Fiji, Vanuatu, Indonesia, Thailand, elsewhere?

We're looking at heading away in April, i'll be 30 odd weeks pregnant the girls will be 2 and 3.
DH would like to surf, fish and/or dive. So would i, but that's not going to happen. :lol: To be honest we are going on a surf trip in PNG soon, so if we don't go somewhere with those things, it's not a big deal. (Just dont tell DH i said that. :lol:) So i guess somewhere a bit relaxing but with activities as an option. Good food would be an added bonus.

We went to Fiji last year and had a great time, so wondering if we should try elsewhere.
Don't want to spend too long on a plane so somewhere in the south pacific would be good.

Any suggestions or ideas? Any fantastic must go to holiday resorts/hotels?

Thanks. :D

Well you took awe y Bali, so what about an australian island like Linderman? they have Club Med, which has excellent buffets and KIDS CLUB!

can i come too?? will babysit!

I'm not opposed to Bali..... if you think it's good. :)

Sure Olive, it'd be good for the girls to have playmates! You're only little, i'd fit you in my suitcase. :D

sweeeeet :D

I loved Fiji and think the South Pacific is the bee knees. So I'd try Vanuatu - they're supposed to be the happiest people in the world, so would be good vibes. Just check when cyclone season finishes.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Thailand. It's nice and all, but I don't like the food and it's very polluted. Never been to Indonesia.

I vote Vanuatu or Fiji. They're both close, so less hassle with big bellies and small people.

I'm jealous :)

Yeah Vanuatu does seem nice. The only thing that puts me off a little is that the kids clubs seem to start from 3. Living in rural PNG the girls don't have the opportunity to go to kinder/playgroup/craft/gymbaroo organised type activites. So i think they would love a kids club. I suddenly feel the need to defend myself wanting to leave my kids in a kids club. :lol: Obviously i'm only going to send them if they like it! :p But i think they would get a lot out of it.

I think you are right on the less hassle thing Tashy, by that stage i think i'll be looking for a relax. So will DH.

Int he past the thought of Club Med did not at all appeal, but maybe i'll take a look. Anyone been to a club med?

The Philippines has good diving but it can be risky getting out to the islands, the boat my friend was in sank on the way but she said when they got out there the diving was great!

The diving/snorkelling in Fiji is amazing, and the people are so good with kids. There are so many resorts and islands, why not try a different one to last time?

Yeah i think you might be onto something Lu. I just found an island that has surf near by, Plantation. Anyone been there?

Ok Pandora..... might skip that one then! :lol: Sinking boat with two toddlers doesn't sound fun.

What about Tahiti?

Haven't been to any but been told that Vanauatu and Cook islands are stunning!

Enjoy JEALOUS!!

I could make you all more jealous by saying it's kind a free holiday, but i wont mention that.

Cook Islands... hmm i have heard they are nice.. worth looking at.

Oh yeah, Cook Islands are bliss. I've talked about Rarotonga before on here and said that I didn't see any kids, but another poster said there were kids everywhere....but I WAS on my honeymoon :redface:

We swam, snorkled and chilled out there. I wasn't a fan of snorkling but fell in love with it. If you go there, stay on the side where the three little islands are, the lagoon is shallow and heaven. The locals are adorable, so super friendly.

Ooh Cook Islands has got to be a contender.

I think we looked at Plantation, and Matamanoa ( I could have just made that name up, however I know it does start with M and we flew over the top and decided we should go there next time :lol:)

The only resort island I've been to is Mauritius. Kinda the other way to where you're thinking but it is beautiful especially on the west coast. We stayed at Sugar Beach, the people are friendly, very relaxing, has activities and kids club.

Hi JM, I've been to Vanuatu twice and while I love love love it, I'm not rushing back there now that I have kids.

Yes the people are amazingly friendly and would do just about anything for you, if you just ask! But it's nowhere near as developed as Fiji in the way of infrastructure, tourism, commerce... It's just taking it's own sweet "island time" catching up!

As an adult that is bliss (there is no maccas... :o :lol: ) but with kids I'm just not so sure. Don't know that there are the activites and things to amuse a 3 and 2yo.

Plenty of snorkelling/swimming/beach activities and a resort thing where you can feed turtles and sharks would be cool for kids. But then other things, like gorgeous waterfall, are probably not great for them or for you!! (Bit of a trecherous hike through water to get to them)

If you've got questions about Vanuatu, give me a shout. I've been there, Fiji and Thailand and for our first family hol we're shooting for Fiji!

Ooo Mauritius would be nice. There is a new lady who's just moved into town from there. She's lovely so it has to nice right? Thanks Elund, i'll look into it.

Cook Islands is worth looking into too. Thanks. :)

We stayed at Lomani, which is next door to Plantation. Lomani is the adult only version, Plantation the family version. Same owners, so they may share the same staff. The staff were wonderful. I got a pedicure at Plantation. It looked like there were loads of stuff for the kids to do. A kids club, a couple of pools. The bures looked nice.

The surf is a boat ride away, past the lagoon. The lagoon is nice to splash/fish in.

There's another resort next door to Plantation (can't remember the name). Their food is better. btw - we didn't buy the food package at Lomani because we really only ate twice a day and it wasn't good value (drank all day though :) ) Probably different with toddlers.

Hi JM! We've been to Vanuatu, Thailand and the Philippines - I have to say my fave place out of those three - for the environment - was vanuatu. Beautiful water, clean and clear with lots of sea life just for snorkling alone - they have some fantastic dive spots there. We stayed on Erakor Island - the whole island is the resort - so it's quite safe for the kids to run around on. In saying that, there isn't a lot on in Vanuatu in terms of structured activities.

Thailand was nice, we stayed on Phuket and to be honest, the diving / snorkling there is pittance :( They sadly have ruined the natural beauty of the area with a lack of management. Once you go out to the smaller islands - it gets much nicer. But then with the little ones, it's harder to get out there as you need to go onto speedboats - they have an age limit and no pregnant women allowed! :(

Philippines has a great diving reputation - especially on Boracay island - they get quite a lot of European's there for the diving. There is a lot more to do on that island and accomodation is quite cheap - but to get to any nice islands - you'll need to go either by boat / large ferry (which always seem to sink LOL) or the old properller planes!

Just had friends come back from Cook Islands - they loved it - it's pretty basic in terms of activities but the natural beauty was amazing :) Lucky girl! Free Trip :) Have fun planning!!!

The islands in Thailand have great diving, surfing and personally I still dream about the food seven years later. Not as polluted as the cities either. One problem is the ferries to get to the island (can be crowded and I wouldn't want to be wrangling kids) but you can fly direct to Kho Samui. I've been to Vanuatu and TBH I found it a bit dull.
I'm sure you'll have a great time whichever you choose.

We did Thailand with DD1 when she was 2.5y and it was the best holiday EVER! She had the most wonderful time - rode elephants, went on the long boats, swam in waterfalls, had people doting on her everywhere. It was fabulous - even Bangkok was great and easy to get around with her.

We just got back from a holiday in Thailand. Surin in Phuket. Some friends came up from Perth and we hired out a Villa (expensive but worth it!) which had a driver, cook, housekeeper. It was nice not sharing the pool surrounds with other people....just our friends. The food was A-MAAAAZZZINNGG. BUT the Villa had loads of stairs as it was high on a hill so really had to keep an eye on the kids. There are loads of different villas that are hired out, so there could be a better one ie more kid friendly. The beach at Surin was really lovely, even Max liked to jump around in the waves. I'd do it again, so I'd recommend it too.

A friend of mine got married on the Cook Islands.....it looked totally beautiful too.....I'd also give that one a go!

Jersey in the Channel Islands (where I'll be headed in January) is a 'surf' town in the summer.....Europe, supposedly very kid friendly and beautiful. I can let you know more about that destination at a later date :)

Thailand is winning lots of votes. I do like a bit of good Thai food.

Yules that holiday sounds amazing. I could do that!


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My vote is for Rarotonga (cook Islands)...my nephew got married there this time last year......the photos looked amazing....if i hadnt been so preggas I would have been going as well. My niece took her kiddies and they had a blast...some of the resorts have kids clubs, not sure of the ages though....

New zealand!!!!!

Isle of Pines. If you want a carefree holiday, where there are no shops, limited cars, white sand beaches, crystal clear waters. It is perfect for R&R. Not many tourists either. I could easily let my kids run around outside and know nothing will happen to them.

Cook islands are on my to visit list.

Arte I love NZ, but I have been there 4 times in the last 6 years. We have great friends in Wanaka, Taraneki (sp?) Bay of Islands and just out of Auckland so will get there again sometime soon. I do love NZ.

Where is that TD???? I've never heard of it? I better go google!


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But JM, you haven't been to the Central Plateau! It is different here! Not much in the way of surfing but there are amazing rivers for rafting trips. You will be too big to go, but I would be willing to go in your place if you look after my kids lol. We are also the fly fishing capital of the world (according to the road sign).

Are you north or south Arte? I've been black water rafting at Waitomo. It was so much fun!!! :) is that near you? I've forgotten! But when I went some of the soft boys went fly fishing instead. :lol:


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We are about 2 hours south of Waitomo. I would love to do some of the white/black water overnight trips around here - it is top of my list when I can get away for a night.

Tahiti is a pretty long flight. 7.5 hrs from Brisbane. We're thinking Vanuatu too or Fiji for our ten year anniversary. I'm following this thread closely ;)