1 month trip with a one year old

[Happyharper]

We're trying to plan a month away in September with our DS before he goes to nursery. He's pretty good at travelling - we've already done 3 holidays and it's gone well. But we're struggling to think where to go for this trip. Our budget around 5k for flights and accommodation for the month. We'd like to avoid expensive places once we're out there such as America and Canada and also high crime areas such as South Africa.

We're happy to do long hall flights and we do want to take advantage of this month off work together so part of me feels we should be adventurous. We don't want to move around too much.

Our ideas so far are:
Bali
Thailand ( although it's rainy season)
Sicily

Anyone done something similar?

Bali is a great idea and you could also visit Australia- Perth is great but you could easily spend a month in Bali . You can hire a Balinese babysitter if you want to do any adult days or evenings out . They are beautiful people , you’ll love it there

We have been to both Thailand and Bali with dd when she was older and she loved them both.

The brilliant thing about a 1 year old is that they don't really care where they are as long as they're with you and have a favourite cuddly so I would focus on where you would like to go.

When our dd was 11 months old, we travelled around South America for a month and had a great trip. We were backpacking - using local buses, staying in hostels and budget hotels etc - dd was really adaptable and it all went smoothly.

We spent a month in North Portugal recently with the kids. DH took his laptop and worked for part of the time. It was brilliant, it felt more like we were living there than a holiday. I learnt some Portuguese before we went which helped because the area we stayed in wasn't great for English speaking.

We loved not having to rush and get through ab itinerary. I'd say pick somewhere away from the tourist areas to keep costs down. If you're there for a month, you can spend a bit longer travelling to get there.

Sicily is amazing! Weather will be beautiful in September too. If you use public transports (trains) and airbnbs, you can probably do it with your budget. Also LO won’t eat much yet nor need a plane seat. Fly to Palermo or Catania and then I would do 3-4 bases and excursions. Definitely go to Cefalu.
everywhere in Italy is also so child friendly and people are so lovely with little ones.

I think your budget will be tight if you hire a car too. Flights you can get for £500 or less all in return with Easyjet or Ryanair especially in September. Does your budget include food?
sicily is not expensive but I assume Thailand is cheaper but then again flights will be more expensive.

You could also consider spending some time on the Eolian islands off the Sicilian coast. You can take a ferry from Palermo, truly magical islands especially Stromboli and Panarea.

@Mycatsaninja thank you! The only thing that worries me is that food as I need to get DS fully day time weaned before he starts nursery in October and some things I've been reading about says I have to be very careful about giving fruit etc?! I don't give him premade baby food
@cariadlet wow that sounds amazing and ambitious ! Did you bring your car seat with you? Did you feel safe?
@DuringDinnerMints that could be great. What sort of regions did you look at?
@SchoolDilemma17 that would be just flights and accommodation. I'm very tempted by Sicily although we hate driving in Italy!

We didn't take a car seat because we travelled on buses. It was very safe. My partner had been on a couple of longer trips to South and Central America before we met so we went to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay as they were countries which he hadn't visited.

Ah then your budget will go quite far in Sicily as flights are very cheap. We hate driving in Sicily too, if you plan your trip properly you can do it without and use trains (which are so cheap). With a 1 year old I wouldn’t travel around all the time, maybe choose 2-3 different towns and base yourself there. If you want beach time I would do Palermo (Mondello), Cefalu and then maybe head to the other coast Siracusa for a beautiful old town, beaches nearby and a trip to Etna. And you can also visit Taormina. My favourite beaches with kids are Cefalu (amazing town - you can’t drive in the old town anyway), fontane bianche (amazing beach, town a bit boring), and Pozzallo. But also love the Eolian islands.

Food is amazing! You will definitely have beach weather in September and the sea will be warm from the hot summer.

Argentina. Base yourself in Buenos Aires. Then you can go over to Uruguay, Mendoza and Andes, also up the very top to Iguazú Falls. The best trip of my life. The long distances buses (with fully reclining cama seats) are a fantastic way to travel.

With a 1 year old?
I have been to both countries, wouldn’t do it with a small child. Weather in September isn’t great either.

It really depends on the child. Some wouldn't like it; others would be quite happy.
My dd was absolutely fine when we went. The only upset was when she got very wet on the boat trip at Iguazu Falls but I was upset over her tears for far longer than she was. She was perfectly happy for the rest of the holiday.

The op has said that her little one is a good traveller so it sounds as if the holiday might suit her family.

@Mamamia35 that sounds amazing! I'm not sure he'd enjoy the long coaches though! Did you take your baby?