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Foreign trip with a baby (1 Viewer)

M

mountain man

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Any recommendations for somewhere to go in April/May 2013 with a baby?

Been looking at Lesvos - any hotel recommendations?

Be great if it could be easy to get there (ie not a 15 hour flight) and not too much driving from site to site.

Ta,

Tom
 
tom mckinney said:
Any recommendations for somewhere to go in April/May 2013 with a baby?

Been looking at Lesvos - any hotel recommendations?

Be great if it could be easy to get there (ie not a 15 hour flight) and not too much driving from site to site.

Ta,

Tom
Click to expand...

Tom,
Majorca is a very baby friendly place with plenty of decent birds around, especially on those dates with the migration in full swing. The summer season won't have started yet so it will be pretty quiet and the top birding sights are no more than an hour apart. Flights are from the Uk are frequent from about mid Apr and when booked in advance usually quite reasonable. I'm going to be in the same situation as you in october with my first on the way, so I'll do a test birding baby run round the island and let you know how I faired!! :t:
PM me here or on FB is you need any more info or help o:)

Steve
 
Thanks Steve, Mallorca was my first thought, but I've been 4 times before so looking for something a bit different. Will probably end up going there though!
 
I went to Lesvos this spring and would recommend it. If you stay in Skala Kallonis (where like 95% of all birders stay...) you have several good birding spots close by.
We stayed at the Imerti Resort Hotel, a small family-owned hotel which was very nice. There are several other hotels that are supposed to be good in the area, and the small village had a very genuine feel to it with the fishing harbour and small town square. :)
 
Will be in the same position as Tom next spring with an 8 month baby so will piggy-back on the results; thought Lesvos might feaure. Which are the most family-friendly hotels on the island?
 
Try the Algarve. I go every winter. Fantastic road network, convenient facilities, people speaka da engleesh and the birding is a bit good too.

It's all cheap too even with a car hire.
 
Andrew said:
Try the Algarve. I go every winter. Fantastic road network, convenient facilities, people speaka da engleesh and the birding is a bit good too.

It's all cheap too even with a car hire.
Click to expand...

Hi mate, been there, stayed near to Pera marshes - great place. In fact I missed the Flamborough Taiga Flycatcher when I was there - turned up just as we boarded our flight.

T
 
How about West Papua, Solomons or Tanzanian Mountains? I'm sure the locals have babies and stuff. I don't think there is too much driving from site to site. Mainly walking...

cheers, a
 
Hi Tom,
Think your best bets are Mallorca or the Algarve, not only some cheap deals & decent birds to be seen, but reasonable flight times from the UK aswell.
Last thing you want is to be sitting in an airport lounge in somewhere like Cyprus at midnight, waiting for a flight back to Manchester with a newborn.
 
lewis20126 said:
How about West Papua, Solomons or Tanzanian Mountains? I'm sure the locals have babies and stuff. I don't think there is too much driving from site to site. Mainly walking...
Click to expand...

Do they have cots and high chairs there? And can you book it as a package through Thomas Cook? These are now my foreign travel essentials.

Although the child currently in utero, has no idea that it's going to Antarctica in 7 years time. Actually, neither does its mother.
 
Hi Tom,

How about hopping over to the Netherlands and spending a week on the island of Texel? Springtime is fantastic for birding - you should have no problem topping 100 species and there's always some rarity. Also: no long drives, excellent tourist infrastructure, great beaches and everyone speaks english. You could do Amsterdam on the way :)

Too pedestrian...?
 
I would recommend Portugal, south spain, Ibiza or Majorca.
I have a 2 year old now and have travelled to canaries and ibiza with her. Basically the pain is the flight as under 2 years old and they are sitting on your knee. Canaries and greek islands (for example) are a 4 to 4.5 hour flights and I found this more hard work than the anything else so shorter flight with young ones is a plus.

As for highchairs and cots, pretty much all hotels cater for this. We have been self catering, booking villas through owners direct and they detail the facilities. Have now booked a trip all inclusive to majorca in september this year as going for the free child place (now she is over 2 you have to pay full price air ticket if booked seperately).

Other things to consider - type of accom. We went all inclusive in Ibiza in April this year and had a one bed apartment. This was beneficial for sleeping babies in the bedroom so you could still use the lounge. This does not seem common in many hotels though.

Its all good fun though and trying to balance the family holiday with birding is always a challenge (unless you have a birding partner........).
T
 
(for the intermediate flight option) Cuba is very baby friendly (you'll struggle to keep hold of him/her, for willing baby-sitters.) The Zapata swamp isn't,though.

I've road tested with a baby and a small child.
 
Last edited:
I went to Tenerife four years ago with two 8-month olds and that worked out fine - pleasantly warm, saw a few new birds, didn't overdo the birding, although to be honest Tenerife is not really a place I would have visited unless I was on a family holiday with young infants - I'd much rather go to SW Turkey (or Lesbos).
 
The Scillies can be nice (and underwatched?!) at that time of year apparently. ;)

The locals mostly speak english, driving distances are relatively short, and there are cafes/pubs and other tourist destinations.
 
Actually travelling with an infant is much easier and cheaper than with (small) children; their needs are really simple, and they're happy cause you're around all the time. They also cost next to nothing on flights and you can take 2 extra luggage items :) Bring a pram and they can sleep anywhere you like, breastfeed and all you need to think of are a nappy bag and clean outfits (they do cycle through loads of those...).
Our 6 month old has been on 8 short-haul flights already, no problem and she loves busy airports. We're aiming for the USA next spring while she can still fly for less than £100 :)
 
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