lake Garda - Bella italia campsite, off season is nice and quiet and not too pricey, fabulous pool, walking distance to town, right on the lake. Again Italy so very child friendly. Kids loved pizza and ice cream and getting the boats all around the lake to various towns. The boats run like a bus service and it’s such a nice way to get around
Campsites/caravan parks in France. We loved Bois de cam Marie (booked through lifestyle holidays). Amazing pool for small children, nice quiet beach and restaurants. Just a lovely atmosphere. Caravans were very modern with decking and air conditioning. We hired bikes with a trailer for kids and cycled all over, lots of safe cycle paths.
La serignan plage campsite (most campsite by Yelloh! are fab). 5 star site with pools, slides, little parks, inside play house, carousels, bouncy castles, lovely little bars next to parks, takeaway paella and direct beach access. Would def go back there if we’re weren’t stuck with school holidays (prices are insane). It’s near bezier so lovely small airport to fly to.
Lisbon with apartment stays in nearby beach towns, so much to see. Lisbon great city with kids, not too big or too expensive and very child friendly. Brilliant aquarium and randomly free museum of electricity was a big hit with mine. The beach town we stayed in (name has disappeared for. My head) has direct train into Lisbon so benefit of beach town and city break in one. Sinatra is awesome for a day trip too with a very cool system of underground tunnels and gardens my boys loved.
Final one was a caravan holiday in a Spanish town called Callela de palafrugel. Just such a lovely Spanish town, with lovely coves and great tapas restaurants
We prefer caravan holidays or apartments with pools to hotels as my boys are not great sleepers and are better with their own room. I also like to have a fridge for food and drinks as children don’t necessarily want to eat at European meal times.
We’ve done more city breaks with mine as they’ve got older and they especially love London

Apologies for the essay 😀

Lisbon with apartment stays in nearby beach towns, so much to see. Lisbon great city with kids, not too big or too expensive and very child friendly. Brilliant aquarium and randomly free museum of electricity was a big hit with mine. The beach town we stayed in (name has disappeared for. My head) has direct train into Lisbon so benefit of beach town and city break in one. Sinatra is awesome for a day trip too with a very cool system of underground tunnels and gardens my boys loved.

Lisbon is a great suggestion if you wanted a city break but NY is too ambitious. We had a fabulous holiday staying in a villa in one of the beach resorts near Lisbon and popping into the city for day trips.

Are we allowed to recommend actual named resorts? I'm looking for villas in south of France with family friendly facilities and the option of babysitting / kids club type thing. Does anyone know of anything?

Three year olds aren't toddlers but ignoring that, I'd probably look for a resort so that everything is close at hand. You don't want to be travelling far with a hot and cranky three year old.

Greece would probably be my first choice as very child friendly and hot weather.

When our DC was 3, we went to the Crowne Plaza in Vilamoura on the Algarve. It was great - especially as Portugal is on the same time zone as the UK and the resort is only 20/25 minutes from Faro Airport. It's a great hotel- super comfy! We booked a Junior Suite to give us more room. There's a sandy beach right in front of the hotel, 2 pools - including a children's pool - and a children's play area. The resort is flat and there are some fab restaurants all around the marina - or you could eat in thd hotel. There's a little train which goes around Vilamoura, which our son loved, and also a great minigolf place, which is fun! There is also a really clean waterpark (Aqualand) nearby, which has plenty of things for young children.

I came on to say Mousses in Lefkada (Greece). It was amazing. We’d have gone back 3 times too if we could have afforded it 😂

The villas are spaced around the (fenced and gated) pool with the small restaurant at the end. You can call the restaurant and they deliver your food (course by course) to your terrace so you have effectively a private dining experience without having to get a babysitter as child is asleep inside.

The kids club has more in common with an exclusive small day nursery than a traditional kids club and the staff are all trained British nannies timings on offer are flexible and well suited to a balance.

The island is beautiful.

Just you and a toddler? or other people too?

If its just you and one kid, i think it depends on stuff like whether the kid still needs naps or early nights or can she sleep on the go. Do you need a buggy? What is it you want from a holiday?
Since you say new york, sounds like you like a city break, so id look for a city but a child friendly one. Id look at aparthotels or a caravan type thing rather than a hotel room so that you still have an evening and arent sitting there in a darkened room