What to take and what to leave behind?

[Manfwood]

I'm sure there are numerous posts about lists to take on holiday (also on other websites) but wondered what is the one thing you would take and the one thing you would leave behind.

We are going to Portugal for one week with 21-month DS and already having nightmares about what to pack and fitting everything in the baggage allowance.

Thanks

Leave behind nappies.

Not sure about what to take - is it hotel or self catering?

Self catering. Do you suggest buying them there? not sure about local shops etc (apart from obviously there are some!)

You think you got it bad, Manfwood -- we are going on a cycling holiday to Italy, with 2 toddlers. EVERYTHING we take has to fit into, at most, 4 large pannier bags and 2 medium-size bar bags; we have to carry it all on the bikes.

In theory, we are taking 3 outfits each, including beach & cycling wear, plus some waterproofs that double as cold-weather wear. Plus, (in theory!) 45 disp. nappies, because I don't want to spend time hunting for them in remote rual areas. Maybe we'll leave 'em out when I see how much everything else amounts up to.

We are taking, at most, only 3 very small toys per child, the whole experience should be pretty entertaining for the kids. Water bottles, sewing kid & washing powder are essential, too.

Ooops, sewing kit, I meant, not our own special child-labour sewing kid.

take enough nappies for the first couple of days but you will def be able to buy them there.
Take one or two cups/water bottles and stuff to take food out in (I took my little baby food cool bag - v useful)
A few fave books and carefully selected small toys (we took stacking cups, a couple of cars, a handful of megablocks, and some crayons - oh, and his rabbit for sleeping with).
Sunscreen you are happy with, stuff he needs for swimming. Spare sunhat. Mosquito repellent. Calpol.
Don't take many clothes (for any of you) - they wash and dry quickly. One set of warmer clothes only. One pair of sandals.

We went to France with 19 month old ds and found we had plenty of baggage allowance despite feeling like we'd taken absolutely loads of stuff for him! - its amazing what you can fit in....we just had one LARGE holdall and ds's back carrier which has lots of storage space - total of about 33kg I think.

Sewing kit?!! It must be years (perhaps decades!) since I used one of those

i take it all back - Zebra you must be mad. i wouldnt even do this on our own (not the energetic sporty holiday type!).

Anyway thanks for your suggestions - probably will take pack of nappies and spread them about the luggage which should last best part of the holiday. Last year went to France and took car so could bung everything in - DH said i took DS's entire wardrobe (and we had a washing machine!) but you can never be too careful. At least dont need to worry about sterilising stuff this time. Have just bought first aid kit as what with all DS recent falls and bruises we had better have some decent stuff in case of accidents!

can you do without the following large items: travel booster seat, car seat, pushchair? I'm trying to plan for a trip to Italy next month with an 18 month old, but will be renting a car. The one thing I figured might help is to pack DD's outfits which can double as pajamas. This means she won't be wearing her cutest outfits, but they will be the most comfortable ones.

tinyfeet - you should have no problem getting a car seat with the hire car - but it needs to be booked in advance. We took the buggy (and the back carrier) and found both useful. By booster seat do you mean a high chair substitute? We had a highchair in our accommodation so didn't need anything else - restaurants will generally provide on the continent (or take one of those cloth things to tie on the back of a normal chair).
It'll probably be too hot for pyjamas - ds was in summer grobag with either nothing or shortsleeved vest on underneath - and it was similar in Mallorca last Sept. I'd just take a couple of vests or t shirts for night time. And clothing does need to be cool above all else.

We are getting car seat with hire car but taking small inflatable booster seat as no high chair at apartment - also heard that Portugal is not great for high chairs so thought would make it easier if we have our own. Also taking Mclaren stroller. think i am just worrying about all the little things you take for granted at home and toys etc

Thanks

We bought nappies in Portugal, no problem. Make sure you know your baby's weight in kg though so you get the right size!! You can get wipes there too.

Manfwood, I think I will also need to get one of those inflatable travel highchairs. Elliott, did you or your DS need a long sleeve jacket or jumper in the evenings when you were in Mallorca in September? I thought it might get cool in the evenings, no? Also, what are good (hopefully somewhat healthy) travel snacks? At home, DD has yogurt or cheeze, but these are obviously not portable. I do think the stacking cups are the best toys to bring, as they make good bath toys too.

One thing we found really useful was a pair of reigns for DS2 as the highchairs didn't have any restraint/trays so we just took these with us to any resturants so he could'nt escape.

We went to Majorca last year (DH, DS1+2 and me) and the only other thing I can think of taking with you is an army load of helpers for the airport, plane journey,collecting luggage, transfer to hotel, unpacking, entertainment for the holiday, re-packing, transfer back to airport, plane journey home and collecting luggage when back at home.

As you can see we didn't have a particulary good holiday but that I'm sure is because it was 2 adult and 2 children so neither of us got any time to relax.

Have a lovely time and don't miss Mumsnet to much

Def take first aid kit but leave behind all those mountains of clothes we always take and don't wear.

Manfwood,

Take layers - couple of sleeveless tops, t shirts both long and short sleeved, shorts and trousers/skirt if you plan to go out in the evening (longer styles protect against insects as well as cooler evenings). Swimming stuff. When do you go, if it likely to be humid or stormy don't forget light water proofs or umbrella.Handwashing gel and nail brush, just in case. You should be able to buy nappies etc there but be prepared to have to buy different brand and/or a large packet and bring some back. Light weight buggy with shade.

dd is currently sleeping under just a brushed cotton sheet in a vest body suit. Be warned that you may get supplied with a quilt for your ds, so take something lighter from home (smells familiar too). A few toys - inflatable ball, small boat, stacking cups and shapesorter (we have a set that all folds into the shape sorter bucket-JLP)but make sure you know exactly what you have taken with you and count up! Finally, any foods that ds cannot live without - we used to take Marmite with us on holiday.

Luggage allowance is still pretty generous so I'm sure you'll be surprised how much you could take . Have a great holiday

I'm glad somebody has started a thread about this. We're going to Tenerife at the end of September when DS will be 2y7m.

DH is under the impression that we will only be taking one suitcase. How realistic is this? Also wouldn't it be better to split stuff in case one case went missing?

As DS is only on nighttime nappies I am planning on taking them because I figure if I buy a pack I will end up bringing more home than I would have to take out. I'm surprised at how little your children need to entertain them - I can't imagine a set of stacking cups and a couple of cars keeping him occupied for a four hour flight. Is it because he is slightly older?

tinyfeet - I remember in Mallorca it was mid 20s all through the night (I took a thermometer - can't imagine why now, still in obsessive little baby mode!) and it hadn't been a particularly 'good' season. Ds went to bed at 7 and didn't ever need long sleeves IIRC. Now, I would probably take one ls tshirt, one sweatshirt/hoody or similar and also one ls light shirt - good for sun cover up and also against insects if you want to all go out in the evening.
Snacks - for the journey I did sandwiches and rice cakes/bread sticks, and took a pot of raisins and some bananas. For day trips I took chunks of fruit in small plastic tub (a useful thing to take), and sandwiches.

Bozza - depends how big the suitcase is ! We only took one main bag - v large holdall.
We had two short flights (60-90 mins) so that helped alleviate boredom. DS was a doddle on the flights actually - much better than I'd feared - he loved looking out of the window and at all the other passengers. we only really used the books to entertain him on the flight, apart from a constant stream of snacks!

We bought a buggy bag and at the gate put the buggy in it plus our coats, books, etc. It gets round the luggage allowance as it doesn't get weighed. If you have anything heavy (and non-breakable) shove it in the basket while DS is sitting at the check in desk and then transfer it into the bag at the gate. Might be worth doing a trial run for this

We also took our carseat (although DS was still in his Rock a Tot) after my brother's experience. He booked one with the hire car company, turned up late at night to find there was only one and the previous child had been sick in it! Ours didn't get weighed either and we put it in a clear bin bag so the baggage handlers hopefully handled it fairly carefully...

DS always sleeps in a Grobag so that was a necessity.

I wish we'd taken a First Aid book too as DS rolled off the bed one night onto the tiled floor and I couldn't remember the signs of concussion. Fortunately he was fine but it taught us that we wouldn't have known what to do (beyond taking him to the local dr or hospital) if he'd come out in a rash or had some other symptoms.

Bozza, why don't you buy nappies there and then leave the extras behind?!

I'm not sure I could coax myself to be so wasteful Philippat. Whats the smallest quantity in a pack of nappies? I always buy the big boxes. Seven nappies doesn't seem all that much in space/weight terms.

We were thinking of checking in the buggy. DS is 2.6 and we thought it would be better for him to stretch his legs in the airport because he'll be sat on the plane long enough. If its there he'll want to use it. But slightly concerned about what kind of treatment it will get. Still its only a very grubby Daytripper so no great loss I suppose.

hi Bozza

For an older toddler yes you'd probably want something different for the journey. Our favourites are mini Megasketcher and reusable sticker sets but, having said that the excitement of the journey itself is often enough entertainment, although our flights tend to be shorter. Small but regular offerings of food work well too.

We also got a magnetic jigsaw from ELC which has a chalk board on the back for ds to take on holiday at that sort of age.

hth

I always recommend buying one of those 1.99 paddling pools you can fill it up with sea water and keep it right by you on the beach.

Thanks for the ideas. Lisz I think you're probably right. Also we're travelling with in-laws so extra people to entertain him. Honestly I'm making a real fuss aren't I? Four adults to one child should be a reasonable ratio. And four hours on a plane should actually be easier than eight hours in a car (to Cornwall) which we've done a few times.

DS is a puzzle obsessive so the ELC puzzle sounds great for him.

Also RRR do you think we'd be able to buy one of the little pools out there and then leave it? Had planned to do this with bucket/spade.

Wipes! Also found a small homeopathic travel kit with arnica (good for general use and also jet lag), chamomila (teething) and etc. quite useful. The travel website babygoes2 has good advice and a printable list that you can tick thing off from.

Boza, you can use a blow up boat if you can't find a paddling pool. They always seem to sell blow up boats.