The Honeymoon with a Child

8th February 2015

Portugal
So, we are getting married in July and obviously we did things the wrong way round and had a child first. We could go away by ourselves for a romantic week somewhere hot, sandy and beautiful for our honeymoon. But we are not going to do that for a few reasons.

For a start the husband-to-be is not a big fan of lying on the beach reading a book and doing very little else (silly boy) so we would never really go somewhere just to do that, there would have to be more on offer. But more than that we want to go away for a few weeks because when else can you do that, and we wouldn’t leave Ava at home with family for that long. Also, though, it will be an amazing experience to explore a country as a family for a few weeks, possibly a month. Ava will be just over three and a half when we go and old enough to understand things but not old enough yet to be missing school while we’re away. She is already very excited about our big holiday together and so are we. Yes it will be hard work sometimes; all the travelling, tiredness and lack of home comforts, but it will also be a lot of fun, interesting and creating all those memories together will be wonderful.

So, where are we going? At first it was between Thailand and America, with me desperate to go to California and him really wanting to go to Thailand. We have been to America and Thailand before when we went travelling years ago and we both love them both, but they both have their issues.

imageThe USA is very expensive at the moment; the exchange rate is poor which means that once we are there food and accommodation will cost a lot and so we would only really be able to go for a couple of weeks, and we’d both love to go for more than that. Thailand worries me quite a bit and even though I want to be cool with all the difficulties we could face there, I’m not. I love Thailand and even though I think a lot of it would be great for Ava; seeing elephants up close and the beautiful beaches; I’d be worried that food would be too spicy all the time, I’d worry about safety when travelling around (a taxi driver tried his very best to rob us, an entire wheel fell off the coach we were on and we tipped sideways, and belongings were stolen from our luggage underneath another coach), I’d never be able to let go of her hand when walking around because of the crazy traffic and I think she would have to have a vaccination which I wouldn’t like either.

The boy agrees about all of these issues now as well so we have started to think about going somewhere else, somewhere that would still be amazing, but that would be more straightforward and less worrisome. We will most likely be going to Spain and Portugal which I think will be brilliant. It should be the perfect mixture of beaches and cities, with great food, wine (La Rioja!), culture and beauty. We both love good food so we are excited about the big tapas culture in Spain as well as lots of lovely, cheap but very good red wine.

Our family on holiday

At the moment we are planning on getting the ferry over to Santander (which we have done once before with friends), and that means that we will have our car so we can get around easily and freely (and it also means I can take a bigger suitcase!).

I think it will be an amazing trip and I can’t wait to explore Spain and Portugal by road and by foot, stay in some gorgeous places, eat wonderful food, drink plenty of wine, possibly tour some wineries (if we are allowed to take children!), spend lots of time on the beach and in the sea and enjoy the sunshine, culture and people. I have been desperate to travel again for years, so I am so happy to be going away for a good few weeks; forgetting about the mundanities of every day life at home for a short while and enjoying some quality family time.

Have you ever been to Spain and Portugal; do you have a favourite place to go? I’d love to hear about them!

11 responses to “The Honeymoon with a Child”

  1. How exciting planning your honeymoon! I remember planning ours when we got married, and it was so much fun. My hubby and I love Spain. We actually got engaged in a beautiful little spot called Ronda, in Andalucia, so we have very fond memories of being there. We stayed in a lovely little B&B called Alavera do Los Banos. I hope you have an amazing honeymoon no matter where you go! x

  2. Sue Collier says:

    Lovely Idea! Can I come with you too? Haha! Loving the picture of my gorgeous Grandaughter in her car seat with the (large) sunglasses and a bow in her hair!

    And the one of the three of you is pretty good too xxx

  3. Never been to Spain or Portugal but I can see your reasons of going there and I say yes those places are best for your honeymoon =)

    #sharewithme

  4. Lovely to be planning your honeymoon. We’ve been to both Spain and Portugal and they are both lovely, with so many places to explore.

    #MMWBH

  5. Kaye says:

    Your little one is so cute! Hope you have a great honeymoon whatever you decide. I know u couldn’t leave my little boy for too long either. x

  6. Christine says:

    It’s at the opposite end of Spain from your arrival port but we really enjoyed a holiday we spent in Las Alpujarras. They’re a string of mountain villages, incredibly picturesque and with great accommodation options. Good for short walks and not quite as hot as some parts of the country.

  7. kidGLloves says:

    Lucas says – I LOVE Portugal. We stay in a place called Albufeira (the Mother told me how to spell it right) and it was really hot. The people are very friendly and I think you will really like Portugal.

  8. We love Portugal and are going back this year. My niece is half Spanish and she has two little girls; 4 & just turned 2. They regularly visit Spain, in particular Barcelona and although she has family there, she always comments on how friendly the Spanish are to young families. The girls LOVE Tapas and the whole Mediterranean way of life. It’s great for kids; siestas, family restaurants and lots of entertainment means that it’s perfect for kids. Wherever you go, have a fabulous time 🙂 #sharewithme #MMWBH #brilliantblogposts

  9. jenny says:

    Ahh looks and sounds like you had an amazing time. Lovely photos. Congrats to you. What a lovely idea to take little one with you. Thank you ever so much for linking up to Share With Me. #sharewithme

  10. morna piper says:

    We have friends who are currently touring the Basque region as part of their honeymoon with their 2 year old. I think they are having a pretty good time judging by the facebook photos! I’m longing to go travelling with our too but sadly our oldest is now school age which makes things more difficult.

    Good luck with wedding planning.

  11. How fabulous. If we were getting married, I think we too would take the little one with us, even if it was only a week. I think the idea of a family honeymoon is just lovely 🙂 I have been to Spain and Portugal. In Spain we went to Sitges which was beautiful and Portugal was the Algarve. I went to both with friends years ago though so a very different holiday to what you will be doing. What a wonderfully long holiday you’ll be having too – you’ll have a fab time 🙂 Thanks for linking up with #twinklytuesday

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