Ideas for an exotic beach holiday without needing baby to have extra Injections

[HaveBabyWillStillTravel]

Hello, this is my first time posting on Mumsnet... hoping someone can give us some help with travel / holiday advice? 🙂

We are excited about booking our first proper holiday with our baby boy but struggling to choose where to go. I’d like somewhere exotic, with a beautiful beach, good weather for August, and without having to worry too much about mosquitos. Our baby boy will be 8 months old and is exclusively breastfed so I won’t need to worry about sterilising for bottles etc. I’ve hated putting him through his routine injections so don’t really want to have to make him have Hep A and typhoid jabs. Does such a beautiful exotic holiday place exist without needing those injections?

Any tips on where to go? My husband and I are well travelled and prefer life off the beaten track but I’m much less of a carefree-easy-going-backpacker type now that we have a baby.

Thank you!

Dubai would have fitted..shortish long haul flight, no jabs, no mozzies, fantastic beaches and hotels...... but you mentioning August, which is extremely hot , and not suitable with a small baby.
Maybe less exotic and look towards “easy” Europe for the first family trip?.....we did Italian Lakes with ours.

If he is 8 months then he will be on solids, not just breastfed so you need to find somewhere that has good hygiene and food for this. He will also not be happy in the heat (most babies/toddlers aren't) and whilst he wont be mobile by then probably, he will need "entertaining" Life off the beaten track with a baby takes a lot of planning and flexibility. in all honesty, I would leave the exotic holiday until he was a bit older because you don't know how he is going to cope with the heat, the food etc. This is why most people pick an easy European destination hotel with a kids/baby club for their first holiday with a LO.

If you are well travelled then surely you would know somewhere suitable for a holiday? We took our daughter to Sicily for her first holiday, it was extremely hot and she was constantly drinking water which included sterilising bottles and cups. Most exotic holiday destinations require vaccinations.

I would go in September instead - it will be lots cheaper and a lot cooler too. I'm not sure you can do 'exotic' without jabs. Also babies, heat and sand are a miserable combination IME.

Not in August.

The Seychelles? We didn't need any injections when we went last year when I was pregnant with DD. (Booked it then found I was pregnant two weeks later) Beautiful place. Obviously baby would be on solids by then so would stay in a good reputable hotel and be careful where you eat.
We have just got back from Dubai with our 1 year old DD. Had a great time but agree Dubai would be too hot in August. It was very hot now but we are not big sunbathers we just spent about an hour a day in the pool with her which she loved.

Northern Spain (Atlantic Coast)? It looks lovely, not to far and still somewhat of the beaten track. We will be going to a town near Vigo (Galicia) for a villa with pool... Plenty of hiking, beaches, towns and villages.

I wouldn't go in August unless no alternative. Most exotic places require vaccinations. Azores might work. We did Maderia at this age in an apartment which was nice, PortoBay.

We went to Mauritius when our youngest was this age and had a wonderful time. The hotel we stayed in made exactly what we wanted for our baby & they had nannies who were very gentle so we could have dinner in the restaurants rather than just room service. It was wonderful.

At 8 months he’d be too young for typhoid and hepatitis A vaccines so I wouldn’t travel anywhere that has a significant risk for those.

I’d also avoid places where there is a malarial risk.

Maybe stick to the Caribbean? You need somewhere with clean water and good food hygiene.

Bali, Maldives, Australia, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Fiji, Cape Verde's, Azores,

Caribbean not great in August IMO. Hurricane season and zika worries.

You definitely need vaccinations for Bali, Maldives, Fiji and Turkey, Hep A in particular.

We went to Bali with 10 month old. Nothing additional needed to their 'normal' jabs according to the doctor. I have no idea. Just went along with what the GP said

Mauritius.

Has mosquitoes though.

LadyG babies under one can’t have most vaccines, but adults and children should generally have travel vaccines for Bali.

Channel Islands. Close, clean, fantastic beaches. No vaccinations required.

The Fit for Travel gives country by country recommended vaccines. A lot of the countries named above you are recommended to get vaccines www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/destinations.aspx?from=feature

It's also saying there's a Hep A shortage of vaccines.

Maldives

not too hot, no mosquitos

took a 13m old and it was perfect. beach villa with AC right next to the beach so you can sit by the beach and child can sleep in the cool room inside. tons of food options at buffet and they were happy to cook things for her/puree food etc.