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

Original poster

Toddler-friendly holiday in Europe without car?

28 replies

JacqueslePeacock · 10/01/2013 18:56

Does anyone have any suggestions for somewhere we could go at Easter time with an 18mo? We don't drive so hiring a car isn't an option. All the great toddler-friendy places look to be in the middle of nowhere, so getting there would be really hard for us.

OP posts:
lljkk · 11/01/2013 07:45

We had a good time in Majorca with 5m old DS one Easter. Used buses & taxis, was a flat+cheap flight deal.

Portofino · 11/01/2013 08:31

South of France? Antibes, Juans Les pins? There is a really good train and bus network and cheap to get a taxi from Nice airport. Lots to do, nice beaches.

blondieminx · 11/01/2013 08:42

Italy!

Do a package deal so transfers and whatnot are included Smile

We went to the Italian island of Sicily when DD was 16m and we had a great time.

Portofino · 11/01/2013 09:11

Or Sardinia is lovely!

Original poster
JacqueslePeacock · 11/01/2013 12:27

Thanks everyone. These all sound really nice. Ideally I was hoping to be able to get there without flying (train, ferry, bus etc) but I guess that ight just not be possible. We did take the train to northern Spain last year, which was lovely, but was a horrible pain in terms of taxis trying to get to the cottage we rented. We definitely need somewhere with good public transport.

OP posts:
Thewhingingdefective · 11/01/2013 13:35

Eurostar to Paris and then TGV to South of France?

Thewhingingdefective · 11/01/2013 13:37

Is flying really not an option? A cheap flight and city break might work- somewhere like Nice or Barcelona.

Original poster
JacqueslePeacock · 11/01/2013 13:48

South of France sounds nice! I will definitely look at that. I have wanted to visit Barcelona for years, so would love to go there, but I can't imagine it would be great for an 18mo.

OP posts:
lljkk · 11/01/2013 14:02

Camping in Normandy? Lots do.
holland is good to get around without a car. parts of Denmark, too

Original poster
JacqueslePeacock · 11/01/2013 17:53

Denmark would be good! I'd love to go there and we could sail there. Would the weather be nice at Easter time?

OP posts:
lljkk · 11/01/2013 19:55

Looks pretty cold to me (sorry). But then again, the Royal Parade might be fun.

What about a Channel Island, or the Scillies?

kayb0 · 11/01/2013 19:58

Have a look on Groupon, I know you hear loads of horror stories about them but we had a fab break to Barcelona last year on a Groupon deal that was a total bargain. - And Barcelona is absolutely gorgeous and had everything, sun, sand, culture, city, art, history, cuisine; you'll love it!

clabsyqueen · 11/01/2013 20:24

Ile de re. Car free island near Bordeaux. Eurostar from london. Not been but planning to as comes highly recommended by friends with toddlers.

Original poster
JacqueslePeacock · 12/01/2013 20:01

Oh damn, I was getting excited about Denmark but 6 degrees is not my idea of warm! Maybe at a different time of year. Ile de Re could be good - I keep seeing it mentioned so I will check it out. Would we get bored though? Is there enough there to occupy us for a week or 10 days?

OP posts:
scissy · 14/01/2013 16:53

I was going to suggest Stockholm until I saw your "no flying" and wanting it to be relatively warm rules Smile - it's supposedly one of the most toddler friendly places in the world (we went there last year and there were loads of young children about, plus public transport is excellent).

janek · 14/01/2013 17:10

Have you looked at seat61.com? I think you'll have to go a long way to guarantee good weather at easter. Particularly as easter is at the end of march this year, ie early.

I know of what i speak. We have been to nw tuscany several times at easter (by train, i hasten to add!) and although it can be sunny and nice it can also chuck it down, and it's not 'boiling' like a 'proper' holiday. Are you stuck with school hols, or do you just fancy a bit of early sun- you may not manage to sunbathe at that time of year, but on the upside the dcs won't burn!

Original poster
JacqueslePeacock · 14/01/2013 17:15

Oh, Stockholm sounds wonderful, and I think we could possibly get there without flying too - but it would need a longer trip to do so, and it's definitely too cold for me in March/April time. I will definitely some back to that suggestion in the future though.

Thanks for the Seat 61 recommendation! I love that website and have planned several train trips round Europe on there. I just wish we had the time to do a longer trip this time.

OP posts:
janek · 14/01/2013 17:56

How long do you actually have? May i recommend a time-efficient overnight train, if i'm not teaching my grandmother to suck eggs?

Original poster
JacqueslePeacock · 14/01/2013 19:16

Have you tried it with a toddler? I'm a bit nervous about overnight train with 18 mo but maybe it would be fine. Probably not all the way to Stockholm though! We have about a week to 10 days if I can persuade DH to go for that long.

OP posts:
janek · 15/01/2013 12:50

Yes, the first time we took dd1 on the overnight train she was 18m and dd2 was only 6 months. It was fine. You only have to pay for a ticket for them once they're four, but you need to have booked the whole compartment in order to have a child travelling for free iyswim.

So we booked a (first class) two-berth compartment and dd1 slept on the thermarest on the floor with her grobag. We used the cushions that make the armrest in compartment's day-mode to block her in a bit, and we explained where we were going to sleep and where she would sleep and it was fine.

The next time when we had dd2, dd1 still wasn't four, so she still slept on thermarest and dd2 shared the bottom bunk with me.

Since then, dd1 has had her own bunk so we book all the beds in a three-person compartment instead (essentially the same compartment as the two-person but with the beds at slightly different levels so there's room for three of them).

When travelling with an 'extra' child you need to bear in mind that you need extra bedding for them, unless you co-sleep. What we now do is give dd1 her sleeping bag and dd2 has her bedding, but on the thermarest.

janek · 15/01/2013 12:53

They have restarted the overnight train to rome i believe, and surely rome is far enough south at easter. You get there about 10.15 (as opposed to 5.38 if you are going to milan, which we normally do!).

Btw the floor space is a compartment is about 1m by 1.20m. I know this as i measured it. So no room really for any kind of travel cot, but they can't fall off the floor and the train seems to lull them to sleep.

janek · 15/01/2013 12:57

a thread of mine from the olden days

narmada · 15/01/2013 22:23

A +1 for ile de re. It is quick and easy to get to from London St P via train.- I think I worked it out at six hours to la rochelle and then from there there is a fast bus - a half hour or so . Everyone cycles everywhere, there are great cycle paths. Not sure how warm at Easter tho ....

Original poster
JacqueslePeacock · 16/01/2013 19:37

Thanks for all the advice on trains! I love travelling by train and we have done quite few train trips to Central and Southern Europe and the Middle East, but I was a bit wary of doing it with a toddler - but your experiences sound very positive.

Thanks for the +1 for Ile de Re - it does sound nice. Is there enough to keep us occupied for a week to 10 days there? I'm not sure how much cycling we could do with an 18 mo (unless you can hire bike trailers?!).

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sleepyhead · 16/01/2013 19:46

Barcelona would be great with a toddler I think. From Parc Guell (sp?) to Barcelonetta there's loads to do.

Train links to other places along the coast etc are also really good.