Hello! I’m trying to figure out the best place to go for a month trip in July with a one-year-old! Any tips on great places to travel with a baby? Could be anywhere, the main priority is that it’s safe.
We’re thinking about only going to one or two locations to keep it simple and I’ll be working about 15 hours remotely as well. Initially I was thinking of an air bnb in Tuscany, but want to try to avoid renting a car. So anywhere that is easy to get around without a car and s… See more

What do you like to do? History, Art, Culture, Food/wine, Outdoors/hiking, Beach, Solitude? The world is a big place, narrow it down a bit for us....give us a bit more focus.

Robert haha everything that’s why it’s hard! But we’ve back packed South America and SE Asia before kids, and also lived in China, Japan and Peru. So ideally looking for somewhere we’ve never been. I’d say we’re more outdoors, hiking, beach people!

If italy is your choice, then base in a town like Florence, you can do day trips by train, or even an overnight one.

Lee thank you! We’ve thought about this!

Thailand

Italy in July by train could be very bad due the extreme hot.

Thomas thanks, good point!

If safety and not needing a car are top priorities I would say either Scandinavia (super safe and kid friendly, easy to get around major cities and between cities without a car) or a mid sized town in the Netherlands or Belgium. We did an apartment rental in Copenhagen with two little ones and could have easily spent several weeks in that location and also enjoyed renting a cabin in a campground just outside Delft which was about a 15 minute walk from the town centre with trains going pretty much everywhere in the country.

Deanne thanks for the tips! We were thinking Copenhagen. Did you rent a place off of air bnb?

Kyla yes, we stayed in the Norrebro neighbourhood, which was a little bit of a walk from downtown, but there were frequent buses going everywhere and it felt really safe.

Wonderful, that sounds like a great option!

Kyla was just going to say Copenhagen! So easy to be there

Jennilee wonderful, I’ve been looking into it now!

We travelled in Europe when our two boys were young - 4 and 1 - and it was a fantastic experience. I remember going into supermarkets in France and marvelling at the amazing baby food selection they had (I had been making my own baby food before we left but then realized this would be too difficult during our trip). And the Italians LOVE babies and young children especially if they are blonde!
We were away for a couple months so leased a Peugeot (way cheaper than renting if you are away for more than 2-3 weeks) and I would say that it is MUCH easier to travel with young kids if you have a car. We also tended to stay longer in each place. I booked the vast majority of our accommodation before we left, and generally speaking we stayed in each place for a week and then did day trips. This worked great and meant we weren’t always packing up and unpacking.

sorry I just realized that you would prefer not to have a car - I think that would be fine if you are planning to stay in one place. It’s just that - as you know - there is more paraphernalia required with a baby so it is more difficult to get around. My vote is for Italy!

Lisa this all sounds wonderful! I was just thinking the cost of a car rental would be a lot, especially as I’ve heard it’s harder to get cars since COVID. But I hadn’t thought of a lease! And you’re right, so much stuff to bring. Did you just lease from a car dealership?

Kyla Here is the company we used (this was awhile ago - 2008 - but I assume that it still works the same). There are probably other companies doing this, but I would recommend Peugeot. We got a brand new car to drive for 50 days, picked it up in Nice and dropped it off in Rome. https://www.autoeurope.ca/peugeot-lease/
AUTOEUROPE.CA
Lease a Car in Europe with Peugeot | Peugeot Short Term Leases

Lisa ok, thank you!! I'll look into it!

Lisa did the same 10 yrs ago and in France/Italy in combination with metro or buses to certain areas with very limited parking ie Rome, Firenze, Venice, Marseille

Marielle Yes, exactly. We tended not to bring the car into the big city centres.

Istanbul

Usman Istanbul has always been on my bucket list! Do you think it’s easy to get around with a child?

Kyla yes, I'm here right now, no kids, but very transit friendly city and I see lots of parents with small kids.

Kyla very easy to get around Istanbul and safe especially with uber. Rent a car to do side trips or join tours.

Lina Usman Ok, thank you! I had a trip booked to Istanbul once that had to be canceled, so it's always been on my mind to try again!

Copenhagen

Portugal.

Europe will be busy in July but still worthwhile!
check out Rovinj in Croatia. Italian influence, really safe, less well known than some of the other spots. I’m hoping to go with my one year old in Sept

Maria ohh I just looked up Rovinj, it looks stunning! Definitely a good option! Will you fly there from London or another major airport?

Kyla anywhere in Croatia on the coast is amazing. My parents go twice a year to Srima by Vodice. You may want to look at flying to Dubrovnik. There is no international airport in Rovinj.

Mon pula is closest, transiting through Frankfurt

And yeah, unfortunately due to my husband's time off we have to travel in July

Maria there was a passenger ferry from Venice to Rovinj when we were there. It may be easier to fly into Venice. Check if the ferry is still running with the restrictions regarding boats into Venice. Rovinj is lovely!

I'm thinking about going to Bulgaria next year. Very safe, cheap, amazing food, lots of history. Or possibly even Tunisia.

have you thought about a cruise? pretty simple way to travel. babies quite often go free

Lynne thanks! I like to explore a bit more than cruises offer. But definitely an idea to consider!

Croatia! Easy to pick a few islands and island hop. Lovely people, good food, not crazy expensive, beautiful place! (We did this with our then 5yo and 4 month old)

My brothers and SIL did Croatia when my niece was one. They loved it.

Aisling the more I look into Croatia, the more I’m sold on it! It might be the winner, I think just getting from YVR to there with the baby will be the biggest hurdle.

Kyla feel free to PM me. We broke it up with a stop in Dublin on way home, and way there we pushed through with a few connections but it was nice to break it up a bit.

I took a 1 year old to Rome for a month and it was tough. Everywhere is cobblestone roads and the stroller was awful to try and push anywhere.

Shaun good point!

I think it all depends on how chill your baby is. We took our oldest to Europe (Paris, Bruges, and Amsterdam) when he was one. He was the perfect traveler. Napped in his stroller wherever we were. Slept perfectly every night. He spoiled us. He even slept the entire flight home and then adjusted back to PST the first night back.
There is no way we could do the same trip with our youngest. She barely naps if she isn’t in her crib with her sound. It’s very difficult for her to sleep in the same room as is because she’s a light sleeper.
We’ve taken both of them to Toronto + Montreal and Quebec City. Overall we had a good time but it wasn’t relaxing in the slightest. I definitely we need to just be beach travelers for a few years
But if your baby sleeps well any and everywhere, I really liked someone else’s idea of Florence.

Janelle haha good point! He was a wonderful sleeper until 6 months then teething happened and now at 10 months he’s almost back to how he was before.
We went to Palm Springs in March and brought our Uppababy stroller and it was wonderful cause he loves to nap in it, so he’d nap poolside and we’d get some good relaxing time in. I think this would also work if we had a big day out exploring, he’s actually a better napper on the go then in his crib. Your first child sounds like a dream traveller, hopefully ours will be too

I hope yours is too!
We use a Mountain Buggy Nano whenever we travel. It lays down pretty flat and the bottom holds a full-size backpack. It’s great for napping!

Paris is always a good idea