Wow! So it’s been almost two years since I documented any travel.
What’s happened? Well.. the C word turned everyone’s worlds upside down didn’t it – more on that later. Not to mention, we now have a mini traveller with us, waaat?! He’s already 8 months, been on his first plane, train, bus and a couple of camping trips too.
Based on that, I thought I would re-start our travel adventures with a quick round up of our first overseas trip with our +1.
Usually when we ‘go on holiday’ we don’t book the accommodation in advance, largely because we like to have the freedom to travel, see different places and not be fixed to one location. Taking our +1 for the first time, we thought we had better stay in one place and try and “chill.”
As always I did lots of research, I knew we wanted an indoor pool as travelling in February, it was averaging around 20 degrees so beautiful in the sun but probably not outdoor swimming weather for a baby!
We ended up at The Alfagar Village which worked perfectly for our stay. It was a 10 minute walk to the beach and around 15 minutes to a small town with a couple of shops and cafes. At the time Emie was just about to hit 5 months old so still having lots of cat naps in the day which was perfect for us, we actually both managed to read a whole book during naptimes!
A couple of things I think really worked on our first holiday with a baby:
Minimal packing: We still managed to travel with hand luggage only. You don’t need a lot when it’s warm and you can always rinse/wash clothes and they dry super quick in the warm weather. You can buy nappies/milk (if required) when you land. Most taxis/transfers have car seats so you don’t need to take space up with that either.
Booking an indoor pool: for this time of year it was perfect because we tired Emie out in the mornings and then we allllll had chill time in the afternoons
Taking a stroller from Marketplace: Like most new families, you’ve probably spent some money on a lovely stroller for your baby, and if they are anything like mine, they barely ever go in it! Buying a cheaper alternative from marketplace for the trip was perfect because we weren’t worried about it getting thrown around by the airport crew etc, plus you can easily sell them on later. Although Emie has a huge preference for the sling, the stroller was perfect for naps by the pool.
Not creating any plans: Usually when we go away, we will have a list of places we want to visit and want to see but we lowered our expectations, didn’t plan anything, ended up exploring locally and just having a really chilled out time.
The Algarve is definitely set up for families, there are some beautiful cliff top walks and sandy coves to explore, it reminded us a lot of the Dorset/Devon coastline as well as plenty of cafes/restaurants. One of our faves was Restaurant Atlantico with beautiful decor and stunning sea views 🌊
All in all, a really lovely first overseas trip and going in February, even though it was half term was suuupperr quiet!
TEGAN SUNSHINE 
Looked like a great holiday teegz, I love Portugal, I wanna go back. You make travelling with a little one look easy peasy! Come to France!
It was so zen, I want to go back! France is on the list, there’s not enough half terms is there 😅