Maldives with 3 month old

[newmomaboutthreads]

Am I mad thinking we can do to Maldives with a 3 month old?

It's my partners 40th and we want to go on holiday for it. Maldives got cancelled due to covid so we'd love to go there but I have my reservations.

Is it safe going so far?
What about mosquitoes?
Travel on seaplanes?
Does air con work effectively everywhere?
What if the baby gets I'll and we are stuck on an island?

We would also factor travelling in premium economy on a 10 hour flight. There are no seats left upper on the dates we wish to travel.

Would peoples opinion on travelling with such a young baby and to a tropical destination

We went to Maldives about a year ago. Worth checking what journey entails, ours included first flight then second plane then boat and return started around 5am and included a long wait at airport. There is very easy, no mosquitoes I noticed, air conditioning was fine. Didn't have health issues but think they would have on call doctors but check. I went just after cancer and wasn't overly concerned about that.

You might want to check vaccines. We didn't have any extra but don't know if at 3 months will have had first ones. Mauritius was similar if in one of the better hotels plus island to explore but easier flight wise. But again vaccines. It might be better to wait until vaccines done. Maybe check with GP or similar.

I think the big issue with a sea plane is that you are limited on the amount of luggage that you can take so you should look in to whether you can take a pushchair as you will want that. Otherwise it’s probably easier than with a toddler given the amount of water around the resorts.

Is baby here yet? Do you breastfeed? If so breastfeeding would make things easier from a germ control and travelling pov.

If baby isn’t here yet how likely are you to have a C-section? It’s important to think about how you might feel too. A straightforward vaginal birth still takes a lot of time to recover from.

I’d probably push it back by a few months tbh. Going pre weaning is still a good idea but if baby isn’t here yet I’d wait a book it once baby is here and there are less unknowns.

I wouldn’t.

First, have you had the baby yet and is it your first? Babies vary hugely in how easy/settled they are at 3 months, some you could backpack round Asia with, some (like mine!!) you barely feel up to leaving your postcode.

Second, medical issues can get serious very fast in babies. If you were going to go to the Maldives it would need to be one a short boat ride from Male IMO and that really limits your choices.

Third, the other holidaymakers there (mostly couples) will likely not be very tolerant of a crying baby, unless you go to one of the more family friendly resorts but again that limits your choice.

Fourth, it is too hot for a small baby unless in air con or shade, so you would likely need to take turns sitting in the air con room with the baby (or at best in a restaurant or under an umbrella by the pool) while the other one has their turn of snorkelling/swimming/beach time. May not be quite what you had in mind

I would delay the Maldives till your child is 3+ personally. I have seen people in the Maldives with a baby but not this young, plus they were from India so short flight and had multiple extended family with them to help.

Mauritius or Caribbean would be a lot easier if you want something tropical

I’d go to Mauritius instead. Equally luxurious but without the hassle of the sea plane or boat transfer and you’re not stuck on a remote island if baby gets sick. Also less time difference for baby to adjust to.

I’ve been to both several times and they’re not hugely different in terms of the experience once you’re there.

I took my 10 month old to Mauritius and they were falling over themselves to help with her. We had a babysitter for part of the day and there was a special area for babies in the kids club.

That said, if baby isn’t born yet and it’s your first, you’d be mad to book an expensive long haul trip until you know you are able to cope with the travel and being away from home.

if baby isn’t born yet and it’s your first, you’d be mad to book an expensive long haul trip until you know you are able to cope with the travel and being away from home

100%

Have you traveled much with a young baby?

Lots of people will have opinions about this based on their fears rather than experience.

I traveled around the world for 3 months with a 4 month old. It was an amazing experience. We covered multiple continents and had no issues at all.

If the baby is born healthy then go for it. It's the Maldives, not a shanty town!

Check if the airline has Moses baskets which will make your flight comfortable. Take sterilisation tablets for any bottles/ dummies etc. take a buggy shade and a little fan and you'l have a great time 😊

Agree with PP. Totally depends on if baby is here.

I travelled with a 7 week old on a 15 hour trip due to an emergency and had to stay somewhere for 5 days and then come home. It was hectic from start to finish. If you want to be able to enjoy your holiday it might not be possible. Of course, depends on your baby though.

Im usually the one saying fabulous idea on this type of thread as I think 3 months is a lovely time to travel with little ones. I did big trips with all of my children at that age and it was the easiest age.
But. I’m not sure about the Maldives. Seems a bit remote. As others have said Mauritius or the Caribbean might be better if you want long haul or depending on the time of year the Greek islands are stunning and a lot less hassle.

newhouse12345

Newhouse no I didn’t travel long haul with a small baby. As I said in my post, my small baby was the type that meant I barely left my postcode (baby was premature, difficult feeder, hardly slept, napped only in a moving pram). Again as I said, it MAY be absolutely possible to travel extensively with a small baby, it just depends on what type you get.

I have travelled extensively with older babies and children (incl Maldives both with and without kids) but that is a very different thing from committing to a long haul trip to a remote island if you don’t yet know what your baby is like.

Even with an easy baby, I still wouldn’t choose the Maldives with a 3 month old personally. Especially an island only accessible by seaplane. It’s just not worth the travel stress and the risk, there are so many other places to visit and there will be other opportunities to see the Maldives later on which will be more enjoyable for all concerned.

Just my opinion, of course.

Sorry for the delay in reply.
Yes I've had the baby, we are looking to travel in 2 weeks time when she will be 3 months and just had both rounds of jabs.
She is an easy baby, at least I think so as I have nothing to compare it to. We just chill, sleep and breastfeed at all hours and neither of us currently have a routine: so my thoughts were to do just this in a nicer environment.

The journey once we've landed does seem a bit of an issue and the remoteness. We ended up needing a hospital in South Africa as my partner broke his foot so it's the worry of the unexpected.

Mauritius is definitely easier on the journey and also a bigger island so could just drive to a hospital if needed and pretty similar to Maldives if in a nice resort. We went to Sugar Beach (La Pirogue is part of it to) and Long Beach hotels and both those were lovely in Mauritius - we preferred it to Maldives hotel though Maldives was better for tropical fish. Also liked having an island to explore. The journey there is just direct flight then a taxi to hotel, ours was an hours drive along coast. We did a multi centre one with two hotels. Can choose any board basis you like. We did AI and excellent food and drink at both though half board plus paying for drinks would have worked out slightly cheaper.

I read your title and thought "pointless"!

I wouldn't be concerned about the flights or mozzies, etc but I wouldn't bother as it is just doing all the baby are stuff in a less convenient place. Plus there are no shops in the Maldives (apart from a small hotel shop in most resorts) so you would have to take a full supply of nappies, wipes, etc with you.

We did it when my first child was 6 months old and for us it was great. Seaplane is very noisy so we used festival type baby headphones on him and he slept the whole way. Flight was quite challenging for the first hour as he cried a lot; we'd been delayed so I had to feed him before takeoff so he then woke up and cried a lot with the pressure changes. Stressful, but mainly due to my own anxiety about disturbing people due to one narky lady sat at the end of our row making snide comments. Whole rest of the flight was great though and the return flight so I'm only mentioning it to be honest, not to try and worry you. Request a bassinet seat if possible so you don't have to hold them the whole time. We had a villa on the beach which meant when he needed a nap I could lie outside in the sun which was bliss. It's a very different type of holiday though, we did do an excursion each but we weren't comfortable taking the baby on them so one of us would stay behind and babysit while the other went (plus not sure the other customers would have been too happy). Buggy was great for airport etc but USELESS on the island as all sand rather than solid paths. And we did actually need medical care when he learned to roll and fell off headfirst onto a hard tile floor; the resort had a doctor on the island so may be working checking with the hotel what facilities they have available - obviously not the same as having a hospital but good to know if they have anyone on hand. Meal times the staff loved him and we got to eat while they carried him round and gave him cuddles

To be clear - the challenging flight was the long one from UK, the seaplane he was completely zonked - think the loud droning acted like white noise!

Ah ok! well that puts a different spin on things. Lucky you for having a chilled baby 😃

In that case I would say Maldives is doable but I would pick an island close to Male to avoid the seaplane journey (it’s hot and loud and on top of a long haul flight it might be a bit much) and for the “just in case” medical situation. I got ill in the Maldives last year and while there was a junior doctor on site, at one point it looked like I’d need to be taken to a far away island for a scan which was worrying and would be much more so with a baby. Como Cocoa looks gorgeous for example and is only 35 min speedboat from Male. Bandos is another option. Or are you tied to a specific island due to it being a rebooking??

It still wouldn’t be my top pick with a small baby due to the heat and limitations on what you can do there with a baby, but realistically if you have a credit to go there rather than somewhere else, and if you have an easy baby, this could be the best time to go until 3+.

Have you been away with the baby before? If not I will warn you that it's a huge shock. Holidays are no longer holidays as they used to be. It's a case of same shit in a different place. You will have to take an incredible amount to equipment with you which is stressful. The plane will be a nightmare. I really wouldn't spend so much money on going somewhere like the Maldives under these circumstances.

The Maldives are amazing, but not with a three month old. Wait until they are at least 4

4 years, not 3 months

When we went to the Maldives we were delayed and missed the connection meaning we had to spend 7 hours at Doha and then the seaplane wouldn’t take us til the next day. Also the seaplanes only fly in optimal weather so you could get stuck on an island. I wouldn’t do it again unless we had a few days in Dubai or somewhere in between.

Go somewhere like the Caribbean instead. The Maldives is 1) too far 2) risky in terms of health and you need vaccinations which might not be possible with a young child as need in advance 3) it's so expensive so a waste of money with a small child

nothing useful to add apart from i struggled to go to the local high street with my 3 month old so you are very lucky !! Have a fab hol

Although if I flew that far I think I would lose my shit if a baby was sat next to me 😁

It seems a lot of money, distance and hassle just to chill and breastfeed.

I’d go a little closer to home, and a little closer to medical facilities/shops/airports just in case there are any issues.

Baby will have only had two of her three primary immunisations as well and is too young for suncream. I’d wait until baby is old enough to enjoy the Maldives, and swim, see the sea life and eat the food.