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5 steps to surviving an Isle of Wight holiday with a toddler

Rather shockingly we once had a holiday off the Isle of Wight which gave us an insight into the stresses and strains of seaside visits with a toddler. Normally we have the advantage of knowing which beaches sell mini milks and which have baby changing facilities which are clean enough that you don't feel you should have brought a litre of dettol with you.

For once we were in the dark (Sidmouth, to be precise) and I've gleaned a few tips which I can now pass on to Isle of Wight visitors who are arriving with their own little ankle grabbers.

Knowing where to find ice creams is vital

1. Think twice about staying in a hotel with a toddler

Our party split in two. Half stayed in a hotel, the other in a self catering chalet. At my insistence we went for the latter. Prior to having children I associated hotels with lazy mornings spent in the spa, reading the papers, sipping a latte and ordering room service. Post-children it is more a case of trying to finding a distraction at 5.30am which will keep the little one at least reasonably quiet until breakfast starts two hours later.

Prepare yourself for glares over sausages and eggs from fellow guests who have sussed out which is the child who kept them awake all night. And enjoy your evenings spent sitting on the bed in silence and in the dark watching the hotel’s strange selection of Freeview channels with the subtitles on whilst the little one sleeps. I heard about one family who managed to find a cot on wheels which they then pushed into the en-suite once the baby was asleep. This would certainly not have worked for us, our daughter once woke up when my knee creaked.

See our guides to child-friendly Isle of Wight Holiday Parks and Isle of Wight Lodges.

Self catering has a lot going for it with a toddler

2. Don’t be too ambitious

Prior to children we visited New York City, where I subjected my wife to five days of turbo sightseeing. Every landmark had to be seen, despite the city heat, every street had to be walked. At one stage we had a falling out over whether we really needed to walk across Brooklyn Bridge (my desire), or whether it would be enough just to look at it from a distance (my wife’s desire). In the end we walked half way in a beautiful metaphor of how a marriage should be, although it didn’t feel quite like that as we huffed and puffed and muttered rude things.

Some parents try to maintain this dawn 'til dusk attitude with a toddler on holiday, stubbornly carrying on as if the little one wasn’t there. In Sidmouth, I escaped on my own one evening to the rather disappointing town of Seaton and saw a baby being unsuccessfully rocked in a car seat on the beach at 9.30pm. I would certainly never dare judge another parent, but you can’t help feeling the enjoyment of being on the beach is hampered somewhat by the cries of a newborn.

If we manage a sandcastle, a picnic on the beach and a reasonable night’s sleep then I consider that a successful day out. We can trudge round New York again when she’s a teenager.

Keep it simple on your days out

3. Research the Isle of Wight's toddler friendly things

We found Sidmouth pretty good for toddlers – there were quite a few attractions to keep us happy, although the beaches were a bit stonier than I would have liked. I’m obviously very biased, but from my limited experience of East Devon I would say that the Isle of Wight is more geared up for younger children.

There are nice seaside playgrounds (Gurnard, Ventnor clifftop, Appley and Sandham Gardens are all good) as well as seaside paddling pools (Appley, Ventnor or East Cowea). There are lots of toddler friendly beaches which have sand, clean water, parking and emergency ice cream sellers (Sandown, Shanklin, Appley, Colwell, Yaverland, St Helen’s). There are also plenty of animal attractions on the Isle of Wight and the (free) Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary which are good for children.

But there are also things on the Isle of Wight which are unsuitable for toddlers. One of my favourite beaches is Priory Bay but the main way to access it is by walking through woodland from an adjoining beach. Once you are there, there are no toilets and no ice cream sellers so you’ll end up with a sobbing child and a nappy full of sand. Other nice beaches are down steep steps and slopes (such as Hanover Point, Whitecliff Bay and the aptly named Steephill Cove) so they are achievable with a bit of effort, but not as straightforward.

Our guide to days out for toddlers on the Isle of Wight covers the things that we think are suitable in more detail.

Bembridge lifeboat station is a free day out

4. Prepare for rain

Our week in Sidmouth was not a great advert for holidays in the UK. The sun occasionally emerged for a few teasing moments before disappearing again. I’d say we had about 5 hours of sun all week, and a couple of days of rain…in July.

Luckily, we found an excellent indoor play centre in Honiton which kept us entertained, and we also had access to an indoor pool so we could schedule things around the fairly accurate weather forecast.

The Isle of Wight is well equipped for indoor attractions, but expect them to be busy when it rains. On one day last summer we had well over 1000 people read our rainy day guide, who presumably all then headed to the same places. There are a handful of indoor play places, some public pools, cinemas (if your toddler somehow has a 90-minute attention span) and a few other attractions which have enough indoors to fill the time until the sun reappears.

Read our full list of Isle of Wight rainy day places here.

Prepare for rain whilst on holiday

5. Read the Isle of Wight tide table

Wide open sandy beaches are perfect for falling over, jumping over two inch waves and building imperfect sandcastles. Turning up with 6 bags under your arms to find that the beach is entirely underwater is frustrating, to say the least. We made this mistake in Devon, although thankfully the sand did slowly emerge just in time for a bit of castle construction.

So, alongside the weather forecast, also check the Isle of Wight's tide times.