Baby Bucket List – Top 10 Pre-preganancy and Pre-parenthood Travel Bucket List Items

Travel has always been a big part of mine and Wandermust Daddy’s life and we were determined that travel would stop just because we had a baby (You can read more about why we have and why we will continue travelling with our baby here)! Saying that, we knew it would change! So before we had Baby E we made a baby bucket list – this is what was on it:

1. Do a holiday which you can’t do with children

For us this was visiting a malaria zone and going gorilla trekking. Our line in the sand for travelling with children is always about health and safety and we won’t travel to malarial zones with Baby E!

Also gorilla trekking is an activity that can’t be done until children are at least fifteen years old. We didn’t want to wait that long to experience this so this was our last ‘big’ holiday before Baby E came along!

Gorilla trekking in Uganda

You can read about our gorilla trekking and our Ugandan adventure here

2. Go to an adults only hotel

I love kids, but it was nice to have one last indulgence at an adults only hotel –  it’s going to be a long time before we can do that again!

Buckingham place Sri Lanka

For our last adults only indulgence we went to the beautiful Buckingham Place located in Tangalle on the South Coast of Sri Lanka. This is absolutely my favourite hotel in the world and you can read about why here.

3. Go on a wine tour

Pregnancy is just a list of things that you can’t do. Alcohol being perhaps the biggest!  As a wine fan  I definitely had a wine tour on my pre-pregnancy list. We went on a wine tour in Stellenbosch and Franschoek just outside of Cape Town. It was fantastic.

Doing a wine tour in Stellenbosch

We also went to the City of London Distellery (COLD) for my last pre-pregnancy birthday. The cocktails there are really extraordinary and unusual! You can read our review here!

COLD London

4. Indulge in relaxation

Something I wish I had done more and didn’t! There are no hot tubs once pregnant so go and enjoy all the different treatments on offer before you start worrying about which ones are suitable. A pre-natal massage is lovely but they are never quite as good as regular ones in my opinion.

Relaxing at The Chedi

We also enjoyed a Beach break at the lovely Chedi Hotel in Muscat and just enjoyed lazying on the beach and reading a book. You can read about our time at The Chedi here!

5.Book a hotel with a great bath

Hot baths are a no-no once pregnant and was perhaps the hardest thing I had to give up. Try and book a hotel room with an amazing bath tub and indulge in some me time.

My worst hotel experience while pregnant was checking into a hotel with the most amazing bath I have ever seen and then realised I couldn’t get in or out of it because I was travelling solo at almost eight months pregnant!

6. Do a naughty food tour

Soft cheeses and deli meats are another thing on the no-no list. There are just so many. So before getting pregnant why not go on a food tour and pig out on the foods you will miss for the next nine months.

Enjoying no-no foods in Puglia

For us, nothing represented the ‘naughty food list’ more than Italy with all of its delicious deli meats and soft cheeses. We went to Puglia and had a proper foodie experience at the exceptional Masseria Il Frantoio. You can read all about it here!

7. Go to a theme park / fun fair

Crazy rides are going to be out of the picture for awhile so go and have a day where you and hubby act like kids.

Not acting out age in Tivoli Gardens

We went to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen but I already thought I might be pregnant so couldn’t go on any rides. It was still a great day but I wish we had done a theme park before getting pregnant.

Read more about what we did in Copenhagen here.

8. Go to a Michelin starred restaurant.

I am all for taking children to restaurants but somehow never feel like a Michelin starred restaurant is one of those places given the costs diners pay. Have a splurge and go out for an amazing romantic meal.

Christmas at the Berkeley

We went to Marcus at the Berkley and it was AMAZING!

9. Do something adventurous with friends

Many of the adventurous sides of travel will be off limits during pregnancy and like it or not you will not have as much free time once baby arrives. Why not combine the two and have an amazing day!

Speedboating down the Thames

We went on a speedboat down the Thames with friends for my 30th Birthday. Speedboats are another no-no so why not indulge now! You can read about our experience on the Thames Rib Boat here.

10. Appreciate your city 
During the later parts of pregnancy when you can no longer fly, why not take the time to enjoy your own city while there is still only the two of you.

Having fun exploring Qatar

We loved exploring Doha (read about our adventures here) or perhaps even take a home town staycation. We had a great staycation babymoon at the Intercon. Heres our review!

What’s your advice for a pre-pregnancy / pre-parenthood bucket list? What was your baby bucket list?

If you want to fly while pregnant but suffer from morning sickness the read our survival guide!