Spring break with 19 mo

[rbp]

I know this sounds like hell on earth to some of you, but humor me!

As I'm currently having a relaxing but boring fall break at home, I'm starting to brainstorm spring break trips. I have nine days off in March, and H can take time off then too. We don't have anyone to leave M with, so he will come with us. He's flown twice, most recently a trip from Atlanta to Seattle at 12 mo that went really well. Of course I realize that a lot of things could change by March!

We're looking for a place that's a reasonable distance from Atlanta for a weeklong trip (probably North America or Caribbean, but we could consider Western Europe) with things that would be kid-friendly. Not sure what that means at 19 months. I guess parks and good restaurants that aren't super stuffy? Idk. We like hiking but also like city vacations. We love beaches, but I'm not sure if it would be much fun for just the three of us--it certainly wouldn't be relaxing in the way I feel beach vacations should be. (We've been to the beach with M and our friends, and that was fun because we had people to hang out with when we were trapped in the house during nap time and after bedtime.)

I suggested NYC to H and he didn't seem super into it. But if y'all think that is a great idea, I will push harder. I was very persuasive when I convinced him that taking a 12 mo across the country would be fun Where else should we consider?

[anna7602]

Paris! One of my favorite place to take small children.

At a little older than 19 months, I took DD to Cuba (22 months, to be precise). That could be an interesting option for you given all the recent changes. Cuban people love babies! I think Jet Blue is operating direct flights there now. Puerto Rico might be a nice alternative if you're not up for Cuba.

I would avoid anywhere with the typical spring break crowd with a baby/toddler.

[matildasun]

When A was around 2.5 we went to Miami Beach. It was very kid friendly, and she had a blast. We were there at the tail end of February.

[smock]

NYC in March is unlikely to be very nice weather-wise, which would really limit your options with a toddler.

Right now, the beach sounds awesome, but I'm not sure how to avoid spring break'ers. Maybe find an AI in Mexico or the Caribbean where you could drop M off in the kid's club for some adult time?

[thebreakfastclub]

I'm not necessarily suggesting it, but we took DS to an extended destination wedding on Bald Head Island, NC when he was right around that age. He did pretty well with traveling and eating a few meals out.

[h]

We did a couple days in Orlando and a 4 night Disney cruise to the Bahamas last spring break when DS3 was 23 months. It was great--he loved it. Since you don't have older kids to entertain, I think you could skip the Disney element and do a Caribbean cruise.

We are doing Costa Rica this spring break and staying at a family friendly resort. I think DS3 will love some of the outdoorsy stuff and enjoy the pool and beach.

San Diego is fun with little kids. Or really any place beachhead where you can rent a beach house or stay at a family friendly resort. Key West, Captiva, Sanibel, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Bahamas, etc.

[h]

We did NYC with our older kids (5 and 8 yo) this summer and had the best time. But we left our 2 yo with my MIL. Depending on what you want to do in NYC, I would wait until he's older. 19 months is a really bad age for restaurants IME, and it is a bummer to be in NYC and not be able to eat out many places. And it's an awful age for shows if you are into that.

[rbp]

Oct 12, 2015 18:39:53 GMT -5 @mrsbecky said:

Are you opposed to a cruise? That way you would have daycare so you could get a break, and you could do a mix of beach days or more rugged excursions.

We have thought about a cruise and aren't opposed to it. But I thought when someone recently asked about cruising with a toddler, the general consensus was oh hell no. But to each her own I suppose. I know some people in that thread suggested a kid-friendly AI as an alternative.

Also, I went on a cruise with a bunch of friends for spring break our senior year in college. How would we avoid those annoying kids?

[rbp]

Ooh I've been wanting to go to Costa Rica...

@littlemoxie?

[meij]

We took DD to San Francisco when she was a little younger than that and had a great time. There was a lot of stuff she enjoyed and she tagged along for the Alcatraz tour like a champ (but I can't imagine DS doing the same haha).

[h]

Oct 12, 2015 18:51:04 GMT -5 rbp said:

Ooh I've been wanting to go to Costa Rica...

@littlemoxie?

I am obviously not @littlemoxie, but we have stayed at the JW Marriott in Guanacaste before without kids and loved it. There's a playground and a good pool--I think it would be fine with kids. This spring break we are staying at the Marriott Los Suenos in Herradura. It looks like it will be great for the kids, and there's a kids club my older two can use. I am sure there are lots of other great options, but we have a crapload of Marriott reward points, and we are too cheap to pay for hotels when we can stay for free

As far as activities, we plan to take our backpack carrier and hike with DS3, and I we'll do a rafting trip. I think he will love looking for monkeys and sloths. We'll trade off zip lining. I think we can take him to the hot springs.

[brooklyn]

I did a cruise in March with my (then) 21 month old and it was fantastic. He couldn't go in most of the pools, but there was one pool he could splash around in. He loved the kids room, and all the dining rooms. We did the Caribbean and he loved the excursions (minus the boat ride to Virgin Gorda, lol)

I'm totally sold on cruises now.

[brooklyn]

Obviously I love NYC, but it's definitely not at its best in March

[rupertpenny]

I was in Barcelona last year without my H or B but I remember thinking that it would be a great place to visit with a toddler. I saw lots of people just hanging out at cafes with their toddlers, lots of playgrounds, very stroller friendly, easy public transportation so you don't have to fuck around with a car seat, and I think Spanish food could potentially be very toddler friendly. If it is warm enough you could do a day at the beach without taking a dedicated beach vacation. I didn't do any of this, but I'm sure you can find some kind of outdoor activity close to the city center.

[rbp]

Oct 12, 2015 19:20:51 GMT -5 brooklyn said:

I did a cruise in March with my (then) 21 month old and it was fantastic. He couldn't go in most of the pools, but there was one pool he could splash around in. He loved the kids room, and all the dining rooms. We did the Caribbean and he loved the excursions (minus the boat ride to Virgin Gorda, lol)

I'm totally sold on cruises now.

Mind if I ask what cruise line you used? We went on a Carnival cruise in college, and I don't want to be on a ship with a bunch of drunk 21 yos. 

[rbp]

Oct 12, 2015 19:39:27 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

I've only been to CR for a wedding weekend, so no tips. I'm a Guatemala pusher! We took DS at 21 months and it was cheap and amazing! It could be great for anywhere from 4-10 days.

Oops, wrong country 

How did you pick Guatemala?

[pbandj]

We took our DD to Puerto Rico at 18 months and had a great time. You can easily rent a condo for more space and rent a car while there. We visited the rainforest, San Juan fort and even took the ferry to Vieques. Easy flight for you from ATL. There was even a company that rented us baby stuff - high chair and pack and play.

[brooklyn]

Oct 12, 2015 19:23:01 GMT -5 rbp said:

Oct 12, 2015 19:20:51 GMT -5 brooklyn said:

I did a cruise in March with my (then) 21 month old and it was fantastic. He couldn't go in most of the pools, but there was one pool he could splash around in. He loved the kids room, and all the dining rooms. We did the Caribbean and he loved the excursions (minus the boat ride to Virgin Gorda, lol)

I'm totally sold on cruises now.

Mind if I ask what cruise line you used? We went on a Carnival cruise in college, and I don't want to be on a ship with a bunch of drunk 21 yos. 

We did Norwegian, and it didn't get too crazy. It was a little crazy by the pools there at times, but since I was with a young kid who couldn't use the pool, we didn't spend much time there.

My grandma did get to judge a sexy legs competition, hahaha.

There were a lot of older, retired types on our cruise. They all thought my crazy kid was adorable, which was nice.

[rbp]

Oct 12, 2015 19:47:14 GMT -5 pbandj said:

We took our DD to Puerto Rico at 18 months and had a great time. You can easily rent a condo for more space and rent a car while there. We visited the rainforest, San Juan fort and even took the ferry to Vieques. Easy flight for you from ATL. There was even a company that rented us baby stuff - high chair and pack and play.

Is driving in PR scary? I went on a bachelorette trip a few years ago, and we cabbed all over San Juan. But I remember thinking that the roads seemed awfully narrow and windy, and I don't remember signs being in English. 

[pbandj]

Oct 12, 2015 20:04:47 GMT -5 rbp said:

Oct 12, 2015 19:47:14 GMT -5 pbandj said:

We took our DD to Puerto Rico at 18 months and had a great time. You can easily rent a condo for more space and rent a car while there. We visited the rainforest, San Juan fort and even took the ferry to Vieques. Easy flight for you from ATL. There was even a company that rented us baby stuff - high chair and pack and play.

Is driving in PR scary? I went on a bachelorette trip a few years ago, and we cabbed all over San Juan. But I remember thinking that the roads seemed awfully narrow and windy, and I don't remember signs being in English. 

I don't remember them being scary.  Once you get out of San Juan, it was mostly highways.  We did not drive much in San Juan. 

[anna7602]

Oct 12, 2015 20:04:47 GMT -5 rbp said:

Oct 12, 2015 19:47:14 GMT -5 pbandj said:

We took our DD to Puerto Rico at 18 months and had a great time. You can easily rent a condo for more space and rent a car while there. We visited the rainforest, San Juan fort and even took the ferry to Vieques. Easy flight for you from ATL. There was even a company that rented us baby stuff - high chair and pack and play.

Is driving in PR scary? I went on a bachelorette trip a few years ago, and we cabbed all over San Juan. But I remember thinking that the roads seemed awfully narrow and windy, and I don't remember signs being in English. 

The signage does generally suck once you get off the beaten path, but you should be okay for the typical San Juan-Yunque-Playa el Dorado-ferry to Vieques stretch. I haven't stayed at at Caribe Hilton, but it seems ideally located to get beach time and walking around the old colonial core/fort time without having to drive.

[rbp]

Oct 12, 2015 20:21:16 GMT -5 pbandj said:

Oct 12, 2015 20:04:47 GMT -5 rbp said:

Is driving in PR scary? I went on a bachelorette trip a few years ago, and we cabbed all over San Juan. But I remember thinking that the roads seemed awfully narrow and windy, and I don't remember signs being in English. 

I don't remember them being scary.  Once you get out of San Juan, it was mostly highways.  We did not drive much in San Juan. 

Ok--that's the difference that we were mostly in SJ. 

[sent]

Hell on earth mom here. Further solidified by the fact that the flight to Barbados was 4.5 hours and the whole time all I could think about was what torture it would be to have DD with me.

BUT friends of mine brought their 20 month old and he did great. Loved the pools and running around in general. They've also taken him to Costa Rica and said that was fun as well with a toddler.

[magpie]

I had a fantastic summer trip to Maui with DD at 21 months. We rented a 2 bedroom cottage on a little farm that was about 15 minutes from the beach (in a more rural part of the island) and it was so wonderful. We did the beach, hiking (rented a hiking carrier) and sightseeing by day and then cooked fancy dinners/made fancy cocktails and enjoyed ourselves post-bedtime. Everything (including the beaches) was so kid-friendly.

[shelbyann]

We are going to a resort in Jamaica that includes a nanny for Thanksgiving, I will let you know how it goes! TBH it sounds a little too good to be true but we decided to give it a shot. Easy flight from ATL!

[aspentosh]

At that age and during that time of year, I'd make sure it's nice enough to get outside. Otherwise you're going to be miserable with a very wound-up child stuck inside!

We did NYC when DD was 2.5 but it was June and we could be outside all the time. What about Turks and Caicos? It was very family friendly when we went pre-kids, but pennypenny and jenn248 are going there soon and could report back on how it is with kids

[awkwardpenguin]

Costa Rica is pretty much the easiest place to travel ever. I think it'd be great! We did the Caribbean coast (without kids), which is generally less crowded than the Pacific coast. In March you'd be able to see the turtles in Tortuguero, along with tons of other wildlife. Then Cahuita had beaches, and inland a bit you can visit indigenous communities and rainforests. Lots of diversity in one trip.

[madringal]

We went to a destination wedding in St. Thomas when DD1 was 18 months and had a great time. Lots to do, great beaches, didn't have to deal with language barriers when driving around or having to get a passport for her.

[jenn248]

We had a fabulous trip to Beaches Turks and Caicos when DD1 was 11 months old (and we're going back over Thanksgiving). We dropped her off at the on-site daycare every morning and were able to relax on the beach. It was lovely I posted my review on MM not long ago: pandce.proboards.com/thread/479086/beaches

We also went on a cruise (Carnival) with DD1 when she was 18 months and it was not pleasant. She couldn't go in any of the pools and could only go to the kids club with parental supervision from 8-10 AM on days we were at sea. There was no place she could play outside of our stateroom. It kind of sucked, and I would not take a baby or toddler on a cruise again unless it's Disney.

[rbp]

Thanks RexManningDay. Costa Rica has been on our travel list for years, but now I really want to go!