Would you take a 11 month old to Goa?

[goababy]

We are thinking of taking a trip to Goa when our baby is 11 months old.

She's our first baby, so not really sure what to expect from that age, and wanted to get some thoughts and considerations from the wonderful Mumsnet hive mind.

Two things on my mind are sun protection and food.

She's breastfed and at the moment we're still in the fairly early stages of weaning, but by 11 months I imagine she'll be a lot more dependent on solids. On our previous trips to India we've always suffered with upset stomachs, so I'd be nervous about DD experiencing that. Would it be ok to give her pre-packaged food pooches etc for the trip (10 days) or would that not be sufficient food for her at 11 months? I know they're full of sugar and wouldn't normally give them regularly, but needs must?

For sun protection, I'm thinking accommodation with a pool/shade would be more suitable than just access to the beach?

Is there anything we should consider that I haven't thought of?

our flight to Mauritus this year, heard babies crying at the back of plane most of the time. I travel quite a bit and never had a situation where babies do not cry - they do during the night, early morning, anytime, all the time. Wonderful!

Not sure what point you’re making stopforabreak? People with babies shouldn’t travel?

Thanks so much for the list of ideas 🙏🏼

We actually went to Mauritius on our baby moon and were quite underwhelmed so wouldn't go back, but I think Miami, Dubai or Cancun could work really well.

@stopforabreak we have flown with her before and found breastfeeding during take off and landing means no tears, so I'm not too worried about that.

Points around sand, aircon, access to decent hospitals and nap time all very useful and taken onboard.

Who said they shouldn't travel? I am talking about a long haul trek. Babies don't remember holidays, they scream cry a lot due to ear pain, long journey, need nappies changed, tiny space on a .. the long flight ...What do you think? That's okay then?

Well, i'd swap your place anytime if you were "underwhelmed" with Mauritius😂. Dubai is a plastic fake town - I was totally underwhelmed by the overwhelming display of wealth.

I mean travel where you like and I’m sure can make it work but I’d be careful of giving a baby food there. I’ve been to Goa twice and had terrible food poisoning both times, and it was very bad, the kind that would probably have landed a little one in hospital but if you can pack enough food pouches I don’t think it’s a problem.

I’m not sure a kiddie pool is what the OP is looking for..

I’ve taken my DC as babies and again as young children. Goa has some excellent Drs and hospitals, so you’d be ok if something happened health wise.
It’s worth going also because apart from the beaches, Goa has really beautiful sights and sites and you can carry/wheel the baby around at this age. MOGA (a modern art gallery) is superb! And of course the Basilica of Bom Jesu and so many others. There’s a eco-resort up in the hills called Swapnagandha, where they put on authentic folk dances from 3 states, plus guided hiking (amongst other delights). Plus, the place as a whole is very child-friendly.

Ha I appreciate how this sounds, but if you check the very popular thread of holiday destinations people were most disappointed/underwhelmed by, Mauritius and Bali were mentioned over and over again.

I had similar thoughts about Dubai before, but recently I've heard it can be a fantastic destination for little ones, and a much shorter flight (though still technically long haul).

@WoolyMammoth55 @WoolyMammoth55 we don't mind a kiddy pool 🙃

As long as there's delicious food, fun family time in the sun and some interesting things to see we're happy.

Avoiding city breaks and cold destinations. We took her to Paris a couple of months ago and had a lovely time, but she definitely missed her free time rolling about on the floor. I imagine that is even more needed when they're crawling/starting to walk, so don't want her to have to be strapped in to a pram all day.

Happy to be guided by a nap schedule or work around pram naps.

I find the "they won't remember it" point very silly. They won't remember, but we will! Not to mention the positive impact on their development from the new experiences and the happy family time. I can barely remember any of our family holidays until I was about 6/7 and we're certainly not going to sit at home until then just so she remembers 😂

With Mauritius I think it depends on what you’re after… if you want lots of cultural sightseeing and independent style of travel then no it’s probably not the best place and I can see why people might be disappointed. If you want fly and flop in a nice resort with the odd trip it’s great (and for that kind of holiday I much prefer its low rise, everything outdoors style of resort to the big blocky high rises of Dubai for eg).

I was much more of an independent traveller pre kids but with small kids it was all about the fly and flop for a while! Your DC may be easier than mine though 😁

Babies cry sometimes and need their nappy changed whether they are on a plane or at home. Long flight is necessary if you want warmth in winter. We took our DC long haul for winter sun a couple of times as little ones, it was a very welcome break from the dismal UK weather. They may not remember it but they certainly enjoyed it at the time.