Solo holiday for the first time woth a 20 month old

[Tropicaliyes]

So I know there are very different opinions on people saying it's not a holiday of your taking a toddler however as I see it, I'm a single mum and a change of scenery and the ability to not have to worry about all meals, cleaning and laundry for 7 days sounds great to me and I get more time let my son experience things he never has.

I'm a bit apprehensive though as I haven't flown since I was 11 which was the last time as I developed a nasty chronic illness which ended everything! My son has never been on a flight so as much as I'd love to take him to Cyprus or Greece I'm really apprehensive as the flights are 4.5+ hrs!

My ex was meant to come as it was our child's first holiday however I feel they just gaslit me to keep waiting for them and no the prices are creeping up to unaffordable!

I was thinking portugal or spain as the flights are roughly 2.5 hrs so I'm thinking that may be alright, however in April he can maybe walk along the beach but not go into the water, and I'm now fi ding many of the hotel pools are not heated, with even adults saying its really cold water indoors!

I really don't want to keep waiting in a hope my ex can sort their passport out and write can just go to somewhere warmer without me managing the flight alone however I'm really on the fence on where I can take him that he can also enjoy (especially if he can't even use indoor pools!)

I really need a break and it seems "holidaying" within the UK is costing a fair bit to not even leave the country and I'm still having to cook all our meals!

I was going to go to Costa del sol but then many said its very "brits abroad". I found one area has a butterfly house and sea world and as much as I can find this here, it's just added things we can do.

Anyone have any ideas where I can take him?

I was going to use jet2holidays and book his own seat and ideally go next month

Personally if I wanted guaranteed weather I’d go for canaries. Tenerife etc, flight is a couple of hours longer but 4 extra hours over all is worth it imo. There will be other toddlers on the plane. You’ll be fine/

try and take a flight that coincides with nap time, take snacks, and iPad (and headphones) L, also a tip when my ds was that age… raid Poundland.. buy a bag full of nonsense l… wrap up nonsense. Let him open a present every half hour on the flight. It will fly by/

depending on your budget there are lots of holidays cominug in at under £1000 all inclusive for you both. Oh and try easyJet holidays too as they are good.

if you can be flexible with dates it will be cheaper once schools give back after Easter

We’re doing Corfu in May - nearest of Greek islands, could that be an option? I’d look for a resort with kids pool, kids club, plenty of restaurants on site. If you want to go earlier I would go for the canaries because if you’re wanting to do swimming and playing on a beach etc it’ll be much easier if it’s warm. We went to Portugal mid May last year when DS was 22 months and 4 nights was enough as the pool wasn’t heated so there wasn’t enough to do to stay any longer. We had a great time but it was only a short break

I have travelled a lot by myself when my kids were young. I would say for your first trip away and because you haven’t travelled much a “brits abroad” trip to Tenerife or mainland Spain is probably a good choice. Lots of familiar options for food and hopefully people to talk to.
The flight to Tenerife is a bit longer than to mainland but worth it in April/ May time if you want to swim. Mainland Spain or Majorca/ menorca (even shorter flight) would be lovely weather but not swimable.
jet2 are generally great and take the stress out of most things. Personally I would say try not to travel over nap times as a well rested toddler is a different beast from an over tired one who can’t sleep on the plan because it’s too excited.
we liked GF Isabel in Tenerife for toddlers

@Chocbuttonsandredwine you know what, when I was originally looking about 2 months ago I was looking at fuertventura as I wasn't thinking of anything but getting away to somewhere that's warm. Then when I started properly looking at it, the place seemed really desolate, there didn't seem like much to do there, the transfers were almost 2hrs long and I didn't even check and see that the flight was over 4hrs! I have checked every other canary island and their flight times are all coming up to over 4hrs! This is where I'm conflicted because if I'm going to spend that time on a plane, then I'd want to visit somewhere I already know is nice, not just gamble... but then everywhere I know is nice, doesn't have warm water to swim in late april. Is that going to be the canary islands selling point? Will the water for sure be warm enough for a toddler in April?

@passmeaglass corfu was on my list along with Cyprus, but the Google said none of these places have water warm enough to actually go into but it will be warm enough to sunbathe. Being in London my son has never been to the beach yet and Southend isn't what I want his first beach experience to be if you get what I mean, I don't mind a stroll on the beach but there has to at least be sand and clear water without sewage! They say the water gets warmer in June/July and that's hitting peak which is throwing me off totally

You’re not going to get guaranteed warm water anywhere in Europe in April, unless it’s a heated pool. The Canary Islands are the furthest south you can get.

If I were you I’d google Majorca / Menorca hotels with heated pool. Short flight, family friendly.

Jet2 also have this page but I can’t see how to actually filter a search: www.jet2holidays.com/heated-and-indoor-pools?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADmgmx_zoV8oTNTxp9U-jlmBSoTFm&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi533_5arjAMV2ZlQBh3XrxxLEAAYASAAEgI-efD_BwE

@Kaffiene yeah jet2holidays have won me over as their affordable, get free baggage allowance, I will buy my son his own seat just to make things less stressful, but their transfer times are horrible and if I'm doing a slightly longer flight then a 2+hr coach transfer to the hotel just sounds miserable with a baby. By myself, sure but iv decided a private transfer which means I'll also need to buy and bring along my own car seat as I heard they won't provide them. My one big issue is he has a shellfish allergy and is anaphylactic (so will carry epi pens with us) but I don't let him eat out here just because of that (hence wanting a break) so I'm obviously very worried about that but it's something I'll have to overcome or he will never experience anything.

@strawlight so I have gone over this option so many times now over the weeks and I thought okay fine I'll put up woth one place in particular I wasn't so fond of because it said it had a heated pool, then the small print said the heated one is only for over 4yr olds! In fact a lot of the heated pools have weird clauses like that which has made me really put off now. One didn't have such clause so I checked the reviews and a few adults were saying even their heated pools were still cold... so I'm like well what's the point then! He swims twice weekly at a private spa we are signed up to and their pool is heated to 27º and he still finds that too cold in a thermal wetsuit! Very few times it's been accidently up to 29º and he loved that but nowhere has temps like that!

Canaries will def be warm enough to swim.

my biggest tip for solo holidaying with a toddler is set low expectations. You don’t really need to “do” much. Breakfast, walk, swim, ice cream, play park, nap, lunch, etc etc. the time will fill itself there’s always a boat trip or something to do if you get bored but honestly it will be such a new experience for you both that I’m sure you’ll be content just being.

Las americas, and playa blanca in lamzarote are both less than 30 mins transfer time/

I'm going to fuengirola next month with DD, slightly different as I have a friend over there but we got cheap flights and plenty to keep small kids entertained. About 40 minutes and €3 on a direct train from Malaga airport (you don't pay for children before age 6 and can use your bank card on the ticket gates rather than queue at the ticket machine) If you're on your own it may be better with a resort that has a club/toddler disco etc

Have you considered Center Parcs? You’ll get your 29° pool! There are several abroad, France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands.

I honestly think you're daft to try to get away in April with a toddler who might need an epipen, and it would be your first foray abroad for many years too.

You're assuming you wouldn't get sick or have an accident too, but stranger things have happened.

Your child will not remember a single detail of any of his experiences for at least another two years. He will have no understanding at all that he's in another country.

Southend would be absolutely fine for him - bucket and spade, sunscreen, food he likes for a picnic, and he will have a lovely time.

If you yourself need a break, would your parents be willing to take him for a weekend?

We were in Teneriffe and that had a heated pool but DD still found it chilly.

When she was younger she wore a wetsuit otherwise she would be too cold.

I would look for a location you like, ignore the idea of daily swimming and look for something to do. A walk at the beach to play in the sand is a nice extra.

The issue is that April is not the most stable of weathers, you can have mid-twenties or low tens. Can you stretch to later, mid-May or June (either side of the school half term)?

@mathanxiety what does him possibly needing an Epi pen and the month have to do with anything? The odds don’t change dependant on the month!

I also never assumed I wouldn’t get sick too, but that is the exact same for ANY parent wanting to solo holiday with their child. I had already addressed my anxieties in my OP.

I also stated I wanted to get away, my son is coming because I’m his default parent and as much as it is not for him, that doesn’t mean I can’t try and make it interesting for him too. It doesn’t matter to me if he remembers it or not, that’s totally beside the point!

and lastly, no, there is nobody else that will watch my child so I can go away, I get some peoples lives work like that but mine don’t!

@strawlight no I never considered it as when I was younger and saw the adverts as much as they always looked fun and my mum was not one of those mums, they did always seem pointed towards the older kids and adults but I’ll look into it now, thanks.

@reluctantbrit yeah my son already finds where he swims currently pretty cold and he is in a full bodied fur wetsuit so I know that when I’m seeing adults on tripadvisor say the heated pools were too cold, it will be far too cold for him. What’s more annoying is that every hotel I have seen has multiple pools! It wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t see a single pool and all he saw was the beach where he could just dip his toes in, but it seems that doesn’t exist. The other thing is that going in the hotter months ends up too hot to even enjoy going outside and doing anything so I’m trying to find an even medium which I’m struggling with.

If you could wait until mid May, Portugal and mainland Spain/Balearics will really be quite a bit warmer. Usually good deals to be had the week before May half term. The pools still on the cool side, but the sea isn't too bad. The advantage would be that the flight is nearly 2 hours less, which is a lot with a 1 year old.

Even warmer if you don't mind leaving it until the first week of June, albeit usually a bit dearer than mid May.