Vacation Ideas... with 1(+) year old?...

[Piecey]

I'm a vacation freak... I pretty much have to vacation at least once a year. DH humors me as it's pretty much my only vice.

Trying to budget/plan on what to do next year and coming up blank with anything that would work well with Lucas being ~1 year old.

He'll be 1 next June 3rd. We're probably going to TTC #2 in June, too, so we won't want to plan something late in the year that would conflict with being pregnant.

Just trying to think of something to do... otherwise we'll end up back at WDW.

We'll be at the beach in 2011 for my parents vow renewal.. so not sure that we'd want to do that two years in a row.

Just curious if anyone has any ideas. Thanks!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

A 1 year old won't care where you go. He's just along for the ride. We didn't start considering our kid's interests on vacations until the oldest was at least 4. Do what you want to do that also works with having a young kid along. For example, we took a trip to NYC with an 18 month old. We couldn't go to any shows and skipped the nice restaurants, but we still visited museums, buildings, etc. He loved crawling around the Guggenheim.

We also took him on hiking trips (backpack carrier worked great), to the beach in Monterey, and even on canoe trips.

 

[minkydog]

So this is for Summer 2010? Hmmm...honestly, with a 1yo I wouldn't suggest planning anything extravagant or that can't be changed. You have to be like Saran Wrap...flexible. One year olds are alot of fun, but they need their routine and you can't imagine how much stuff you'll need to tote. So whatever you do, keep it simple.

Personally, I hated going on vacation when my babies were under 5. Sorry, I'm just not one of those who "can't wait" to take the baby to WDW. It's easier just stay home until they're out of diapers, sleeping through the night, feeding themselves and able to walk decently. I could never relax on vacation with babies. Being away from home just made everything harder.

 

[AKL_Megs]

Well, my parents took ME (on THEIR vacation of course ) to Mackinaw Island at the age of one. I guess, aside from me wanting to run all over the place, I had a blast! So did my parents.

I'd recommend anything that you think you can do with a one year old. He will only be along for the ride.

No Vegas, though. They won't even let you play a $0.01 slot with a baby in tow!

 

[janey99]

OK, don't shoot the messenger, but I am about to tell you my opinion based on my vacation with my 13 mo over July 4 - DON'T GO ANYWHERE!

First of all - coincidentally, my DS turned 1 on THIS June 4, and we travelled to a wedding in Cape Cod between June 29 - July 4. It was awful.

If you want to see 150 square feet crammed with more baby dangers than you ever thought possible, look at a hotel room! Between the multiple exposed outlets, numerous pieces of wicker furniture that were 18 inches high, all with lamps, the lack of high shelves for storage, and the general cleanliness level which was, how to put it politely, probably NOT the standard you keep your home to, DH and I didn't sit down once for 7 days. DS probably thought we changed his name to "Sammy no!"

His schedule was totally thrown, and we had trouble getting him to nap and to sleep at his regular times. He was cranky all day. Wouldn't go to bed until near 10 (usually 730) and was waking up at 545 (usually 730). Because we were in a hotel, we leapt to get him every time he made a peep so he wouldn't disturb other guests. By the last day, DH had found a Dunkin Donuts that opened at 6am and was taking him there for an hour until people being awake in the hotel was reasonable.

We also have a 10 yo DS, who had a pretty miserable time because of his brother's short fuse from lack of sleep. DH and I ended up splitting the family, and doing things separately with DS10 so the week wasn't a total writeoff for him.

The only times that were OK were mealtimes, because DS1 loves to eat and he thinks he's a celebrity, so he sits in restaurants chowing down and giving everyone in a 40 foot radius the Royal Wave.

Did I mention the non-stop screaming between mid-Connecticut and Falmouth, because he certainly DID NOT get "lulled to sleep" by the car like everyone said he would?

The only thing that gave us hope was my 2.25 yo nephew, also on the trip, who was acting semi-human such that my sister was actually able to have some semblance of a family vacation.

Whew, I feel better now! Vacation with a 1 year old at your peril!

Jane

 

[minkydog]

OK, don't shoot the messenger, but I am about to tell you my opinion based on my vacation with my 13 mo over July 4 - DON'T GO ANYWHERE!

First of all - coincidentally, my DS turned 1 on THIS June 4, and we travelled to a wedding in Cape Cod between June 29 - July 4. It was awful.

If you want to see 150 square feet crammed with more baby dangers than you ever thought possible, look at a hotel room! Between the multiple exposed outlets, numerous pieces of wicker furniture that were 18 inches high, all with lamps, the lack of high shelves for storage, and the general cleanliness level which was, how to put it politely, probably NOT the standard you keep your home to, DH and I didn't sit down once for 7 days. DS probably thought we changed his name to "Sammy no!"

His schedule was totally thrown, and we had trouble getting him to nap and to sleep at his regular times. He was cranky all day. Wouldn't go to bed until near 10 (usually 730) and was waking up at 545 (usually 730). Because we were in a hotel, we leapt to get him every time he made a peep so he wouldn't disturb other guests. By the last day, DH had found a Dunkin Donuts that opened at 6am and was taking him there for an hour until people being awake in the hotel was reasonable.

We also have a 10 yo DS, who had a pretty miserable time because of his brother's short fuse from lack of sleep. DH and I ended up splitting the family, and doing things separately with DS10 so the week wasn't a total writeoff for him.

The only times that were OK were mealtimes, because DS1 loves to eat and he thinks he's a celebrity, so he sits in restaurants chowing down and giving everyone in a 40 foot radius the Royal Wave.

Did I mention the non-stop screaming between mid-Connecticut and Falmouth, because he certainly DID NOT get "lulled to sleep" by the car like everyone said he would?

The only thing that gave us hope was my 2.25 yo nephew, also on the trip, who was acting semi-human such that my sister was actually able to have some semblance of a family vacation.

Whew, I feel better now! Vacation with a 1 year old at your peril!

Jane

Oh, man, do I feel your pain. My DD was always a go-with-the-flow kid--we could take her anywhere. She regulated herself, would sleep anywhere, just generally such an easy baby. My boys were Attila the Hun. They couldn't regulate themselves even at HOME, let alone on vacation. One week with a holy terror cured me of vacationing with babies and toddlers.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I can think of the following places we went when one or the other child was under 2. All were nice trips and pretty easy to do with a little one (being mindful of making sure baby got enough sleep, etc.--we were lucky both kids had no issue at all sleeping in a stroller). Note, we did not use the babysitting on the cruises at that age but found plenty we could do with the little one in tow and plenty they found fascinating to look at:

Chicago
Toronto
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Disney World
Diseny Cruise
Princess Cruise
VancouveTrain Ride from Michigan to Colorado and visit to Boulder, Co

We found it to be a very easy age to travel with. Then again, we have yet to find a hard ageI think kids who grow up traveling travel well for the most part. They adapt to whatever is the norm for their family

 

[Disney Doll]

You probably shouldn't try to plan a vacation just yet for next year. I think I'd wait and see what kind of baby Lucas turs out to be...he's only about 2 months now....next year around March or so you might have a better idea if he's a "flexible" child or a routine-based child or what.

Perhaps consider trying a weekend trip somewhere next spring as a trial run. I live in southern CT, and we have lots of places that are 2-4 hours away by car that make for nice weekend jaunts. If you live in an area similar to mine, schedule a weekend jaunt and see how he does, see how you guys do see what you need to bring etc. so that the trip goes smoothly.

Honestly though, if you want my opinion, if a trial run isn't possible, I'd go to Disney. Disney is designed for kids, the staff is used to dealing with kids, people staying in hotels should expect a certain amount of "kid related" noise...crying babies, shouting toddlers, little feet running down those long Boardwalk hallways. If you stay onsite, you can leave the parks at will if things get hairy, there is a lot going on there to distract baby...characters, colors, noises, cartoon-like things, other people, kiddie pools. As far as the "he won't remember it" people...well, no, he won't, but you will and you'll have pictures to show him.

 

[golfgal]

If you really want to take a 1 year old on a vacation I would do one of two things--go someplace that is toddler friendly-St. Louis comes to mind with the nice zoo, Grant's Farm, etc. or go to a lake cabin with a nice beach and let him play in the sand. Traveling with kids is not all that easy--just the STUFF you have to bring makes it a hassle.