City breaks with a 1.5yr old?

[peepsypops]

Is this a crazy idea?

We went on a package holiday in June and felt like we didn't get much benefit from the pool as one our little one was in and out of pool it was back up to the room and she can't/wont just lay around so I'm thinking a more activity based holiday would be good?

I was thinking Dubrovnik, Rome, Budapest, Seville, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Lisbon.

Anywhere really / I have been to all but Dubrovnik and loved them but don't know how realistic it is with a 1.5 year old!

Hopeful bump!

I'm assuming you live in the UK. If so, I'd stick to UK city breaks for a year or 2. There's loads to do with children in e.g. Edinburgh, Portsmouth, Liverpool etc and you don't need to worry about flight delays or getting food they'll eat. When I look back, I realise how easy UK trips were. If you have a car you can also access farms, zoos and soft play centres which usually aren't that central. Or you could always try Mumsnet's favourite, Center Parcs!

Saying that, I have dragged my kids to various places since they were about 18 months. It's definitely more because I want to go, although I know it won't necessarily be restful. Lisbon was great with lots of parks and museums. We also stayed outside Split and enjoyed boat trips and wandering around markets. Copenhagen and Amsterdam were quite family friendly too. We've gone further afield as they got older and they're pretty good travellers now.

Hope you have a good trip!

City breaks are fine for that age if they will happily sit in the buggy between places you can let them walk. If they insist on walking ALL the time it can be bit more tricky.

It depends what you want from the holiday really, if its enjoyable family time then honestly UK City breaks or bucket and spade holidays will go down just as well with your DC. If YOU want to go to Rome, Paris etc then its doable to do so with the little one but don't expect them to really care about any of it. Feeding the ducks in Paris is very much the same as feeding the ducks in your home town.

Loved Paris with dd at 18months.
Lisbon is fantastic for kids. Aquarium, science museum, great zoo and beaches nearby.
I've done Rome as an adult and I'm not so sure I'd take kids.
Yes to Amsterdam too.

Berlin also a good option. Took dd there as a baby

Love all of these ideas!

To be honest the travelling abroad thing is probably for my benefit more than anyone else, I was a keen traveller pre DC and I just miss it so much. I don't want to lose that part of me if I can help it. I also like the idea of exposing DC to other cultures but can appreciate she doesn't know much right now!

Did you guys stay in apartments or hotels? Like the idea of an apartment so we don't have to tiptoe around at bedtime but think I'd like a pool option in a warmer country

As it's usually just a few nights we've booked hotels but tried to get a separate bedroom and sitting area or at least a balcony so we can sit out after the children are asleep.

I've done hotels but prefer apartments once they are past baby stage. Lisbon was very affordable for a large apartment.

City breaks are definitely the way to go with LO's. We tried 3 'sun' holidays with ours under the age of 2 and whilst we now look back on lovely memories, you do spend a lot of the day stressing over if they are eating, drinking, hot, sun creamed, sleepy etc! Every time we have done a summer holiday package we've said never again!
We personally find city breaks a lot easier as our toddler is super nosey and is happy to sit in a pushchair with snacks and a dinosaur.
Edinburgh is great, so much to do for little ones and has one of the best zoo's, everywhere we went in Edinburgh was accommodating and friendly. We've done London a few times but the tube can be a pain as not every station is pushchair friendly, if going to London we take a collapsible bike as its lighter to put up and down in tube stations. Birmingham, Manchester & Bristol are okay.
If your thinking of going away away Barcelona is a great for families

We have just returned from Copenhagen where we stayed in the Tivoli Hotel.

The whole area is very very family friendly, very safe and civilised with just so much to do.

The Hotel itself couldnt be more child friendly with 2 play rooms, and a pool, and a child friendly eating area, as well as an adults only eating area

They have bikes (with all combinations of child / baby seats) that you can borrow, or alternatively all the public transport is fast, clean, reliable and buggy friendly.

Another option could be to consider a cruise, many of which are also extremely baby / child friendly, and you can see several cities in 1 holiday

I don't see what a 1.5 year old would get from a city break or you tbh. It would be hard work. Why do t you go somewhere like centre parcs everything is there for a child that age and no stress.

We had a fantastic city break to Verona when my toddler was 1.5 - he had a great time and we even managed a day trip to Venice.

I'd say go for it!

Sorry, didn't see your follow-up about what we stayed in, we used Airbnb and had an apartment to ourselves - so when he went to bed in the evenings, we played games/drank wine/watched a film in the kitchen/dining/living area. 😊

If you want to do Dubrovnik you can stay at the Sun Gardens they have apartments there too and you get the best of both worlds. It has a lovely pool for kids but Dubrovnik is 15 mins away.

I've done loads of city breaks with the kids, I am like you suffer massively with wanderlust, husband is almost as bad, so the kids were taken all over even when they were small. They are much bigger now at 9 and 12, so it's been a while since they were that small. However when the oldest was around 2 we visited both Dubai and New York on a short round the world sort of trip to visit family in the UK, we lived in Sydney at the time. New York was great. In winter we've gone to inland places like Madrid and Budapest, but in summer we've chosen places like Porto, Lisbon and Valencia, so we can stay near the beach and have some chill days, but also go into the city for sightseeing. Have you been to Malta? We went at Easter, really enjoyed visiting Valletta, Mdina, Gozo and the Neolithic temples. There is though a long stretch (10+ kms) of resorts heading North West of Valletta, which people seem to either love or hate, I'd avoid that area. We split our time staying in Valletta itself and then moved over to Gozo and that was perfect.

I have travelled extensively with toddlers as we are a pretty nomadic family. I’m not one of these types who refuse to go on any abroad holiday just because they have an under 5- but quite honestly I have found city breaks merely ‘fine’.

tbh the most enjoyable bits have been the nice dinners when they have been sleeping. Kids museums and aquariums aren’t usually how I want to spend my time when on holiday, and I had a toddler who was extremely energetic and hated staying in the pram. A lot of running around at a 90 degree angle keeping them from tourist tat.

if you want to go anywhere- then Copenhagen, Stockholm and Amsterdam are probably your best bets. Or one of the big Swiss cities. Lots of kid friendly things, parks and a cool climate. Public transport is generally accessible to.

In southern Europe you will absolutely have the standard family museums but generally you are restricted to usually (hot) parks for giving them the run around unless you are lucky enough to be near a soft play or kids museum to spend an hour before nap time. have found Italy and Croatia particularly bad for entertaining children of this age group (travelled both places extensively- happy to discuss further in a PM). Croatia especially because all the toddlers are in full time nursery because it’s free so you have zero infrastructure for kids.

In the aforementioned scandi and Swiss places, there is always a bloody ‘culture house’ with a soft play area a stone’s throw away, random organic stone shapes for kids to climb on and Tripp trapp high chairs everywhere if you want to stop for a coffee.

City breaks are best when you have an 8 month old potato who is happy in a sling, or an older child who can actively engage in the exhibits at whatever museum you are in.

I usually tell people to take the trip- but I do think centerparcs, big air BnB with pool and other friends to help or club med with mini club is best for this age group.

You will all get so much more out of it if you wait another year and a half. The difference between a 3 year old in attention span, stamina and engagement compared to an 18 month old is night and day

Nice is good too, nice promenade to wander along with the buggy.

And Copenhagen

Sorrento too

So helpful - thank you!

Inspired to move to Croatia after reading that to be honest 😂

ha- I have lived there and free/peppercorn nursery really doesn’t make it kid friendly.

I can’t speak to Dubrovnik, only the northern coast but i’d honestly save Croatia for when your child is older and you can enjoy the nature, paddleboarding, sea swimming, heritage sites and culture rather than just running around a playground in full sun whilst everyone around you chain smokes.

Center Parcs is awful: you have to pay for every bloody thing except the swimming.

I feel about Center Parcs how I feel about soft play - I will avoid it as long as I can get away with it! The prices my friends are paying to go there - no thank you!

The European branches are nicer and much cheaper

you could go to De Eemhof and tie that in with a trip to Amsterdam for the day. It’s about a 40 min drive

I love city breaks! They were the bulk of our holidays before children and we wanted to carry it on after we had ours. We have been to Rome, Florence, Berlin, Barcelona, Bordeaux, Seville, a couple of others, all between the ages of 9m to 2yrs.

I have enjoyed every single one! It’s easier with nice weather, but we still had fun when it rained. We live in London and have fun in the city everyday, so it wasn’t any more difficult doing similar in another city. For me everything is exciting in another culture, the food, the language, the architecture, etc.

I would recommend an apartment. We always get a 2 bed, with separate living/dining area. We go out in the day, have our main meal at lunch time, then just deli food and a glass of wine in the evening when the toddler is in bed. I would recommend a place with a washer dryer, you can bring the bare minimum and just wash muddy clothes (especially useful if you have a late night vomiting incident as we once had!).

Centre Parks would be wasted on a 1.5yr old, I’m not a fan anyway, but most of the activities would be unsuitable, you’d be better off walking around a lake and going to your local swimming baths!

I guess it depends on how mobile your child is and whether they like sitting in the pram. I feel like a city break would be quite hard work with mine at the moment as she is bored sitting in the pram but also can’t walk well yet. A lot of cities are not very buggy friendly (either due to lots of hills and steps or poorly accessible public transport) and my toddler is too heavy to carry in a sling for long. We did a city break to the Netherlands when she was 8 months which was fine as everywhere is flat and public transport is accessible but I think it would be more difficult now as she wouldn’t want to be in the buggy for long.

You could try a full day out in a UK city and see how you find it before committing £ to go abroad.

I used to travel loads pre-DC but I find it much more stressful and less enjoyable now. Maybe I just haven’t found the right type of holiday yet.

Barcelona! The beach is in the city and virtually every square has a playground next to a café-bar (our record was 12 playgrounds in one day). Plus tapas means you can eat some local food while getting some plainer dishes for the little ones. We went with a just turned 4 year old and a 10 month old, and while it's never going to be like going on holiday without kids (we didn't attempt very much cultural beyond looking at the Sagrada Familia from a playground and a visit to the castle), I think we all enjoyed it. We did an apartment because washing machine and adult space post bedtime were essential to us...

Also second Copenhagen - the children's museum in particular was excellent