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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

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Original poster

holiday ideas for 5/6 month old baby??

19 replies

NW3Mummy · 13/04/2009 15:09

we are attempting to plan our first family holiday with our new baby - he will be 5 to 6 months old when we go towards the end of May/beginning of June. Does anyone have any good suggestions? e.g. self-catering villa versus holiday resort (mark warner, club med etc.) / country / facilites to look for??

Any advice is appreciated - we are looking for something that is fairly luxurious yet will satisfy the needs of a 5-6month old baby who will be in the process of weaning

OP posts:

LIZS · 13/04/2009 15:16

I'd keep it simple and do as many adult orientated actviities as you can , while you still can . The baby won't really care where he is as long as basic needs and routine are met. Make sure it isn't too hot during hte day and not plagued with mosquitos. Wodul you use the childcare facilities if they were on offer ? If not then no point payign a premium to have them. We took ds sc in Devon and did outings and walks which we wouldn't have been able to do again as easily until he was a fair bit older. in a year's time he will be less portable and easily pleased than now.

Chinwag · 13/04/2009 15:21

Centre Parcs? I think there's one abroad, if you don't want UK?

poshtottie · 13/04/2009 15:53

we went to bedruthan steps hotel in Cornwall for our first holiday which was fab. They have high tea for the children at 5pm and it had a good choice of food for babies to older children.

We went for walks on the beach, Newquay Zoo, and the hotel has a lovely warm swimming pool.

notyummy · 13/04/2009 16:04

This is perfect:

www.chateaurigaud.co.uk/family_house_party.html

We went for the first time when dd was 10 months old, but it caters perfectly for babies/toddlers and children of all ages. Just FAB.

ScorpiowithabigS · 13/04/2009 16:05

We took our children (oyungest 5 months at the time) to a gite in the loire valley, france. Was very easy and so peaceful.

TravelMum7 · 13/04/2009 17:06

This may sound funny but I can recommend Las Vegas. A number of the hotels there are extremely baby friendly! Just make sure you keep the little one out of the casinos!

saggyhairyarse · 13/04/2009 17:30

I think I would just go where ever I wanted to go as at that age they are happy doing most things and are fairly transportable.

PrioryParkChick · 13/04/2009 18:27

We took dd to Zurich at this age and it was very easy. Lots to do - zoo, boat trips on lake, trips up mountains etc. Took quite a lot of baby meals with us (plum baby etc) but managed to do breakfast easily from buffet in hotel. We stayed in a basic hotel in the centre but there are some beautiful places in the hills with good tram links that look very luxurious.
If you are looking in the UK, then would highly recommend By The Byre Cottages in Somerset - they supply everything (nice wooden cots, all baby equipment - even toys!) and have lovely extras such as full fat milk, fresh bread, eggs, butter, tea and coffee there for your arrival. So much to do in local area too. I can't wait to go back at some point.
Have done Center Parcs too and the pool is lovely for toddlers but I think I prefer the freedom of being in a cottage or hotel if on a city break.

Original poster

NW3Mummy · 13/04/2009 20:23

thank you very much for all the advice - you've certainly given us lots to think about. everything seems such a massive undertaking with the wee man now in our lives so all advice is really appreciated!

i think we would like to take advantage of the childcare where we go if I can get my head around trusting someone else with my little man at such a young age so i think we will look at a family resort with creche or a villa near a town and take a nanny with - the chateau noted above is exactly what we are looking for but they only do 4 night breaks and we'd like to do a minimum of 7. I also like the idea of being near attractions like in zurich so we can do day trips and just bundle DS into his buggy.

does anyone have any advice on baby equipment we would need to arrange for at the resort/villa or take with? sterliser, cot, toys etc.etc.? I still need to read up on weaning and it's requirements but believe that bub will still take bottles at 5-6 months so we will need to be able to prepare them.

OP posts:

Kiwinyc · 13/04/2009 21:10

I agree with the poster above that said just go anywhere you want to go - at that age they're very portable so take advantage of that. FWIW our DD1 was 5mths when we went to Australia/NZ via Japan and 10 mths when we went to Cape Town and both trips were very easy, they sleep alot and you don't need childcare cos they spend half their time asleep!

If you want a v. lazy holiday just get a villa with a pool and you can spend most of the time sunning yourself. We went to Portugal and did exactly this when DD2 was 11mths and it was again v. easy and nice to have a kitchen to prepare her food in.

hf128219 · 13/04/2009 22:21

Try www.coastline.co.uk - lovely villas, can supply nannies etc.

Have you thought about www.fortevillage.com?

DeathbyDora · 13/04/2009 22:33

FWIW we actually took our little ones to Tenerife which was lovely if you avoid the really crazy parts of the Island. Bahia Del Duque was a lovely hotel resort with a creche.

1 hour time difference and only a 4 hour flight. If I remember rightly they also provided bottle warmers/sterilisers on request. You can always take the sterilising bags and a few packets of Milton Steriliser tablets to do your bottles. And they were very accommodating in all the restaurants.

Lovely beach, 3 or 4 pools including a shallow baby pool. Lots of families with little ones. Agree with the other posters that you need somewhere YOU can relax and take it easy while your little one is too young to be running off and lobbing himself in the pool at every opportunity!!

notyummy · 14/04/2009 08:16

nw3mummy - Chateau Rigaud does do house parties for 7 days - we went for a week last year after we enjoyed the 4 day one so much the year before...the only problem was that it was too short!

If you are interested then it's best to contact them, as they generally have a number of dates on the go over the early summer, and there may be something suitable. They don't always put the dates on the website because sometimes they 'evolve' if a number of families want something at a particular time IFYSWIM.

I can't recommend it highly enough TBH.

mamamea · 14/04/2009 11:21

We had a nice time here at that age:

www.hotel-caribbean.com/hotel/grenada/CYR/coyaba_beach_resort_grenada.html

also here:

www.hillsidebeachclub.com/main.php?sLang=EN

Original poster

NW3Mummy · 15/04/2009 17:27

thank you all very much for the suggestions ) we've got a good few ideas for a few holidays now

I've also emailed off the chateau so fingers crossed!

OP posts:

memmawizz · 02/06/2009 13:28

If you want to have more flexibility then have a look at www.baby-holidays.com who can deliver all your baby essentials e.g. nappies, food, milk etc. for you to your holiday destination. That means you can look in Europe or further afield and be reassured that you can have baby products with you.

naimani · 22/03/2010 21:27

hey we are looking to take our little 6month old on holiday for the first time just don't know where is the best place to go? we went to tunisia last year and it was lovely but we did not have a baby in tow, any suggestions?

Chatterbox2012 · 10/04/2012 21:54

Taking our 4 month old to Bangkok, any suggestions on sunshine resorts within driving distance of Bangkok airport welcomed? Particularly those that are baby friendly but still luxurious for adults!

popflos · 11/04/2012 19:25

for babies in europe, by far the best option is www.caseriodelmirador.com in spain, (one of mumsnet top picks and is specifically for babies) but you have to book ahead.
for babies in bangkok try www.facebook.com/BaanSukJaiBednBreakfast and once you have recovered from jet lag and done your city shopping, head to the islands,

do not pack or order baby stuff to be delivered if you are travelling in europe its bonkers and expensive and everything is available in every shop once you arrive, and any decent place can arrange for any equipment you need, if they cant, dont book.

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