so if you were going away for a bit of sun at christmas with a 13 month old...

[Heathcliffscathy]

where would you go. ds will be 13 months in december and we haven't had any holidays since he was born (some time off at home, but you know what i mean)...

no biting insects. not so hot you broil. sunny and sandy and safe? child friendly?

anyone?

thanks beety...good thread. anyone else have thoughts on baby friendly (ie no mossies etc) place to go at xmas, not long haul?

What about Cape Town? Long haul but overnight flight and no time difference. Very child friendly place.

Tobago. You can hire a nanny on the beach for £1 an hour for a bit of respite (they are all gorgeous and have about 40 children of their own!)

We stay here in Sea Steps cottage, Castara which is a tiny unspoilt fishing village on the Caribbean coast. You can hire a cottage on/near the beach for very little too. You would have to check re toddler friendly accommodation, Sea Steps def. isn't! (but some of the other cottages they have may be)

I've never been bitten there, it's usually about 29 degrees with a breeze, perfect.

I believe that there are a few places with childrens clubs eg Coco Reef (think princesspeahead has been there) these are in the flat bit of the island near the airport (not as awful as it sounds!) but Castara is a real get away from it all kind of place.

Car hire very easy there and the driving is fine

sorry you want short haul

Turkey? Patara is fun, v hippyish (or was last time I was there) and the most amazing beach.

Not really hot in Dec. though

I would go a bit further and do the Carib.

hello lady thanks for this!

get on msn you

What about the Canary Islands?

Oh CD, just looked at that website and had a big yearn for days when I could travel....it looks fantastic.
Just how toddler friendly is Castara? (you've got me thinking now....)

Maderia??

Never been but supposed to be very temnperate in winter.

I WANT TO GO TO CASTARA!!!!

sticky note!

Castara itself is very child friendly, just the Sea Steps cottage isn't (all open, no windows or doors or anything, wooden steps straight down to own little cove, I tell you it's heaven!)

It has two beautiful crescent shaped beaches, both with restaurant/bar on them. There are always people lurking around to take care of your kids, we were there in Jan and there was a couple with a 5 month old who wouldn't sleep so they just hired a full time nanny for £1 an hour to help them!

Call Colin at the Blue Mango (or Rebecca) they are lovely and will sort you out, tell you the best child friendly place to stay

I warn you there is very little there, 3 or 4 little restaurants, a Rum shack, two or 3 little shops (but you can get basics there) and of course you can buy fish off the beach or catch your own.

ps best thing is to dump kid(s) with grandparents and go on your own for a week. That's what we do

Cheapest flights with Excel Airways (charter), can go v v cheaply in economy, for the same price as BA or virgin economy in Premium Economy (which is great) and for about £800 you can go in First which is great, 44" seats, nice food etc.

Unfortunately they're too old and ds's too high maintenance at the mo... but we are getting one night in a hotel in Sept
We are having v. cheap camping holiday in Sept - I don't know how this happened as I really wanted to splash out on a posh holiday with childcare- I'm so fed up of coming home more exhausted than I went away. Actually that's prob why we won't go to Castara or somewhere like it - terrified of what jet lag will do to ds1's precarious sleeping habits. Working on trying to find the perfect holiday for next Easter though
Travelling is the thing I really miss since having the kids...