Holiday with 5/6 month old baby - advice!

[croon979]

DH and I are thinking of booking a holiday for end of September time. Somewhere warm but not overly hot, flying will probably be involved though from where we live.
Little man will be 5 months old. All the things we will need to figure out do seem quite overwhelming.
Am FF which seems tricky with travel. Any tips?
Will need to purchase a lightweight stroller which still is supportive for a little'un presumably as our travel system whilst great is too bulky for travelling. Any recommendations? There are so many!
Also, if anyone has been to a particularly baby friendly hotel in Europe, would be grateful if you would share.
Many thanks :)

I may be a bit biased but I think Cyprus is very baby and family friendly.

The supermarkets sell the same food,nappies and formula as the UK. Every big town has a mothercare and an elc if you forget anything.

Driving is the same as are plugs etc. Excellent medical care too and resorts all have hire companies for equipment you don't want to bring. All the restaurants I've ever been to have been very accomodating in terms of child care facilities.

I think children that age can be very portable though and it depends on what they are like as to what kind of accommodation will suit you the best. At that age we took her to a 5 star spa resort and also to a yurt and the yurt was actually easier! She wasn't keen on the noises etc at meal times in the posh hotel and it kind of took the enjoyment out of it for us. We're looking at another break now and again thinking self catering is the way to go.

Cyprus sounds great actually. Certainly I like the idea of being able to buy same stuff in the upper markets etc.

We are quite open to hotels or self-catering so definitely going to check out both options!

Many thanks for your recommendation!

5 months is a good age to travel. We flew with DS to the Canaries at that age and he slept for the whole 4 hour flight, there and back
You can take formula through security but they may ask you to taste it.
You can buy formula at boots inside the airport terminal (if there is one) and then you don't have to worry about being asked to open liquids at security. You can also order in advance if you want to be guaranteed of getting the right brand.
If you have a big budget I would go top end hotel - many have great baby services, eg they will sterilise bottles for you everyday.
We generally self catered when DS was still on formula as it was useful to have a kitchen and washing machine.

City mini by baby jogger is a good travel stroller

Mamas and Papas trek buggy is great. we're using it when we go on our first family holiday this September. We've opted for mallorca with a 14 month old- it was flight times which was most important for us. I'm not the best flyer anyway so 2 hours is ideal.

Thanks do much guys - checking out all your recommendations now!

A light sling is a very handy thing when travelling with a baby. I recently spent £30 on a muslin ring sling by Wrapamore, it's thin fabric so nice and cool, and great for beaches and narrow windy streets that are too awkward for buggies.

For sterilising I would buy some Milton tablets and cold water sterilise, and just bring a few of the large bottles of premade formula in your suitcase, plus pick up a few cartons in the airport for the journey.

our 2yo DD has travelled all over the world with us since she was 4mo. Our first holiday with her was to Crete - we travelled around by car and opted for quiet accom over baby friendly and it was fine.

We have a BJCMGT for daily use at home but bought a cheap second hand stroller as we were on a budget flight and didn't want to risk it getting damaged (it was a Chicco Liteway which cost about £20 off Ebay). We then bought a rayshade (you can get these from Argos) to provide extra protection from the shade. We also made quite a bit of use of a tiny folding umbrella for when DD was lying asleep on the beach etc.

Another useful thing to take is a decent sling - I think we hired one from a sling library, but subsequently bought one (a Manduca). I also found a little bag containing a bar of Vanish soap and some clothes pegs invaluable.

We've always been very low budget, fairly adventurous travellers and to some extent have carried on in that style, although holidays are never quite the same when you have children! Main thing is not to worry too much about the practicalities and have a great time

We took DS to lanzarote when he was 4 or 5 months old. It was really easy, he slept most of the way on the plane. He was ebf though so a little easier for us in that respect.

I bought a cheap tippitoes umbrella fold stroller from Amazon, it was about 50 quid, and it's actually really good. I use it now he's older generally more than the travel system. But as it was cheap I wasn't worried about it being thrown around by baggage handlers etc (as it happens it didn't get damaged at all)

At night, I would give DS his bedtime feed and put him down to sleep in the stroller laid flat, cover with a uv buggy cover which kind of doubled as a black out cover, then take him out to dinner. We were AI so didn't need to go far, but he would just sleep through it. He even stayed asleep if we went to watch any of the entertainment. Then I just transferred him to the cot when we got back to the room.

I thing it's the easiest time to take them, before they are mobile and not eating food. It'd be harder with DS now he's one that's for sure!

Oh we also took a carrier for walks on the beach and as a change to the stroller.

Best travel item I've bought for DS was a pop-up travel cot. It folds really small and light, easy to pack in a suitcase. It has a built in mosquito net. We've used it loads - when self catering, in hotels where the cot provided was a bit ropey, and for sleepovers when we've been round to friends houses. He's 21/2 now and he can still sleep in it.