We fly to Thailand on the 24th of January, for the first time with our son Parker of 6,6 months old. It’s our fourth time to Thailand but the first time to Thailand with a baby. We fly together with friends and their baby Luka of 10 months old, because hey, at least we can share our grief this way right?
Even though we are used to travelling around a lot in Thailand, from island to island, from plane to ferry and Tuk-Tuk, aside from a few days Bangkok, we decide to stay in one place for two weeks: Krabi. This place has enough to offer in things to do, with its countless beautiful islands and bays in the area. A great retreat from where we can undertake different outings. And if all of this fails, at least we can enjoy the luxurious 4-star resort we booked, so it’s not a bad thing staying there for 2 weeks.
Thailand with a baby: the flight
I’m feeling slightly nervous, because however relaxed our little guy is at home, I have no idea what he’ll be like trapped in a metal tube at 10km height. My biggest fear is he will just scream the whole time and I will be arguing with my husband in taking turns to comfort him. Luckily this doesn’t happen and Parker behaves marvelously.
Tips for a long flight with a baby
- Try to book a night flight. This way you can kill most hours during the flight where you can watch a movie or take a nap. Our flight was at 17:00 hrs which means 3 hours of entertaining and the rest is nap time.
- Book a crib (and choose an airline that offers these). On our flight there were 9 baby’s and 4 cribs of which we got 2 as we had books up front.
- Bring an alternative. A crib is never a guarantee, so we brought the Dervan Air Traveller with us in our hand luggage, just in case! Basically, this is a small matrass including a sleeping bag.
- Enough stuff; extra formula, clothes, bottles, pacifiers and enough toys. An extra blanket (it’s so cold on a plane!) and a charged iPad with downloaded Netflix series. We just loved having enough Nijntje on stock.
- A baby carrier. At the airport, your destination and for cradling your child to sleep on the plane but really a must have at any time! We have the By Kay 4 way carrier and are very happy with it. Cool design and black so it’s daddy proof too.
Thailand with a baby: Bangkok
We stay here for 3 days in total, 2 on our way over and 1 day on our way back. We’ve booked a luxurious hotel, so we can fully recharge after the long journey. We stay at the Chatrium Residence Bangkok Sathon, because the rooms are spacious, have a little kitchen (very handy!) and a large pool. A fine choice! In the evening we went to a rooftop called the Vertigo & Moon Skybar, which has a fantastic view over Bangkok. A good spot to take some beautiful baby photo’s!
Thailand with a baby: Krabi
The flight to Krabi only takes an hour and a half and goes very well again. We booked a really good deal at the beautiful eco-friendly Pakasai resort, including half pension. Normally I wouldn’t book this but it was so handy having breakfast and lunch at the hotel! Aside from that it saves a lot of time and money too.
There is soooo much to do in Krabi
From this place we take several trips. We visit the night market in Krabi town, a market with dozens of small stalls with good food and all kinds of nice stuff. We take the longtail boat to Railay Beach, the most well-known beach of Krabi. You can buy tickets for 100 bath (€ 2,50) at the Ao Nang Longtail Boat Club at the beach.
The longtail boat leaves with 8 people so you may need to wait a bit at times, and sometimes you take off straight away. It’s a 10 minute boat trip to the beautiful bay with a spectacular view of the surrounding islands. Be sure to take the first boat you can, at around 8:30. Starting around 12.00, lots of people will come in and the bay may feel a little claustrophobic.
Tropical island hopping
We do the 4 island tour here. For this, we rent a private longtail boat. For a whole day you can have the boat for yourself, including water and fruit, for 2.500 bath, which is about € 62,50. We thought it might be relaxing, taking our own time with the 2 babies. The islands are viewed as National Parks so you pay a one-time fee to visit them at 400 bath per person. The 4 islands are Phra Nang, Chicken Island, Tup Island en Poda island. Beautiful white beaches, a clear blue sea and completely inhabitant. Amazing!
Good food and shopping
Krabi has a long shopping street where you can browse around and on the beach you will find dozens of little restaurants where you can grab a bite to eat with your feet in the sand. The kids enjoy themselves and we enjoy fresh fish from the BBQ at sunset. Fisherman’s Place is one of our favourites.
You can visit more islands or book excursions on and around Krabi, but because we have such a great hotel, we love to just hang around the pool during the day. Each day the guys go sporting while we get massages and in the evenings we grab a bite to eat somewhere and go roam around.
Thailand with a baby: these items are in disposable!
- A real must have: the Deryan Travel Cot. Absolutely fan-tas-tic. Officially it’s a camping bed but it’s actually a little tent with protection against the sun and insects so it makes for a safe play mat. We have the baby cot and our friends have the toddler cot. The baby cot is fine for Parker but for the crawling baby of our friends the toddler version is a better fit because it’s a lot bigger. Both are very light and very easy to take with you! You just fold the tent out and it’s ready. It’s very handy next to our beds and at the islands where we only travel with the cots and the baby carrier so they baby’s could sleep and play safely everywhere.
- Baby food. Our suitcases are full with diapers, swimming diapers and Nutrilon but this takes up so much room I had been persuaded to leave the vegetable snacks at home while I had stocked up on these. In hindsight I should have left the diapers at home because you could get these at every 7-eleven but baby food was nowhere to be found. We have to take a taxi and drive for half an hour to the nearest supermarket (Tesco) to stock up. Irritating, but also very expensive at € 2,50 a jar for 100 grams. We choose the brand Peachy, which looks a little like the brand Ella’s Kitchen. During the day, fruit snacks can be made in the blender everywhere, but this is not very handy in the evenings of course. Be sure to take this with you, along with some baby formula.
- Medicine. We’ve brought everything, from suppositories, Luuf, saline solution, ORS and nose spray to Dentinox. You name it, we got it. We’ve used quite a lot because both kids had a bad cold, tooth ache and sore eyes. Good to have what we need!
We loved to travel with our baby. He went along very well with the Thai tempo and Thai people are absolutely hooked on baby’s so there’s no shortage of attention. Thailand with a baby is truly recommended!
This guest blog is written by Laura. She and her husband love to travel. Now, with the birth of baby Parker, they love to travel together. Thailand is baby Parker’s (6 months old) first far trip.
Did you enjoy this article “17 days Krabi island with a baby! What to bring and what to do?” Then you may enjoy these articles too:
