first holiday with toddler

[villa_fan007]

hi, our son is 3 this year and we have only been on holiday in this country until now. Can anyone give us any tips on where to go abroad , what to take , and any other usefull info regarding a 3 year old on hols ,..thanxs.

[jack daniels]

Look into hotel facilities & whether they have things for children to do (kids club)
Try not to travel for hours on end to get to your destination
Give yourself time for any delays on both sides.
carry toys & things to keep the child entertained at the airport/during the flight.
The child will be excited anyway & you may not need the toys!
Go somewhere where there's something for all of you to do regarding sight seeing/childrens interests, children get bored easily and may not enjoy what you want to do & so 'play up' - take this into consideration.
Would you go to a themed place i.e. Disney? There is a lot to see/do.
Always keep something for the child to eat/drink on you at all times.
Plenty of suncream & a hat. (for all of you)
Pack an emergency kit - plasters, wipes, insect cream/spray, sickness tablets, calpol, something in case anyone gets the 'runs' - like immodium, anything else you think you may need.
Stay in the frame of mind of an exciting adventure rather then working yourselves up and the child picking up on the stress vibes.
that's all I can think of for now.

[paulos66]

Mines under 2 but I think Majorca looks like a good bet - very family orientated and shortish flight

[joannie10]

I went on holiday with my sister and her husband and my niece 2 month before her 3rd birthday. We went to Cala blanes and it was perfect, we went early May for a fortnight. I cannot remember the name of the apartments but we booked through Thomson holidays. You are quite close to Cuitadella which is the main harbour area so a few evenings we went through there. It was a self catering apartment we had in a complex. It had a great pool and a short walk to a small beach. We made breakfast in the apartment and normally had lunch by the pool (complex shop had regular deliveries of fresh bread) and of an evening we always ate out very cheaply. Everywhere child friendly. There are lots of children friendly play areas in the town so we would let my niece have a play then go to a restaurant and my niece would fall asleep in her buggy after some food and we would enjoy our meal before a short wander back to the apartment. As I am not the mother not sure what advice to give on what to take - one of thos all in one swimsuit things to protect from the sun. Of course always used bottled water but dont feel there was anything else specifically that you would not take on any other trip - favourite bedtime toy or whatever. If if think of the hotel name I shall come back but as I say would very much recommend here - weather was good in May and not the stronger heats for June through to Sept.

[joannie10]

should have said Cala Blanes is Menorca.

[jno]

If you're in southern Europe - Spain, Italy, France - you'll find they mostly love kids, perfectly happy to have them in restaurants and hotels etc. Once when ours was about a year old a French waiter scooped him up and took him on a 20-minute kitchen tour under his arm while we got on with our meal in peace. I find this doesn't happen in Britain!

[paulos66]

And in Ibiza last year the waiter wheeled the buggy up and down the promenade whilst we ate - agree with jno that'd be v. unlikely over here