How To Holiday In Style With A Baby With Scott Dunn

Words by: Alive Liveing

Travelling with a baby is one of those lifestyle-shifts nobody fully prepares you for. One minute you’re zooming onto flights with a compact little wheely. Next, you’re standing at departures holding a changing bag the size of a small car, with enormous cases and prams in tow, and wondering if you remembered the mosquito nets or the muslins.

The truth is, what we’ve learnt so far as first time parents is that, while rewarding, holidaying (well) with a baby is essentially an exercise in elite logistics. Routines shift month by month, and what worked at four months may be entirely different at seven. A derailed sleep schedule in an unfamiliar room, a flight that fails to coincide with nap times, a transfer without age-appropriate car seats. These are the small anxieties that follow even the most seasoned traveller once they become a parent.

Before Paddy and I flew to Daios Cove in Crete this summer, our fifth visit to one of our all-time favourite hotels, but our first with our daughter Jeannie, I’ll admit: I was a little apprehensive. The flight was slightly longer than I’d typically feel comfortable about with a baby, and I was unsure how she or I would cope. As it turned out, she was a dream both there and back, although I put that entirely down to luck rather than anything specific. With the right preparation including a bag of toys, plenty of walking the aisles, and an (almost entirely) calm approach it was far more manageable than I’d hoped. A lot of that calm, admittedly, came from knowing that the team at Scott Dunn had taken care of everything else.

The luxury travel specialists have spent 40 years studying every pothole of travelling with young children, and it shows. Their approach is simple but rare: make it seamless for the parents without stripping away a single element of the luxury that drew you to travel in the first place. Because becoming a parent shouldn’t mean giving up the holidays you love. So here’s a little detail on how we travelled in style to Daios Cove in Crete with a baby and why I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

The Explorers Kids Club: a four months upwards gamechanger

One of the most remarkable things about Scott Dunn’s Explorers Kids Club, unlike almost anything else on the luxury travel scene, is that its specialised teams welcome babies from as young as four months old. Most hotel kids clubs in our experience won’t take children under three years old, which effectively leaves parents of babies and toddlers entirely to themselves. You’re essentially juggling all the same high and lows of parenting in a different country, without your home comforts or routines, and without a break. Scott Dunn spotted this gap a long time ago and thankfully filled it.

Jeannie, at seven months, joined the Globetrotters group (for babies aged four months to two years), and from the moment we walked through the door we were met with the kind of warm, genuine smiles that instantly settle even the most nervous first-time parent. The club is thoughtfully fitted out with age-appropriate toys, a dedicated sleep room that respects nap routines, a kitchen, and a programme of activities designed to delight even the tiniest explorers. The fantastic child-to-carer ratios are set at a level that allows staff to give each baby the individual attention they need, something that sets Scott Dunn apart from other clubs (and parents should really consider when booking any children’s club for small children).

The time this gifted us as parents was, honestly, transformative. I had a blissful massage at the hotel spa. Paddy and I spent time fully relaxing and reading by the pool (I managed more than two pages of my book, which has been the norm since Jeannie arrived). And on our final day, I joined a memorable boat trip organised by Scott Dunn, sailing along the dramatic Cretan coastline and stopping to explore the hauntingly beautiful island of Spinalonga. It’s afternoons like these that verge on the impossible with a baby, and they felt even more special for it.

The Kit: Less Packing, More Enjoying

One of the great unspoken stresses of travelling with a baby is the packing. The sheer volume of equipment a small person requires can feel overwhelming before you’ve even started. Scott Dunn cleverly removes much of that stress before you’ve even opened a suitcase, with a pre-travel checklist of items to borrow at the resort.

Our room came equipped with a steriliser, a detail that sounds small but felt enormous and we were provided with nappies, wipes, and essential baby items in the Kids Club to save on all that luggage space. During club time, the team provides sun cream, hats, rash vests, and Konfidence swim jackets for any water activities. Cots, changing mats, bed guards, potties and more can be requested before travel so everything is waiting for you on arrival, allowing you to travel light(er) than usual and arrive feeling like a hotel guest rather than a removal company.

The cumulative effect is a holiday where you pack for yourself rather than for a small expedition, and the difference to your state of mind (and transfer boot) on departure morning is considerable.

The Online Check-In: Thoughtfulness Before You Arrive

Before travelling, Scott Dunn invites you to complete a detailed online check-in form, which was a chance for us to brief the team on Jeannie’s routine, preferences, and specific needs.

And the small touches really matter when you’re a slightly frazzled first time parent, keen to not learn this the hard way. When we arrived at Daios Cove, cold milk had already been placed in our fridge. That was the moment I knew this holiday was going to be different. The following morning, I sat on our balcony in one of the hotel’s newly refurbished suites, all clean lines and warm Greek touches, with that extraordinary view stretching out to sea drinking a coffee in actual peace while Jeannie was still sleeping. After seven months of early mornings, it felt like a gift. The steriliser, nappies, and wipes were already in place too, every detail tended to before we’d asked for a thing.

A Helping Hand: The Scott Dunn team

Behind every smooth trip is someone pedalling hard to make it that way. For us, that person was Kirsty, our dedicated Scott Dunn family travel specialist, who was on hand throughout the planning process and made every question however small feel welcome. She understood not just the logistics but the anxieties of travelling with a young baby, and her guidance and quiet reassurance made a real difference to our time there – whether it was booking the right shaded spot for lunch or ensuring Jeannie was easing into the Explorers Club before we felt ready for the boat trip.

The support continued from the moment we landed. Our smart transfer from the airport organised by Scott Dunn arrived with a properly fitted car seat for Jeannie and cold, bottled water for us. After a flight with a baby, it was entirely the welcome we needed. Throughout the stay, the guest concierge team were consistently attentive, anticipating needs rather than waiting to be asked. It’s the kind of service that feels effortless from the outside precisely because so much effort has gone into it.

Bonding Time: The Moments That Stay with You

The moments I know I’ll carry from this trip are the ones we shared together as a family. Watching Jeannie swim in the sea for the very first time is something I will never forget. The breakfast buffet at Pangea, with its extraordinary, organic spread, became one of our favourite daily rituals too; perfect for a seven-month-old who hasn’t quite decided what she likes yet, as there was always something fresh and new to try.

Seeing Jeannie laugh and reach towards other little ones at the resort forming her first tiny holiday friendships while we chatted to their parents around the pool felt like a new kind of travel magic entirely. That warmth, incidentally, is something we’ve noticed about Daios Cove across all five of our visits. It attracts a relaxed, friendly, open-hearted crowd, and with a baby in tow that sense of community felt more meaningful than ever.

To summarise, our trip exceeded all expectations and felt seamlessly curated by the wonderful Scott Dunn team. The telling sign of a good trip for me is when you feel rested and ready to return home, and I can say wholeheartedly that both Paddy and I truly felt like we’d managed to switch off, relax, and enjoy our precious time with Jeannie. Yes, holidaying with a baby is a completely different experience to going as a couple, but with the right team taking care of the planning, it becomes even more memorable. We can’t wait to go back and experience Daios Cove through Scott Dunn once Jeannie’s a toddler.