Best beach holidays for baby and stroller?

Hi there,


I am a new mum with a four-month-old baby. We'd like to go on holiday, thinking about Phuket. But with a little baby and a stroller, I'm wondering how much can I really enjoy my holiday?


So I would like to ask people where they think are the best places to visit when you have a little baby and stroller to consider.


Of course - choose a resort that doesn't have a load of steps etc. But is there any point going to a beach with a baby? Should we just choose a nice, nice hotel in a city?


Look forward to hearing some nice and easy suggestions... thanks very much!

Do you have to take a stroller? At 4 months I used the baby bjorn a lot still.

I would recommend the Victoria hotel in Hoi An - nice beach, nice pool - a few steps to reception but I think how this impacts you depends on where your room is located. The town is about 10 mins away and is pretty stroller friendly - there are sections which are pedestianised but there are parts that are under construction.

I think from HK you would have to change planes to get to DaNang but not too sure.

I would say if you are going to get away then plan to do it in the next 6 months as once babies get more active and are crawling / walking, then travel really becomes a pain, till they are at least 3. They get frustrated sitting in one place on the plane and you have to child proof every room you stay in and ....... Definately wished I had travelled more when my little one was a baby and stayed at home for the 18 months or so from 1 to 2 1/2.

Hi Kiwimmc,


Thanks for the advice. I was thinking that once babies start walking it would be EASIER to travel, but I didn't think about all the things you mentioned. All I'm thinking about is where to bath the baby, where will she sleep etc etc.


Thanks very much

Hi Slammy, I agree it's much easier to travel before six months, especially with the flights.


When my son was 2 months we took a holiday in a gorgeous resort in Port Douglas (near Cairns) in Australia and that was so fantastic that we are planning to head back this year. We usually pick places that have the following criteria:


- Only one flight to get there, try not to go somewhere where we have lay-overs in airports.

- We always get a suite where possible (i.e. have one bedroom) so bubs can sleep undisturbed and we can enjoy our evenings

- Don't worry about the bath - if they have one, great. If not use a sink. I was still bathing my son in hotel sinks at 12 months no problem!

- We try to choose somewhere that's walkable and the room is close to all the facilities so you don't have to worry about the hassle of getting taxis and dealing with car-seats.

- I usually do a check to see where the nearest good medical facilities are, this is esp. important if you go somewhere that is a bit out of the way. I've never had to use any them but I check for peace of mind.

- I always choose accommodation that can supply a baby cot for me because I don't want the hassle of bringing one.

- I check Tripadvisor to see if a place is rated as child-friendly and what other parents say about it.


Something we've been doing lately, esp. since my son is now a toddler, is choose places that are more local for 'holidays'. It's not as exotic or exciting but it's a lot less stressful for everyone and my son doesn't mind! Recently we took a few days in Macau (in the lovely Pousada de mong-ha) and soon we are going to spend a night or two at Peng Chau so my son can run around on the beach.


Hope that helps.

You can take baby at 4 months anywhere, it all depends on how fussy you are. We took our baby to Penang staying at the Shangri'la Sands Resort. Its been the best holiday ever. It was absolutely lovely and all the staff were just boggle eyed over him. I definately recommend bringing the stroller as during the day when we were at the pool, sitting under the shaded umbrella, he could snooze in the stroller. Its also easier when you go for breakfast you can pull it right up to the table, put him sitting upright in it and he can be part of breakfast with everyone else. Make a baby part of your life, not you part of its life. Its so much fun and so wonderful watching them experience the water, the beach, the people and just everyone being able to relax. At one stage my husband and friend went to do a sky-ride and the masseuse took my baby into the hut and gave him a massage, he loved every minute of it. Dont be over fussy, babies are much more resilient that we give them credit for, just a little bit extra planning with a baby and you'll have a wonderful time.


I've also been to Port Douglas which is also nice.


Just a note on bringing baby bjorn - its fine but not without the stroller, the baby will get hot and sweaty in the BB if close to you all the time. The stroller is much easier to let them lie down and by comfy. It also means they can sleep and you dont have to move them to get them from the pool area back to your room etc.


One thing we did was go through the routine of getting baby ready for bed and giving bottle etc and when asleep, pop him in the stroller, we went out for dinner and brought him with us in stroller, he slept, we ate, and we all had a lovely dinner/evening. Of course we would get back to hotel at a reasonable time.


Hope this helps.

Hi - thanks both for your advice.


I'm just wondering how babies deal with jet lag. We are considering a trip to UK/Europe - by which stage baby will be 9 months. Any tips on how to help babies deal with jetlag, and will it really upset her routine (especially when we are trying hard to make her go to bed at the right time)...


Thanks.

the jetlag is also my burning question. any advice from experienced parents, pls?

Babies often deal with jetlag better than their parents. They don't think about it as much, you see. ;)


Try to get on the new time zone as fast as possible with regards to sleep and food. Allocate the first 36 hours of so to adaptation. You can also trick baby into sleeping with a cold and dark room. ;)

One thing that put us off a beach holiday when our baby was little is that we thought we would be forever stuck in the hotel room as the baby slept every 3 hours. If you are in a villa or something where you can be outside by the pool and have the baby monitor to listen to the baby sleeping inside then that would be great but villas are expensive. We have held off going on a beach holiday until our baby is 18 months so that he is down to one 2 - 2.5 hour nap a day so only one stretch stuck in the room (often too hot for them to sleep outside in the stroller). A pool access hotel room might be a cheaper option than a villa but allow you to be on the balcony or at the edge of the pool and still be in listening distance from the monitor.


SB2

If you are planning to go to Phuket, I highly recommend the Mariott Resort in Phuket, we been there for a week holiday with our kids and I was very pleased, they also have baby sitter just in case you want to go dine with your hubby alone....they have excellent indoor playroom good for any kid's age, and they have a very nice pool and kid's pool, if you want the beach, Mai Khao beach is just a walk from your hotel....the kids can play in the sand. Its quite far from the downtown though...but we rented a car while we are there so its not so bad going around with kids.....renting car there is cheap.

Another hotel tip is Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort in Kota Kinabalu.