Do any of you wise travellers have recommendations for a country/place to travel that is family friendly (1 toddler and 1 baby), exotic and cheap to travel around once you are there? We are looking for some "MUST SEE" recos for a 3 wk family adventure this August. Thailand and Bali have already been explored. TIA

For a European option, think about Portugal.

Cambodia is super cheap. Domestic flights are around 25 bucks so you can see all the spots pretty much.

Philippines are incredible!

That was high in our list, but it’s typhoon season in August.

Mexico

Have you been to Todos Santos? Know if it’s still lively in August?

no sorry. I was in mexico last month. Just north of Puerto Vallarta, and noticed it was a hotspot for young families. And it was absolutely beautiful. We didn't spend any time in PV tho. Spent more time in Bucerias. Hope that helps

Greece (Santorini) and Spain (Mallorca), caribbbean (Curaçao)

Belize vrbo 300805

I’ll check this out. Thank you.

Is that the right listing? I can’t pull it up.

Ei It is ours so if need further info, message.

Can you pm me?

Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia are exotic and cheap. Portugal isn’t bad out if any European destinations but in my opinion the rest of those destinations are not cheap.

Well, honestly, I think there is no point in travelling with pre-schoolers, because all they want to do is go to the park, and it's exhausting and worrying if they get sick in a foreign country. I think saving up the money for a bigger trip later is more value. Or travelling less with pre-schoolers, and putting the saved money towards a sitter to travel with you so the parents can get away and do some cultural exploration. Not negativity, just practicality.

great how you offer unsolicited advice. Do you like that when people do it to you? If you dont agree on decisions people you do not know have made, move along.

I'm pretty sure this trip is for the adults, not the kids. Kids are pretty much happy as long as they are with their parents. Plus it teaches them resilience.

I hear what you mean, Elizabeth. It can certainly be exhausting. My hubby took our 3 year old to France last September and they went to a lot of parks and the louvre was certainly out of the question, but he loved experiencing another country and culture with the kiddo. Our preschooler travels well. Our baby, however....I feel like I’m in nap jail. He naps best when in a crib and it’s twice a day. Where we go will have to have a nice place for me to chill while the baby sleeps.

We've been traveling with our kids since they were little, we create travel books, a scrapbook with photos, ticket stub of places, pressed flowers and so on. I'm sure looking back at these books they will have memories. Also, they just love spending time and adventures with us. Traveling is the school of life, it's like you remember certain childhood books and songs you loved. It's hard but it's rewarding.

Beautiful idea, Caro!

Elizabet actually it's a great way to get to know local people in many countries. You will find yourself adopted by locals!

Ei choose a place with lots day trips to explore with a fabulous airbnb with a pool so your nap/home time is just as amazing as your explorations. Portugal is our go to every summer

Do you have a specific place you stay at?

Ei we love something about every region. What would you say your greatest interest are?

Maui!
tropicalbound.com

We’ve been several times. Beautiful, but not a lot of culture and certainly not cheap.

Ei define cheap? Lol
Condos are $99per night. Flights are good from westjet. And food isn’t too bad.

$99? K. That’s cheap. Car rentals and food are pricey, I find. I’ll admit though, historically, we’ve travelled a bit more lux in Hawaii. Going any other route while there would only spoil it for us.

Ei If you cook in and or use resort BBQ. It’s a money saver. We have gotten flights out of yvr for $700 for 2 of us. All in!!

Mauiman how far out do you book your airfare? It's $790 each right now return for next April

Diane oh I never book way out like that. I booked March to go in April. Was as low as 650 for 2 all in.

Mauiman thank you, I will not book now then. I will also contact you when we book for 2021 as we will need a bigger condo than our usual one.

Diane yes wait to book!! And we have many!!

We are doing Bali Vietnam and Malaysia this sept-nov.
Vietnam is beautiful!
In August I would suggest Greece but I’m not sure how if that’s truly budget friendly. in Europe for being good on budget I suggest Portugal.
Costa Rica is cheap and easy I would also suggest Nicaragua!

A lot of people have spoken about Portugal. We’ll have to really dig in it that one. I’ll also check out Nicaragua. Thank you.

Ei Nica is great option! While I do not have kids, it is really cheap and as a solo traveler, I always felt safe. My only "concern" would be the heat in August (same would go for Mex or central america). I hope you find a great place to go with the fam!

Kellyann I agree, nothing in Europe is cheap anymore, with the exception of Portugal being the most economical. I’ve been there the last three years and Portugal was the least expensive out of all the countries. And worst prices go to Croatia

We spent quite a bit of time in Mexico with our kid when he was a toddler. While not as inexpensive as SEA, Mexico was much cheaper to get to (though maybe you aren't in North America). He also received so much attention from locals, which was pretty nice. Our favourites were Mexico City, Oaxaca, Puerto Escondido. We also enjoyed Chiapas, though we were there when our son was older.

The 5 hr flight and same time zone sounds extremely appealing. Certainly top of our list to consider. Thank you.

Georgia, Turkey & Armenia!

Ooooh! Cheap? Family friendly? Turkey is on my bucket list. I might wanna keep that on the roster for when the youngest is done the nap phase so we can really capitalize on our days roaming places in turkey.

I've only done Istanbul 3x, but said Turkey in case the Caucuses aren't your thing...plus maybe cheaper to fly via Istanbul. Georgia is my all time favorite and been 4x (here now, lol), and Armenia is calmer but nice too in summer (3x there). All are cheap right now, but especially Georgia and Armenia...the flights are the biggest cost - but it's only $17cad to drive between Yerevan and Tbilisi in a van for 8 if don't mind the shared experience. I think family friendly yes

Excellent info. The hubby and I are checking it out now.

Mexico

Southern Japan! If you eat local and be choosy with your accomodations (there are a lot of kid friendly hostels and airbnb's), it's easy to Japan on a budget. The big cost is transport but you can cut that down too by being strategic.
Lots of kid activities and cool parks, bathrooms have baby holding chairs, there's super nice nursing rooms in most major stores and train stations.
Okinawa/tanegashima/yakushima/Kyushu as a whole are a bit off the beaten path and 90% of transportation has english in the signage.

Though i just reread your post .... if you're going in August, I'd recommend Hokkaido instead of Kyushu. More manageable temperatures and humidity.

https://www.wandermustfamily.com/hokkaido-with-kids/

I’ll check this out now. I’ve heard japan is super family friendly. I’ve been to Kyoto and Osaka a decade ago, but those were different travel days.
And the flight is palatable being less than 10 hrs. Thank you.

Guatamala

Costa Rica

Elounda, Crete

Ecuador, oceans, Amazon, rain forests, eco tours, the actual Equator at 9500 ft in Quito, the capital city and come down for the amazing beach towns. Its It’s an amazing country, wonderful people and very cheap to eat, stay and get around . FMily is huge there. I thoroughly loved seeing 5 generations enjoying their time together and not an electronic device between them.

Cuba. Cubans love children. Very safe. You cans stay in cassas for $30 a night with breakfast.
Fly direct with sunwing or air transat.
Cienfuegos, Trinidad, santi spiritus, Remedios... of course Havana

We’re taking our 4 and 6 yr old yr old to Vietnam. I heard Hoi An and Danang is amazing for kids. That’s where we’re headed as well as HCM just because we (adults) want to go there.
I’ve been to Cebu, Boracay, Kota Kinabalu, Phuket and Taiwan with my kids when they were younger and we lived in Asia. All were great and my kids have severe food allergies. Hope that helps.