This post may contain affilliate links. It means that if you buy something through one of these links, we might get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate commission helps us keep this travel blog running.
I’ll be honest with you — when Mila was about six weeks old, still covered in newborn fluff and waking every two hours, I googled “first holiday with newborn” at 3am whilst sitting in the dark feeding her. Every result was either terrifyingly ambitious or so cautious it basically said don’t bother until they’re at school. Neither was helpful.
So here’s what I actually wish someone had told me.
Why We Chose Alicante (and Why I’d Tell Every UK Parent to Do the Same)
We needed somewhere close, flat, warm, and forgiving. We also had a bigger trip looming — a transatlantic flight to Mexico City so Mila could meet José’s family — and we desperately needed a test run before attempting that with a two-month-old. A dry run. A chance to figure out what we’d forgotten to pack before we were stranded somewhere that actually mattered.
Alicante ticked every box, and looking back, I don’t think we could have picked better.
It’s two hours from London.
If everything goes catastrophically wrong — blowout at 30,000 feet, baby who won’t stop screaming, forgotten to pack literally anything — you’re still home by teatime. That alone is worth everything.
It’s genuinely flat.
I cannot overstate how important this is when you’re pushing a pram and running on broken sleep. No cobblestones, no hills. The city centre is compact and almost entirely walkable. There’s a long promenade along the beach and marina that we walked daily — sometimes just to get Mila to sleep, sometimes because we’d gone a bit mad from being indoors. The beach was about five minutes on foot from where we stayed, which matters enormously when you need to dash back to change a nappy or feed.
It’s warm in late March when London is still grey and miserable.
We went at the end of March. It was about 16-17°C and sunny — warm enough to sit outside, warm enough to feel human again. I’d avoid Alicante in July or August with a newborn (the heat is punishing) but late March to May or September to October feels just right.
Everyone speaks English and everyone is used to families.
It’s a big expat city. Nobody batted an eyelid at us wrestling a pram through a doorway or asking for somewhere to sit in the shade. It felt relaxed in a way that makes a huge difference when you’re already operating at full capacity just keeping a small person alive.
The Flight: Honestly Not as Bad as I’d Feared
I spent about three weeks catastrophising about the flight. I needn’t have.
Mila was just over two months old. I pumped milk whilst we were waiting to board — a genuinely unglamorous experience in an airport toilet, but worth it — and had a bottle ready for take-off. She drank it, fell asleep, and woke up just before landing. I had another bottle ready. Done.
The only moment she cried was when we tried to put those little ear defenders on her. She absolutely hated them. We took them off immediately and that was that.
The one thing I wasn’t prepared for: changing her on the plane. The changing tables on aircraft are about the size of a tea tray and positioned at an angle that seems specifically designed to make it difficult. We managed, but only just, and not gracefully. Pack more nappy bags than you think you need and accept that it will be undignified.
We bought a Doona X before the trip — it converts from car seat to pram — and it was genuinely brilliant for this kind of travel. No juggling a separate car seat and buggy. Just one thing. Taxis were so easy.
Where We Stayed (And What I’d Do Differently)
We knew immediately that a hotel wouldn’t work. We needed a kitchen to sterilise bottles and prep feeds, a washing machine because reflux, and enough space that we weren’t all living on top of each other.
We booked an apartment called Tomate Rooms. The location was perfect — absolutely central, gorgeous place. But the soundproofing was essentially non-existent, and our neighbours partied until 4am on multiple nights. If you’re lucky and you have nice neighbours – you’ll have great time. But that also works the other way around.
If I were doing it again, I’d look at VillaVieja 17 or HoliHome Rambla 24 — both well-reviewed for families and a little further from the bar strips. Whatever you book, read recent reviews specifically for noise. And check that they can provide a travel cot — Tomate did, which was the one thing they had going for them by the end.
Where We Ate (Because You Still Need to Eat)
I fully expected to spend the entire trip eating toast in the apartment. We actually managed to eat out more than I’d anticipated, which felt like a genuine victory.
The trick was timing everything around Mila’s sleep. We’d walk until she dropped off, then quickly find a terrace and sit down before she woke up. It required a certain military precision, but it worked more often than not.
Coffee: MO’s Specialty Coffee is takeaway only but very good. Charo Coffee House is better if you actually want to sit down — we spent a lot of time there.
Breakfast and brunch: El Palacete was our favourite — spacious, relaxed, family-friendly in that effortless Spanish way. Espacio Elemental and Madness Coffee Roasters were both good too.
Dinner: Vino y Mas for tapas on a terrace — cheap, delicious, nobody minds if you’ve got a baby. Pesca al Peso did the best value set menu I’ve eaten in years and I still think about it. Very casual, families absolutely welcome.
I’ve tagged everything on a custom Google Map here if you want to save it before you go.
What I Learned (That Nobody Told Me)
Pack more sleepsuits than you think you need. Mila had reflux. Six sleepsuits lasted approximately one day. Bring eight minimum, accept that you will still do laundry.
Five days was the right length. Four would have felt rushed and stressful. Six would have required packing more than I was capable of organising at that point in my life. Five was the sweet spot — enough to actually relax into it, not so long that we ran out of anything critical.
The test-run concept is real and it works. By the time we got on the plane to Mexico, we knew exactly what Mila needed on a flight, what we’d over-packed (nearly everything) and what we’d under-packed (sleepsuits, muslins, more muslins). I genuinely don’t think that long-haul trip would have gone as smoothly without Alicante first.
If you’re sitting there at 3am wondering whether it’s too soon, whether you’re mad, whether you can actually do this — the answer is yes, you probably can. Start small, go somewhere close, and accept that nothing will go exactly to plan. It didn’t for us. It was still wonderful.
