Langkawi, Malaysia, with a toddler

Langkawi is a truly beautiful island: golden sands, crystal clear warm sea, rainforests with nature galore at your feet (or in our case, a monkey at our door). A small slice of paradise in the Andaman sea. All the ingredients, you would think, for a relaxing break. And it was, in part. The thing is, now we have a 19-month-old daughter,  sunshine breaks aren’t quite as chilled as they once were.

Back in Dubai last year when Mrs T was five months old, things were simpler. She slept more, was easier to entertain and happy to just sit in her  bouncer for long periods of time or stare at her feet. I  even managed to read a WHOLE book! Then there was our trip to Mykonos, when she was nine months old. As she wasn’t crawling, we still had time to relax and work on our tans. Now though, at 19 months, things have changed! Mrs T is a lot more active, vocal and gets bored far easier.

Much of our time was spent keeping her entertained so the sunbathing and book reading took a bit of a hit. But it was a great opportunity for us to spend some time together, the three of us, and marvel at Mrs T as she enjoyed spotting the local wildlife, playing in the pool and dipping her toes in the sea.

She was though, very careful NOT to put her feet on the lumpy sand. After a couple of attempts walking on it,  she decided it wasn’t for her! She would curl her legs up into the foetal position and cry if we tried to put her on it. A bit frustrating, yes, especially as we were on a BEACH holiday. But,  it did mean we could cordon off an area by putting her on a towel on the beach and litter it with toys, knowing her aversion to sand would keep on on it. She could however, still moan.

But, I digress from the virtues of Langkawi and there is more to it than just sandy beaches (which clearly my daughter didn’t fully appreciate). It is a tropical island with rainforest harbouring flora and fauna, mangrove forests to explore by boat and a underwater world for divers to delve in.

Although there are plenty of things to do on the island, we were a little restricted by having a little one in tow. For us, it was mostly a beach-based holiday with a couple of trips to see more of the island. This included a ride up the impressive cable car network and Sky Bridge which takes you on a steep journey up one of the mountains. Once there it gives breathtaking  views of the beautiful island and surrounding area. Tickets are very reasonable (around £6 for adults, free for under 2s) and we paid extra to avoid queues (I have a very impatient husband) which was worth it.

We also went on a nature walk to learn more about the jungle surrounding us. Mrs T lasted about 15 minutes before  Cal took her back (I enjoyed it though!). It would have suited older children who would also benefit from the range of other activities on the island for them to get involved in, such as boating trips, family treks and sampling good, affordable local food at one of Langkawi’s night markets. They are held on Wednesday and Saturday evenings at the main town Kuah but elsewhere on other nights of the week.

If you are looking for a beautiful relaxing break, with or without children, Langkawi is a real gem offering good food, culture, wildlife and of course beautiful beaches (most of which are privately owned by the hotels so you don’t get hassled and are very quiet). We broke up the 14 hour flight by staying overnight in Dubai but the travel is totally worth it as you are transported to a completely different world where there are things for children to see, learn and experience. One day we will return.

WHEN TO GO?

We visited Langkawi during mid-March and although there were two very hot, humid days the others were punctuated with a lovely breeze across the sea.  Overall, there isn’t a ‘best time’ to visit Langkawi. We arrived just as the three month dry season was ending and  were welcomed with a tropical downpour which was much needed. There was barely any other rain during our stay and even it is rainy season, the downpours are usually at night. In terms of temperature, Langkawi is very close to the Equator so it pretty consistently scorching, between 70 and 90 degrees with February being the hottest and October the ‘coolest’ months.

HOW TO GET THERE
We flew with Emirates (partly because we got a good deal, partly because we wanted to break the journey up). We stopped for a few hours overnight in Dubai after the seven hour flight and got some sleep at the airport hotel before completing the second seven hour stint to Kuala Lumpur where we stayed for two days. We then got budget flight with Air Asia to Langkawi which is a one hour journey.