Where to go for baby's first holiday abroad? 6mo

[Katie397]

Looking to go on holiday in September with our 6mo but a bit stumped where to go. Ideally abroad with a short (>2 hour flight), not too expensive like Sani, Martinhal and Ikos unfortunately. Close-ish to the airport / restaurants as we have a baby who hates car seats!

Google searches keep coming up with holidays with kids' clubs etc but we don't need that just yet so looking for a nice hotel/villa/apartment that could be easy for first holiday with a baby. Anyone got any hidden gems they wouldn't mind sharing?

Thanks in advance!

Baby doesn't care where they are. Just go somewhere you want to go. Self catering probably easier than a hotel if you're weaning. Somewhere nit too boiling as baby will just be grumpy and you'll spend your time stressing about keeping her out of the sun.

Majorca is lovely, short flight and short transfers as small island. There is a good variety of hotels on jet 2 and tui

Road trip was preferable at that age, throw everything in the boot. I lived in the us so there was plenty of scope

All the Baleriacs would probably fit your bill.

Menorca has some lovely resorts with short transfers from the airport, of varying sizes / touristiness depending on your preferences - Punta Prima, Binibeca, Cala en Porter, Son Bou, Santo Tomas, Cala Galdana.

I'd second Mallorca. That was our go to 'easy' relaxing holiday when the children were small. We would get a child friendly villa with a pool. We did tend to hire a car and stay to the north of the island but it's 1 hour from Palma airport and then mostly it was driving 5 mins to the beach or popping to Lidl etc. There are resorts much closer to the airport as well.

We stayed here in Malaga with our toddler in May and it was great. There's a very quick train from the airport to the city centre so no need to worry about bringing a car seat. The flat is lovely. Malaga has a sandy beach in the city and there's plenty to do.

Other options are Rome (also easy to get to the city centre via train) or Palma.

Mallorca Porto Pollensa was lovely when we went with our baby.

We did Majorca last September for our little boy's first holiday. We stayed at Zafiro Palace Andratx. He'd just started properly weaning so the buffet breakfast and lunch were ideal for him to try a bit of lots of foods (and easy as I didn't have to cook which is why I go on holiday!!). They would also purée food for you if babies needed purée.

Have fun wherever you choose!

Thanks everyone! I'll check it out. @rickandmorts @cherryassam @Amethystanddiamonds Would you recommend the places you stayed at in Mallorca/menorca?

We found villas in Spain easier when ours were very young.

Definitely hotel with proper appartments or self catering, so much easier with a baby and you aren't forced to sit in a quite room if you have a baby who doesn't sleep in the pram in the evening.

We loved Majorca and September is a good time.

I'd highly recommend the Hyatt at Malta.

We stayed at the Bahia Pollensa Aparthotel. Whilst it wasn't the fanciest place it was very clean, the staff were nice and pool area was nice. Everyone was older or had kids and it wasn't rowdy. It's a 2 min walk to the beach or a 15/20 min stroll into Pollensa town which has loads of bars and restaurants. The walk is lovely too along the beach and good with a baby as it often meant she dropped off in the pram and would be quiet whilst we had a drink/ some tea! I'd stay there again 😊

Also we went with Jet2 and it was really easy with the transfers etc

Mestral and Llebeig apartments in Santo Tomas, Menorca.

Hoposa Villaconcha in Port de Pollenca, Majorca.

We generally stayed around the Pollensa region. Somewhere between Pollensa and Puerto pollensa. We tended to look at the baby/child friendly villas on James villas as they always used to have brilliant baby boxes filled with all the practical stuff from IKEA. If the baby will tolerate a short drive up to the 'pine walk' end of Puerto pollensa there is lots of free parking and you can walk all along the bay where there are plenty of restaurants, etc.

Balearics probably your best bet, short flights. Very set up for family friendly holidays. Have a lovely holiday.

We did Ibiza (the quiet parts!) with DS at 7mo and it was ideal. Short flight, short transfer, gorgeous place. 6 months will be a great age to go by the way! Have a lovely time

Royal Son Bou is great but as you don’t really want a ‘kids’ place, might not be appropriate just yet.

We had a nice holiday at Comitas Floramar in Cala Galdana, really lovely resort too. Lots of trees for shade which comes in handy with little DC.

Nowhere.

Ok, maybe drive to France and that's about it. Wait till they are 3+ for airplanes. And I say this as someone who did several long haul trips to Asia and Australia with under 3s.

Why do you say that? We've been away twice with our baby and it was actually really easy and nowhere near as stressful as I thought it would be. The OP isn't looking to fly longhaul..

Thanks for all the tips and recommendations! Was feeling a bit daunted by it all but feeling more reassured now. You've all been to some gorgeous places x

I drove with DD as a baby and found that a lot more stressful than a flight. Too many stops, it just went on and on, total loss of nap times and feeding times.

Flying to Europe is so much easier, especially at that age. Long-haul we only did when DD was 8 and old enough to understand that I don't do jet-lag very well.

But we only did it because we stayed in s/c accomodation, lots of space, bedrooms and food when we wanted, a hotel would have been a disaster.

Go somewhere you want to go. The baby won’t care, this isn’t a holiday for them, they’d probably be happier staying at home.

an apartment or villa would probably be easier or a hotel where there’s a separate room where the baby can sleep or you’ll be creeping around in silence while they nap or after they’ve gone to bed. If youre ff then somewhere with facilities for sterilising bottles is a must and taking pre made formula will save a lot of stress.

people say Majorca or Minorca are great for little ones, but at 6 months, as I said, it really won’t matter at all where they are, so just pick somewhere you’ll enjoy.

Yes, go somewhere you want just make sure the baby is comfortable. Get a safe and quiet place for her/him. 6-month old baby loves sleeping. Enjoy your vacation!