Planning a trip with my husband and son, who will be two during our travel this summer in late June/July. We will be traveling from the east coast (NYC) and looking for a location with a beach that is not in the US/Caribbean. Ideally, somewhere reasonable to travel with my son and someplace that has a nice balance of exploration and relaxation/beach. Some ideas that we have discussed are below:

1) Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Positano, Naples, Capri, etc....
2) Croatia/Dalmation Coast
3) Paris/South of France

We will have 2 weeks to travel. Any advice on these locations, their feasibility with a toddler and traveling to/from the US east coast would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

1) I would not visit the Amalfi coast with a two year old, though if you were intent on it, Maiori has a wide sandy beach. The coast of Liguria would be better I think, or just about anywhere else along the coast.
2) Croatia can be relatively painless to get to if you are willing to pay for a flight with only one change. The beaches are rocky and pebbly for the most part, but the pebbly ones could be okay with a toddler. I'd consider Bol on Brac island and Lumbarda on Korcula island, which has a sandy beach. Some of the mainland beaches near Zadar could be an option as well. Any of those would be nice low-key places to visit, but of course it will be getting into high season.
3) Less familiar with France, so I'll leave it open.

Mallorca, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily have some very safe beaches for toddler and diverse local culture.

The Amalfi and Croatia would not be high on my list as destinations with a toddler.

Go to Sperlonga instead of Amalfi coast. You fly to Rome. It is 2 hour from Rome. You rent a car to go for exploration when you are tired of the beach.

If you want to go to Liguria, go to Lerici. Rent a car. You can visit Pisa and many places. If you don't like to rent a car, go to Camogli. Or Sestri Levante is nice for children too. Use the train.

If you like you can also go to Venice and then go to Grado. It is not a very American thing to do, but it is very nice for children and it is a very interesting place to be. The food is very nice. If you have a car you can visit Aquileia and Palmanova and Duino. This is in english:

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/friuliv...lia/grado.html

Thank you all for the recommendations. I have traveled to Italy and Spain multiple times and visited many of the places mentioned (Rome, Venice, L'Aquila, Pisa and Mallorca). Had considered Amalfi Coast because neither my husband and I have visited yet.

I'm wondering what your specific concerns or reasons are for not liking Amalfi and Croatia with a toddler, Britishcaicos? Is travel difficult? Is it unsafe? Just wondering so I can better gauge what's right for us...

You might consider Istria (in Croatia.) You could base in Rovinj, there are nice family friendly beaches there. And then take a car out to explore.

It will be a bit crowded in late June/early July but so will everything else you are considering, I think...

Hi,

A lot of the Mediterranean beaches in France & Italy are rocky pebbles or have steep stairs from the rocky outcrops. There are some exceptions - will let the experts jump in on that point. We chose Sestri Levante in Liguria as noted above specifically for the "beach" part of our Italy vacation because of the nice sandy beach and calm water on the Bay of Silence. We stayed at the Hotel Helvetia and it was wonderful. Our girls could play in the sand and swim safely in the calm water.

We were also in the Cote d'azur (Nice) on that vacation but stuck to the hotel pool because the beach was giant pebbles. I dont know if there are sandy beaches on the Amalfi coast. Might difficult to manoever with a stroller on steep stairs.

You might consider the Provence near the Camargue. Aigue Mortes is a fun castle city; just south of there are the broad sand beaches of Le Grau du Roi and the more commercial high-rise La Grande Motte on the other side of the river.

Daytrips abound, with Nimes, Uzes, the beach and aqueduct (and canoe paddles) at Pont du Garde, Arles (of course), more beach in the Camargue proper at Ste-Marie-de-la-Mer, the medieval town of Sommieres nearby - - and further afield Les Baux, Van Gogh's St. Remy, and Avignon. Driving is easy, beaches are easy, everything sensual, plenty to see. You should find a town that does a running of the bulls that time of year. Plenty markets. Not too built up, not too overrun, drives are fairly reasonable.

No to Pompeii with a toddler. Too hot and dusty. He'll get cranky in no time. Wait until he gets older and he will love it.

(3)

jacolis, do you have an itinerary from this trip?

why not just live your toddler at home with your mother or your mother love and enjoy your vacation with your husband ?

Close to Nice: Antibes and Juan les Pins to the West and from Villefranche to Menton in the East have sandy beaches.

The coast from Marseille to Frejus area, including St Tropez, have sandy beaches and resorts to cater for toddlers.

I was on Pamplonne Beach, near St Tropez, last week and it looked as if it would be fine for a toddler - once temperatures warm up a bit, that is!

I would avoid these places during French school holidays, July and August, but should be OK outwith.