Long haul holiday ideas for late August / early September with a 4 month old

[RaisinGirls]

I am planning to go on holiday for about 10days with my dd and dh. I have never flown long haul and it has suddenly occurred to me that if I don't do it now, it won't happen for many years due to child costs/ suitability.
So I figured I'd go for 10 days before dd begins weaning (I bf) and while she is still young enough to be happy sitting with a pram toy etc rather than needing to crawl.

Has anyone any suggestions in where would be good to go at this time of year and with a baby?

firstly decide that you are happy to do a long flight in an enclosed space with a baby. then look for places that don't need jabs/immunisations. how hot do you like it to be? if you narrow it down to what you want in then it will be easier for people to suggest specific places otherwise it is a bit too broad. hope this helps.

long haul also means massive jet lag unless you go down the meridian to Africa (assuming you are in the UK). Does that appeal?

will need jabs though and so on second thoughts, probably too late.

But you probably won't need jabs for Australia and NZ? Or how about the US or Canada? Jet lag isn't a problem for babies.

It is hurricane season in the Caribbean but St Vincenr, Barbados & the more southern islands are rarely in hurricanes' paths. Mauritius is stormy then, I think Phuket is too. Bali/Indonesia are good.

What sort of holiday do you actually want? Beach, city, exploring?

not the best time for NZ. Northern Australia would work.

I think maybe i should give long haul a miss. I wasn't looking for a beach type holiday, more exploring and immersion in another culture. Maybe my dd is a little too young todo this, and I should revisit the idea in another few years.

We took DD aged 4 months on her first holiday abroad to Barcelona. It was easy enough to navigate with a buggy and a Baby Bjorn.

Before she turned 2 (and the prices went up) I took her to NZ and Australia on separate trips. It's not the best time of year to go there as it's winter, but if you do want to consider it later, Singapore airport has a swimming pool which is the best thing ever for dealing with fractious toddlers (until they decide teddy really needs a bath too)

For child friendly places with little ones I recommend Slovenia. It's small, easy to navigate and all the bars and cafes seemed to have some from of child equipment set up for entertaining the small ones while the adults chilled.

Another option is Hungary. Far enough away to be another culture, but short enough trip to be bearable. Again it's a place that handles small children well. Budapest has the best swimming pools (geo thermally heated) and great parks. Lake Ballaton, a 2 hour train trip from Budapest has every type of accommodation and was a firm favourite of DD when we took her there aged 3/4

raisingirls there are a lot of cultures to be seen in English speaking countries too! But I assume you mean exotic but first world then? How about japan and south korea? I would be a bit scared if I needed a doctor but plenty of parents have travelled to third world ones too (but with jabs ofc).

Beware the jetlag! We took our 2yo to see family. Timezone was 11 hours away, and we are now paying the price. Last night we were up from 1am till 5am. And that's before we deal with our own jetlag... Yes to somewhere close and baby friendly until he is 18 :-)

Mine was 18mo when we did the long haul. She was only out of sync for one day. And then it's back to normal. It is a 7 hour time difference. I think it depends on the child? I'd imagine a 4 month old doesn't know night or day anyway!

I took my DD to Jamaica when she was 5 months old. It was a doddle, no jet lag (6 hour time diff).