Goa with small kids, yay or nay

[lifesobeautiful]

Hello everyone! We're thinking of Goa for Christmas with my family - and we have two young kids, a DS who'll be 4 then and a DD who'll be 18 months. Has anyone been with children? I've never been to India, but I do know that water can be an issue. We were hoping to find a child-friendly resort (preferably with kids' clubs - sounds so boring...it would have been me back-packing 5 years ago! but hey ho...). Any advice or recommendations would be much appreciated. If it's a bad idea I'd like to know too.

I haven't been but know friends who have and they had a great time. Very family friendly.

Sorry I can't be more specific, the Lonely Planet books are always a good starting point and they have special sections on travelling with young children.

www.lonelyplanet.com/asia/travel-tips-and-articles/1317

Go for it, say I!

Check what jabs and malaria prophylaxis you need in good time.

We spent 4 months in India when our oldest was 18 months. Remember to check vaccines early, the BCG needs to be given 6 months in advance if I remember correctly, and they need two dozes. Be careful to find out if you need any malaria prophylactics. They ruined my sons appetite totally, so it was a bit of a struggle over meal times.

We stayed in Bangalore, then went to Trivandrum and headed south along the coast in Kerala. We hired a car and drove to Cochin, then did a back water cruise, drove to Munnar to look at the teaplantations and explore the "highlands" and spice plantations, before heading back to Bangalore, then Sri Lanka for a small holiday on the way back.

My best advice to you is to pack torch light and batteries, bring some moscito repellent but stock up locally and use the electric moscito repellents in the room and follow the instructions carefully. Bring long thin trousers and long sleeved shirts for evening, you dont want bugs crawling in/moscitos biting. Bring high factor sunlotion with you.

Bring any nappies you plan to use, we could not find nappies locally, children either went without (yes, accidents happened both kinds, even on restaurant floors) or wore cloth nappies. It is hot and humid, so I suggest long t shirt and no nappies for day wear, or just put shorts on when going to town. Take good quality nappy rash cream, like Methanium and Bepanthen. Bring wet wipes, antibac wipes, etc.

Having said this, Goa is touristy, so you may be able to find all this locally.

Not really sure why you would travel all the way to Goa if you are going to stay in a resort with a kids club. you could be anywhere if that's the case. why not save Goa until DC is a bit bigger and you feel confident about travelling around and go somewhere else not so far, expensive or where jabs are needed. there are loads of resorts with kids clubs for Christmas where it will be lovely and warm and your DC wont give a stuff. if you are planning on travelling around then personally I would be too anxious about jabs and water with a very LO but that's just me, I was not terribly adventurous when they were little.

Thanks so much everyone. This is excellent advice. Will start looking into everything. Thanks for such detailed advice Quintezilla. I know Mummymeister - have to say it wouldn't be my first choice right now, but it's because my sister lives in Australia - so we're trying to find somewhere almost in between. And we did Thailand just before the kids. She would love us to go to Sydney, but we're moving house, don't have the time or money - and quite frankly inclination to travel for three days and then get jet lag!

You'll find nappies and wipes in the tourist areas of Goa easily but they will probably be imported so could work out expensive depending on the exchange rates at the time.

Goa is very family friendly and they love children. DS1 spent many an afternoon playing on the beach or in the beach shacks with his new friends.

Obviously it will be hot whenever you go but Dec/Jan are a bit cooler and it will feel cooler in the evenings at that time of year. I second lots of Mossie repellant. You can buy sprays, etc over there if you don't want to pack them.

Bottled water is widely available. I'd probably give ice cubes and ice cream a miss with the little ones just in case. Fussy eaters will be well catered for and a lot of places will make meals not on the menu if you ask.

If you're there for New Year you will see the Old Man being burned on the bonfire (a bit like our Guy Fawkes) and lots of fireworks. The DC will probably like seeing the random cows wandering around the streets and beach.

Unless the airport has improved it can take a while to get through so take drinks and snacks for when you land and something to keep the DC amused. I'd also recommend getting a taxi from the airport to the hotel rather than the tour bus. It doesn't cost very much and you get there a lot quicker!

Have a great time. I'm .

One more thing, a local doctor told us that bottled water was imported, but fizzy drinks like coke was made on license, using local water..... He told us to stay away from those to avoid tummy upsets. But things could have changed now.

All bottled drinks should be fine, bottled water is not imported and Goa is pretty safe for all food/drinks, even MOST (I won't say all) of the ice is good too, especially in tourist restaurants. Local restaurants normally provide you with a class of water on the table, this is possibly local tap water, which will be treated but not to the same standards that you would find in the UK. So stick to bottle water/soft drinks.

Ice cream (major brands) from larger shops should also be fine, smaller shops are more reliant on the local electricity grid which can go off for hours, whereas the larger supermarkets will have battery backups.

Goa is a great place to visit and eye opening, it can be a bit 'in your face' but if you just chill and try not to contol everything it's a great place, through your worries out the window and relax and it's fabulous, pretty much perfect sunshine from Oct through to May, best time to visit is dec/jan when it gets cooler at night.

lots of info here

www.poipleshadow.com/Prices-In-Goa

There is a huge variety of hotels but it's great to get out and about yourselves, do keep your eye on your children ESPECIALLY around traffic and on the beach.

what about dubai instead? or the states? goa wouldnt be my first choice with little kids tbh

Personally I wouldn't go to goa with such small children. I know of 3 people who have been there and despite going to luxury resorts and being careful etc all of them have ended up extremely unwell with tummy bugs etc. One family's little girl aged 3 came down with the most awful bug and they ended up in a local hospital with doctors who didn't speak any English and the hygiene standards were apparently truly horrendous. I think the resorts themselves are lovely but if something bad happens the hospitals etc are generally not very good. Not something I would risk.

What about Sri Lanka instead. The visa for India we found to be a right pain so went to Sri Lanka as it took 10 minutes on line. We first did a hotel based holiday and then went back a few weeks later as we loved it that much and did a 3 week tour around the island with a car and driver we met the first time. 3 weeks worked out at just over a £1000 each including direct flights/hotels/car/fuel/driver and his accommodation. We did a safari which was amazing. There is so much to see and do and you could do it at whatever pace you wanted.

Travelling around with an 18 month old in Sri Lanka or India would be my idea of holiday hell. Travelling in India is a massive challenge full stop! Wait until they are teenagers, then India is a possibility and they will enjoy it. I would choose Dubai if you just want to relax! Shorter flight and easy transfers. Less jabs too. Or maybe the Indian Ocean Islands if the season is right.