1st Holiday abroad with a 15 month old

[BabyPapa]

I've finally got the OH to agree to go away as a family for my birthday in September after not being abroad since pre covid (Lots happened including a grueling IVF journey)

Both of us have always loved travel and we are aware this is going to be a very different holiday to what we are used to but my god I need to get out of the UK!

Ive got a few questions if thats ok :D

1. Location suggestions Flying out of the SW England if possible - Ive kinda ear marked Portugal or the Spanish islands We want warm but not too hot but again im open to suggestions!

2. Hire cars - Did you take your own car seats or were the ones supplies sufficient (I've seen a few companies only suggest their car seats are suitable for 0-12 Mnts) I Could take ours but the thought of it being smashed up fills me with dread!

3. And tips I know about not traveling late and to try to hit wake windows (not that I suspect her current wake windows will be the same by September)

Thanks in advance I genuinely have so much love for this forum and as a man im always made to feel welcome! (looking over other posts im sorry some of us men are dogs!🙄)

There are lots of flights from Bristol airport to Spain or Portugal. I like travelling from small airports, every time I’ve done it it’s been super efficient.
At that age my son was quite a handful to travel with but a 2-3h flight was usually fine, we brought lots of snacks, some new toys and sticker books/ crayons etc. I tried to target his nap window and then he usually slept but if I couldn’t I made sure we had flight times that was reasonable, not landing too late. Early starts was usually great though!

We’ve rented cars and car seats in Majorca and Faro and it was super easy. They also had car seats for toddlers. I highly recommend Majorca, we’ve been several times, I love that it’s very easy to get around and it is very child friendly.
We’ve tried staying in both villas and family friendly hotels and I think it depends on what you want, do you want someone to cook for you, kids clubs etc. I find that much easier even though I hated resort holidays pre kids.
We tried doing ‘ pre kids holidays’ ; travelling around exploring, but ended up coming back exhausted! Those holidays have to wait for a few years if I want to come back from holiday feeling refreshed.

If you're anxious about sticking to your usual routine, a day flight to the Algarve would work well because Portugal has the exact same time as the UK.

The best holiday we had with dd at that age was in Olhao - lovely town only 15 mins from Faro airport, you can fly from Southampton if it's not too late in the season. The Real Marina hotel has serviced apartments which are good for families and it's a short walk down the seafront to the town and market (going past a playground on your way which is very handy). Lots to do in the area as well. We bought a cheap car seat to take with us on holidays as our usual one was massive and we didn't want to rely on the hire car company.

For children under 2 you are allowed to take a buggy and a car seat free of charge. The car seat can usually come on the plane with you (check the model with your airline) and your dc can sit in it for the flight as long as you have bought them their own seat, so this reduces the risk of the car seat getting damaged by going in the hold.

I found car seats a pain to take on the plane, so we always book private transfers with car seats to save taking them and tranfer times of less than 30 mins.

Early morning and late night flights are a nightmare, 10.30am- 5pm is best.

Swim up rooms are a game changer with little ones because you can sit by the pool while they nap inside.

I've heard some real horror stories about hired car seats, so would always take your own if you can. It doesn't need to be your usual everyday one. People often get a cheaper more basic model for travel e.g. Joie Stages or Graco Extend are popular. This can also work out cheaper as the hire car places often charge £10-20 per day for the seat.

I always took my seat, the one time I didn't ended in a disaster. And that was my home country, so no language barriers. DH nearly decided to drive into the nearest town to buy a seat before the agency managed to get one from another rental place (and we had written and verbal confirmation for the seat).

Forget any idea of flying and usual naptime, be prepared to have it flying out of the window.

We did a lot of exploring with DD from our first holiday onwards, but we also did it a lot at home, she went with us to museums, exhibitions, stately homes and on walks since she was born so a change in scenery didn't bother her.

But we found a s/c accomodation or a proper catered appartment a lot better than a hotel.

Thanks everyone lots to read over and to mull over and consider!

Really unsure on all inclusive vs Villa... Never wanted to do an all inclusive before but feel like this might be a sound option as there's no way on earth im cooking on holiday. Also won't be disturbing people if LO decides to have sleepless nights (shes got some mega lungs on her)!