Travelling with a baby - Our First holiday

Our first holiday with Jenson at just over 6 months old was nothing short of perfect. After the most up & down year in the travel industry even with my inside knowledge it was still a lot to consider with where to go, would we want a villa so we were not having to mix with others or would a hotel be easier and feel more like a holiday? Let’s face it we all know in a villa you are still the one to do all the cooking, cleaning, making sure everything is organised…. Same as been at home, so would it feel like a holiday. Yes it may sound a little selfish but us mama‘s deserve to feel like we’re on holiday too right?

We initially decided that to have the best of both worlds a hotel with a swim up room would be the perfect holiday when travelling with a baby. Greece was our number 1 place to start looking but with prices through the roof and the season coming to an end even with my travel smart discounts it was still extortionate. Then I decided to scroll through the affiliate programmes we are partnered with to see where in the world had the best rates for the travel industry. As soon as I saw Abu Dhabi that was it. Abu Dhabi has been a place that ever since watching Sex and the City I have wanted to visit. Due to covid there were still no direct flights so our option was to fly into Dubai and take a cab to Abu Dhabi. The confidence you get when you become a travel advisor to sort your own travel out makes everywhere you visit fulfilled to the max as nothing holds you back. So instead of staying in the one hotel I booked us a stay in Dubai for the 1st part of our trip. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria on the Palm for 6 nights, which is such a lovely, elegant hotel, having stayed at the Atlantis with my older children (they’re adults now but forever my babies) we wanted something a bit quieter as it’s not as if Jenson will make use out of everything on offer there, we will save that for when he’s a bit older. So although the hotel doesn’t have swim up rooms we decided it was still worth it to be able to add it in as an extra stay instead of heading straight to Abu Dhabi. The TRAVELLING SMARTER element to this was for the amount I saved on the hotel in Dubai actually paid for our stay in Abu Dhabi.

We got our flights with Emirates who are amazing when travelling with a baby. TOP TIP is to actually call Emirates with the flight you are looking at to ensure there is availability at the bulkhead seats, not only does this mean you have extra leg room you also get a sky cot so your baby can snooze or lay and play whilst your eating.

Another TOP TIP get yourself a buggy that’s lightweight to travel with we purchased a Joie Nitro Stroller approx £70 honestly it was great and you didn’t mind the fact that it was going to get covered in suncream, Food, Sand & get soaked through when the swim nappies/baby clothes are still wet when you want to go for lunch etc.

We loved our stay at the Waldorf and managed to fit in a few mall trips, a visit to the Expo and revisited the Atlantis for an evening to see the Aquarium. Another great thing about Dubai when travelling with a baby is they have Waitrose and Boots in the malls so any essentials you need can be purchased with ease. After 6 nights we headed over to Abu Dhabi for our final part of our trip we stayed at the beautiful Rixos Premium at Saadiyat Island. This was everything I had imagined and more for Abu Dhabi the hotels, the beaches, the food, the staff every element is just perfect and with this one we had our swim up room. First thing in the morning, when baby is having a nap, late on in the evening it is just so lovely to just have a dip in the peace and tranquillity knowing your little one is safe, cool and right next to you. I am not going to lie gone are the days you can lay getting a tan around the pool. You are in the shade constantly, when you’re in the pool you are looking for the best spot with shade, at this age you may be lucky and get a quick 20 mins in the sun whilst baby sleeps. This is why I loved the swim up rooms Jenson would sleep until 9ish in the morning due to time difference and would have a good hr nap in the afternoon so we could utilise the private pool.

It really has been the perfect holiday for our first one with Jenson, if you relax and go with the flow babies tend to do exactly the same. We didn’t stick to any type of routine but noticed how quickly a routine just seemed to develop and that was how we rolled the entire holiday and it worked.