Which is a better infant vaction?

[cowboyjoe]

We are trying to plan a week long vacation and are torn between these two destinations.  Our DD will be 8 months and does well in the car seat, but we have only driven 2 hours max with her.  Any input or recommendations for things to see at either location would be would be greatly appreciated!

A.  Gatlinburg, TN - 10 hours away.  Thought of sliding over to Nashville while there.  Is there enough to do with an infant for an entire week?

B.  Outer Banks, NC - 14 hours away.  Would have to stop mid-way and spend the night.  A beach vacation sounds fabulous in my mind, but would it be a nightmare with an infant this age?  Is it too far to drive?

Is there another beach option that is north of NC that we are missing that is absolutely amazing?

Thanks!

[motzie]

Can you break up the drive at all to do it over two days?

[lolo]

I would choose Gatlinburg--ideally not right in the town though. There are numerous walks in the smokies that would keep you busy and relaxing in a cabin would be nice too.

[nextbigthing]

What area are you driving from?

[curbsideprophet]

When are you planning to go? Where are you coming from?

[bullsgirl]

I would pick A because going to the beach with a baby requires so much extra stuff.

[D2M]

We've done both of your scenarios (insert different mountain destination) with our daughter, at different ages. Both worked well, largely because of the setup of where we stayed. I think that's key for enjoying a vacation with a baby. For the first, we were in a super nice cabin with family and enjoyed hikes with DD in the Ergo and sightseeing etc. For the second, we stayed in a condo a few blocks from the beach with a pool. Going into the vacation knowing we wouldn't be spending hours lounging on the beach with a cocktail helped us have realistic expectations, and we had a blast. We actually did not spend a ton of time at the beach itself. It was more walking over there a couple of times a day, taking a dip, enjoying the water and sand, and then heading out to eat or going back to the condo for naps or pool time.

[dellabear]

Whichever one gives you a separate room/suite so you have a space to hang out in after the baby goes to bed / during naps.

[D2M]

May 26, 2015 20:02:50 GMT -5 dellabear said:

Whichever one gives you a separate room/suite so you have a space to hang out in after the baby goes to bed / during naps.

Yes, this is key!!!

[imojoebunny]

We just did a Gatlinburg vacation. It was really fun. My kids are 6 and 8, but as long as you can ergo your baby, there are tons of hikes and driving history tours, decent restaurants, and fun places to see from museums, to crafts and art to cheesy fun stuff (moonshine tastings). We also could rent a 3 bedroom house close to town, with a hot tub, for 5 nights for $750, even over spring break.

I hated the beach with babies. They want to eat sand, can't be in the sun, and mine did not like the ocean. We went, but to Charleston, where there are lots of other things to do.

[cowboyjoe]

May 26, 2015 19:38:38 GMT -5 @this said:

I've never been to Gatlinburg, but the beach with DD at that age was a nightmare for us. She was crawling and putting everything in her mouth (OMG SAND), but wasn't old enough to play in it.

I am afraid of this. Dd puts the world in her mouth right now so I can see it being somewhat stressful.

[cinco]

We've never done Gatlinburg, but have done beach vacations with infants (including Outer Banks). We have had good times, even with DH and I not being big beach people. We are good with 1-1.5 hours a day max actually sitting on a beach. We take walks, visit parks, eat, relax in the hotel room or house, swim in the pool, eat some more, take another walk.

As far as driving, we do a 14 hour drive straight through yearly. We stop a few extra times, but it is very doable.

[cowboyjoe]

We would be driving from MI if anyone has any other suggestions. we would be gone 8-9 days.

[lolo]

May 26, 2015 19:38:38 GMT -5 @this said:

the beach with DD at that age was a nightmare for us. She was crawling and putting everything in her mouth (OMG SAND), but wasn't old enough to play in it.

This was our experience too.

[runblondie26]

Both sound nice. We've done similar trips with our kids at that age, and they were enjoyable. However, I'd lean towards A if your kid is one to put a things in his/her mouth. Both kids tried to eat sand once or twice in the beginning, but geez, that would have been exhausting if they kept doing it repeatedly.

[ECB]

We've done the outerbanks when DS was 4 months, 9 months and many times after that - I always vote for the beach. It's nice to be able to chill out on the beach if you don't want to get out and sight see. Granted- "relaxing" isn't really going to happen, but just hanging at the house/ on the beach was nice.

[kdubs923]

I'm not familiar with those areas, but we went to the beach a lot last summer when DS was a similar age. He loved it. I mean, you have to pack a million things, but once we were on the sand it was fine. He wasn't quite getting into everything at that point. I imagine this summer at the beach will suck as he'll try running away from me.

Can you drive overnight? Anytime we had long trips like that as a kid, we'd leave at 7 or 8 at night and I'd sleep right through and wake up at our destination.

[6fsn]

We're doing Gatlinburg this summer- a cabin with on-site pool and mini golf

We did beach when we just had a 9 month old and had a great time. We were in a condo on Emerald Isle. We had a private beach we could drag out a blow up pool with shade in the mornings. We'd plop DS in there with water and take turns lounging or going into the water while the other played with baby. At naptime one would go inside while the other played. After lunch we'd go into the condo pool for a bit, then nap and more afternoon beach. We didn't really get down time as a couple, but we did get down time. It was nice being able to leave stuff on the beach all day. There is also a little aquarium we did on a rainy day.

[Deleted]

As someone who just did B, with a 4 month old, I recommend it. We stopped overnight about 2/3 of the way here and it worked out great. She's having a ton of fun. The beach tent is a great idea she has napped in it a few times.