Holiday with 1yo- how to make it as enjoyable for us as possible?

[AllTheOtherNamesWereTaken]

We are going to book a holiday abroad for October when my DS will be 1! I'm so excited for our first family holiday 😁 But while looking at where to go I'm trying to picture how to make the most of the holiday for me and DH especially when DS is in bed and we need to stay in the room. What do you all do/any tips please?

We'd like to go all inclusive so we can enjoy a resort with amazing pools and not need to think about our meals. I was picturing we can get a room with a nice balcony so we can have some drinks (not get shloshed obviously!) and chat when DS is asleep. If possible we'd get a family room with seperate little bedroom bit for him but I'd like to book a higher end family hotel so probably can't do this in budget. I have thought if we can get some takeaway dinners from the al la carte restaurants it will be lovely! But is this even a thing?! Would it get lost in translation? What other tips do you have for evenings on holiday with a baby?

We took DD to Greece when she was 9 months and will be going away with her this year when she is
15 & 18m.
We would have her dressed ready for bed and then go down to the restaurant at 5.30 where we would all have dinner together.
We'd take a slow walk to a beach bar at 6.30pm, she'll have her milk and then OH would rock her in her stroller for 5 minutes and she would be out for the count.
We'd spend a few hours sitting in the beach bar then head back to our room at 10pm, transfer her onto her cot whilst we sat on the balcony together.

I found that DD slept so well on holiday because the pool and beach wore her out so much, we would either have a nap in the room when she did or sit on our lounger reading if she fell asleep in her stroller.

We did a Neilson activity holiday at 9 months which worked really well - they have great kids clubs with qualified nannies doing a mix of day and evening childcare. Works a treat so you get a proper holiday and some good family time.

Depending on your usual timing, we found ignoring the time difference helps encourage them to sleep in a bit so it doesn't matter if they're a bit late to bed. Then do as much as your regular bedtime routine as you can before taking them down to dinner ready for bed in a pushchair you can lay flat when they're ready to doze off. A light blanket is very helpful.

The OP specifically says she doesn't want to have to think about their meals so self catering is going to be the complete opposite!

I flew with Easyjet to Tenerife with nearly 3yr old DD last week. We were able to put the pram and car seat in the hold free of charge and there was no problem with her "changing bag".

This is from their policy:
"If you are travelling with a child who requires them, you can bring two items for free with you. These include a travel cot, pushchair, double pushchair, buggy, car seat, collapsible or non-collapsible pram, booster seat and/or baby back carrier"

She also insisted on carrying her own handbag and backpack so technically we were over, but it wasn't a problem.

We're flying BA in the summer and when I checked, it was more or less the same.

There are lots of places where you can have basic kitchenette and apartment style while being in a hotel.
We liked Zafiro Menorca in the superior room with a garden.
We went SC but you can go AI too.

I think with one you don't need to do self catering. I'd bear in mind babies change so much op. Is your DC on the move now ? Once they are moving and walking it gets busy and can be very full on on holidays especially near a pool and eating etc .
One DC is easy though so I definitely think you can have a great time if you are organised and they have naps etc.

Hated being in a hotel room trapped, did it once never again, 1 week or 2 trapped going to bed early or whatever is dull and not a holiday. Couldn't even escape to another room for wine and food. But if at 1 they will sleep in a buggy etc whilst you have an evening meal out then hotels are fine. Apartment complexes might fit bill so you have on site amenities but you have to find a good one. Also look for beaches or lakes with good shallows as well as toddler pools.

Thanks everyone, I've only just seen my notification for responses I thought nobody had replied 😅😁

Great reading and food for thought! Also great time, I hadn't heard to the snoozepods!

I mentioned not wanting to cook (DH cooks so much at home it'd be great for him to have time off and I love holiday eating food and eating out!) but the main reason for wanting a hotel is for the pools and complex. I've been looking at family places with amazing pools, including shallow ones with sprinklers etc that would be good for a 1yo and tk just pop in and out as we want to really appeals to me.

He's not on the move yet but working hard on his crawling and is a sturdy boy and quick developer so I'm picturing him walking at 13 months on the holiday.

@UnaOfStormhold

We did a Neilson activity holiday at 9 months which worked really well - they have great kids clubs with qualified nannies doing a mix of day and evening childcare. Works a treat so you get a proper holiday and some good family time.

Depending on your usual timing, we found ignoring the time difference helps encourage them to sleep in a bit so it doesn't matter if they're a bit late to bed. Then do as much as your regular bedtime routine as you can before taking them down to dinner ready for bed in a pushchair you can lay flat when they're ready to doze off. A light blanket is very helpful.

Ooh awesome I was thinking about trying to find somewhere with a safe reliable babysitting service so we could have a meal! But was worried about where I can trust and obviously not sure what he'll be like at that age. Which specific place/hotel did you go to?

The rubber rings that have leg holes are fab at that age. DS wasn’t walking when we went but had an amazing time ‘walking’ round the shallow pool.

@Responsiveroo

One word Sani

It’s in Greece. Went there with 3 month and 2 year old

It was exquisite in every way. Went three years in a row

But very pricey

Sounds like a great recommendation thank you! Would you recommend the particular hotel/place you stayed at? Would be great to have a direct recommendation!

Since having kids I've concluded that an 'aparthotel' is the best of both worlds. Ideally you want a separate bedroom or, if not, a sleeping space with a divider or curtain or something, so you can still use the room while baby is sleeping. Otherwise, you could try a snooze shade over the cot and a white/pink noise machine.

Even if you don't want to self-cater and just want to eat out all the time, it's so helpful to have a kitchenette so you have the option to make yourself breakfast without having to get everyone dressed and down to the hotel restaurant. There is usually a small table so you can eat comfortably if you decide to get room service or takeaways or whatever.

But you still get the advantages of a hotel, with on site restaurant(s) and swimming pool, plus the room gets cleaned, etc.

Whether or not you decide to go out to restaurants in the evening with baby sleeping in the pushchair Will depend on your baby I guess. Hopefully most will sleep fine like this (as above, a snooze shade and white/pink noise should help). DC1 didn't and it was stressful trying. We've been under covid restrictions for much of DC2's life and haven't attempted it with her... not sure we will either!

DS1 is now 5 but before covid (so before his 4th birthday) had been to Cyprus, Tenerife twice, Turkey and Salou, Every time we went AI - just easier, the rooms were always a lounge/seating area, then a bedroom leading into a bathroom so we would put DS into the bedroom on an evening and DH or i would pop out and get wine and a meal and eat together on the balcony, the best two we've had were the Bahia Fantasia or Riu Buenavista both Tenerife, shuttles into the town, not too far from the airports but far enough out to enjoy the quiet

@LittleBearPad

The rubber rings that have leg holes are fab at that age. DS wasn’t walking when we went but had an amazing time ‘walking’ round the shallow pool.

Thank you, we actually tried one this weekend and loved it will definitely make sure we have one on holiday for this!

@NameChange30

Since having kids I've concluded that an 'aparthotel' is the best of both worlds. Ideally you want a separate bedroom or, if not, a sleeping space with a divider or curtain or something, so you can still use the room while baby is sleeping. Otherwise, you could try a snooze shade over the cot and a white/pink noise machine.

Even if you don't want to self-cater and just want to eat out all the time, it's so helpful to have a kitchenette so you have the option to make yourself breakfast without having to get everyone dressed and down to the hotel restaurant. There is usually a small table so you can eat comfortably if you decide to get room service or takeaways or whatever.

But you still get the advantages of a hotel, with on site restaurant(s) and swimming pool, plus the room gets cleaned, etc.

Whether or not you decide to go out to restaurants in the evening with baby sleeping in the pushchair Will depend on your baby I guess. Hopefully most will sleep fine like this (as above, a snooze shade and white/pink noise should help). DC1 didn't and it was stressful trying. We've been under covid restrictions for much of DC2's life and haven't attempted it with her... not sure we will either!

Sounds perfect I didn't realise this was a thing but does sound like it ticks our boxes. I'm hoping he'll be able to sleep well in his pram but if there's one thing I've learned from my 7 months of being a mum is there's no predicting what they'll be like in a month's time, nevermind 5! We use white noise already so would definitely keep that up and hopefully it'll help

@QforCucumber

DS1 is now 5 but before covid (so before his 4th birthday) had been to Cyprus, Tenerife twice, Turkey and Salou, Every time we went AI - just easier, the rooms were always a lounge/seating area, then a bedroom leading into a bathroom so we would put DS into the bedroom on an evening and DH or i would pop out and get wine and a meal and eat together on the balcony, the best two we've had were the Bahia Fantasia or Riu Buenavista both Tenerife, shuttles into the town, not too far from the airports but far enough out to enjoy the quiet

This sounds exactly what I was picturing for evenings! Did you find it easy getting the meals to take back to the room in the hotel? I didn't know if it's something they wouldn't let you do and might be tricky to explain with a language barrier. I'll check those hotels out now thanks so much!

Reclining buggy and forget about routine. Mine loved all kinds of experiences, even jazz clubs ... turned out fine despite not putting them in bed at bedtime!

@AllTheOtherNamesWereTaken Neither of those 2 hotels had a problem with it, DS would sleep more often during the day though so we would go for a light dinner with him at around 5/6ish and watch the evening entertainment then up to bed around 8:30/9pm with a bottle of wine and one of us would go back down for a tapas type plate or 2 to bring up (there was one waiter who questioned it one night and DH just said baby is sleeping and wife needs to eat, they then offered to bring us more hah!)

During lockdown we've since had 2nd ds and haven't yet tried a holiday with 2 of them!

We did an all inclusive in Mexico when DS was 9 months old and it was AMAZING. DH still talks about it as one of our best ever holidays.

We went to dinner at the restaurant event night - we just let DS nap a bit longer in the day and kept him up later. He absolutely LOVED hibachi night . When he started to get tired, we'd go up to our room, put him to bed, and then sit out on the terrace having drinks. My main suggestion would be to make sure you have a balcony so you have a place to escape to once DC is in bed.

DS was a champ, took to travelling like a duck to water, but of course YMMV depending on your child.

I would really second the idea of a Snoozshade for the travel cot and a white noise machine. We used this and it meant we could basically carry on around LO as she slept in the cot without her having any idea we were there. Tucked it into a corner of the room and just enjoyed drinks on the balcony etc. Another tip I read is to keep them on UK time so if you are going to e.g. Spain, they will naturally go to bed a little later, giving you more freedom in the evenings! But I totally understand wanting all inclusive- I personally dont find Air bnb or apartments to be anywhere near as relaxing - I don't want to wash up or do food shopping on holiday!!

OP if it's the water/splash parks you want then check out Eurocamp-style holidays. I'm guessing you've discounted because 'camping' and not wanting to cook all your meals, but they have chalets so it definitely doesn't have to be under canvas! The bigger sites are really well suited for even smaller children with lots of facilities including the on-site splash parks and a couple of restaurants and takeaways (plus mini mart if you just want to bung a pizza in the oven occasionally and for fresh croissants for breakfast). If you choose right, you will be near a town for meals out too.

@UnaOfStormhold

We did a Neilson activity holiday at 9 months which worked really well - they have great kids clubs with qualified nannies doing a mix of day and evening childcare. Works a treat so you get a proper holiday and some good family time.

Depending on your usual timing, we found ignoring the time difference helps encourage them to sleep in a bit so it doesn't matter if they're a bit late to bed. Then do as much as your regular bedtime routine as you can before taking them down to dinner ready for bed in a pushchair you can lay flat when they're ready to doze off. A light blanket is very helpful.

I have used Neilson a lot and love the format. I did book this year to go Sardinia but to my horror they have just changed out flights to ones which mean we have check in at 3am and changed our airport in Italy to one which is over 150 miles away and not just next door. They have just lost our future business since they say this is permitted. With little kids its a nightmare

@reluctantlogin we're in a similar position but planning to stick with them as it has been a difficult time in the travel industry and the holidays work so well for us. Sorry it's going to be difficult for you.