Trips with kids that never make the usual lists
Written October 2026
Croatia by car, a baby in Reykjavik, Liechtenstein by train: the trips we'd send you on when the usual five are done, and where we'd stay.
Everyone's second trip with a toddler ends up in the same five places. These are the other ones: trips that are easy with kids and still feel like you found something, from Iceland with a baby to Tasmania with a teenager.
For each one we say who it suits, whether you need a car, and where we'd stay.
Europe
Croatia, by car
Zagreb to Dubrovnik, Croatia
Croatia works as a road trip because every stop is a short drive from the last and each one has something a kid will remember. Start in Zagreb (the funicular and the zoo in Maksimir park are enough for a day), spend a night or two at Plitvice, then head to the coast: Split, a few days out on the islands, and Dubrovnik at the end.
At Plitvice, boardwalks run over the lakes and a boat crosses the biggest one. In Split we'd pick the beaches by the sand: Firule and Trstenik are the easy ones for little kids. On Hvar, Jelsa and Vrboska have the family beaches. Rent car seats with the car rather than flying yours in.
Spring and autumn are the best times for Plitvice.
Valamar Lacroma Dubrovnik
Babin Kuk, Dubrovnik
Our Dubrovnik pick. The family rooms are two bedrooms with two bathrooms, there's a freshwater pool with a children's pool, and Maro World (a big indoor play space for ages 0 to 12) is a short stroll away. It's out on the Babin Kuk peninsula, so Old Town is a bus or a taxi, and you'll be glad of the car.
Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Split
Trstenik, Split
On Trstenik beach, which is one of the easy ones in Split. There's a children's pool, a kids club that runs through the summer season, and cribs and high chairs.
Asturias, Spain
Oviedo and the mountain towns, Asturias, Spain
Green, mild and a little moody (think Pacific Northwest, with cider). It's a trip for kids who like dinosaurs, caves and rivers: the MUJA Jurassic Museum in Colunga has life-size dinosaurs, the Tito Bustillo cave in Ribadesella runs workshops, and you can canoe the Sella or walk the flat Senda del Oso.
Base in Oviedo, which is small and walkable and easy to reach by train, and rent a car for the villages. May is the month the tourist board itself recommends: the countryside is green and the beaches are quiet.
Sercotel Ciudad de Oviedo
Oviedo, Asturias
Our Oviedo base. It's on Calle Gascona, the street of cider houses, right next to the old town, and the family rooms take two extra beds, with a cot free if you ask when you book. There's no pool or kids club, so this is a hotel for sleeping and walking out.
Hotel Rural El Rexacu
Bobia de Arriba, near Cangas de Onís
For the mountain days. The quadruple rooms are split into two spaces, with a living room and a bedroom, and the owners install cots if you need one. From here the lakes of Covadonga, the Sella canoe run and an adventure park are all under an hour by car.
Lisbon and Porto, without a car
Lisbon and Porto, Portugal
You can do both with a toddler and no rental car. Lisbon's the better one for kids: the Oceanário is one of the best aquariums in Europe, Castelo de São Jorge has peacocks wandering around, and the old trams (28 is the famous one, the Carris Museum has the rest) are a ride in themselves. The train to Porto takes under three hours.
In Porto, the Palácio de Cristal gardens have peacocks and a playground, and Livraria Lello is a quick stop, not an afternoon. A baby carrier beats a stroller on the cobblestones.
Martinhal Chiado
Chiado, Lisbon
Serviced apartments with a kids club (from 6 months), babysitting and baby gear on request, and the one-bedroom has a separate bedroom, with bunk beds in the living room for the kids. No pool, but the Baixa-Chiado metro and the Tram 28 stop are a few minutes away.
The Yeatman
Vila Nova de Gaia, across the river from Porto
Technically across the Douro from Porto, but the metro stop is a short walk and it goes straight into town. There's a kids club for ages 3 to 16, walled gardens to run around in, a hunt for a 1,350-year-old olive tree, two pools and interconnecting rooms.
Iceland, with a baby
Reykjavik, Iceland
Yes, we'd take a baby to Iceland. Reykjavik is a calm, small city with playgrounds in every neighborhood and plenty of public geothermal pools. The big boats for whale watching are fine for small kids (the fast RIB boats need kids 10 and up, so skip those), and the peak season for whales is May to September.
Go in May or June, when the days are long. The northern lights season runs September to April, but the tours go out late, so they're for another trip.
Hotel Frón
Laugavegur, Reykjavik
The practical pick. Every apartment has a kitchen, family rooms and two-bedroom apartments are available, and a free crib is there for babies up to 2 if you ask. Hallgrímskirkja is a five-minute walk. There's no pool, but the public one at Sundhöllin is nearby.
Reykjavik Residence Apartment Hotel
Downtown Reykjavik
Apartments in old downtown buildings, from one bedroom up to three, with full kitchens. The two-bed, two-bath has two bedrooms with king beds that can be swapped for twins. Ask them about a crib before you book.
Athens and Paros
Athens and Paros, Greece
Pair the city with an island. In Athens, the Acropolis is a morning, not a day: spend the rest of the week at a beach hotel on the coast. On Paros, the harbor town of Naoussa is flat and easy with a stroller, and the sandy beaches around it are shallow.
Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens
Vouliagmeni, Athens
A seaside resort about 30 minutes from downtown, with three private beaches, family suites and connecting rooms, a kids club for ages 4 to 12 and free cribs. It's the one for a beach week with an Acropolis morning in it.
Andronis Minois
Parasporos, Paros
A two-bedroom Deluxe Suite sleeps four, with a king bed in each room, and a baby cot is free for ages 0 to 2. The hotel has a seawater pool. It's the Paros hotel we'd book for a family of four.
Santorini, with the age rules in mind
Santorini, Greece
The caldera is the whole point of Santorini, and it's also the problem. Several caldera hotels don't take kids at all below a certain age: Canaves Ena (13 and over) and Andronis Luxury Suites (nobody under 13) are two, and other hotels set their own limits. Check the age policy before you fall for the photo.
The hotels that do want you: Canaves Epitome and Andronis Arcadia in Oia, and Sandblu, down in Kamari on the other side of the island.
Andronis Arcadia
Oia, Santorini
The family suite is 72 square meters over three levels, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and its own infinity pool, and a baby cot is free for ages 0 to 2. A kid's day can happen without leaving the suite.
Sandblu Santorini
Kamari, Santorini
Not on the caldera, which is the point. It's in Kamari, near the black-sand beach, and the Bála Kids' Club takes ages 4 to 12.
The Dolomites
South Tyrol, Italy
Sometimes you don't need an itinerary, you need a mountain and a lawn without a fence. A family resort in the Dolomites has programs in every season, a farm with animals, and fields where kids run around until they're too tired to complain.
SAN SONNEA Family Dolomites
Lüsen, near Brixen
Formerly Sonnwies. It sits in quiet forest and open meadows in the Dolomites, with family suites and forest villas, cribs, a nature-based kids club, babysitting and a farm with horses, donkeys, sheep and a resident pony.
Liechtenstein
Malbun, Liechtenstein
The most niche trip on the list. Malbun is a tiny alpine village with a swing trail, a llama and alpaca trek and a ten-station kids' path up the mountain, and it's about 30 minutes from Vaduz. Zurich airport is about an hour and a half away by road. By train, get off at Sargans, then take a bus to Vaduz and another to Malbun, or have the hotel pick you up if you arrange it. It pairs well with a few days in Switzerland.
Gorfion Familienhotel
Malbun, Liechtenstein
Made for kids. Childcare is free from age 0, there are family rooms and suites with cribs and changing mats, and a warm pool with a mountain view. It has been closed for renovation, so check that it's open for your dates.
Ireland, the local way
Galway and Dungarvan, Ireland
Galway and Dungarvan are Irish holiday towns, and the tourists are mostly Irish too. In Galway, the aquarium sits on the Salthill promenade and Leisureland has pools and a slide. In Dungarvan, you hire bikes for the Waterford Greenway: 46 km of old railway with bridges and a tunnel, flat enough for kids on bikes with tag-alongs. Fly into Dublin and stop at the fairy trail at Malahide Castle on the way.
Salthill Hotel
Salthill, Galway
On the promenade overlooking the bay, with family rooms for two adults and two kids, cribs on request and a leisure center with a 25-meter pool and a hydrotherapy pool.
The Park Hotel Dungarvan
Dungarvan, Waterford
Family rooms for two adults and two kids, a 20-meter pool in the health club, and a short walk to town and the Greenway.
Asia and the Pacific
Taiwan
Taipei and beyond, Taiwan
Great food, safe and easy with kids, and real nature outside the city. Taipei has a zoo, a children's amusement park, a science center and a water park museum, and Yangmingshan National Park is on the city's doorstep. Taroko Gorge is the big trip out.
It's right up there with Singapore as one of the easiest places in Asia to bring a toddler.
ILLUME Taipei
Songshan, Taipei
Family rooms for three or four, cribs, bottle sterilizers and bed rails if you ask ahead, and an outdoor pool in summer. The MRT is a five-minute walk.
Sam Roi Yot and Hua Hin, Thailand
Sam Roi Yot and Hua Hin, Thailand
Gorgeous and a lot quieter than Phuket. Hire a car: there are almost no taxis. April is hot, so pick a hotel with a water park.
Things to do: Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand is the ethical animal sanctuary (you book a visit ahead). In Cha-am there's a Miffy cafe, in Hua Hin the Malee Stray Cat Cafe, and at the southern end of Hua Hin beach there's Monkey Mountain, which is exactly what it sounds like.
Dolphin Bay Resort
Sam Roi Yot, Thailand
A beach resort with a kids club, a children's pool with water slides, an indoor playroom and family suites with separate bedrooms for parents and kids.
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul is full of kid cafes with playgrounds, and strangers will hand a toddler free things. It's hard to beat that ratio of free snacks to play spaces. Gyeongbokgung Palace is the morning outing.
Lotte Hotel World
Jamsil, Seoul
Connected straight to Lotte World, with character family rooms and a free Kids Lounge for ages 25 months up to 6.
Fiji
Coral Coast, Viti Levu, Fiji
Everyone from airport security to hotel staff is friendly and loves kids. Expect offers to hold the baby while you eat, and music played for her. That's not a hotel amenity. That's a culture.
Tasmania
Tasmania, Australia
A road trip for a teenager, and absolutely stunning. The Dove Lake circuit at Cradle Mountain, the Tahune Airwalk, sandboarding at Henty Dunes, mountain biking at St Helens and a morning at MONA are all teenager-proof. You need to rent a car. That's the whole list.
Freycinet Lodge
Coles Bay, Tasmania
The only lodge inside Freycinet National Park, with direct access to Richardsons Beach, family cabins that sleep up to five, cots and high chairs, and kids' menus in both restaurants.
Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge
Cradle Mountain, Tasmania
At the edge of the national park, with more than 20 trails from the door. Family cabins sleep up to five, and cots are available.
Mexico
Valladolid
Valladolid, Mexico
Small, walkable and close to cenotes. The standout is Ek Balam, which is far quieter than Chichén Itzá, and a pyramid is the thing kids want to climb, so check at the gate whether you still can. Try keeping a kid interested in ruins they can't touch. You can't.
Casa Valladolid
Valladolid, Mexico
A colonial house three blocks from the center, with family rooms, a crib if you ask and a pool in the garden.
El Zaguán Colonial
Valladolid, Mexico
Quadruple rooms with two double beds and a junior suite for four, cribs provided and an outdoor pool with a restaurant.
Questions
Which of these work with a baby?
Iceland, Lisbon and Porto, and Taipei all work with a baby or toddler, and Fiji's staff are especially good with babies. Ask your pediatrician about flights and timing for a young baby.
Which ones need a car?
Croatia, Asturias for the mountain villages, Sam Roi Yot, Tasmania and Dungarvan if you're not on the Greenway. Lisbon, Porto and Reykjavik work without one.
When should we go?
May for Asturias, May or June for Iceland, spring or autumn for Plitvice, and April in Thailand only with a hotel that has a water park, because it's hot.
Photos
Trips with kids that never make the usual lists: Tesla Delacroix (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Asturias, Spain: Carmenmoran (CC BY 4.0) · Lisbon and Porto, without a car: Sonse (CC BY 2.0) · Iceland, with a baby: Jakub Hałun (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Athens and Paros: Tommybee89 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · The Dolomites: mendhak (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Liechtenstein: Mislep (CC BY 4.0) · Ireland, the local way: Jean Housen (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Taiwan: Xiaoanan1207 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Sam Roi Yot and Hua Hin, Thailand: Rushen (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Seoul, South Korea: Frank Schulenburg (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Fiji: Rickard Törnblad (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Tasmania: Thennicke (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Valladolid: Sharon Hahn Darlin (CC BY 2.0)
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