vacation destinations with infant/toddler

SunAndRain · March 2013

DH and I need help! We want to take a week vacation with DD. She turns 1 in July. I'm thinking beach. We have wiggle room in our budget. We have no idea where to start. I'm thinking beach. We want relaxing. Any suggestions???

mexicolombiana · March 2013

Puerto Rico is great because they speak a lot of English, it's close by and they use the same currency.

The beaches in the Riviera Maya are great and many resorts offer beach front access. (south of Cancun)

I've heard good things about resorts in the Dominican Republic but I've never been.

We traveled to Puerto Rico when DD #1 was 15 months old and we drove all around the island and had a great time!

FemShep · March 2013

I've seen lots of promos recently for minitime, which is a family vacation planning website.

When you say you want relaxing, what does that mean? Never cook, hang out at a pool all day? Do you want a place with childcare on site or would you be uncomfortable leaving DD? Are direct flights important? When do you want to travel? How far are you willing to go, and where do you live now?

When DD1 was small, we went to Kiawah Island. It's pricey, but lovely. I'd go for a long weekend instead of a full week, however-with such a little one, I think you'd run out of things to do.

We go to Disney World every year, and we actually find it quite relaxing (although I think we are certainly the exception there!). Our attitude is that Disney isn't going anywhere, so we don't have to cram things in, so we often spend an afternoon by the pool, take a nice nap, etc.

EastCoastBride · March 2013

mexicolombiana:
The beaches in the Riviera Maya are great and many resorts offer beach front access. (south of Cancun)

We went to Tulum, which is in the same basic area, when DS was about 16 months old. We stayed at Dreams Tulum and loved it.

https://www.dreamsresorts.com/dretu/

We went w/ another couple and stayed in the junior ocean view rooms. Great location - view of the ocean, right by the baby pool. couldn't beat it. And the bathrooms are HUGE - we set up DS's PNP in the shower stall and put his white noise fan next to it and wrapped a blanket around the mesh. We were able to hang out in the room at night w/o problem and we could sneak into the bathroom to use the toilet, which was in it's own "closet".

mae0111 · March 2013

What is the timing for the vacation? Now? Summer?

When DD was 9 months old, we went to Cape Cod for a week. We rented a house that was walking distance to the beach. It was perfect. We could go to the beach for a bit, then easily get back to the house when it was time for a nap. I read like 4 books that week, we cooked, went out to dinner sometimes, and because we rented a house, we weren't confined to the bathroom while she fell asleep like we might have been in a hotel.

We've gone back every year. We're planning to go again this year, and DD2 will be about 4 months old. We'll have to keep her away from the beach, but there will still be plenty to do. It's very relaxing, even when I'm just sitting on the porch reading a book while DD naps.

Have fun, whatever you decide!

salt78 · March 2013

We got married in Turks & Caicos at a Beaches resort. We picked it because we wanted my brothers (who were all under 16 at the time) to be able to attend and they had stuff for them, but also they have this whole Sesame Street thing that is great for younger kids. I'm really excited to take DD back there in a couple years.

aelhunt · March 2013

FemShep:

I've seen lots of promos recently for minitime, which is a family vacation planning website.

When you say you want relaxing, what does that mean? Never cook, hang out at a pool all day? Do you want a place with childcare on site or would you be uncomfortable leaving DD? Are direct flights important? When do you want to travel? How far are you willing to go, and where do you live now?

When DD1 was small, we went to Kiawah Island. It's pricey, but lovely. I'd go for a long weekend instead of a full week, however-with such a little one, I think you'd run out of things to do.

We go to Disney World every year, and we actually find it quite relaxing (although I think we are certainly the exception there!). Our attitude is that Disney isn't going anywhere, so we don't have to cram things in, so we often spend an afternoon by the pool, take a nice nap, etc.

Loving this website! I like that it has reviews based on bringing the kids.

wedsept · March 2013

There is Hawaii. We went to the Big Island with our DD when she was 16 months old. It was great. This summer we are going to Maui with our DD (now almost 3) and our DS (10 months).

dglvrk2 · March 2013

You're in Ireland? I've never been to European beaches/destinations with a LO. However my sister and a good friend have both lived in Spain on various occassions. They say the beach towns there - big ones like Barcelona and small ones like Nerja (near Malaga) - are very family friendly. We were Nerja before we had DD. (It's where I told DH I thought I was pregnant; turns out I was!!!) It was the off season. But seemed pretty relaxing and family friendly.

As Californians, we go to Lake Tahoe a lot. It's great in the summer. The towns and beaches are quite kid friendly. There are easily accessible hiking trails too.

Have fun!

1026pumpkin · March 2013

We like Hawaii- so far Maui is my favorite island. I would stay somewhere that has kiddie pools and is near a beach (Waikaloa area is good for families, near the airport, and the aquarium).

San Diego is also great- there are plenty of beaches and the zoo, lego land, sea world, aquariums, etc.

mle929 · March 2013

If you're in Ireland I'd recommend checking out Sardinia, Italy. I flew relatively cheaply from Shannon to the island. This was during my pre-baby days a few years ago, but I was an au pair, so I was with two young children. We stayed in Palau. I LOVE Sardinia.

cindybaf · March 2013

I'd recommend the mediterranian as well. Islands I've been to: Isola D'Elba and Capri in Italy, Crete and Santorini in Greece. I would love to just go to the French Riviera, or Western coast of Spain, Mallorca is supposed to be beautiful. I would never dream of going to Florida if I could go on vacay in Europe, but that is where we went with DD1. Now that we have two kids, we are driving down to St Louis. Yippee! But seriously, we have a good time anywhere we go.

mexicolombiana · March 2013

cindybaf:
I'd recommend the mediterranian as well. Islands I've been to: Isola D'Elba and Capri in Italy, Crete and Santorini in Greece. I would love to just go to the French Riviera, or Western coast of Spain, Mallorca is supposed to be beautiful. I would never dream of going to Florida if I could go on vacay in Europe, but that is where we went with DD1. Now that we have two kids, we are driving down to St Louis. Yippee! But seriously, we have a good time anywhere we go.

DUH. I didn't see OP was from Ireland, then I would totally suggest all of the above. What I wouldn't do to island hop in Greece or Spain.

groovygrl · March 2013

Canary Islands

SunAndRain · March 2013

Yikes, sorry, we're back in the US. Seems like we're honing in on late May in the carribean. Any recs for a travel agent?

groovygrl · March 2013

SunAndRain:
Yikes, sorry, we're back in the US. Seems like we're honing in on late May in the carribean. Any recs for a travel agent?

any reason you want to use a travel agent vs just booking a flight and room yourself?

if you're looking at Caribbean, Puerto Rico is a good bet for being easy and probably having access to some stuff you would want with a little one, but I personally love St. John and grand cayman...st John requires a ferry ride from st Thomas and may not be as easy as some other islands but I think grand cayman would be super easy with a little one...just stay on 7 mile beach and not near where the cruises come in if you look into it.

also Atlantis is super family friendly and has stuff for littler kids too. I have not been but we would like to go, though cannot fly direct from here so we ruled it out this year.

Eta sorry for the double post TB won't let me delete and my iPad wouldn't let me write any text in the other one