Long Haul Ideas Please!

[MichaelBuble]

Have just come into some money (redundancy but have found another job). Most of it needs to be spent on boring practical things (debts etc) but think we could stretch to one fabulous holiday after Christmas.

We have a 14 month old, so toddler friendly destination recommendations please! Before we had him we liked lazy Caribbean type breaks. Now resigned to a few years of Majorca family friendly places but think we could squeeze in somewhere a bit more exotic before he's 2 (and becomes more expensive) Maybe Thailand or is he too young for Disney??

I would say yes too young for Disney if you mean Florida. It's hot, it's tiring, the is a lot of queuing. It's a lot of money for a toddler who doesn't care if they are at Disneyland or the local soft play.

I agree, too young for Disney.
If you are thinking of Thailand, also consider the vaccinations you will need - Hep A and tetanus as a minimum.

Why long haul? If you wait to June the med is lovely - Greece is fabulous at that time. You arent tied to school holidays so make the most of it.

I think you're right re Disney and good point about the jabs. Greece would be lovely am sure, just wanted to push the boat out a bit (beyond Europe) as have some extra cash and we have a lifetime of short haul ahead...

The issue is a long flight with a toddler....there are a lot of lovely short haul places.

He should leave home within 20 years☺, then you can do long haul again .

We started long haul with ours age five I wouldn't have attempted it with two year old but everyone is different. South Africa is fantastic, Caribbean is lovely but very hot for a toddler. You don't want to spend the who,e time indoors in the aircon.

Good point re the heat! Ok maybe I'll rethink! Perhaps I'll save some money for Disney when he's bigger...

Re the heat- we did a Greek island in early September- Mid 30's every day- my 3 and 1 year olds were fine- we didn't do much but play by the pool and a tiny bit of sightseeing but I found the heat blissful and they were on great form all week- nice change from coughs and colds at home (and bonus- the kids both had great naps again!)

Having recently sat behind a couple of toddlers on a long haul flight I'm not sure I would do it. You will know your child best, so you'll know if they will stay calm, but the poor parents sat in front of me were having a complete nightmare!

We took our Dd to Goa when she was 18mths- she is 18 years now!
Then no one seemed to take children, she was the only child on the plane!
Absolutely no problems, had a fab holiday.

Goa would be amazing...
But I think mumsnet and real life friends have talked me out of it now
Thank you all anyway!

As pp mentioned, you know best how your DS would likely cope on longhaul. My experience with my DS is wait until they're at least 2.5 yrs for long haul. Longer attention span for movies etc and they will understand when you explain why they need to be buckled in sometimes.

Maybe treat yourselves to a fancy family resort in the Med for now and put some of your redundancy aside for a Disney World trip in a couple of years time? By the time DS is 4 ish he'll be big enough for most of the rides and will also be old enough to remember the trip.

I agree. We have taken ours long haul but I wouldn't do it with a toddler. They don't have the attention span to be entertained by an ipad etc and will be miserable sat on a lap the whole time when all they want to do is run around which in the confines of an aeroplane is impossible. I would save the long haul until they are older, even if it costs you more.

Depends on the child. Ours have flown long haul since 4 months and the worst flight I've ever had they were 7 & 8! Went to Australia at 8 months and 2 years, Caribbean at 1 years and 2.5 years. No problem.