Recommended destination with 5 month old baby

C

ciars

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Hey there,

Planning our first holiday as a family. Looking at somewhere with a bit of sun (but not scoarching hot) Looking at mid June - July so our little one will be around 5 months old then.

Kind of want to stay clear of the typical family package holiday places - maybe a self catering villa somewhere or good hotel.

We feel we're flying completely into the unexpected taking a baby with us. So any recomendations - or advice would be great?

Thanks
 
We went to Morocco with a nine month old ( Agadir) . V. child friendly in the hotels.
 
Menorca, small island off Majorca. Totally family friendly and not too hot! We went with a 6 month old last year and will be going with an 18 month old this year. Highly recommend it. Only a 2 and a half hour flight(max) which is perfect for the babies.
 
Firstly I'm not a parent, so this is just a theoretical suggestion on my behalf
How about car ferry to north france, and stay somewhere there... benefits compared with some of the other options suggested is that from what I've seen / heard from friends, travelling with a kid consists of 3 cases for him/her and a plastic bag for the parents!
At least with your own car you can bring all the formula, cots, teddies that you need....
Biarritz gets good reviews from friends as a general area to visit in france, sun, sea, good food and lots of family friendly restaurants.
 
Hi,

We have a two and four year old. They went on holidays with us as babies.

Went to Sicily this year, can get hot though, so June would be better than July.

The Algarve was nice(ish) the further west the better it is, also the coolest, I hear up at the Lisbon coast looks a little less like Florida (Good thing).

We've always rented villas form ownersdirect.co.uk, havnt had any problems so far.

The Canaries are nice, they dont tend to get too hot, babies are pretty resilient, you just need to be able to keep them cool, would recommend family siesta's.

Tuscany would be the best choice, we loved it, there are beaches , but they're about an hours drive from the Tuscan hills, nice and cool during the day, Italian social life once the sun sets.

They love babies.

Nicola
 
Our first grandson was six months old when our son & Daughter-in-law took him off to South Africa to visit his other Granny.
 
Thanks guys for your ideas...Tuscany sounds great (We got Married there just under 2 yrs ago) So maybe a trip back could be on the cards. Although Menorca is appealing too.


Mell61 - its that kind of stuff we cant get our heads around as well. Do we bring our car seat as well as a stroller? What about our bottle steralizer and feed for a week (we're using formula) Little madam will have a huge case while we'll probably just have hand luggage

Thanks again
 
why wud u bring a 5 month old baby on holidays - thats not a holiday for either of u
 
mickman said:
why wud u bring a 5 month old baby on holidays - thats not a holiday for either of u
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Why not? No harm in a family holiday together no matter how young the nipper is. We went away with our kid at 7 months. No major problems and we all enjoyed it. Obviously the normal baby chores had to be carried out and the normal baby issues had to be dealt with but anybody who considers this onerous whether at home or on holiday will hopefully think twice before having kids in the first place in case they cramp their style.
 

This was our own experience also.

I would suggest Bled in Slovenia as a great place to bring an infant. Resort is only 30 minutes from the airport. Airport is tiny so no logistical problems there. Slovenia is sunny but not stiflingly hot. Slovenes are helpful and understanding. Conventional baby formula is readily available. And its a clean, low-key, pleasant place.

Btw, I wouldn't bring an infant to Morocco of all places, not for a million dollars. It is the exact opposite of almost all the benefits that I have listed in relation to Bled.
 
mickman said:
why wud u bring a 5 month old baby on holidays - thats not a holiday for either of u
Click to expand...
and when does it start being the right time?? Age 4? Age 16? Gosh you can't bury your head in the ground, get up, get out and get on with it...we've been travelling with our kids since their passports arrived at 2 months or so...journey can sometimes be hell, but do you really want to stay in Ireland all crap summer???

btw, we've done France since they were born, to answer OP - very child friendly. Paris, Brittany, South France, mountains etc. At 5 months they may need water top-ups if it's very hot and they're on formula. Or if b'feeding, just more frequently during the day - bon voyage!
 
Ciars.
In answer to your question we were wondering how we would manage it last year and really there was very little to worry about.
You can hire car seats from most car rental places, they are usually only the forward facing ones so if you want to bring your own you can. The buggy is allowed through check in and onto the runway where they take it off you there. You then get it at baggage collection on the other side. We brought milton sterilising tablets instead of the sterilser. Does the same job but in a sink of cold water. We brought 1 box of formula which lasted us because formulas may vary and you dont want your little one to have a sick tummy. We brought a few nappies but they sell exact same ones here, also sudocrem, jars of food and all baby things you need are available in Spain.
We also brought our monitor and a few blankets and toys. With the good weather over there there is no need to bring a lot of clothes for the baby as you can wash them out and they are dry in about an hour (as oppossed to a day or so here!)

It really is very easy bringing babies away, they are at their most portable. They usually sleep on the plane. I wish we had brought our little one away more.
 
We brought the premixed formula so as not to be worried about the using the water in another country for bottles. Brought all nappies etc as who wants to be going looking to buy these things on hols (they are alot dearer over there anyway) and you then have the extra space for coming home.

The younger they are the easier it is to travel with them. Enjoy.
 
Thanks again...Actually was in Nice mid last year (when my wife was pregnant) and noticed how child friendly it was. OK things are starting to look up on the destination front

mickman said:
why wud u bring a 5 month old baby on holidays - thats not a holiday for either of u
Click to expand...

I think it would be great - at the moment she's brilliant. Down to 4 bottles a day - a joy to be with and sleeping through the night. At the weekends I look forward to spending all day as a family together - so a holiday and that much time together would be brilliant.

I hadn't heard of the Milton tablets - they sound great. Someone also just told me about Disposable inserts for bottles? Must check out Boots or where ever to see whats available. Im sure there's a solution for every problem.

thanks again
 
Sounds like you have an angel there!!

If you're looking at staying in rented accommodation you can also get mini microwave sterilisers, or failing that use a microwaveable lidded container big enough to hold your bottle/s and put 100ml or so of water in it (basically what the mini microwave sterilisers do anyway!) You'll need to leave it for about 10 mins I think it is - have a look in the likes of mothercare/smyths etc. Even if you get the disposable bags, you'll need to microwave the teat (the most important part to do in fact). We used to take the baby gym mat and lie the baby on the floor with a piece of string suspended between two chairs and hang a few toys on it - instant play gym (at a safe height etc so as the baby can't yank the two chairs down on top of them...before someone comments!) And don't forget medication like paracetemol, the little darlings always get something when you go away. Places like France will offer to heat up food for you - I almost collapsed when asked... Also if you're going to travel often, those SMA sachets are the handiest ever, can be easily scattered around your bags rather than taking a big tin.
 
Just revisiting this thread with an update & thanks for all your replies.

We finally booked a quiet apartment in Portugal and heading out this sat. (Friends go ever year - its not a high rise crazy place - max 50 places - all very quiet and family friendly in a quiet area)

Anyhow - we've solved alot of our problems. Got Microwavable steriliser bags. Our extra formula is bought - luckily in small tins to bring. UV shade tent. Swim nappies. UV Swim suit...infant seat booked with car hire...and a whole load more....

The two remaining issues we have are regarding food and water so [again] if anyone has advise it would be appreciated.

I know for an adult boiling the local tap water makes it ok - does the same apply for our little one for her bottle feeds?

and we have been making our own food and freezing it for her as shes just started solids. There is a local supermarket near by where Im sure we could buy everything and make it when we are over there - BUT has anyone ever brought over already prepared frozen portions of food (using freezer bag and those freezer blocks?) Second option would save a load of hassle. But worried about travelling with it etc...

Again thanks - so looking forward to the break!!!
 
The two remaining issues we have are regarding food and water so
Click to expand...

I was told by a representative of aptimal baby food that when giving water to your child make sure the sodium content is less than 20mg per litre, that this is the thing to look out for.

See this thread - http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=39069

And here - [broken link removed]

RE Food, I would try source local fruit and veg and if I have to/want cook the veg use bottled water, you should be ok though to give baby finely chopped Spag bol for example when you are eating out, you should certainly get vegetables off the menu for your 5 month old and squash them up. If it's as family friendly as you say then you should be ok.

Don't worry and enjoy.
 
We are just back from a trip to portugal with a 6 month old.

For bottles we just boiled the local tap water and it was fine. Regarding food we brought our own small hand blender and just made up food for him when we were there, again using the tap water to boil the veg - its not that much hassle tbh. We only brought enough food with us to last the day of the flight.

M
 
Thanks again guys,

yeah recon just buying all veg/fruit on arrival and bring our own 'small' hand held blender is the way to go.

Havealaugh - very interesting read there about the tap water versus bottled water for babies.

thanks again
 
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