Never Never Land of Thailand

No matter where you are heading, when it comes to travelling with a baby, preparation is key
By Natalie Glebova

LOCATED just a five-hour drive (plus a short speed boat ride) from Bangkok, lies the enchanted island of Koh Kood. Last month, the three of us – the Travelbook family – had the pleasure of visiting this small piece of paradise for a little getaway and a friend’s wedding.
    
While browsing for accommodation on our travel-sharing platform, I couldn’t help noticing a recurring theme. There was Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell, and Wendy the Pool. This made me think, of course, of the legendary book by J. M. Barrie about a free-spirited young boy who never grows up – Peter Pan – which made our choice of where to stay even easier, the Peter Pan Resort. How fitting for a free-spirited family!
    
There are two ways of getting to Koh Kood – drive or fly, though it takes about the same amount of time for both options. We chose to drive to Trad province to make it easier as we were traveling with our 11-month old baby, Maya. We made sure we were armed with a lot of entertainment to distract her with on the long drive. We brought all of Maya’s favourite toys and I even let her dig through my makeup kit which always satisfies her for hours on end.

If you choose to fly, take advantage of priority lanes for check-in when traveling with a child. Also, leave the stroller at home; you won’t be needing it on the island.
    
We strapped Maya in her ErgoBaby carrier for the speedboat ride. There are no seat belts or children’s life vests on board. You could also bring your own child life vest if you have one on hand.
    
Make sure you stock your suitcase full of baby essentials (nappies, toiletries, medicine, canned food and snacks) as not everything will be easily found on the tiny island. We used baby food packed in small pouches filled with fruit and ready-to-eat snacks.

The island itself is magical and looks like a scene from Peter Pan. But one thing to take note – there are a lot of sand flies on the beach especially at and after sunset, so bring plenty of bug repellant. I had huge red itchy spots from the bites that lasted for weeks after the trip.
The beautiful Viewpoint Café was a great spot for breakfast. Only a 15-minute walk from our accommodation, we ended up going there every day for the rest of the trip.
    
The wedding ceremony was held on the beach at Tinker Bell Resort, which is absolutely beautiful. It was an intimate, ocean-themed wedding at sunset with just 30 close friends as guests. After the ceremony, there was a seafood buffet followed by a fire show and, of course, plenty of dancing.  
    
Staying on Koh Kood with a big group of friends was great fun, especially with Maya on board. It was a great experience and we will definitely be going back to this charming island.