The other main package company now seems to be http://www.thomascook.com as there have been so many mergers recently. But I think the two Lyn put up may be cheaper.

Another middle option agent that would book a flight and hotel for you are
http://www.otbeach.com
Transfers often aren't included in this option, you either book your own or pay for them as an extra.

If you wish to do a full DIY you could try http://www.booking.com with them you don't have to pay till you check out of the hotel, meaning you can budget right till the last day of your holiday. This company price in Euros so you are subject to currency changes.

If you go for either the middle option or a full DIY, make sure you have good travel insurance and pay by credit card as you have less protection than if you book a package holiday.

HTH, Doe

we took ellie to turkey when she was 6 mths old and had no problems at all, mind you saying that shes been very well behaved up to now, so we have been very lucky, we can take her anywhere. we found a useful thing to have was a little inflatable floatable ring seat thingy that they put their legs through to dangle in the water and it has a sun canopy attached she loved sitting in that in the pool and was protected from the sun, can picture it but not very good at describing it lol, but im sure you know what im talking about. i took everything disposable inc bottles, carton sma milk etc to make it as easy as possible for me , im sure you will have a great holiday

We have taken our little boy abroad twice now, and again in 3 weeks. The first time we went to Gran Canaria when he was 8 months old, and apart from being poorly for a couple of days(due to cough and cold) he absolutely loved it, especially all the attention from the hotel staff and restaurant waiters, the spanish absolutely adore children and are always made welcome everywhere you go. We found it easy to keep him full with spanish baby food jars, he liked them more than the english ones, so we brought some home for him.If you run out of nappies , the larger supermarkets stock them all, a bit pricier than ours but not much more.
Last may we took him to Croatia, we booked a room in a villa, it was fantastic for him as we has a ground floor room with access to a large garden with tortoises for friends, and a lovely swing ,and also fantastic views and a wonderful terrace for us to dine and wine on an evening whilst little man was fast asleep. The crotians are not as geared up as spain etc for baby facilities such as highchairs and nappy changing areas, but you learn to adapt. One waiter actually offered us a silver serving tray too take the dirty nappy away .Again he loved the attention from the locals. I think at the end of the day when you holiday abroad with a little person you have to go with the flow and personally I drop routine for the holiday , so we are not tied to meals and sleeps.
Mind you , it might be a different story after our hol in Tenerife,as we approaching the terrible twos, watch this space Hope you get sorted with your holiday Daisy.

Jackie15

Reading this thread it seems to me that the only people who advise against taking a baby abroad are the ones that have never done it and the people who have dared to give it a go don't seem to regret it,.

Interesting thread.

I well remember our first flight with our son, then about 15 months. Luckily it was only Gatwick to Jersey, because he screamed non-stop the whole way there and the whole way back....... We must have been the most popular people on the plane! The cabin crew kept offering biscuits and stuff, but nothing would stop him. Nothing would distract him. I think that because he was walking by then, he just couldn't bear to be strapped on to my lap like that. He wanted to run around. Twenty years ago now and I can still relive every moment, it was so horrendous.

Hi Jan400. I'm afraid that you are wrong in your assumption. I had to travel with 3 youngsters on my own a lot - not out of choice but because family lives in another country. The travel is the worst part of it. It wasn't so bad when when we could use Heathrow as it had a playroom so waiting time was not too stressful. The worst journey I did on my own was with 2 of them (9 months and 27 months). There was a strike by air traffic controllers so we were sent by overnight train (no sleeping accommodation or food offered). Then had to get to an airport several miles away from train station and I didn't have any of that country's currency. Double buggy and 2 large suitcases and had to cross a very busy square to get to bus. Someone very kindly helped us on the bus and I can't remember but think that bus driver did not charge us. After checking in and flight to Heathrow, we had a long day's waiting to change to Newquay evening flight. All well and good. But on approach to Newquay, it was too foggy to land so plane diverted to Exeter. Exeter airport at that time was not open and no drinks, food, nappies etc. available. We then had another 2+ hrs bus journey to Exeter and 45 minutes by car to get home. The total journey time was well over 24 hrs. I have never forgotten that nightmare journey although the boys behaved so well - no whingeing or crying at all. I was absolutely shattered when I got home.

I still think that if parents want to give kids a good time, they should wait until the children are old enough (3+ years) to enjoy and remember holidays.

But most of those things were out of your control! It sounds terrible but does not need to be a typical experience.

I always took my children across Europe by car - often alone. They occasionally drove me mad annoying each other in the back seat but those holidays are amongst my most treasured memories - discovering places together was wonderful. OK, when they are babies they are not too aware of their surroundings but it gets them used to travelling generally and being flexible. There are specialist companies these days like holidaytots, who inspect properties to make sure they are baby friendly. (I only know this because they inspected and approved our holiday apartments).

Our most intrepid visitors were the Australians taking a small baby and 2 older children all over Europe (and Canada too) by car, for months.

Just to let you all know we have now booked a holiday Thanks to everyone who posted a comment and for the websites for me to look at. Now for the next question, any good tips for what to take for my baby as there is probably something i havnt thought about!

The best things I have found for my children in hot sunny climates is the all in one UV protection suits. We went to the south of France in a July when one of them was 19 months old and it covered her up really well. All that was exposed was her arms from half way between the elbows and the wrists and the legs from half way down the calfs plus her head. It was so easy to make sure that the sun cream covered what little exposed skin there was.

yeah i was in debenhams today and they have them in stock, such a good idea.

http://www.justkidswear.co.uk/h2_SP_SS_sun_protection_sunsuits.htm

Now for the next question, any good tips for what to take for my baby as there is probably something i havnt thought about!

A cheap inflatable paddling pool from the £1 shop, you can fill it up with water at the pool/beach and baby has his/her own little pool to splash in, without the worry of having them in the big pool or sea. It also doubles up as a baby bath in the hotel bathroom - some hotels only have a shower.

Cicekler,
That sounds horrendous for sure but do you think your experiences are typical of travelling with a baby or small children?

I second the paddling pool idea. It kept my little girl amused for ages. Also an inflatable baby ring for the pool and a nice big sun hat. Will post again if I think of anything else.

Where did you decide on for your hols in the end, Daisy?

Definately going to get a paddling pool now, such a good idea especially doubling it up as a bath. We're going to santa susana in costa brava, nice short flight and it's a family hotlel. I can't wait to go now that it's all booked! <- even though there won't be much of that he he. Keep all these tips coming in, they're great for a first time mum going on holiday!

Don't take lots of nappies with you. Take enough for the journey and a couple more days and buy them there. You can get Huggies and Pampers (called Dodot) no problem in Spain. I've found swimming nappies harder to find abroad so you might want to take a pack of them - and don't use swimming nappies other than for going in a pool etc as they don't hold liquid in (I found out the hard way and had a sodden buggy to deal with!).

We have now bought our baby her little uv protection suit, its so cute!!

From my deepest memory, the beaches of the Costa Brava have coarse sand and shelve steeply (ok so I'll get my wrist slapped for forgetting one or two friendlier ones!) so I think the paddling pool is a great idea.

Take some of baby's own bedding with you. The hotel will most probably provide you with sheets for the cot but I've always taken just a couple of soft sheets and a blanket with me as I found my children settle better with them (still have to take a couple with me now and they're 7 and 3!).