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Article: Travelling with a Baby: How to Do it in Style!

Planning a first beach holiday with your baby

Travelling with a Baby: How to Do it in Style!

TinyTravelship founder Frankie Collinson shares her well-seasoned recommendations on the places to go to make your first holiday with your baby one you'll remember forever - for the right reasons!

Travelling on the first holiday after having a baby is something you likely look forward to for months; it’s a lovely family bonding opportunity as well as hopefully delivering the much needed relaxation and sunshine for new parents too. 

While the addition of a tiny new one can often put a daunting spin on travel, (and life in general because even leaving the house now requires meticulous planning), it doesn't have to, according to Frankie, who founded TinyTravelship as an expert resource of design-led, parent-first holidays in boutique hotels and stays curated by a global community of style-seeking mamas.

Top family-friendly hotel recommendations for baby’s first holiday in the sun 

“Be brave! The younger the babe the easiest it is to travel with them. Make the most of your baby being small, sleepy and super portable - don’t be afraid of long flights! A lot of things change post-baby, but your love for stylish travel doesn’t have to be one of them. 

More than just welcoming tiny travellers a lot of hotels, villas and even airbnbs are getting savvy to modern mamma’s needs and offering a whole range of baby equipment, from the standard highchairs and cots to bottle warmers, sterilisers, baby monitors and toys. Check what’s available at your destination and don’t be afraid to ask for photos.

Anassa Resort (www.anassa.com) in Cyprus has a genius Baby Go-Lightly service, providing all the parental paraphernalia you could possibly wish for! This service allows you to pre-book all manner of baby items including car seats for airport transfers, buggies, baby walkers, swimming aids, toys, potties.

 

Also worth a mention is the Sani Resort in Crete (www.sani-resort.com) a firm favourite of Jess Diner from Vogue’s beauty team and many other new parents and young families. The resort has parents covered, from creches, a baby menu designed by Annabel Karmel, nannies and babysitters, and no detail is overlooked including white noises machines, Gro Clocks, video monitors and first aid kits with thermometers. 

Think about what you really need, not just what you think you need. With really young babies, babysitters can be more useful than kids clubs. If you’ve started weaning, having access to a kitchen can make life easier, and allow you to stick to your routines. Praia Verde is a gorgeous boutique hotel in Portugal with kitchenettes in the rooms.  If you’re looking for privacy and space, but want to escape household chores, serviced villas are an excellent solution. Peligoni in Greece has some of the best we’ve ever stayed in. 

So don’t rule out all the amazing places you’ve saved on Instagram. You’d be surprised how baby-friendly most places are, even if they don’t actively advertise as such. 

Don’t be a prisoner to your baby’s naps. If you can, opt for accommodation with a separate sleeping space for your tiny traveller, but remember this doesn’t need to be a second bedroom, you can make a nursery of a walk-in wardrobe. Rooms with outdoor spaces are godsends for daytime naps, or even better are pool or beach front rooms. Consider the golden distance from tanning to napping - you’ll want somewhere the baby monitor will stretch 

How to manage the flight with your baby…

The easiest way to keep a baby from crying during takeoff and landing, is to give them milk. If you are formula feeding bring double what you’d normally use, security will let you bring through as much as you need. Better yet order in advance to collect from Boots airside. 
For entertainment, we recommend the new toy trick. Fill a packing cube with new toys. The novelty will keep them entertained for a lot longer than usual. 

It’s generally considered safe for babies to fly from two weeks old, so you are good to go as soon as you have a passport. However, most hotels request babies be at least six weeks old. 

First time travelling with baby


Tiny Travelship was created to pull on the collective knowledge of mamas-well travelled to act as your expert resource for researching, planning and designing a dream family holiday. A collection of design-led, parent-first holidays curated by a global community of style-seeking mamas. Follow Tiny Travelship for more boutique stays and personalised days.

For the new Mamma’s day to night holiday glam, choose CARI’s sun dress with hidden zips for breastfeeding for effortless chic!

CARI's Summer Shop is stocked online all-year round for your wardrobe essentials. https://caricollection.com/collections/summer-collection

The 'baby-proof' first holiday wardrobe essentials

As excited as you may be for the first holiday with your baby, it’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed trying to figure out the wardrobe that is going to flatter at this stage – and a little panic at the idea of being back in your bikini too! Because, let's face it you have probably already packed a massive case for your baby and can’t find anything to wear yourself. 

CARI founder Sue Carter shares her tips on how to baby-proof your wardrobe to combine style with practicality for that first holiday:

1.     It’s less lounging, and more strolling. If your baby is still little, you may spend more time walking than relaxing by the pool so versatile sun dresses that can stylishly take you from the beach to town lunch to a sunset dinner will be your hero pieces.

2.     Depending on what stage you're at, you ‘ll likely need some breastfeeding friendly pieces – at CARI we have a Summer Shop online all year round with nursing friendly sun dresses and tops, all have been designed with cleverly hidden zips and in a loose-fit style that is so flattering postpartum.

3.    A big beach bag that doubles as your baby bag is essential to make life easy - there's nothing worse than being overloaded with bags, and lightweight travel buggies don't have much space. Isabel Marant’s colourful tote is the perfect holiday bag.

4.     Stream-line your wardrobe. These first few months are about getting out the door fast, before the next feed or nappy change, with little time to think or plan. Build your holiday wardrobe around some key versatile pieces, like a black satin vest or white shirt, that can be styled up with fabulous statement accessories so even if you leave the hotel in a hurry, and end up in the most wonderful little restaurant for lunch, you can still look stylish.

5.     Babies are messy, so patterns, textures or multi-coloured fabrics are good to camouflage stains! Also, light cotton dresses are easy to spot-wash on the go and dry in minutes so are always a good choice. Don't overcompensate by bringing loads of outfits, just choose smartly and stay practical. 

6.     Have footwear that goes with all your outfits – we love these Ancient Greek Sandals nude leather slides.

7.  This is a holiday that will likely get its own dedicated photo album, and be the one you look back on forever - so do make sure to pack the nice outfits to make the most of it so you can look Picture Perfect every day. 

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