First family holiday 2022 - 2 year old

[Jcwjosh]

Good Morning Everyone,

I am keen to book a holiday for my family, my son will be 2 next May.

Wanted to go around July time and wondered if anyone had any recommendations for a first holiday with baby in tow.

Usually we go to cyprus and as much as i would love to take him as i know the area we stay well, im not sure a 5-6 hour flight would be much fun for him or us for a first time.

We like sandy clean beaches, self catering is preffered but not essential. We like to hire cars and explore a little and we like good local/traditional food.

Does anyone have any recommendations at all of places they really enjoyed with their children ? I would be looking to go somewhere for 14 days so there would need to be at least a few things for us to do besides boat trips/beach/pool etc.

All the best

Josh

[Jcwjosh]

Amateurish said:

Plane travel with a toddler is a nightmare. Have you thought about driving somewhere? Personally, I would not yet book a foreign holiday.

In all honesty i havent thought about a drive, the longest amount we have driven with baby so far is probably an hour and a half and we dont really have a decent sized family car for a holiday. Doesnt rule out maybe hiring a car for this kind of trip though

[Jcwjosh]

PurpleTurtle said:

We took our young 'un to Sardinia at this age and had a wonderful time. Beautiful island, amazing beaches, clear seas, lots to see and do, great cuisine.

For the inner PHer, you can go and lie on this beach: Spiaggia Capriccioli at Costa Smeralda and imagine a white Lotus Esprit emerging for the sea.

https://huntingbond.com/spiaggia-capriccioli-james...

There is a lovely beach club/bar there to relax at.

We found it to be a beautiful island. much bigger than expected, great to explore in our hire car.

Do not use Noleggiare car rental at the airport though. Cheap but massive queues (90 mins) on arrival to get a car. On return I caught the woman doing the damage checks actively trying to scratch an unmarked alloy with a rock whilst I was distracted unloading the buggy and cases. Unfortunately for her, I had videoed all four wheels and indeed the rest of the car on my phone on arrival back at the airport , so was able to suggest she call the Police if shw wanted me to pay for it. That changed the dynamic somewhat and I was able to leave without charge. Absolutely scandalous, but I won't let one bad apple spoil it, all the other Sardinian people we met were absolutely lovely.

That is definately an idea ! Does look a lovely island and a family member has recommended it to me also.

My partners not big on italian food but maybe a few photos of the beach could persuade her.

Cant believe the cheek of the car rental lady, would love to have seen her face when confronted with the prospect of calling the police and video evidence.

[Jcwjosh]

malks222 said:

Ok not a beach holiday, but would you consider a ‘lake’ holiday instead? One of my current plans/ thoughts is to head to lake annecy in france (we went when wife was pregnant) and stay self catering in a lake side property.

fly to geneva (short flight) and then 1.5hr drive to annecy itself. plenty options for self catering accommodation around the lake. lots of water activities round the lake, it’s awesome to swim in! really safe bike lane round the lake. annecy itself a lovely little town to walk around. close by you have mountains etc…. to explore.

Does look very picturesque bit like a lake bled stye holiday by the looks of it, i would be very tempted to spend my time fishing though ! definately keep that one for the future though looks like a good place to make some memories

[Jcwjosh]

alorotom said:

Flying with toddlers is very easy - those who say otherwise failed to adequately prepare for it.

We have flown long-haul with our daughter several times a year since she was 9weeks old (pre-pandemic) with only one issue, which was an airline problem - the heating/cooling system was stuck on full blast so the plane was like an oven for everyone.

We found Thailand to be very good with a small child, lots of food and exploration options, lots of new experiences that are quite different from 'normal' beach holidays

Before the little one was born we were looking at going to indonesia to tick off some of the bucket list but thought it too risky now. i travelled to thailand twice as a child and they were some of the best holidays i had for sure. Would love to visit again not sure how much it has changed now. Any recommendation on where you stayed ?

[Jcwjosh]

acd80 said:

I'd recommend Eurocamp sites. We took our little one on a road trip from South Wales to Venice when she was 18 months old in 2015 and the following year to Lake Garda.

We've stayed in this one a couple of times when doing road trips and can highly recommend it. We've stayed in the chalets and the bungalows. Loads of stuff for little ones to enjoy (and grown-ups - you've got all of Lake Garda on your doorstep) and there's a nightly kids disco to wear them out. The music is 'questionable' but kids love it.

https://www.eurocamp.co.uk/campsites/lakegarda/il0...

This one is easily reachable by airports and we flew into Bologna airport and drove down in just over 1 1/2 hours. Again, loads to do with little ones and Florence is right on your doorstep (with plenty of organised tours available on the site).

https://www.eurocamp.co.uk/campsites/tuscany/in017...

Thank you i will take a look at these too, at first glance they look pretty full on but i have no idea what a 2 year old will be like so may suit us down to the ground when he is walking and talking a lot more !

[Jcwjosh]

PurpleTurtle said:

I'd heard of this kind of stuff going down (off PH, as it goes) so thought it worthy of doing. The car was brand new (50kms on it when rented to us) so I was uber careful about parking it anywhere and looked after it as if it was my own. Anyway, I digress.

Travelling with a 2yo you will ideally want:

Somewhere with shade so they can sleep in the buggy
Self-catering, perhaps, so you can prep your own meals/have a high chair for the baby
Somewhere that doesn't mind young kids in restaurants, really not a problem there.

This is the place we stayed at, it is across the road from a lovely beach and has a number of bars and restaurants in the vicinity, free parking, an excellent mini market at the rear if you want to self-cater (we love Italian food, but if you cater for yourself then you don't have to go with that).

http://www.booking.com/Share-jsCcQQ

We had a two bed apartment with terrace and balcony so that we could sit out and watch the world go by as our son slept. Bear in mind he/she will be sleeping for 12hrs of the night (hopefully!) There is also a fabulous little park in the ornamental gardens in front of the hotel, was very popular with families in the early evening, our son loved it.

It was really relaxing, as a family we all really enjoyed it and would love to go return, post-Covid.

I should add that Easyjet have an excellent 'travelling with kids' policy - buggy carried for free, priority boarding etc .... done it many times, am a big fan. The staff are trained to really make it easy for you. Also allow loads of time to get through Security with a toddler.

Edited by PurpleTurtle on Wednesday 9th June 14:30

Looks pretty ideal i must say, i checked the availability and they seem to be fully booked up most months going ahead so that must say something about it ! will keep playing with the dates and see what pops up.

[Jcwjosh]

Amateurish said:

Ive done loads of travelling with kids and in my experience the toddler years are the worst for plane travel.

As someone who was lucky enough to have quite a few holidays growing up i seem to remember toddlers causing all sorts of stress for their parents.

My son doesnt keep still and is constantly on the go so im thinking an evening flight might be the best option in the hope he would nod off after a few hours, and if thats the case my cyprus trip may still be suitable..

[Jcwjosh]

Gareth1974 said:

Have you considered a cruise? You can still fit in plenty of days on the beach and exploration if you pick the right one, and the kids club facilities on most ships will give you a chance to spend some quality time - dinners for instance - with your other half.
You can also avoid the hassle of flying if you cruise from a UK port, normally Southampton.

Unfortunately my partner gets sea sickness quite badly and has a phobia of being at sea for long periods.. i have good sea legs however as a child i was once stuck outside port in rough seas for an 8 hour period on the way back from holland. The whole ship was being sick and i managed to eat a mcdonalds and watch deep blue sea and stayed for the nutty proffesor too as no one came in to check tickets.

[Jcwjosh]

BoRED S2upid said:

If it’s the first time n a plane for them keep it short. You don’t know how they will react and you don’t want to be that parent with a toddler who screams for 2 hours with everyone looking at you. Our first flight with them was the south of France with no issues at all as said previously lots of snacks, iPads, toys and hope they are ok and don’t cry for hours.

Yes i definately dont want to be that bd parent ruining everyones holiday.. thats my worst nightmare

[Jcwjosh]

gazza5 said:

We have had a variety of holidays with our kids.

When we had the first one, of course the world was our oyster, as no need to worry about term times etc. Flew a mixture of closer to home (tenerife, Turkey) and further afield (Dubai, Florida). With our next one, as the oldest had started school shes only been turkey, other holidays have been centre parcs in europe (not UK) - where its considerably cheaper, can do as much or little as you want, space to do your own cooking etc.

Eurocamp we have also done, although I think we prefer center parcs.

It really depends what yhou actually want to do, as some center parcs / eurocamps can be out the way a bit. We have always used eurotunnel for getting across to france as we find it quicker and less hassle than the boat.

Have been to centre parcs somewhere in holland as a child and really enjoyed it, full on cycling roller blading etc little trip to Amsterdam thrown in was great fun but maybe not so much for a 2 year old.

More recently visited Centre Parcs in longleat and this was great fun, would be ideal but with covid the only free activity ( swimming) is limited to like twice a week which is what we would want to do on most days at some point. Thought about camping too, has anyone camped with a toddler before ? not sure i could handle it

[Jcwjosh]

Pit Pony said:

This is why centre parks is popular.

I suggest booking a cottage in Northumbria, or Wales. How big a car do you actually think.you need?
We went on various holidays in a Citroen AX with a baby and toddler.
My favourite was a caravan near snowdon. 5 miles to the nearest beach. It had an indoor pool. Lots of open space, woods, and castles.

The family car at the moment is a 3 door polo which i really need to change but cant find much for equal money that we want
Im not a great lover of the UK caravan parks, admittedly i have visited some right stholes so maybe somewhere quieter nicer could fit the bill. But i do miss my holidays overseas and fingers crossed next year we will be able to travel somewhere