Short break with toddler ideas

[Crumpypumpy]

Hello, I have a toddler with several allergies and they have been asking to go on an aeroplane. I haven’t done this before as it’s such a scary thing managing the allergies. Does anyone have any ideas for a short break where we can take a plane and easily stay in a hotel that would cope with allergies?

allergies are dairy, gluten and eggs and would require a hospital visit hence the anxiety.

What about a domestic flight? We regularly fly Bristol to Newcastle on cheap flights. It's short and easy.

I was debating that! I don’t want disappointment at the end that we aren’t going on an actual holiday 😬

We took our DD to Barcelona as a toddler and had a great time! No experience of allergies but we stayed self catering in an Airbnb

Not quite what you asked, but my DD has allergies and I’ve found self catering is a much better option than hotels. Sometimes I find places which are self catering but with a restaurant on site/near by to give me and DH a break from cooking while also keeping flexibility. That means I can guarantee two meals a day (I usually do breakfast and dinner in the unit) and we have lunch out and I ask about allergies.

unless your DC is allergic to the smell, I wouldn’t worry about a short plane ride - a short hall flight to France/Spain/Italy will probably give you a bag of crisps at best! And you can pack snacks for your DC.

with self-catering I worry I won’t be able to find the right (safe) food. I’m a single parent so it’s all on me.

yes it’s just consuming the food that’s the issue - and finding it.

k just wondered if there were allergy safe hotels! 😂

How about Jersey?

I found hotels in Cyprus really good with allergies although that is a longish flight for a short break.

I haven’t heard of allergy friendly hotels, but I’ve never looked! I have heard cruises are very allergy friendly, but never tried it myself.

My tips are (1) Google the phrase for “my child is allergic to X” in the language, and have it written down. (2) Bring a few essentials with you, and food plan to have basic meals - in my case, that means bringing soy milk with me as that’s essential, and then I’d plan to have plain fish/pasta/potatoes as the majority of food. That’s always easy to find and identify in a foreign supermarket. But my DD is only allergic to milk and eggs, so a gluten allergy might change that - I guess you’ll be ok with fish and plain meat with potatoes/veg? (3) If you want to eat out, the more touristy the area, the better the English they’ll speak and the more likely you’ll find British/American food that you recognise and can know is safe. I wouldn’t go off the beaten track with my DD even though before kids my DH and I loved doing that, and just eating whatever we were given! (4) Keep your medicine on you at all times - for us, that’s citrizen but sounds like your DC may have an EpiPen?

Thank you for all your input. I’ve been looking at Jersey and think that’s a fabulous idea. It’s not an anaphylactic reaction (thankfully) but it’s enough to put them in hospital if it happens. I’ve contacted a hotel to check but it looks like their menu will be safe.

thank you xx