Nick Art

Congratulation!

It has been definetly mentioned before, but I'd look for a place with excelent healthcare. (Canada, maybe Japan, Central Europe is fine obviously, South Africa, rather far, so is Australia and New Zealand)
And an excellent hotel, with good food, preferably a resort. (Maybe cut back on the adventure backpacking travel a little :P )
A flight that isn't too stressful for your wife and maybe not too long.
Check your insurance and defiently check with your doctors.

I would go out of my way to plan this journey to minimize the probabilities of unforseen potentially stressful situations. Leave no room for error. And plan for all porbabilities.
Especially do plan for the event of premature labor (nearest hospital, maybe inform them as well of the posibility, maybe check with the hotel so you do get a driver asap for such a situation etc.), so that if it does happen, everything organized already and you don't have to worry too much. (I say that having been born one month too early myself).

Congratulations again, we are all looking forward to welcoming this future Frequent Traveller to the world

PS: Don't be too shy to go travellign with your kid. With four months I had already flown 4 times, two of those on long hauls. And do definetly create a Frequent Flyer Account for your future child!

Redwood839

My wife and I traveled to Jordan when she was 5 and half months pregnant at her request because she wanted to bathe on the Jordan river and visit the baptism site, she's not hardcore religious but it meant a lot to her and the baby still in the womb. I advised several times against it but she said she was strong and could do it.

Anyway, we spent 10 days travelling Jordan where medical facilities are erm... sparse. We bought a good 50 bottles of water the day we got there and all kinds of fruit in a cooler to have with us while we traveled. I rented a large SUV (Pajero) which took us comfortably from Amman to the Dead Sea, to Petra, to the Wadi Rum, to Aqaba. In petra she rode a Donkey to the top with the help of a pretty good guide (well donkey owner) who took care of her like it was his baby the way there and back.

I was originally scared and against it but we had the best trip ever, although our little one wasn't actually living it, I'm sure he will enjoy the stories in the future. We got our GP to give us a fit to travel, which was actually requested in AMM but not in MAN and took out the highest travel insurance and medical coverage there was. Also had the number for the nearest British consulate and Costa Rican since we have both passports. Also had the number for a local helicopter company in case things did go wrong.

Enjoy the travels!

marshy11

We had a holiday booked to Bali well before we knew I was pregnant. When we found out they allowed us to change the itinerary (slightly). We flew at the end of May via Singapore and I was 6 months on day of departure - our trip was with Singapore Airlines in Y and despite both being big (tall but yes I was HUGE aswell) it was a comfy-ish flight. However, I did arrive in Singapore for our 6 hour stopover I had to blag my way in as they thought I was close to delivery - I didn't have a doctors note (perhaps that's changed now) but I was over their 6 month date which meant I really needed a visa. After debate with a diary, they allowed us in. I was exhausted, both mentally and physically.

Continuing on to Bali, the relaxing holiday we'd planned....not. My ankles swelled to the size of my thighs and I cried all the way to Bali thinking I had put our baby in danger. We arrived at the hotel and I sat for 10 days with my feet in the swimming pool trying to reduce the swelling. When the swelling reduced I couldn't get comfortable, it was hot and I could not lay down in a comfy position. Needless to say it was a dire 10 days holiday.

The journey home was easier, it went via Singapore and my body seemed more adaptable to the break in flight time (4 day stopover in Singers this time), no issues on entry and thankfully we arrived home safely.

I would NEVER contemplate it again, not that close to the due date. Life is too precious, both the baby and the mum. Save the ticket for a family holiday.

Your backpacking days may be over, but your Avios and 2-4-1 vouchers will see the three of you through the next year or so. Don't take any risks if you don't have to. Enjoy the pregnancy, the birth and the travel with 3 that follows.

Congratulations.

T8191

Congratulations too.

Have you considered hedonism in the Western Cape, a location others have noted. Have a break from hiking, and do some serious pre-baby chilling!

windowontheAside

CT and the environs is a good shout but tricky to find reward space unless you're quick off the mark at T-355

KeaneJohn

Congrstulations, I would suggest Oman, Nice hotels, shortish flights and good healthcare.

argonath

Spoke to MrsArgonath (a midwife) re this thread...take a guess what her opinion is of it...

ratypus

newyorklondon

Hopefully something like: despite all the great advice and opinions expressed in the thread, ultimately the choice of if/when/where/how/how long is a very personal one which only the OP and their family can make.

Pascoe

If you're going to travel, then THIS is what forward planning looks like ;-)

Chapeau!!!

argonath

Indeed it was, as every pregnancy is a different set of conditions and only those involved know what any risks might be.

newyorklondon

+1 to that, and cheers to Mrs Argonath!

Wombler

I'm currently 31 weeks pregnant and whilst I've had a very easy time of it so far, pretty much as soon as I entered the 3rd trimester (28 weeks) the exhaustion hit like a ton of bricks. Personally I couldn't imagine going anywhere with a time difference of more than a couple of hours. Every pregnancy is different but sleep for me has been the biggest struggle and adding jet lag to the mix would push me over the edge. As someone who has always been fit and active the biggest shock for me is how much I've had to slow down so bear in mind she may not be up to having a jam packed schedule. Pelvic pain is very common in pregnancy and can severely impact the amount of walking around and exploring you'd be likely to achieve.

Also bear in mind that things can crop up at anytime during pregnancy that might require a hospital stay or treatment/monitoring. Reduced movement of the baby is common and it's drilled into you to go and get checked out if you are ever worried which could result in a language barrier, expensive cost of treatment not to mention distress of the mother (and yourself) should something happen whilst you are away from home.

That said, neither should you put your life on hold simply because you are expecting a baby. We went on a wonderful babymoon to mallorca when I was 26 weeks. I would echo what others have said with a trip to South Africa/Mauritius being a great idea. We honeymooned in both these places and I would feel confident going to either (more so SA over Mauritius) as the lack of jet lag would be the most important for me at this stage of pregnancy and also the lack of language barrier. A safari trip is an amazing experience and there is no zika in SA as well as malaria free reserves. They are fairly sedentary trips as well but one of the most spectacular and enjoyable experiences I've ever had.

LapLap

Another vote for Japan. I go nearly every year (my husband is from Tokyo) but have direct experience visiting whilst pregnant.

February isn’t terribly cold and it isn’t particularly wet. Your wife may not be so happy with hot climates when approaching the third trimester.

There is an abundance of clean, hygienic toilets for women in Japan, no matter where you go (the male ones aren’t always quite as great, but that’s your problem). I cannot stress enough how wonderful this is when there is a kid inside you.

Bear in mind that jet lag can affect “morning” sickness. If there is usually a time of the day when morning sickness strikes, that same time won’t necessarily change when you travel to a distant time zone. For me this meant hurling at around 4pm in Tokyo every day.

Tokyo has a good priority seating system for the trains and underground rail system (and buses). She can collect a badge from a customer services kiosk or at the manned desk at the ticket gates. She’d then need to identify which doors to enter for the train carriages (they are signalled on the platform floors) and there should be no problem getting a seat as long as she’s in the dedicated priority area (best to rely on “duty” and “expected norms” in Tokyo rather than “kindness” - there is plenty of kindness, an abundance I’d say, but commuters aren’t always a good source).

Diet - I took into account the advice for Japanese women about what to eat when I was there, not that offered to women in the U.K. or the USA. The sushi and sashimi advice is different, more about avoiding fish that might have high mercury and heavy metal levels than raw fish per se. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/wp/ot...ury/index.html
The three weeks I was in Japan (was in second trimester) was when I ate the best throughout the whole pregnancy. And that was saying something (everyone experiences pregnancy differently, but I’ve never experienced fulfilment and satisfaction - and the related enjoyment - quite so much when eating as when I had my symbiant inside.)

If there’s an unexpected problem (for example her hips might crack apart too much by month 6, there are so many other examples) and mobility issues surface, you can rent a wheelchair and still have a great time in Japan (before getting pregnant I was bed bound for a year and relied on a wheelchair to go anywhere, our trip to Tokyo was a wonderful respite during this time).

Healthcare is affordable; means you can pay to get things done immediately and then worry about getting the money back from the insurance when it is less urgent.

Dougy_D

Not sure what us flyertalk members were doing back in July/August, but my wife and I are also expecting in May

We always go away for the wife's birthday (end of Jan) and looked at Bahamas, Florida, Seychelles and Mauritius. With the recent sale on, we've decided to do New York instead the week before Christmas. As people have mentioned, Zika and healthcare played a large part in the decision. Also, the fact we'll be going 4 weeks earlier so the wife should be a little bit more mobile than she may have been in January.

Good Luck!