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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

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Original poster

Winter sun with a ten month baby - what works?

23 replies

Dophus · 24/08/2005 10:58

Hi we are trying to plan a two-week holiday in December. By then DS will be 10 months old.

In the past we have generally enjoyed a combination of relaxation and activity. Whilst I enjoy a few days of tropical indulgence I like to mix this with exploration, site-seeing, walking etc.

We can't decide whether to go long haul to somewhere tropical (e.g. Thailand, Sri Lanka, MAldives, Mauritius). There are currently great bargains around and we wouldn't have to pay a full fare for the baby. However we are concerned about:

jabs
malaria
too much sun
being unable to relax as we are having to permanently stop the baby eating sand, crawling into the ocean etc etc.

Our other alternativ is to go somewhere closer to home (e.g. Canaries, Madeira) and have a villa-type holiday with planty of walking and sight seeing.

Have you taken a baby away at this age and is so what did and didn't work?

OP posts:

beansprout · 24/08/2005 11:02

I suppose it depends on how you live with the baby generally. Does he have a fixed routine or does he fit in with you? Whatever you do, relaxing might not be very high on the agenda. We are about to go away with ds, who is also 10 months and I fully expect it to be pretty much like being at home, only with different scenery!!

Original poster

Dophus · 24/08/2005 11:09

We're all pretty relaxed with no routines etc so I'm not to worried about sleep patterns etc. I guess I'm concerned about finding myself on holiday and unable to enjoy time on the beach wiht my son. Is a ten-month old baby too young to enjoy the beach?

Where are you going?

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beansprout · 24/08/2005 11:14

We are going to Barcelona (for our honeymoon!), We went to Dorset in June when it was hot and yes, 10months is too young to enjoy the beach really, although he did love watching the sea. The real problem was trying to keep the sun off him so we did lots of walking but spent very little time on the beach.

Original poster

Dophus · 24/08/2005 11:25

How lovely - congratulations

We went to Spain in June and also discovered that beaches weren't really practical (alhtough he did love the sea even though it was freezing). We also did lots of walking and sight-seeing.

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MaggieW · 24/08/2005 13:01

Would thoroughly recommend Miami Beach in Florida, as opposed to the Orlando area which is more suitable for older children. We went in Jan/Feb and it was low to mid 20s each day, so not too hot. Lovely beach - wide enough to go crawling for a long way before reaching the water! If DS sitting up then he'll enjoy the beach. Playgrounds all along the promenade. Restaurants on opposite side of road and all very child friendly. Lots of places to visit nearby eg the Everglades etc. Flight was 10 hours but absolutely fine with my two. We rented an apartment 5 min's from beach. It had all home comforts eg washing machine etc, so we could self cater or eat out. Had a lovely lovely relaxing holiday. You could also consider the Carribean - again good temp's that time of year.

Original poster

Dophus · 24/08/2005 14:02

Sounds lovely!

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Original poster

Dophus · 24/08/2005 17:46

Any other ideas?

Anyone been anywhere exotic with a baby of a similar age?

i.e bump!

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chicagomum · 24/08/2005 18:44

cape town is great jan/feb time and there isn't the problem of jet lag as its only 1 hr diff (although quite a long flight)

lapsedrunner · 24/08/2005 18:53

Cape Town sounds like a great idea, I'm desperate to go. Have a look at www.bushbabytravel.com, specialist S Africa travel agent for families. Having said all that I have come to realise that once you have a young child holidays are not relaxing at all but simply a chance to travel and have a change of scene (ds is nearly 3)! To that end I would be tempted to spend the equivelent amount of money at a really good UK hotel with full childcare, I'm thinking of the Woolley grange type experience.

Original poster

Dophus · 24/08/2005 20:13

SA is a great idea however we went there a couple of years ago. I adore it there so much that we are considering emigrating. However for this holiday it is a little over our budget...

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WestCountryLass · 24/08/2005 21:12

DD was 10 months when we went to Mexico and we had the same concerns as yourself however FIL was paying so we had to go!

Jabs, she could not have the typhoid vax but was low typhoid risk as was breastfeeding (if formula fed still not an issue if sterilising/using boiled water).
Malaria, could not take antimalarials but we took all other precautions, covered up from dusk til dawn, used insect repellant, made sure room was bug free at bedtime.
Too much sun, actually not really an issue, we ate inside at lunchtime to avoid the midday sun and kids had an afternoon nap.
Relaxing, my SIL and BIL wnated to lie on sun loungers and not bother with their kids but we relaxed with our kids, playing and swimming and going out on trips. Our holiday was more relaxing as they constantly shouted at their kids from the poolside and never got to really enjoy their holiday.

WestCountryLass · 24/08/2005 21:13

Oh and we went to Iberostar Cozumel, I would not recommend going there but Iberostar Paraiso del Mar is fab! We transfered!

swedishmum · 28/08/2005 23:41

We went to New York at 6 weeks and Bahamas at 5 months but by 10 months (Venice Lido) baby was mobile so not so much relaxation for us! As long as you accept you can no longer fall asleep on the beach it's fun. Having said that, I saw a baby of about that age this week in Sorrento happy in a travel cot by the side of her parents.

princesspeahead · 28/08/2005 23:54

maldives and mauritius have no malaria. didn't have any additional jabs for them either. have done mauritius with a 9mth old, was lovely. check the weather though, I think it pours in december.
caribbean perfect for small children and shorter flight/fewer jabs bugs and dodgy water problems. Also weather perfect in December, and there is also masses of reliable good built in babysitting (all the hotel maids babysit and all have children of own etc etc). Go to an island you can fly directly to- barbados, antigua, st lucia and tobago basically. Look at Coco Reef in Tobago - went there with 6mth old. Very sheltered shallowly shelving beach pretty perfect for small children. Incredibly child friendly yet nice for adults. Very short transfer from airport to hotel (10 mins) which is important when you get off long flight. Much better value than equivalent hotel in barbados.
In St lucia look at hotels in north (windjammer landing etc) because ones near Pitons, although much nicer scenery etc are an incredibly long land transfer from airport (although you can get a helicopter transfer ata price). Windjammer Landing v child friendly etc etc but quite big. Probably the best of the lot for the north though. V good babysitting as well there.

swedishmum · 28/08/2005 23:57

We did helicopter transfer in st Lucia to Jalousie - v quick and lots of fun. Not cheap though!

princesspeahead · 28/08/2005 23:58

yes I keep looking at the jalousie hilton, but never quite got there. went to anse chastenet in pre baby days, that was quite nice...

princesspeahead · 29/08/2005 00:01

look also at little good harbour in barbados where we went in feb this year - slightly off the beaten track of west coast hotels, small but rooms very good - all 1 or 2 bed suites with living rooms and full kitchens, so useful for mashing up baby food, washing up bottles etc etc. full fridges etc so you can fill up with soft drinks and ice cream and don't have to rely on room service all the time. also quite good value (but lets face it, it is barbados so no great bargain). early december is generallly still low season though (before 14th I think), so have a look at prices.

moondog · 29/08/2005 10:15

Dophus

Really recommend Sri Lanka and Malaysia as great places. Did latter (as well as Thailand and Singapore) when dd was 13 months and former when she was about 26 months.

Wonderful experiences both times. We put together our own itinerary so were constantly on the move.
Can't recall needing any special equipment. Made sure dd had injections though.

I suppose childcare is easier to organise if you stay in the same palace,but we were happy to have dd with us. In the evening,we would find someone to keep an eye on her for a couple of hours as we had a peaceful dinner.
Presumably your ds can't walk yet? Thats when it gets tough.

Now we have two and our last holiday to Dubai in January was pretty hectic,even though we were in the Jumeirah Beach Hotel where childcare is ace.
Our next trip is to the Med. in Turkey (where we live) and as we aren't travelling far,I am going to spend more time in the hotel and less soaking up culture. Usually,can't bear to go away and not see the sights,but as its only down the road this time,I will feel less bad about just hanging out by the pool and offloading my 14 month old for a bit of peace which I badly need.

Stay out of the sun at its height,invest in a sunshade for the pushchair as well as hats and sunblock and you should be right!

hockeymum · 29/08/2005 19:13

Hi, I'd really think twice about going to a malaria area if I were you. We went to SA with my dd this year who was 2 1/2 and old enough to take anti malarials but we could not for the life of us get them down her they tasted so strong. Shes such a compliant girl with medicines normally but we had no luck with this. Plus even if you are religious about applying insect repelant and the like its still a bit of a worry. Every time dd got a temperature with a cold or something when we got back the doctors insisted on seeing her to rule out malaria and they say this will go on for a year when you take a baby to a malarial area.

With regards to other jabs they dont tend to need any cos their baby boosters are so effective.

Cant help with where to go though, but we took our dd at that age to Western France (Brittany - not for you in december, it was summer when we went) and she adored the beach we spent hours playing with her in the sand, so dont worry about avoiding a beach, its great fun at that age and keeps you fit chasing after them!

moondog · 29/08/2005 21:01

Ooh,dunno about that. Grew up in a malaria hotspot (PNG) which means I won't be able to give blood until about 2060 but we survived!

mommie · 30/08/2005 06:40

If you can stretch to it, Barbados would be good. No jabs, nice safe sandy beaches and some hotels like the Almond Beach Village have creches and supply babysitters. We had a good look at the hotel last time we were there and are considering it for a holiday. Virgin do good deals. Downsides - long flights and v hot and island is hopelessly full when cricket is on. Upsides, there is plenty to do and the north side of the island is great (like Cornwall) for drama while the south is fabulous for lazy loungers like me.

newgirl · 30/08/2005 15:51

Not so exotic but the Mark Warner holidays are good - though I think they finish start of Oct. You don't have to stay in the resort the whole time and you can hire a car etc but they are good mainly for BABYSITTING!!! I think it is one way to have a real holiday. It could be a practice run for a longer flight /more independent holiday next year.

Willow2 · 30/08/2005 23:17

Dophus - worth remembering that you wouldn't have to pay full fare for your baby because he will be sat on your lap for that long, long, long haul flight. A word of advice - make sure you don't put him in shoes of any kind. I had bruises for weeks after my first ds as a toddler flight!

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