I need Vacation help.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

But with kids that age just get a rental / accommodation with your own kitchen and a pool / beach . Young kids will just want “low end” food anyways . Why pay the resort prices for young kids ?

This is a really good option IMO. We did this a lot when my kid was younger, VRBO rent a house with a pool.

I guess sometimes you don't want to do things like cook but a lot of the times we found it easier.

In Mexico we rented a house 1 block from the beach, it was super nice. They even had an option to have a personal cook.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by photon

This is a really good option IMO. We did this a lot when my kid was younger, VRBO rent a house with a pool.

I guess sometimes you don't want to do things like cook but a lot of the times we found it easier.

In Mexico we rented a house 1 block from the beach, it was super nice. They even had an option to have a personal cook.

We love using the laundry when we air bnb vs hotel, especially with kids. Years ago due to the BC fires, we were forced to change our plans from Kelowna to Lethbridge. Kids enjoyed and loved Lethbridge to the point my wife and I looked at each other and wondered why we would drive 3x as long and pay a premium if the kids barely noticed...

Conclusion: For ourselves.

Drinking, fruits, feeling more like a true vacation, visiting friends (they coordinate come over from Vancouver at times), bc_chris... plenty of reasons.

As much as you want to accommodate kids, make sure the adults are having fun too.

[sa226]

Thanks everyone for the replies. It frames it a bit better for us.

The whole rent a house vs all inclusive is an ongoing debate. We kind of want a vacation for us as well. Oldest is celiac/egg allergy, middle is egg allergy, youngest is dairy allergy. We basically make 4 separate meals at each sitting. Cooking is a chore. But I guess cooking in a villa on a beach is slightly better.

Thanks again!

We did a Disney cruise a couple of years ago and that was great with the kids, Disney is known for attention to food restrictions/allergies, but for our dates the prices are crazy and we still have to go through Trump land.

[Fuzz]

I find breakfast the hardest, but also the best to do in the room, with your own coffee. I'll bring my own granola sometimes. So finding a place with enough restaurants I can go to for other meals is usually the goal, because ya, cooking on vacation sucks. But having a kitchen for leftovers is good, and can save a meal hunt as well.

[woob]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

As a celiac, I know the challenges. All inclusives are just too much of a risk and it sucks getting sick on holidays. Our last trip we decided to go to Saylulita. So much easier to do a condo or something with a kitchen, but you also get the chance to try local restaurants a lot more so than an all in.

How is Sayulita now?

[Knut]

Originally Posted by sa226

Thanks everyone for the replies. It frames it a bit better for us.

The whole rent a house vs all inclusive is an ongoing debate. We kind of want a vacation for us as well. Oldest is celiac/egg allergy, middle is egg allergy, youngest is dairy allergy. We basically make 4 separate meals at each sitting. Cooking is a chore. But I guess cooking in a villa on a beach is slightly better.

Thanks again!

We did a Disney cruise a couple of years ago and that was great with the kids, Disney is known for attention to food restrictions/allergies, but for our dates the prices are crazy and we still have to go through Trump land.

In Cabo they have quite a few resorts that have a kitchen suites but also a resort with restaurants etc. For example, We stayed at Playa Grande. While not a celiac, we have a super picky kid. We would eat breakfast in the room in the morning, Get something by the pool at lunch and then go out for dinner in the evening.

Cabo has a lot of US residents with a place there so they are used to catering to people with allergies. I did notice a lot of Gluten-free options on menu's.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by woob

How is Sayulita now?

Not sure the question? We had a great time. Felt super safe, mostly clean. Only annoying bit is the vendors on the beaches.

[indes]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

We love using the laundry when we air bnb vs hotel, especially with kids. Years ago due to the BC fires, we were forced to change our plans from Kelowna to Lethbridge. Kids enjoyed and loved Lethbridge to the point my wife and I looked at each other and wondered why we would drive 3x as long and pay a premium if the kids barely noticed...

Conclusion: For ourselves.

Drinking, fruits, feeling more like a true vacation, visiting friends (they coordinate come over from Vancouver at times), bc_chris... plenty of reasons.

As much as you want to accommodate kids, make sure the adults are having fun too.

100%. This is why the kids/adults need separate rooms. We just did that lacrosse tournament in Calgary and had all 5 of us in a room for 1 night. The kids were passed out by 8 and are still too young to just leave alone in a room 5 stories up so my wife and I just laid on our bed in the dark on our phones. So much fun.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by indes

100%. This is why the kids/adults need separate rooms. We just did that lacrosse tournament in Calgary and had all 5 of us in a room for 1 night. The kids were passed out by 8 and are still too young to just leave alone in a room 5 stories up so my wife and I just laid on our bed in the dark on our phones. So much fun.

Rightfully or wrongfully... I have known friends who either bought a wireless webcam or a phone stand to do a video call of where the kids are sleeping. They then go down to the hotel restaurant/pool and enjoy themselves for an hour or two while using the phone to regularly monitor the kids. They claim they don't leave for a solid hour or two though. Every 20-30 minutes, one of them goes up to the room to physically check on the kids and then goes back down.

They comment they're never more than a few floors or few minutes away and the kids sleep through the night. They kids were also taught to never leave the room (bed room, not even hotel room) and to talk to the phone or camera if they needed something when on vacations. Kids must have been like 1, 3 and 5 at those times when they started doing this?

They have no family/help in Canada, so I guess they gotta do what they gotta do for some time alone. My wife and I get occasional help/sleep over help for the kids from the grandparents, so we don't feel as comfortable starting the latch key kid concept so early.

A few years ago, we also started experimented with traveling with certain families. We'd do our own thing, and meet up for things whenever we felt like it, so weren't obligated to get dragged around for a schedule we didn't like. It seemed to work well to the point we rented an air bnb together in Phoenix which gave us the opportunity to take turns having one couple go out on a date night while the other couple stayed behind enjoying the hot tub/pool, cleaning, planning etc. That was a great trip with the included bonus bizarre story of finding fire arms in the rental car.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Rightfully or wrongfully... I have known friends who either bought a wireless webcam or a phone stand to do a video call of where the kids are sleeping. They then go down to the hotel restaurant/pool and enjoy themselves for an hour or two while using the phone to regularly monitor the kids. They claim they don't leave for a solid hour or two though. Every 20-30 minutes, one of them goes up to the room to physically check on the kids and then goes back down.

They comment they're never more than a few floors or few minutes away and the kids sleep through the night. They kids were also taught to never leave the room (bed room, not even hotel room) and to talk to the phone or camera if they needed something when on vacations. Kids must have been like 1, 3 and 5 at those times when they started doing this?

They have no family/help in Canada, so I guess they gotta do what they gotta do for some time alone. My wife and I get occasional help/sleep over help for the kids from the grandparents, so we don't feel as comfortable starting the latch key kid concept so early.

A few years ago, we also started experimented with traveling with certain families. We'd do our own thing, and meet up for things whenever we felt like it, so weren't obligated to get dragged around for a schedule we didn't like. It seemed to work well to the point we rented an air bnb together in Phoenix which gave us the opportunity to take turns having one couple go out on a date night while the other couple stayed behind enjoying the hot tub/pool, cleaning, planning etc. That was a great trip with the included bonus bizarre story of finding fire arms in the rental car.

We totally did that for hockey tournaments. Get pickled with the other parents and a webcam in the room.

It was always directly correlatable (is that a word) how well the kids played in the tournament depending how many moms vs dads were at the tournament.

Lots of moms, kids might win.

Lots of dads, kids abysmal. Got schitted with Andrew Basha's dad plenty of times at tourneys.

[Knut]

In many resorts you can also hire someone from the Kids club to babysit the kids. Its generally expensive but they are vetted by the resort. We have done that in Mexico.

If you stay at a Disneyland resort they have a list of vetted babysitters with Police background checks for hire.

My kids are old enough now that giving them a few hours parents free (with their Ipads or Nintendo Switch) is a vacation for them from us.

[Knut]

Originally Posted by fotze2

We totally did that for hockey tournaments. Get pickled with the other parents and a webcam in the room.

It was always directly correlatable (is that a word) how well the kids played in the tournament depending how many moms vs dads were at the tournament.

Lots of moms, kids might win.

Lots of dads, kids abysmal. Got schitted with Andrew Basha's dad plenty of times at tourneys.

We had the team pay for a parents room at tournaments this past season. It was great! The kids knew where we were, hotel lobby did as well, and we just took turns doing the rounds making sure no one was out causing mischief.

[Locke]

If you need to keep the kids in bed and out of trouble, thats why God invented ratchet-straps.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Locke

If you need to keep the kids in bed and out of trouble, thats why God invented ratchet-straps.

The french, not God. Thank the French.


"a French engineer named Gustave A. Audiffren"
https://yourmanwithavan.com/did-you-...aps-came-from/


Unless you are a silly person on team Matthias Baldwin backing the dubious locomotive industry theory.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

The french, not God. Thank the French.


"a French engineer named Gustave A. Audiffren"
https://yourmanwithavan.com/did-you-...aps-came-from/


Unless you are a silly person on team Matthias Baldwin backing the dubious locomotive industry theory.

If the French invented them then they wouldnt work.

[Fuzz]

Alright, marking you down as a silly person then.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by indes

100%. This is why the kids/adults need separate rooms. We just did that lacrosse tournament in Calgary and had all 5 of us in a room for 1 night. The kids were passed out by 8 and are still too young to just leave alone in a room 5 stories up so my wife and I just laid on our bed in the dark on our phones. So much fun.

On the bright side it kept you from making another kid.

[indes]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Rightfully or wrongfully... I have known friends who either bought a wireless webcam or a phone stand to do a video call of where the kids are sleeping. They then go down to the hotel restaurant/pool and enjoy themselves for an hour or two while using the phone to regularly monitor the kids. They claim they don't leave for a solid hour or two though. Every 20-30 minutes, one of them goes up to the room to physically check on the kids and then goes back down.

They comment they're never more than a few floors or few minutes away and the kids sleep through the night. They kids were also taught to never leave the room (bed room, not even hotel room) and to talk to the phone or camera if they needed something when on vacations. Kids must have been like 1, 3 and 5 at those times when they started doing this?

They have no family/help in Canada, so I guess they gotta do what they gotta do for some time alone. My wife and I get occasional help/sleep over help for the kids from the grandparents, so we don't feel as comfortable starting the latch key kid concept so early.

A few years ago, we also started experimented with traveling with certain families. We'd do our own thing, and meet up for things whenever we felt like it, so weren't obligated to get dragged around for a schedule we didn't like. It seemed to work well to the point we rented an air bnb together in Phoenix which gave us the opportunity to take turns having one couple go out on a date night while the other couple stayed behind enjoying the hot tub/pool, cleaning, planning etc. That was a great trip with the included bonus bizarre story of finding fire arms in the rental car.

No judgement from me! I've done that with my kids for sure, just very situation dependent - my 9 & 2 year old no problems being a couple floors away. My 4 year old daughter sleepwalks so as soon as she's there we've gotta be on the same floor because she'll blow out that door and just start wandering the halls lol. Actually at that tournament when it was just me and 9 the fire alarm went off when I was outside the lobby having a few drinks. He was good and called me on his tablet while I was running up 10 flights of stairs to go get him, and my father of the year award haha.

Sidenote: As someone who's never experienced any kind of sleepwalking until my daughter, that #### is crazy.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by indes

No judgement from me! I've done that with my kids for sure, just very situation dependent - my 9 & 2 year old no problems being a couple floors away. My 4 year old daughter sleepwalks so as soon as she's there we've gotta be on the same floor because she'll blow out that door and just start wandering the halls lol. Actually at that tournament when it was just me and 9 the fire alarm went off when I was outside the lobby having a few drinks. He was good and called me on his tablet while I was running up 10 flights of stairs to go get him, and my father of the year award haha.

Sidenote: As someone who's never experienced any kind of sleepwalking until my daughter, that #### is crazy.

Ah, understandable why you stayed behind then.

Random question: Is your daughter capable of navigating a door knob cover or a door monkey while sleep walking? and/or is that something that freaks her out while sleep walking?

[indes]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Ah, understandable why you stayed behind then.



Random question: Is your daughter capable of navigating a door knob cover or a door monkey while sleep walking? and/or is that something that freaks her out while sleep walking?

We've never tried putting a door knob cover on actually so I'm not sure what she would do, I can only assume a giant meltdown. We have a baby gate she can't open awake so she doesn't go downstairs. But she'll walk out of her room, into our room then into our ensuite and "water closet" to go pee (4 doors) then walk all the way back to bed without waking up. My guess is if she could open one awake, she could do it asleep. Occasionally she'll get "lost" in her or her brother's room and have a full blown meltdown while still asleep. Most of the time we intercept her, take her to the bathroom to pee and then carry her back to bed and she won't wake up at all.

My wife was a sleepwalker as well when she was young and apparently ended up trying to get into her neighbors houses a couple of times.