Three week trip with toddler

[bluebells1234]

I am thinking of taking my 3 year old travelling in Asia in the summer. Has anyone got any top tips on where might work? It would just be the two of us. I’m feeling brave!

There are so many amazing places but just be careful with the heat.. I'm not sure about the tropical/southern parts, but east Asia is really hot... I leave east Asia to travel back to the uk to avoid the heat. In my city, kids play out after dark and the parks/scenic areas are empty during the day because it is just uncomfortably hot to be outside.

Just come back from a month there in the slightly cooler season with no monsoon. My pros and cons, and mainly cons are

1. it is uncomfortably hot and humid. Depends where you go but you are up against 33 degree temps minimum with heavy humidity (like walking in a sauna). Mosquitos are a nuisance at best, and dangerous at worst.
2. Pavements are not great for pushchairs or a walking toddler, or indeed any walking (bad design, trees, stalls) you end up walking on the road. Crossing the road can be dicey for adults let alone those with children.
3. It does not have some of the things children like (e.g. playparks)
4. Taxis do not always cater for children (no car seats) I am sure you can get them, but it is harder. Public transport is sometimes only accessible via a very long staircase, fine for a couple of young backpackers, agony for anyone else.
5. The flight is hard work with a toddler, it is 11-13 hours and it is hard work as an adult. Also screws your body clock up.
6. Finally, I think, unless you pick well, you could be lonely. There is some comfort in being a parent in a crowd of similar parents, children amuse each other etc.

On the pro front, it is cheap once you get there. Most places have a better selection of pharmacy than we would get at home. Public transport can be good, air-conditioned and cheap. You can have a nice time in hotels, plenty of staff etc.

I would go to temperate Europe with its short flights and good facilities personally.

Just my POV, and hope it helps, x

We spent a month in Thailand in December with my just turned 4 year old.

I didn't find the travelling difficult at all. She was great on the aeroplane (6 hours and a 7 hour flight) and also the travelling between locations didn't phase her. 3 hour speed boat? She fell asleep. Day trips on a boat? She was the first to jump into the water to go snorkelling. Visiting temples? She loved meeting all the monks.

There are no car seats in Thailand as someone else mentioned but we just embraced their culture and went with it.

We didn't take a pram and the pavements wouldn't have been suitable anyway. Before we went we did lots of hikes in the Peak District near us to build up stamina. It worked brilliantly as we didn't have to carry her.

Food no problem, she tried lots of things and I did notice there always seemed to be carbonara?!?

It was an amazing trip and as she starts school in September our last opportunity before being restricted to term time