Travelling with a baby

Anna Farmer on 17 September 2016
Our first overseas holiday with our baby and we choose Barbados as it ticked a lot of boxes; a direct flight, some tropical October heat, a family friendly hotel, and being outside of school holidays. In October 2016 we travelled to the Colony Club, a hotel on the popular Platinum West Coast of Barbados, a beautiful stretch of sand with shallow waters that attract both Leatherback and Hawksbill turtles.

We stayed in a Pool/Garden View Junior Suite which offered extra space for the crib and came with a baby bath, toiletries and a bottle sterilizer. It certainly helped cut down on the amount of stuff you need to pack for a baby, especially if they are weaning, but to be honest you don’t need to think about pre-packing lots of ‘Ella’s meals’ as they had lots of choice for food. There were also a lot of intimate areas around the convoluted pool that offered shade which is essential when you have a little one.

The staff were so friendly and attentive, making a lot of fuss of our little one, who didn’t stop smiling and laughing the whole time he was there. They did have a children’s club for the over 6-year olds and offered a babysitting service if you needed it.

The flight was a breeze with BA offering a bassinet cot which at 7 months old he was just about big enough to fit in, it gave us our own space and extra legroom as a bonus. My tip is to feed your little ones for take-off and landing, that way, they don’t have ear pressure issues. It’s relatively easy travelling with a baby under 1 as they usually are not that mobile and generally tend to stay where they are put!

We pre-arranged a transfer upon arrival which included a fast track immigration service, so we were in our private car within 15 minutes of landing.

Barbados has a lot more to offer than just beaches. Golf courses, spas, rum distilleries, historic homes, duty free shopping, street parties, a cave system over a mile long, the UNESCO world heritage site of Bridgetown and some incredible restaurants.

To see a bit more of the island, we chose to do a catamaran snorkelling trip around the South West coast. Safety and comfort was a priority for us, so we checked there was enough shade and space on board for baby Farmer. Once satisfied, we packed our baby float which he could securely fit and off we sailed. It was a beautiful relaxed sailing and our little one enjoyed the attention while we cruised along. He didn’t know it, but he had turtles swimming just underneath him and was that relaxed he even fell asleep in his float bobbing around in the sea.