dupont43

Has anyone out there had experience travelling to T&C with a baby? We're considering a couple of options for February (Aruba, Mexico, T&C) and will be travelling with our 8 month old. Any advice / comments on suitable accomodations and restaurants (Provo), availability of baby supplies at the IGA (diapers, babyfood), safety of the island, etc. are appreciated.

Kara

matkat

We're going next week with our 2 and 1 year olds. I can post a trip report when we return & address those issues. We're staying at the Sands which is supposed to be very family friendly. Ocean club seems to be another good choice. A lot of the restaurants are supposed to be very casual & family friendly. We went to Aruba before we had kids and it definitely seemed baby friendly as well. We considered Mexico but were (probably unneccessarily) somewhat concerned with the water.

Pason

Though I have not travelled with a baby I have with young children and having one with a severe nut allergy I had to look at certain things like quality of hospitals, accessibility of Americanized products (ie. food for my son to eat) and overall safety of the Islands water supply and food itself considering younger children can be more seriously effected if they become ill due to the above.

In my opinion, and in fact when speaking to the Doctor about taking my kids this year, Mexico is probably a riskier bet than T & C or Aruba. He recommended Hep A & B shots for Mexico but not for some of the other Islands similar to the other two.

In terms of product availability, when visiting T & C I recall it being more remote and I suspect you might find more familiar products in Aruba.

Last year we took our children to Aruba. They say the hospital is in line with the standards we are used to here. The food and drinking water is safe and we could get pretty much anything we needed as though we had never left North America. The grocery stores had our brands of products available so that I didn't need to worry about what to feed my son and our resort offered a suite with a seperate bedroom and kitchenette. With kids and particularly with a child with food allergies we couldn't have done it without such facilities.

I would recommend Aruba all the way. If you care to have the convenience of the kitchenette and seperate bedroom (perfect for babies naptime) La Cabana was ideal.

Good Luck!

PS: My sister-in-law was contemplating taking her 3 month old away with us this year and checked with her Doctor regarding safe Islands, he told her to steer away from Mexico, Dominican and parts of Cuba. He said St. Maarten, Aruba and the Bahamas would all be acceptable.

bluefan

Like matkat, I'll be going very soon to Provo (Dec 6 to 11). With an 8-mo old baby. Here's some info I've found through research.

There are many suitable 3* and plus hotel/condos from Sands, Royal West Indies, Ocean Club, Ocean Club West to Coral Gardens, Alexandra, Villa Renaissance, Point Grace and several more along with new resorts expected to open soon (like the Palms). The only ones that don't allow children I believe are T&C Club and Grace Bay Club (but I could be wrong). I believe all of them offer kitchen suites which would be very convenient when vacationing with a baby.

Family-friendly restaurant choices I've read about are Tiki Hut, Hemingways, Barefoot Cafe, Sharkbite and more: http://www.wherewhenhow.com/Dining.html

According to their website, the IGA does offer baby food but I'll find out about the diapers soon enough for you. http://www.gracewayiga.com/pages/1/index.htm

Based on my extensive research, T&C seems to be one of the safest Caribbean islands. The only crimes to tourists I've heard about are the car break-ins at Malcom's Beach, which would be too difficult a road trip for my baby anyways from what I've heard. There's been other crimes or concerns I've read about, but nothing that would prevent my family from visiting.

HTH

matkat

We just returned froma a stay at the Sands. The accomodations there were great with kids, having a full kitchen was awesome. There were lots of babies at the resort. Lots of the restaurants are kid friendly. Hemmingways at the Sands always had lots of kids, plus its outdoors so it was easy to remove a crying child. The IGA has everything they have at a US supermarket. All brands of baby food, formula, & diapers, even pacifiers & bottles. It was expensive though, so I would pack whatever you can and bring it with you. We felt totally safe on the island. Just no sidewalks so it was a little tough walking with the stroller when we left the property. Also, the water at the resort was fine to drink.

Traveler863

Aruba is awful, don't go there...its so touristy beyond belief, same chain restaurants as here is unappealing although some restaurants excellent. Its very windy there not my choice destination. I would definitely go with Provo, the IGA has everything you'd need. The beach is excellent and uncrowed. For any concerns for med availability its got your typical facilities but you are also very close to Miami for a real emgerency (flight of course)