Guess what?! We’ve booked our first get-on-a-plane family summer holiday!! As you can tell by the over use of exclamation marks, I am VERY excited about the situation. We are off to Vale Do Lobo in Portugal in May and we’ve treated ourselves to an apartment with it’s own terrace and pool.
I’ve been on a mini sunshine shopping spree for Mabel as it occurred to me that actually, I have precisely zero appropriate warmer weather clothing for her at all. For her next size up (12 – 18 months) she has mainly long-sleeved pieces and denim. I think I got all a bit trigger happy with regards my various virtual baskets, choosing what was super cute/and or a bargain rather than considering the climate.
The gorgeous yellow 3D appliqué swimming costume is from Marks & Spencer and everything else was from The Gap. They removed gender from their site and I saw such adorable clothing for newborn boys that I am getting baby fever all over again! I might have got Mabel some “boy” clothes but who cares in this day and age. I’m unsure if she will ever actually wear the Heart Shaped sunglasses or indeed how long the mini straw fedora will actually stay on her bonce but I. Could. Not. Resist.
I bought the shorts and T sleepwear but I was thinking, would she just wear a shorter sleeved babygro/vest to bed? And with all the tempting (and often spendy) baby fashion available, being practical, am I better off investing in a few mix and match cheapy items as whatever she wears is only going to get covered in suncream/chlorine anyway?
Talking of which, Mabel had a terrible reaction to some baby specific SPF 50 lotion last year, she basically came up in hives. Are there any brands you would really recommend for sensitive skinned littles? I think I may have to embark on some patch testing in advance.
As well as the items above I’ve bought her this flamingo full body sun safe wet suit doo dah from Mothercare and the matching sun hat. Realistically I imagine this is what she will be sporting by the pool, as amazing as her wee cossie is – it’s not well, as sun “safe” is it?
I feel as though I’ve asked quite a few questions already so apologies in advance, I jus want to make sure I don’t buy and subsequently pack stuff Mabel is unlikely to wear, and that I have at least the absolute essentials to ensure that we are as prepared as possible for Mabel’s first break abroad…how many toys should I take?!
Do let me know from your own experiences what your “must haves” and couldn’t-live-withouts are for family hollibobs and also anything you thought would be useful but it fact wasn’t. I’m on a mission to travel light if at all possible. Ahem.
Swimsuit is on my list…just gorgeous! I’ve been using the Boots baby hypoallergenic 50+. Bronwen has very pale and sensitive skin and it works very well for her. Or there is Ultra sun for very sensitive skin? x
Thanks Rhiannon! Will give these a whirl x
How exciting! I too am in the preparation phase to take my 12 week old to Barbados in a few weeks time! Excited and terrified that we might need to charter a plane on our own just to transport my little prince’s luggage alone! So I too will be watching these comments and making notes! So I’ve never travelled with a baby before but I can pass on some advice that my SIL gave to me:
– you can take your car seat on the plane for free and you can buy a cheap big universal bag for this to go in – they don’t weigh this bag so full the car seat with wipes/napies/toiletries etc.
– She said to take your own swim nappies for the whole holiday, they are apparently really expensive abroad especially in touristy areas. Normal nappies she said can easily be bought out there
– She also said to pack a new toy to be brought out on the plane when patience is bring lost.
Re:suncream I cannot recommend Ultrasun enough. I used to always get hives with even sensitive suncreams then I tried this and voila, no heat rash and no itchy skin! Hurrah! My little niece and nephew struggle with suncreams too so last year we slathered them in it too and no more rash! It’s pricy but so worth it. It’s a one application lasts all day one (although I’ll be doing it twice per day on my baby) so it’s less hassle! Bonus. Like the idea of a patch test – I will do that too just to be sure.
Have a fab hol, Val de Lobo is lovely. Not been for years but I have fond memories of a proper PiriPiri chicken restaurant called Señor Frangos. Don’t know if it’s still there. X
Wow Georgina, what super advice! Ultrasound sounds like a winner by the sounds of things. Definitely I’ll take your advice on the swim nappies, I just hadn’t even considered it. also the car seat thing – it makes sense to fill it with as much as possible, thanks again! x
Too cute. Love the lil hat!! Hope you have a fabulous holiday – how about some green people suncream?? They have a childrens range & don’t contain nasty chemicals. 🙂 x
Thanks Naomi, I’ll have a look into that one too!
I can’t help myself when it comes to cute hats……. x
My essential for by the pool/beach is a nice towelling top to get them all nice and cosy after a dip. Mothercare’s little bird range has some cute ones (plus the cutest little towelling rompers like we used to wear on the beach as kids) or Boden has some cute prints. Clothes wise I’d get a couple of nice outfits and perhaps top up with some supermarket staples. You will find she will be in her swimwear most of the time and then just her little vests for naps. Make sure you take a few familiar items for sleep time such as any musical toys or favourite teddies. Also a good call is the Gro company travel blackout blind. It folds really small and just suckers on to the windows. xx
Oh yes a travel black out blind! must get one of those. And thanks for the towelling top tip, Little Bird is lovely – another excuse to have a look at the range! x
Just been looking and the Gro travel blackout blinds are currently half price at Mothercare. Only £15. Plus it has a cute cloud print on it. Bargain!
booster seat! so so useful, not everywhere has highchairs and you can store her cutlery and plate in there. you won’t need many toys, I would take some books though. you can buy water toys when you are there which she will love. we bought a little blow-up boat which we used as a paddling pool which worked really well.
I like tbe sunsafe suits, make me feel a lot more relaxed about that precious skin in the sun!
David tended to just sleep in a nappy on hols.
for suncare I used soltan, I used the stick for his face and application was much easier. the sprays are good too.
definitely get a sunshade or parasol for the pram, and hopefully she will oblige you with a long afternoon nap!
Hi Kathryn! We are currently faffing around over what stroller to buy (I think we will get a cheap one for hols) and trying to get one of those all cover sun shade things…although maybe a parasol means she could see more? Excellent call on the booster seat x
We bought the Uppababy gluxe buggy which is super light and fully reclines which was a must as we wanted to try and go out for dinner in the evening whilst she slept in the buggy (with a snooze shade on it!) it’s expensive but I figured we would have it for a while and it’s been a good buy so far. I second swim nappies, and we also got a towel poncho from boden. Currently working out what we need for a 13 hour flight with a 21 month old! Eek!
Hi Rachie, just after a bit of info re the buggy you have, what are the wheels like – are they good off paths on bumpy terrain? Is it as lightweight as suggested and small when folded? Thanks x
It’s an umbrella stroller so the wheels are small so it’s not like having a travel system but I have never had any problems. It’s so light! Pretty sure it’s the lightest in its class (much lighter than the mcclaren techno xt which also goes flat) and it folds up pretty small. Includes the uppababy pull out sunshade which is v useful and has a cup holder and travel strap. We have taken it abroad twice and annie sleeps in it okay although it’s obviously not as comfy as the bigger travel systems. I think it’s a good buy. Hope that helps x
That’s great, thanks! X
We have the Chicco Pocket Snack seat which is great, would defo recommend.
Cheers Martha, will investigate! x
We got a cosatto supa stroller, it’s fab! The hood can extend low, perfect for naps!! Has a speaker for mp3 playe. Which is only quiet, for nursery rhymes etc! Also in the hood is space for an iPad if she wants to watch a film or something. There’s a cup holder, it’s compact we shopped around to get one for our holiday and settled on that one in the Fox print absolutely love it!!!! X
Oooh we’ve just bought this hat for our little man for his hols! We’re only off to Wales but hoping to get some sunshine… My other half went a bit mental and ordered loads of stuff from Gap, how nice is the baby stuff – we’ve got yellow skinny jeans and everything, he’ll be like the baby from Del Monte! Sorry just realised I’ve offered no advice here but just babbled about awesome baby clothes
Pah ha ha I just did a LOL, both on the Del Monte remark and the no advice bit! I could absolutely do a baby fashion post every Monday with absolutely no useful advice at all! x
We took Flora away to Dubai when she was 12 months, such a great age as she wasn’t yet walking.
I took lots of Ella’s food stuff for the plane and for the week as I’m a bit fussy about what she eats so didn’t want her to be caught out with nothing for her.
I’d recommend a sun shade for the pram so you can black out for naptimes.
We kept the room at the same temp as at home with air con but she slept in a long sleeved, no leg vest and a 1.5 sleep bag.
I also took a 0.5 tog sleep bag but didn’t use this.
She spent lots of the days in vests and those gap bubble shorts.
I think I spent lots of time worrying about shading her from the sun in the packing prep but actually she was always under the umbrella or in the shady pram anyway. The sun thing wasn’t the issue I thought it would be as.
In the pool as she’s just being held by one of us and sloshed around, so she did wear a cute selection of swimming cozzies and a jojo spotty sun hat which tied up underneath and she still kept pulling it off! I just took the wet cozzie/swim nappy off her each time, and put a new one on for the next swim sesh. She loved swimming but wasn’t in there for ages at any point before she was back in the shade again.
I tried to order some little wet suit material booties from jojo as she was cruising, but I was scuppered by all the Black Friday delivery mess ups and they didn’t arrive in time. Such a shame as these might’ve been useful for pool side/sun lounger cruising.
We struggled a bit with eve mealtimes and bedtime as she’s so used to eating at 5 and bed at 7 and in a hotel you’re more restricted to their restaurant times. Managed to eek it out a bit later but it was restrictive for us to have to put her to bed at 8/9 ish. You’ll have lots more options in your own place no doubt.
The holiday managed to be so relaxing and enjoyable. New toy for the plane was good too. Got her a tin rattle and a little laptop with flashing buttons.
I love Portugal too so looking forward to hearing all about it! Xx
Hi Sophie! Hmmm yes, we have been discussing mealtimes. We would like to go out some evenings at least so I think it’ll be a case of going out earlier or hoping Mabel will sleep for a few hours at the table if we find a decent reclining stroller. I think vests are the way forward as long as she is well protected with cream/umbrella etc x
The best advice we got ahead of our flight to florida last year with a super wriggly 18 month old was to create a little box of surprises to keep him entertained on the plane. It wasn’t all expensive toys either…our best buy was a role of masking tape that we kept ripping pieces off and sticking on our hands and faces to make him giggle! A good 20 minutes we got out of that 50p purchase 🙂 have a lovely holiday x
Good tip! So doing this!
LOVE the masking tape tip!
The best advice we got ahead of our flight to florida last year with a super wriggly 18 month old was to create a little box of surprises to keep him entertained on the plane. It wasn’t all expensive toys either…pieces of string to thread beads on etc. in fact our best buy was a role of masking tape that we kept ripping pieces off and sticking on our hands and faces to make him giggle! A good 20 minutes we got out of that 50p purchase 🙂 have a lovely holiday x
We bought a ‘snoozeshade’ best purchase for pram/stroller as spf 50 and baby naps in pram no problem with this, just make sure the stroller you buy fully reclines as we found out too late what a nightmare a holiday is with a non sleeping baby with the cheap one we took on holiday last year. Love the items you’ve picked so far, I’m also getting some jelly sandals rather than wetsuit shoes so she can wear them outside of the pool too (so retro fashion now too!) our daughter Florence is a similar age to Mabel so can empathise with the pretty v practical stuff for holiday when there is so much lovely baby summer stuff in the shops! We’re playing it safe and driving to France to a toddler friendly holiday park, which seems so lame compaired to the holidays we had pre children but different priorities now!
Oooh good call on the jelly sandals Heather, I used to love mine as a kid (!) x
We have just come back from a holiday with our 9 month old and he lived in vests and little shortie onesies. He never wore the cute dungarees or outfits I’d packed as they just weren’t comfy/practical/cool enough. We used ultrasun cream as well and didn’t have any problems. We covered him in it before he got dressed every morning to avoid getting it on his clothes and to make sure he was completely covered. Jojo Maman Bebe have a great range of baby holiday stuff all year round like baby safe mossy repellant, straps to hold on sunglasses (helped a bit!), snoozeshade (a must for naps and evenings if you want her to sleep in the buggy while you eat out). I’d also check if your apartment has a bath. Ours didn’t so we took an inflatable duck bath which was a huge hit and so convenient.
You will have such an amazing time but be prepared for a very different holiday than you’re used to. It took us a few days to get our head around the fact that babies don’t really get the concept of relaxing by the pool and to get in to a happy holiday routine 🙂
Hi Martha! Luckily James and I aren’t big sit-in the-sun people so we won’t miss that aspect, hopefully we may be able to get a bit of relaxing time in when Mabel naps…..she says, fingers crossed 🙂 x
Hi Charlotte, we are currently considering whether or not to book a holiday as we’re not sure if it’ll be too soon to take our daughter (currently 9 weeks) abroad. If we do go, I’ll definitely be referring to the comments on this post for pointers! Someone told me that the Superdrug in our nearest airport (Belfast, but maybe yours will do the same) allows you to order nappies, baby food etc by phone. You pick them up once you’ve checked in and gone through security so they’re not part of your baggage allowance. Also, I know from bringing my nephew on holiday that parasols on buggies are generally rubbish. They don’t keep the sun off baby’s face enough and you’re always having to adjust them. Go for a sun shade and save yourself the hassle! Have a great time in Portugal x
Hi Tracy! Yes you are right you can order stuff in advance – thanks for the reminder, I’ll definitely look into it, I think Boots might do it as well? x
We did this at Gatwick x
Hi Charlotte what a gorgeous set of holiday clothes. Their wardrobes are so much more exciting. I can’t wait to go holiday shopping.
We were very fortunate last year and got to go away twice, the first time I packed like a crazy woman, you would have thought I was going to outer Mongolia not Majorca, I ended up emptying half my case, 1 hour before leaving for the airport due to the sheer weight of it. She really did not need 3 outfits every day!! It is very easy to get carried away, but what I did learn was invaluable for the next one:
• In the day, my little one, mainly wore, short romper suits in very light cotton, or a sleeveless vest if just around the pool, in the evening it was a pretty, dress with a cardie or something to layer up with.
• Apply the suncream before you leave the apartment and pre-clothes, it really stains and takes a good while to soak in.
• I took camomile lotion to help soothe bites and any sunburn. I didn’t really use it, but good to know it was there.
• We used a stroller bag for the plane, it was a god send, we stuffed it with anything bulky, like the nappies and any bits of bedding etc
• We took, several Ella’s kitchen pouches (Spain didn’t have great baby food options), swim nappies and a few nighttime ones, day ones we bought there, along with baby wipes.
I used Aldi’s factor 50, which gave me no problems (except stained clothes) All the other ones I tried seemed to make her eyes sting.
Sorry for the really long post. Hope you have an amazing time, very jealous.
xx
Louise never apologise for a long post, so much useful advice! I was considering Ella’s kitchen actually, I think we will definitely take a good few pouches. Was the stroller bag in addition to your luggage? and not extra? I wonder if you can take one of these AND the car seat thing? lots of extra packing space! x
It was additional luggage, you dont pay any extra though. You just declare it at check in and they pop a sticker on, but no one looked in ours or weighed it. Just pop the buggy in before you board and jobs a good’un
Most airlines let you take a car seat and a pushchair (for free) as well as your suitcases. I was looking t buy a lightweight stroller to take away but then a friend said that if you want little one to sleep in it in the evenings when you are out then it’s best to take your normal one as they will settle easier in the familiar setting. I bought the bugaboo travel bag on eBay for a fraction of its usual hefty price tag.
Could I please request a baby and purse friendly holiday post, we are looking for somewhere nice, reasonably priced but a little different.
Thanks
xx
For lotions Green People, Banana Boat and my fave at the mo is Organic Kids from Waitrose. My boy seems to be allergic to everything, as well as the sun, but these 3 have been great.
I’m dreadful for packing at least 3 changes for each day too so now go with a few pairs of staple Gap shorts and a big selection of T shirts and some travel wash. I steer away from anything that has a particular set of tights or cardigan to go with it as it’s always that that ends up ruined with chocolate ice cream and then I’m a whole outfit down.
One of those towelling ponchos to snuggle in and dry from the water is a must – I don’t know if they still do them but we had a couple of lovely stripy ones from ikea (or Boden do them as well but not for £4 like ikea!) And not too many toys at all – take things that’ll double up on the beach and indoors but generally I think children are easier to entertain away from home and find fun in things they find around them… the masking tape idea of Laura’s is genius! I remember Holly’s first holiday being a really significant time for her getting into books – she only seemed to want to read the same story over and over again so I’ll be packing a nice few books this year and hoping Niema will get into reading stories instead of ripping and eating them!
That little yellow swimsuit though! Niema will soon be out of her little watermelon suit and I might need me one of those next! Ahhh I love a holiday planning session! 😀
Hi Amanda! Yes it seems a towelling robe is a must absolutely – can’t wait to go shopping for one of those! I don’t think I’ll bother with any tights or anything like that, it’s just more stuff to take, I’m thinking maybe some light cotton dresses and cardis for evening layering x
Of course – a few pretty evening outfits are a bit of a must. Having said what I said about no whole outfits, I’m not sure I’ve ever actually stuck to that and its just a nice idea in my head! In reality each day gets packed in its own plastic bag with a clear label on and then I know there’s enough and the same things don’t just get put on each day – helpful with little ones and a must with bigger ones who otherwise would live in the ice cream stained tops!
Please can I also request a stroller post – looking for a lightweight, transportable one for hols, preferably with good sun canopy and lie flat option for naps but with sturdy wheels for occasional off road – if anyone has found anything like this please share! There’s just too many out there and none seem to do everything I want! Thanks x
ha ha Kate! I need a stroller that does these things….the only ones I’ve seen actually replace the need for my buggy?! also as expensive (!) x
Hi all, loved the tips in the comments- very useful! definately going to try the masking tape idea and the ultra sun sounds like a winner. My tip is re the pool as we had our own appartment in Portugal last year with a pool but the pool wasnt heated so it was still quite cold. We had taken the inflatable duck bath (already suggested) and so filled that up and it heated up a lot quicker in the sun and my 10 month old loved splashing around it that, it also meant you could put it in the shade so that she could spend longer playing without me stressing that she had had too much sun. We have the mamas and papas armadillo city and that has been a great buggy for us so far. Hope you have a great hol. x
Ps. this is my first RMS post, love following along and think the baby posts are so useful- thanks!
Hi Sally and welcome *waves* I really must get a duck bath by the sounds of things?! and yay on the Armadillo city….is this your *main* buggy? apologies if I sound like a clueless person, I bought my Quinny very quickly/easily but it’s quite heavy etc and we certainly don’t want to take it with us as a holiday “stroller” but I hear the Armadillo is a kind of good compromise? x
Hi charlotte, I bought the armadillo for going on holiday so it wasn’t my main buggy at the time but now Marnie, my daughter is abit older I use it all the time as it’s so lightweight for getting in and out of the boot etc and its a dream manoovering round the shops with one hand whilst trying to keep track of my 3 year old! The main downside is the size of the basket as it is quiet small but I can fit my changing bag in there and then I have a buggy clip for any other shopping bags. I bought this on a whim and didn’t shop around too much- I got distracted by the lovely colours it comes in so not sure what it compares too but it has been great for us and value for money. Hope that helps.x
Hi Sally! Very helpful thanks! It’s the lightweight/easy fold thing I covet, I’ve had issues with my joints/fingers since having Mabel as even simple-ish buttons are proving difficult for me to use, so frustrating…..I’m after something that’s quick and easy, light but also reclines/has good sun shade! Will have a butchers at an Armadillo in more detail x
Have a good look at the uppababy gluxe hun. It’s so easy to fold up and carry. I can do it so easily and I’m normally rubbish with things like that x
HI Rachie! I will thanks – we’ve got it down to bout 5 to look at I think, this is one of them x
We also have the armadillo which we bought for grandparents / holiday but expect it will become our main buggy. We have the original rather than the city version and my little one sleeps for hours in it.
Ooh, exciting! And I love the cute clothes!
For sun cream I would definitely recommend SunSense toddler milk, which is handily a roll on. Good for sensitive little people’s skin and very handy that you just roll it on!
From past experience, most apArtments/hotel rooms have air con so I normally just take regular summer pyjamas/sleep suits for my girls when we go away.
Have a fab time. X
Hi Emma! Oooh a roll on sounds very non messy! good call. And yes that’s a good point – I did mention aircon to James, surely the temp in the actual apartment might actually be similar to the UK? x
We are off to Vale de Lobo in June! Isla is now 10 months and we’ve travelled quite a bit with my husbands job over the past few months to Australia, America and Dubai. I was worried the first time and packed way too much, suitcase was so heavy! I didn’t use half the lovely outfits I took out, it was mainly rompers, light summer dresses and pool stuff by day and throw in a few outfits for night with summer cardi’s etc. it’s so easy as they were so little and you don’t have to spend ages putting layers on. for night time sleep she slept in normal babygrow and summer tog grobag as air con can be pretty chilly. I didn’t take a huge amount of toys but would recommend getting a new cheap toy for the flight and I wrapped it in loads of tissue paper, just getting the paper off and playing with that seemed to kill 20 mins! Also books for flight are good
Organic kids and ultra sun are good creams and def get a towelling robe thingy to put on when they get out of pool. I ordered some formula and nappies to collect at airport and took out some Ella’s pouches (be warned, a bag full of those weighs quite a lot, I had to remove some of my toiletries and clothes to fit it in my case!)
You can take car seat (bought isafe car seat bag from Amazon which for 15 quid is great as its huge and you can hide other stuff in! And it protects it) and you can take stroller in a bag. Would love a post on lightweight strollers! We took our bugaboo in its case with us and it’s great she’s comfy in it but it’s bloody huge to lug around airport.
Snoozeshade for buggy, blackout blind (although I take mine each time and it’s not really worked as it wasn’t big enough for windows). Sorry for long comment, hope it helps. Have a lovely time! x
Thanks for the Amazon bag recommendation Angela, I’ll take a look – it’s a great way to be able to get extra stuff on the plane. I was just saying to James last night about the potential weight of Ella’s pouches (!) I’ll definitely be ordering some stuff to collect at the airport x
We’ve got a maclaren as our lightweight buggy. We’ve had it for over 3 years and used it for our four year old and now our 11 month for short trips as it’s so lightweight. It also has a life time warranty. We’ve got that sun hat for Poppy. We use P20 on our 4 year old and will try it on our 11 month old this year. It only requires being applied once, just let it dry before putting clothes on. We have a merino wool sleeping bag, which you can use in all temperatures as you just wear different layers under e.g just a vest or nappy if it’s really hot. Travel adapters for baby monitor or gro egg if you want to see room temp quickly. I second jojo maman baby got great holiday bits like insect repellent bracelet. We also have a ladybird thing that buzzes very quietly to distract mozzies. We’ve used Boots to preorder milk before.
Ros Jojo Maman sounds ace, I’ll have a look later on today – so many recommendations on here. And an insect repellent bracelet, I have never even heard of that but sounds brilliant, thanks so much for your advice x
Just back from two weeks in the Caribbean so fresh off the press 🙂
* Toiletries – Jojomaman is brilliant for the holiday bits and pieces – their 50 spf organic sun cream was great (some of them are like rubbing in wallpaper paste!) we also used their misquoto repellant spray, post bite roll on stick and the ladybug shape repellant things you click on to a pram or cot
* Definitely second the toy for the journey – we bought one old favourite and one new one (Lamaze captain calamari ended up being easily the best £7 I have spent to date!)
* on the plane also worth putting the changing bag to one side and packing your nappies and a few of the mini packs of water wipes – much easier in the tiny bathrooms to bring one nappy and a little bag of wipes than the full thing each time. Also bring a change of clothes for Mabel and you, just in case…
* I found a toy store locally to where we were staying and ordered a play mat online to be delivered – seemed extravagant but gave us a lot of free time!
* clothes wise we go through more than I thought – at night we had fans so kept him in his usual sleepsuit not a vest, in the day we had him in rompers or t shirts and shorts or nappy… For the pool there is a great baby swimwear brand sunuva which protects from the sun without being too hot/uncomfortable.
* we also bought the inflatable seat from jojomaman for the pool – it took up next to no space and we used it every day.
* for the pram another vote for the snooze shade… for a pram it is expensive BUT a big vote for the Babyzen yoyo – have a look at the video online… So easy to fold and unfold, v light, easy to handle but not flimsy, and it’s the only one (I think?) small enough that you can take as carry on on the plane… I bought it feeling a bit embarrassed that I had bought into the marketing hype but it really was a winner in the end! I can see myself using it at home too.
* someone advised us to bring a copy of the birth certificate in case we needed it, but no one asked…
* last tip – write a list of what you bring on the plane and in your main luggage and edit it after – next time around you will be a pro! xx
Hi Sophie! Have had a butchers at the Yoyo on line….Very tempting! Slightly confused which bits to buy altogether though? Do you buy a frame and then a colour pack? There seems to be different models etc
Those Lamaze toys are not in any way pretty but they were always Mabel’s favourites too! x
I agree for a very easy buggy they make the buying process very complicated to decipher (!)
They have bought out another model since I bought ours but the yoyo is the one that folds down to carry on size. There is a 0-6m version of the yoyo which is basically a different attachment to the chassis I think but luckily you are through that part 🙂
In terms of bits, you need the yoyo 6+ chassis (comes in black or white), seat base (black) and the colour pack (a few options). Some retailers seem to sell them as a big pack though (should be £319 for the whole thing).
You can buy a parasol but we just ended up using the snooze shade
I know airlines do try to get prams off quickly to meet you at the gate etc but it was brilliant to be able to pop him in it right at the plane door, especially when he was sleeping xxx
We have been going to vale do lobo ever since my niece was a baby (now 8) and now we take our two little boys. It is the perfect place to go to with small children. The apolonia supermarket is brilliant and you can get almost anything you need. I’d recommend taking a uv sun tent as one of your allowable baby items. It’s brilliant to be able to put it up and play in there with some toys whilst keeping them out of the Rays. Have a great time.
I second a uv tent. They’re great to use outside in the garden or beach. I also like water mist spray as an instant relief. You can get them in most chemists. Also a good first aid kit and your European health card. Our son Herbie had terrible nappy rash in France and the over the counter creams didn’t work. We saw a doctor twice as it was so bad. You never know if you’ll need to get medical attention and it’s best to be prepared.