Are we mad... 2 weeks in New Cal with 2 sml children

Hello! We are prob the only Sydneysiders who have never been to a south pacific island! We are now planning a holiday there end of June with a toddler and baby. We are tossing up between New Cal and Venautu. Can you help? I have not seen any photos of either or talked to anyone who has been there. How do they differ? Which one is for us? We would like self contained accom (ie. a villa or apartment with kitchen and laundry) near the beach (no stingers, are there?) and are seeking a relaxing but cultural/horizon-broadening experience, preferably with a bit of bike riding, eating out, and markets thrown in. Is 2 weeks enough? Do you need to speak french? Thank you so much if you can help with any of this. We have travelled quite a bit but it's a whole different ball game for us now. We are not sure if it will be worth the hassle - I hope so. Thank you

Before you even start to ask any questions here, use something called Google... I think they have it now in Oz. Here you can get all the basic information on the two countries. Search and read both places Visitors information websites... There will be lots of stuff to read. When you have done this part of your research THEN come back here with SPECIFIC questions that couldn't be answered by your own hand. You're basically asking someone here to sit down for an hour and and use up alot of time to answer alot of broad enquiries that you could have easily found yourself because it sounds like you are just mulling this idea of going here and have no set ideas of where, what, when, who and how.... Just like any other traveller going to a new place.

Also at the top of this forum, you can go to any South Pacific country you like and there will be lots of info there as well as well as many of the same questions you already asked here answered.

Hope this helps.

Kids and Pacific Islands on the beach are a match made in heaven. Soft water, soft beaches, nothing much to do. My kids lived on on or another for 4 years. Nothing like it. So don't worry about that part. As far as the specifics of these islands- haven't been there.

Check the Kids to Go branch as someone recently asked a question similar to this.

Of the two I have only been to Vanuatu and only to the areas with a significant risk of malaria (before I had kids). I wouldn't recommend them for that reason. Efate is OK for malaria, but apparently it has a lot of coral and is not overly suited for young kids (this info is in the kids branch).

Of the places I have been, probably my first pick for travel with kids would be Samoa and the Cooks - especially Samoa. It is really easy to get around, has lots of nice beaches and easily accessible coral for snorkelling. Fiji is also good with kids apparently. Tonga would be great with older kids. It is certainly also possible with young kids, but the beautiful places aren't as accessible as in Samoa.

I have been to both places, though without kids.

Well, if the malaria risk puts you off (pills could be the straightforward answer to that), go to New Caledonia. It is as safe, healthy and developed as anywhere in the tropics, and then probably more beautiful than most.The catch is that in NC very little English is spoken - you will get by in tourist areas, but don't exect to chat to locals!
In Vanuatu English is widely spoken, and people in general are friendlier, should that matter to you. Plenty of families visit Vanuatu with small kids - so many that certain hotels on Efate offer kids clubs, while others have felt the need to expressedly declare themselves "not suitable for children"!
You could spend 2 weeks in either country quite happily.

No Laszlo - pills are never ever a straightforward answer for kids. For starters have you ever tried giving a baby medication? My youngest has been almost completely medication free simply because I can't get anything into him. Then there is the issue of side effects...

With kids, I would say go to New Caledonia. Brush up on your French before you go. Rent a car. There are a few properties in and around Noumea that do family bungalows. We stayed in a very nice place in Mont Dore, fully-equipped beach bungalows (actually, fares - each has two bedrooms - one on the ground floor and one in the loft), nice restaurant, lot of interesting things to do nearby like the hot springs, etc - not too far from Noumea nor the Isle des Pins. Cheap at the time 60 euros a night or something. They don't have a website. Try vasin@mls.nc, see if it goes through. We also stayed at a place in Noumea for a couple of days. Nice outlook but a bit...pretentious.

There's all sorts of fascinating stuff to do in New Caledonia. It is well worth a trip to the north of the main island.

Oh, PS, I have been to both NC and Vanuatu. Loved both - they are quite different.