When did you first take a beach holiday with a baby?

[trrk]

We currently have a 4 month old and would love to take a relaxing beach holiday since it’s been quite awhile and we both enjoy swimming in the sea. I know it will never be as relaxing with a young child but what age did you find your children enjoyed beach holidays? Would love to go somewhere tropical (eg Mauritius, Caribbean) but I guess a young baby can’t be out in the sun too long and sone places have health issues so this sort of trip might have to wait. Also considering a Greek island early summer when our baby would be almost one which would be more of a mix of sightseeing and beach.

My baby was 12 wks old when she first went to Ibiza on a beach holiday.

18 months…. And she hated sand 😂

Pressed send too early.
It was easy because she was in the buggy most of the time so easy to keep covered up

12 months to majorca - was fine, we took it in turns to play in the baby pool/walk with the buggy etc so we each got relaxing time, he napped a lot so we could read etc, was a great holiday

Those locations sound very hot for a baby though

10 months to Dubai. Hated the sand but loved the pool. We went in November which was a good time to go.

We're just back and he was 13 weeks. Was nice to be away. Loved the pool. Took a few days for him to adjust but was worth it

3 months. Then 4 months. South of France camping. Wasn't a problem

My LO was 11 weeks when we first took him to Spain.

We came prepared. Snoozeshade for the pram. This protects against UV rays and keeps dark for naps. Fan to keep cool.

We also had a little pop up tent to use at the beach.

Book the bassinet seats so LO will have somewhere to sit.

I would wait until your baby is old enough to have sunscreen, and preferably old enough to sit up and play with water/ sand. Hot beaches are surprisingly stressful with young babies. You're constantly trying to keep them cool and shaded, which limits you to sitting under an umbrella. Not all babies are happy with that.

From 1 onwards the beach becomes fun and easy in my experience

8 months. She loved the beach and the pool.

Around 3 months with all of mine

Not until older, 3&5 years old took a cruise which had beach stops with child care - they put sails up as canopies to protect them from the sun.

Stuck to road trips when they were small with just one or two beach days

We went to Menorca when DD was 5 months and it was fantastic! We only went to the beach for a day or two, but had an amazing time pottering around keeping baby shaded at all times. She loved being in the sea and the pool and even started sleeping through the night. I'd say it's a great age to take babies away.

6 months I think. She loved the pool. 14 months and just walking, got well into sand.

A wee little baby to wales🤗 it was brilliant.
to me it’s one of the best for a baby.
then we did Europe where we weee always making sure one day was on the beach. We always ventured for insight swimming lakes instead after a while though. Which are basically beaches in Europe

DD was 23 months. Mobil enough to do things, still happy to nap after lunch.

We went to Majorca, not too hot beginning of June, she already was happy with being in a pool and we knew she was ok playing in the sand from day trips to the sea side.

My eldest was 8 weeks when i first took her to Turkey, my youngest about 5 months. It is much easier when they are this age than when they start to walk.

DS1 was 1ish on his first proper beach holiday, DS2 was 10 weeks. Go for it!

Three weeks camping in England with a 2 year old and 6 week old, well he was 9 weeks when we got home. It was fabulous, older kids on the site adopted the 2 year old who had a fantastic time, the baby lived in a vest and nappy and was breastfed, no housework, very little laundry to do, fish and chip van came on the site twice a week otherwise we had dinner in the village pub.

Our only issue was the 2 year old didn't want to leave the site as they were having such a great time with their new friends.

6 months I think. But they are late teens now and have never liked beaches, we go to seaside resorts sometimes but only ever spend the odd half day at the beach. Never had what you would call a beach holiday since they were old enough to express their dislike. They liked pools when younger though.

@trrk go now!!! Run, make the most of it now while they have decent naps and stay in one place. We took our girl to Florida at 4 months and then just recently on a cruise at 10.5 months. The cruise was a nightmare. She wasn’t allowed in the pools as she wasn’t potty trained. She wanted to crawl EVERYWHERE but it was a pain as the floor was wet, cold and a bit dirty on board. She is easily distracted now and will happily stay awake for hours even when she is overtired! (6.45 am wake up today and didn’t nap until 2.45!).

About 10 months? They enjoyed it.

I would happily take a younger baby to a beach holiday though. You’ve got to go somewhere, and city breaks are out

dc1 was 4 weeks, but we didn't have to worry about it being too hot, as we went to Wales

I would suggest finding somewhere with a lovely pool (ideally beach style pool ie gently shelving) as pool is a LOT easier than beach with babies/toddlers.
Like a PP we took our 18 month old on a beach trip only to discover she hated sand on her…

I also wouldn’t go long haul unless you need to (eg to see family), short flights are a lot easier until they are old enough to watch TV.

Southern Europe in May/June or September is ideal. Not school holidays and lovely and warm without being baking.

Ideal time to travel is 5 months to 9/10 months before they get mobile. However every age is manageable. (Well not newborn, for us anyway)

We've been away from 2 weeks with mine. DC4 had her first beach holiday at 3/4 months. Perfect time as she wasn't mobile, but was happy whilst awake and also sleeping well at night.