Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
UK travel

Welcome to our UK travel forum where you can get advice on everything from holidays to exotic destinations, to tips on London travel.

Original poster

Caravanning with a 1 year old

9 replies

DebsA · 13/07/2006 21:56

Am considering taking a week out with DH and 13 month active DS. Hiring a static caravan somewhere within DS's 2-3 hour attention span to car journeys - which from home is anwhere from Kent to Dorset - seems to be the current favourite idea. Am I crazy? Will it be serious hassle and does anyone have any recommendations? We have to go w/c 19th Aug - Saturday before the bank holiday, which doesn't help.

OP posts:
BettySpaghetti · 13/07/2006 22:01

We stayed in a massive 8 berth caravan with friends recently -first time I'd been in a caravan since I was a kid!

Anyway I would suggest that if you find one check whether you can get a travel cot in the bedroom as a lot of them have fixed beds with a very small gap between beds/walls. Otherwise travel cot might have to go in lounge area which can mess up your evening.

Also we took a highchair booster seat but there were no dining chairs (built in long seat or stools instead) so DS had his meals in the booster on the floor.

Original poster
DebsA · 13/07/2006 22:14

Cheers for that, had already considered the travel cot thing but didn't realise that it could apply to all rooms! And good call re the booster seat...we use a travel one which straps to a dining chair so could come up against the same problem. If I think about it too hard it seems like way too much hassle when I consider the amount of baby proofing we've had to do in out house!!

OP posts:
BettySpaghetti · 13/07/2006 22:19

When we went DS was about 22m and our friends son was 12m. We didn't have too many problems with child-proofing the caravan - the boys had the run of the lounge area and we turned the coffee table on its side to stop them getting into the kitchen bit.

Everything was fixed/built in (sofa/benches, cupboards) so nothing to pull over other than stools, no sockets at their level and we didn't need to put the fire on so that wasn't an issue.

At the end of the day you just ned to use it as your base and can hopefully get out and about a lot.

Happy hols!

Bubbaloo · 13/07/2006 22:24

Our Ds is also 13 months and we've been on 2 caravanning holidays so far.Up until now we've been lucky and have managed to get the travel cot in the bedroom but we're going away in Sept and when I phoned the park the other day,they said their bedrooms aren't large enough to accommodate a cot,so looks like dh will be sleeping in the lounge with ds while I have the bedroom.Last time (2 weeks ago) we took our own highchair,but in Sept my FIL is also coming and due to space needed in the car we are hiring a highchair instead-most parks have this facility.
We had a great holiday and the only hassle for me was trying to get Ds to eat out,as he's used to my cooking.We went to Lincolnshire btw,which was a 5 hour drive from home,and made sure we left around ds's nap time,so no problem there.

Original poster
DebsA · 14/07/2006 21:40

How did you get DH to agree to share lounge with Ds? - impressive work. When we find somewhere that isn't the £ equivalent to a luxury holiday abroad then we'll give them a call to check out the space issues. Does anyone have any recommendations for resort?

OP posts:
Bubbaloo · 14/07/2006 22:43

We've just come back from Golden Sands at Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire and had a fab time.It's the 2nd time we've stayed at that park so definately recommend it.It's owned by Haven and we stay at their various parks twice a year,every year and have no complaints.WE're going to Romney Sands in Kent in a few weeks,which is a Park resort-haven't stayed with them before.We're also thinking of trying Centre Parcs in November as we've heard they're really good too.
Dh isn't too happy about kipping in the lounge,but he's got no choice-I'm not sleeping out there.
Btw...caravans are VERY cold at night.We went away 2 weeks ago and Ds slept in a vest,socks,sleepsuit,sleeping bag and fleece blanket and still woke up with hands and feet like ice.

Skribble · 15/07/2006 23:29

Check with the park or companies a lot do cot side that clip around the fixed abed and will often hire items like high chairs and baby baths. You get all the luxuries of home really its not like you are roughing it and plenty room if it is only the three of you.

Lots of different kinds of parks to go for, full on Haven/ Butlins types right down to individual vans in peoples grounds. depends what else you are looking for really.

Skribble · 15/07/2006 23:30

Agree vans can get very cold at night, we were in Spain in April and it was freezing at night. Aug shouldn't be too bad but don't reliey on their bedding to keep you cosy.

Skribble · 15/07/2006 23:34

Just looked at a few prices for August , wait until the school holidays are over and make the most of another 4yrs of cheaper holidays .

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread