Taking a toddler to Niue?

Hi everyone,

We would love to visit Niue for a week in September. We have a child who will be three years old by then. We enjoy doing walks and cycling and other active activities. We have a couple of questions about bringing a littlie to Niue:

• Are there many walks suitable for a three year old to do? We are looking for walks that are fairly flat and safe (no steep drops).

• Do any of the bike hire places have bike seats for children? We are happy to ride with her on the back but she is too young to ride herself!

• Which accommodation would you recommend for a family with a small child?

• Are there safe places to go swimming in the sea with a small child?

Thanks very much for your help and suggestions!

Rachel

I would say most of the bush walks would be a bit hazardous as the terrain is very rocky (although fom memory some of the walks did have some failry falt parts for some of the way).
Matapa chasm would be a great place to swim with a toddler, the entrance to the sea is mainly blocked by a large rock so the water is very calm in there.
The only accomodation I have tried is the Matavai resort which would be fine for a toddler so long as they are always within sight as it is perched on top of a cliff.

I haven't been there, but many friends have. I don't have specifics on what is safe etc., but your kids will have a ball. The Niueans love kids and dote on them. It will also be a good way to meet local families who also have little kids that they may end up playing with in town, etc. Most of the island is flat, but with a lot of raised coral, which is sharp, but the main paths are probably OK.

Kololis guest house just inland from the wharf is also a very good place to stay.....either in the main house or in one of the separate units....cheaper than the hotel and close to stores and food.

Hi - we were there in August last year, and loved it - just a couple though, no kids. You definitely need to watch the little one on the sharp coral - the whole island is made of it, including the one swimmable bay. At low tide the coral rock shelf gets exposed, and there are heaps of very pretty little swimming holes all over the place - but again, watch the coral - you need reef shoes on to protect your feet all the time.

Not sure about baby seats on the bikes. Send an email to alofirentals@niue.nu

Accommodation - Matavai is the only 'resort hotel' on the island - 15 mins drive from town. There are 3 good guesthouses in town, or a couple of nice motels out of town a bit - Coral Gardens (where we stayed) - 5 mins drive from town, or Namukulu 10 mins from town. Probably recommend Namukulu as they have lovely grounds and a swimming pool.

Hope this helps

My wife and me was there in March this year. Namukulu-Motel is a great place.
If you have some questions please write me a PM

Hi Rachel,

I'll do my best to answer your queries below

+Are there many walks suitable for a three year old to do? We are looking for walks that are fairly flat and safe (no steep drops).

Most of the walks to the sea are steep but only a short climb. When I came to Niue 30 years ago I used to take my 3 year old daughter down to the sea in a aluminium framed back carrier.

Do any of the bike hire places have bike seats for children? We are happy to ride with her on the back but she is too young to ride herself!

Am not sure but will ask and if they haven't will insist that they get one before you arrive. You could also enquire to Alofi Rentals. alofirentals@niue.nu

Which accommodation would you recommend for a family with a small child?

Depending on your budget, Coral Gardens and Kololi's don't have swimming pools and have comfortable grounds to run around on.

Are there safe places to go swimming in the sea with a small child?

Plenty of safe swimming places for kids. You need to be aware of the tides because at high tide some places get a bit rough but not usually excessively. Recommended are Utuko (Alofi), Hio (Tuapa), and Tautu (Liku) where my kids learnt to swim.

I hope that is helpful. Our offer still stands that any TTers have a free barbecue on us. You can't miss us, we have an art gallery in town.

www.markcross.nu

With a bit of luck, we'll be (finally) able to visit Niue in 2009
:-)

Coral Gardens certainly looks nice, but on their homepage it reads
"Child policy: No children under 12 years of age."

Which is it, then....
- recommended for a family with a small child (our's will be 3,5 years old)
OR
- not suitable for a family with a small child (no kids policy)

Hi Bung--
I'm pretty sure you have to go with what the place says on its website. I know Crossie meant well, but as a local he may not know their no kids under 12 policy for visitors. I had the same problem at Shangri-La (in the Cooks, for those not familiar). Locals would recommend it to overseas friends who had kids, not knowing we didn't accept them.

If it's not crowded when you'll be there, e.g. no one else or only one other person there, they might make an exception. But remember, others may be booking there in part due to their no kids policy, and those people might not be too happy if they showed up and a kid was there, even if it was well-behaved. That's what I had to tell people even when they said their kid was very well-behaved, mature for their age, etc.

But in general, as I said above, friends with kids have visited Niue and they loved it, and so did their kids.