When you have your first baby everyone will tell you that your travelling days are over, that all that fun you guys had ‘before’ will be a distant memory, and that from now on you have to either stay at home or frequent British seaside resorts and special ‘kid-friendly’ hotels in the Med.
Now I’m not saying there’s not a place for family holidays like this because there IS and they can be amazing. But here’s the thing. Just wait it out. The time for holidays like that will come… when you’ve got a three year old who wants to play in rock pools all day, or an eight year old who wants to splash in the pool with new holiday pals, while you can read and relax.
But in the first year or two of your baby’s life, do holidays the way you want to do them. Seize this time because it won’t come round again for many, many years. Here’s why this is truly the golden age:
They’re free on flights! So go long haul, tick off those destinations you really want to see while you’re still young and nubile.
They NAP. That means at least some beautiful moments of pre-babydom. Time it well and they could be reclining in the buggy while you have a beer, some authentic local cuisine or watch the sunset.
They go in the sling. Amazing for doing city breaks in style and still seeing all the art and culture you want while they’re happy looking out from their cosy vantage point.
You’ve only got one. This is a biggie. Adding two little people’s differing needs to the equation makes things a lot more logistically challenging.
Everything is amazing. New sights, sounds and smells are so exciting, you don’t need to do kiddie things (unless you want to) as the world is their playground at this age.
Milk is easy. When your baby is mainly on breastmilk or formula, you have to worry less about food hygiene, spicy stuff and likes and dislikes.
Of course, it takes planning and positivity and it won’t all be plain sailing, but you won’t regret it. And your baby’s passport will look pretty cool too.
Written by Harriet Wills
Harriet is a Yorkshire Dales-based copywriter, comms specialist and coach who loves to travel with her husband Martin and their two children, Etta (3) and Otto (11 months)
