d_r_m

Hi everyone,

This forum has always been really helpful for all my trip planning so I thought I would try to take advantage again of all the knowledge here....my husband and I would like to go somewhere this November and bring our 7 month old baby with us....any suggestions for baby friendly islands (less bugs etc)? We have been hoping to go to St. Barth but I think the nanny by the hour rate (in euros) might bankrupt us....

We love going out to eat, drink, scuba, explore beaches etc....ok, maybe we shouldn't bring the baby....

Any suggestions/feedback are appreciated - thank you!

virginia

try provo in turks and caicos. has all you're looking for. search box blamona to read her reports on all the resorts on grace bay beach. one of the mid range resorts has screened porches. arid island, cool (to touch) sand, warm water.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24485376@N08/2313745884/

usvi on st. john look at caneel bay. caneel has 7 beaches. island has a couple dozen more. some dining/drinking.

bvi virgin gorda has little dix and biras creek, but not a lot of going out options.

i'd skip st.lucia for now. large island & not the easiest to get around. has jungle so more bugs.

Barthophile

You might want to check out your idea with your baby's pediatrician. Since he/she will not have had many of it's immunizations (measels comes to mind), it may not be the best idea to travel to the Caribbean. And dengue is also a concern. Have you thought about Hawaii until the baby gets a bit older? Just a thought...

wsm2004

we went to Turks and caicos pre- baby and said "it's nice but we don't think we will go back until we have children" - now that we have a child (she's 2 now) we are taking her to turks and caicos - we took her to bermuda when she was around 1 (so I personally wouldn't be afraid to take a child to the Caribbean, but of course consult your pediatrician) - T & C is a good choice because most of the hotels are condo style so you can get a 1 or 2 bedroom and a kitchen - IMO its not a vacation if you have to sleep in the same room as a toddler and staying all in one hotel room is just impossible - what do you do when the child goes to bed - sit in the dark?

wsm2004

oh and at any carribean resort I wouldn't expect to pay less than 20$ an hour for baby sitting - if you are expecting to need a nanny for extended periods of time I would look into leaving the baby home with family or bring your own nanny/ grandma with you.

mrknowall

Barbados is the best place lots of scuba diving and water sports there is a property on Rentalo.com that offers a free car close to the beach baby sitting price is very low as well.

cariblover10

Hi

Try Turtle Beach House on St Kitts. They have a cot, playpen and a babysitting service, plus someone to cook for you if you fancy staying in but don't want to cook. Lovely island too with plenty to explore

http://turtlebeachhousestkitts.shutterfly.com/

mrknowall

The price for babysitting at that villa is $12.50usd per hour.

emcash

we took our 3 yo to the Regent palms in T & C this year and it was perfect. They were very family friendly without being children-centric. the accomodations were 5 star.

i'm w wsm2004, it's no vacation for me if we all have to sleep in the same room. we got a one bedroom suite at the Rp and it was so big and so beautiful. I could have stayed for a month!

SAnParis2

Both of my kids visited the Caribbean prior to the age of 2 & both have been there several times. I would not be overly concerned about inoculations & such. Children have much better immune systems than we, as adults do. A bigger concern is diapers, food (easy if you are breast-feeding) & transport.

eleutherabeachbum

We love the Turks and staying on Grace Bay is fantastic. We made the mistake of sailing through the West Indies and we anchored at Castries and I thought this island was miserable. Jump up parties all night with extremely loud music. We could hear from our boat and it was not pleasant.

eleutherabeachbum

Sorry = Castries is St Lucia and we moved our boat and docked at Marigot Bay and that wasn't much better. Too much poverty on this island.

Victormix

Do you receive “cancel your vacation” when you are in hotel? I hate that! It was like that, I had a vacation and I’d already in hotel, and was planning to go to shopping later. At that time, my boss told me to cancel the vacation. It was really really nightmare. And I had to immediately go back to work. So I didn’t waste time to set hotel as departure and company as destination. I just chose: GPS position as departure and company as destination, my ZorroGPS immediately built the road. When I arrived, my boss could believe I was in hotel two hours ago.

Kaymit

I just got back from St. Lucia and wat at the Coconut Beach Resort all-inclusive. They hav a fabulous childrens facility and do take care of infants (licensed and everything). I saw the really cut room where they take care of the infants.

It is 5 minutes from Hewenorra airport and a beautiful property. Fantastic kds program. www.coconutbay.com

kaymit

Caribheart

I have taken my son with us to the Caribbean since he was 11 months old...five islands. This next baby due November...will be going to St.Kitts at the age of 2.5 months old...we trust this island and that is why we are making the choice to return there with the newborn...we will stay at a place with a full kitchen and pull out couch for our older son.

I don't know that there are any major concerns in the Caribbean with babies - my best friend lives in Barbados and really doesn't have a choice about having her babies there...

We have been to Barbados, St.Kitts, Jamaica, Nevis, St.Martin with children...all wonderful options...I would add Grenada to your list as a consideration....I love the island and will take my two boys there at the next chance...then maybe Antigua....hmmmm....have fun! Travel with children is actually fantastic...they get so tired and sleep during naps and night so well...they learn so much and I found that my son grew so much in basic development because he was so excited to explore and experience even young. And how cute with pictures of him sleeping on the towels in the shade of a tree on the beach during nap time - or a beach chair by the pool while we all relaxed and read books with an early cocktail....