[Walking through rice fields in Bali last August (Hudson 13 months)]
Many of you have written in the past, either in comments or directly by email, to ask for travel advice–particularly on the topic of traveling with children. I have a big favor to ask: would you mind sharing more of those questions? I would be so grateful if, in the comment section here, you’d tell me all about your biggest travel questions, your concerns or hesitations (and particularly on that topic of traveling with children). Are there topics you wish I would discuss–or that you’ve found yourself Googling lately? I would so love to hear!
Thank you in advance! I promise to share more about why I’m asking (and to try and cover these topics) soon. Of course, if you have an answer to someone’s question, by all means jump in there, too.
In the meantime, here are a couple of travel-tips posts you might have missed: Flying with a Baby or Toddler and What to pack: travel gear for a toddler.
And P.S. Any time you have something you wish you could find or see here, I’d love to hear from you. Thanks again!
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a 5 month old daughter and we just took our first plane ride this last weekend, which went mostly smoothly. But I’m getting ready for a solo flight with her to CA from DC in a month and am nervous! here are my questions:
How do you breast feed a big long baby in the seat without taking up too much room? and without your boobs flapping around?
How many toys are really needed for a small baby – we had only 1 on the way down for our 2 hours flight and for that flight it was enough, but for the way home she was bored with it and mauled a safety card and bag of pretzels for fun.
How do you handle extra luggage – check everything?
How do you handle getting enough sleep – on a long plane ride, at the destination…
How much stuff do you realistically need to bring – clothing, burp cloths…bibs?
Great questions! I have yet to do a solo flight, but…
–bfing without going into the aisle or adjoining seat is really tough. Practice with her sitting upright before the flight and see if you can maneuver that. Also, check to see if there’s any chance the flight isn’t full and they’ll block a seat beside you once you check in (which you should do early). Also, this is the one time I really go for bf’ing specific tops. Helps with the flapping.
–I pack an entire pack of distractions, but it depends on how much of they flight is during nap/bedtime. Usually two books, two or three toys, snacks (like toys), iPad and headphones for a cross country at that age. Toss in a few surprise 99cent store-like distractions.
–Check all that you can, even though you also want a good carry-on at your feet with extra clothes, diapers, distractions. Also, there’s a company called Lugless that a friend recommended.
Did you see this post? http://www.hitherandthither.net/2012/12/flying-with-a-baby-or-toddler.html
And this? http://www.hitherandthither.net/2012/10/what-to-pack-travel-gear-for-a-toddler.html
I think they’ll both help!
Are there places where a young American woman (I’m 24) should not travel alone? I’m brave and adventurous…but that could also be a bad thing when I should have my guard up. I want to travel before grad school this summer, but likely wouldn’t find a travel buddy, at least not for the whole trip.
How do you find the cheapest international flights? How do you figure out which international cities are the cheapest to fly into? Like – I would totally fly into London as opposed to Dublin if it meant saving a few hundred dollars.
Great question. I’ll look into it further!
And regarding the international cities question: I usually do a lot of hunting/pecking with Kayak searches and itineraries. But I also like their Explore feature that gives you a sense of current prices. Also, booking agents will help you, but just be careful they don’t charge you a fee. I usually call for help, but book online. This doesn’t always work. Biggest airports usually have most deals.
How do people deal in non-child proofed environments? Hotel room, etc?
Is it just a matter of number of kids/their nature (I have twins who are almost impossible to distract/redirect when they find something they want to get into and thus require 2 people full time which is ver tiring), or are there some tricks for on the fly childproofing?
Hi Sara!
We have twin boys, too, I know exactly what you are talking of! I have always a handful of electric outlet covers with me and some tape (washi tape is perfect) to cover or seal outlets, cupboards and switches. It works perfect – as soon as it is out of sight they lose interest.
Plus, you can always distract them with an iPhone and some apps
Such a great suggestion! I’ll have to look into this more for a post–so thank you for the question–but we haven’t done any babyproofing per se at hotels. Still, we have only one! I do a crawling scan of the floor in the hotel room and look for heavy items that can be reached easily. I also push on mirrors etc to be sure they are firmly secured. The hardest were our villas in Bali with so many water features and stairs, but we just had to be vigilant. I’ll look into our ideas!
I’d love to hear more people speak honestly about how they financially plan for a trip. I know talking about money is taboo, but traveling is expensive, and I’d like to read about fitting travel – and its many expenses – into your life and budget. Specific questions I have:
- How do you go about saving for a trip? A little each month? Utilizing a tax return or a bonus? Etc.
- Do you eliminate/lessen other expenses in your life in order to prioritize travel?
- What locations are better for those on a budget?
- How do you go about discovering good quality flights/hotels without spending an arm and a leg? What are your go-to resources?
Again, I totally understand if these topics are too personal to discuss, but I so admire the way in which your family prioritizes getting out and seeing the world, and I’d love to learn how to do that for my family one day too.
I want to write a more detailed answer and compose a post about this, but in the meantime…
–We do prioritize travel. It’s probably our number one discretionary budget item. For a long time, we were on super-tight budgets and stayed in slightly dodgy hostels, etc., but we do spend more now… especially with Hudson.
–We used to get a lot of help from family. As frequent fliers, they shared miles and helped us with money while in school. So that’s just good fortune.
–we have a miles credit card and try to use miles for really expensive flights (even if it means crazy routes, like the 5 legs we flew from NY to Croatio).
–Occasionally we’ve chosen a cruise because it’s probably one of the least expensive trips/day.
–I check Kayak Explore for a sense of current prices. We chose to go to Ireland one JUne purely because they were the cheapest tickets we could find–and then it turned out to be a favorite trip.
–Go to expensive places, like Europe, in the summer when you can eat baguettes and cheeses in parks and go to free concerts, etc. (but get tix far in advance)
–I think beaches are often cheapest. Less sightseeing or cultural excursions. You’ll generally spend less unless you go overboard on drink service or activities like Scuba Diving. Cancun often has cheap flights and is a good base for other, smaller beaches.
–Bookmark ideas from publications like Budget Travel.
–Look at apartments, sharing with friends, staying with friends/family, camping, hostels…
But, honestly? It’s expensive to travel. And I really do think you can find great domestic, local options that can be just as exciting if it’s not in the budget.
I’d also like to add, check Air BnB: airbnb.com. You can rent rooms and apartments all over the place for not too much money.
How do you handel nap time? Our 2 year old naps from 12-2:30 every day. It’s a long time to be stuck in a hotel room. Also, what do you do about bedtime? Ours can’t stay up past 7pm and then what? Stay in the shared room the rest of the night trying to be quiet? Thanks!
It was easier with 2 naps, because we’d do one on the go and one in the room. With the single nap, I’m a bit more worried about getting that full time. Still, I often bend rules on vacations. We all need to be flexible, right? Hudson will nap in a stroller. He used to nap in a carrier. Sometimes he falls asleep in the carseat and we transfer him to the crib. It depends on how good a napper he or she is, but they often surprise you. Otherwise, we try to get rooms with balconies to read on or close to the beach etc and take turns staying for naps. We have cheated with monitors in small hotels and gone down to the lobby, if you’re comfortable. And I’m afraid there’s no easy answer to the 7pm dilemma. It’s why rooms start costing so much once you have kids. We started getting suites or rooms with balconies. Sigh. Or there’s the babysitter. I really do think the monitor can be a help. Hotel restaurant and a room close to the restaurant? We’ve done that.
oh, that little path between paddyfields look so familiar to me.
Love your blog! I’m mom of two toddler boys and work full-time. Before having kids I traveled extensively for work. Glad I did because I got my travel fix for a long time. I have flown with my two boys only a few times (only 2-3 hrs. flights) and, based on what I’ve seen, I cannot understand why people subject small kids (read – babies and toddlers) to the awful world of air travel – unless it’s to attend a family emergency. Nodaway’s it seems like parents deal with so much hostility in airports: angry security people, evil looks from fellow passenger, less than helpful flight attendances, no extra space, no good food options, travel delays, it’s nuts. I have the means to travel, and I don’t… because the experience is for the most part stressful. We do “staycations”: beaches and lakes around our state, family come and stay with us, etc. I guess my question is: Are travel related expenses and aggravations associated with taking small kids really worth it? Maybe I don’t have the patience for it.
Haha, thank you! And it is nuts, right? When we were in Bali, everyone wanted to help us with Hudson. It was amazing. Such a difference from the hostile looks sometimes given on planes. That said, we’ve had very pleasant experiences overall that haven’t detracted from the vacation itself. So personally, I do think it’s worth it… because I love the in between bits so much? And I do think kids rise to the challenge. That said, if you have great options for beaches and lakes with family (i.e. babysitters) locally, I can see sticking to that for a few years.
Love that picture. We’re going to visit my family in Bali soon with our six month old. Would live to hear how you handled the time difference with a baby. He’s got a set nap and bed time already. Im wondering if its worth messing with it since we’re only staying there for 10 days.
How far are you traveling and from where? What’s your time difference? I generally think 10 days is long enough to change. I think it would be hard, actually, not to. They sunlight will affect their body clock. But tell me how many hours we’re talking about? I actually think it will be easier with a set schedule because you’re starting with clear expectations about total hours of sleep etc.
We’re traveling from California. Unfortunately we got hit by four month sleep regression really bad, so he’s up every hour at night and daytime naps are battles. When I’m up in the middle of the night nowadays, I joke that at least he’s on Indonesian time already
I think you’re right. How long did it take Hudson to adjust?
Hi Ashley, I love reading your blog and seeing someone maintain their adventurous lifestyle after starting a family. I would love to hear more about how you transitioned form traveling as a twosome to a threesome. As someone who is hoping to start a family soon, the one thing I worry about is how I can continue my adventurous lifestyle. Do you find that it’s really just keeping the same mindset, or is it just traveling in a different way? Thanks!
This is such a good question. And one that deserves a better answer, but… in the meantime… a little bit of both. We definitely travel differently, but our mindset is and has always been to “go for it” and “it will work out.” Traveling with a kid is hard work sometimes and it’s hard not to wish for simpler times, but those trips are still worth it. So just do it and don’t let fear hold you back from traveling. They’ll adapt and they’ll rise to your expectations (most of the time). Did you happen to read our St. Lucia Travelogue. That was a trip that was totally baby-focused but still turned out wonderfully. It’s helpful to expect to do less in a day.
My 2 year old daughter and I will be flying from London to Chicago in May. I’d be interested in how you keep your little one amused en route to the airport, at the airport and also on the plane! I’m also interested in what I need to do about the car seat. My daughter now uses the “second stage” car seat (it faces forward) but I don’t plan to take this with me….or should I? What are the rules about car seats in the USA? Should I pre-book a taxi (to our hotel) that provides a car seat? Or can she sit on my lap with the safety belt around us both?
Also, I’ve seen you use child friendly headphones for Hudson – can you remind me of the brand please?
Excited to learn more about this project…and to see more pictures of your new home!! It looks amazing!
Louise, I fly with my 2 1/2 year old daughter back and forth from the UK all the time (sadly) and I have brought her carseat on the plane because the rules for carseats in the UK/USA are generally the same at 2 years, we need one once we are there, and she is more likely to sleep in the carseat than on the seat. Also, if I fly alone I can quick strap her in and run to the loo without having to page a flight attendant and I am not sure what age they stop requiring babies/toddlers from sitting on your lap when the seatbelt sign is on (if we didn’t bring the carseat one flight she would have been in my lap the entire time, even though I bought her a seat, because they didn’t turn the seatbelt sign off for 8 hours). In the states it is not legal for her to sit on your lap even for a short taxi ride, unlike here in London. I ordered headphones off amazon.co.uk for her this last trip at Christmas and she loved them – I think they were 14 quid. I generally follow the snack, new/favourite toy, ipod or movie plan on repeat until she either falls asleep or we land. Good luck, it isn’t that bad, especially on BA.
Sorry for answering these questions Ashley, but a few were pretty UK/USA specific.
Thanks for jumping in, Stephanie! This is great. It’s true–other than in NYC, you’re going to need a carseat in cabs, and I really do like using a carseat on the plane if your child has hit/her own seat. Just be sure to check the size of your seat with the airline to be sure it fits. And we love the GogoBabyz car seat transport than turns the seat into a sort of stroller.
Here’s a post with all of the details on that as well as on the headphones: http://www.hitherandthither.net/2012/10/what-to-pack-travel-gear-for-a-toddler.html
Thanks again for the help with the question!
Thanks everyone who’s answered so far! These are great questions and I’ll reply more directly asap with any ideas I have that could help!
I found this post on Ain’t No Mom Jeans super helpful (and hilarious) when preparing for our first trip with our 6-month old. Things like “remember to wear pants you can pull down easily while also wearing your baby” were invaluable.
http://www.aintnomomjeans.com/2012/05/tips-for-flying-alone-with-kids.html
Definitely! Thanks for the link!
I’d love to hear your tips on how to find the best deals on hotels and flights! How far in advance, websites you like to use, how to find good package deals, etc…I’m planning a trip right now and driving myself crazy trying to figure out what I should book!
I’ll have to think more on this! I really like that Kayak feature, http://www.kayak.com/explore/, where you get a sense of current ticket prices. Sometimes we’ll choose a destination based on what the ticket prices are. I like travelzoo a lot and I look at those flash sale sites like jetsetter and snique away, but haven’t booked with them yet. I haven’t really ever done a package deal. I try to get miles tickets far in advance using miles from a credit card or get creative with routing.
But I’ll keep thinking! Good luck!
I love that pic!
Thanks, Andi!
Well, my biggest question is about travel pre-children…my husband and I are hoping to start a family in the next year or so, but first we’d like to take one last big trip with just the two of us. Are there any destinations you think are NOT child friendly, that in your opinion are must-see and would make sense to try to do now? On the flip side, are there specific things you consider when deciding on a destination for your family? I am hoping to be an adventurous family and to continue to travel internationally with little ones, but am trying to be realistic about what we’ll really do when they’re young (and since I don’t know what it’s actually like to travel with kids it would be great to get your perspective on this one). Thanks so much!
Thanks for the question! And yes–we went to India pre Hudson knowing that we were going to start a family soon and I’m so glad we did. It’s not that you can’t take small children, but it would have been stressful (and disappointing). You have to slow down a lot when you travel with kids. You can’t accomplish as much in a day, and while I can accept that for less exotic (expensive to get to) destinations, it’s tougher in a place like India where I wanted to be ambitious with our touring. I would have also worried about the heat (they can’t tell you if they’re too hot), so I would consider going somewhere very hot without a baby. And there’s a high risk of food borne illness, which would freak me out with Hudson. So that’s one.
Also, I would consider places like Paris–especially in cooler weather when the parks are not a viable lunch option. Late nights, romantic cafes, wine, raw milk cheeses, pates, and all the other things that are pregnant no-nos. Plus… expensive and a bit tougher because it’s a big city.
Long flights, expense, safety… those would be my factors.
Save beaches, family trips, local destinations for the baby.
So funny, I was just thinking about how I should read through your posts again on travelling to & through Bali with Hudson. Your posts made it seem both do-able and enjoyable, and totally inspired us to take our 16 month old son, Burke, with us to France for 14 days in April. We have an apartment in Paris for a week then head on to Aix-en-provence and Nice (hotel rooms)…
My questions are (plentiful, sorry!):
1. Any tricks on long flights for entertaining a high energy toddler? Its an overnight flight on the way there, but all day on the way home. Any particular toys? Did you play videos? Is an iPad a must? Did you travel with any food- like fruit pouches, milk (I know some airlines don’t offer it), etc? How did you and Aaron share duty? Tips on staying civil toward one another with a screaming child on a long flight? I fear that my husband and I might want to murder each other around 3am if B is bright eyed and bushy-tailed
2. While in Paris, we’d love to go out to dinner at night once or twice- when you have traveled with Hudson have you ever used a local babysitter? How do you go about finding someone that you feel comfortable with? (a friend has put me in touch with a mom friend in Paris and something may work out there, but if not I’m feeling very uneasy with any less personal options).
4. What kind of children’s first aid/meds do you travel with? Is it a good idea to bring antibiotics for recurring ear infections, or just plan to see an MD there if need be?
3. Schedule: B goes to bed really early at home, typically 6:30, which will be tough in Paris since dinner isn’t until later. Do you switch up the schedule while traveling? How does the time change factor in?
4. I also wondered about the carseat- do you travel with one? And a stroller? We have been told that the Maclaren XT techno is the way to go because of the big visor and because it reclines all the way for napping on the go. Any travel stroller reccs?
5. Hotel rooms. We are travelling with my in-laws, and were able to get adjoining rooms for Aix and Nice, but we’re still going to be trapped in a hotel room for a good part of the evening…have you guys ever been in this situation while travelling? Any insight on how to make the most of it?
6. Any tips on managing your own expectations while traveling with a toddler? We are really excited to be bringing Burke with us, and the thought of leaving him for that whole time left us with a pit in our stomaches…we know it will be a different kind of trip from our pre-baby days, but how did you guys kind of “embrace” the new kind of trip and avoid feeling a little wistful?
Thank you so much!
Katie
Hi, Katie! Thank you so much for all the great questions. I’ll be doing some work on travel posts specifically soon and I really appreciate this. In the meantime, some quick thoughts…
Be sure to check out this post: http://www.hitherandthither.net/2012/10/what-to-pack-travel-gear-for-a-toddler.html
and this one: http://www.hitherandthither.net/2012/12/flying-with-a-baby-or-toddler.html
They should help with question number 1. I find an ipad or iPhone fairly essential these days for really long flights. Snacks are also a must. I love those little self-serve cups for raisins, crackers… and apples are nice–they are slow work.
2. We haven’t yet arranged this, but we plan to soon. Our friend has and we’ve shared a local babysitter with them. I agree that a personal reference or the hotel’s recommendation seem like the way to go.
3. We tend to switch to local time. Where are you traveling from? I’ve heard East Coasters that go to Paris and don’t change schedules. Late bedtime and everyone goes out for dinner. But from the west coast we’d have to adjust for it to be fun. I also switch to Vacation mode and just do some things I’d never usually do (i.e.. walk him to sleep in stroller in pjs, sit outside while he sleeps in stroller, transfer to crib. Or push bedtime… Sometimes you have to ask them to be a bit flexible…)
4. See the posts re carseat. I wish I could speak to the Maclaren, but it sounds great!
4. We pack an entire medicine cabinet. Especially Tylenol and Motrin and have been really glad we do. Depends on where we’re going, but I wouldn’t underpack here.
5. That’s tough. We have cheated with monitors in small hotels and gone down to the lobby, but really the only option for breaking away is taking turns (see if they’ll do it!) or getting a babysitter. It’s why rooms start costing so much once you have kids. We started getting suites or rooms with balconies. Sigh.
6. It’s not easy, I’m afraid. Wistful you will be. But you’re ahead of the game if you’re already preparing yourself. It’s a different kind of trip and you just have to redefine how much you can see or do in a day. Go slower. You have to factor in things that are fun for them, but this doesn’t mean you can’t ask them to bend. Hopefully yours can sleep in a stroller or carseat and you can do some naps on the go so that you don’t have to keep rushing back to the room. The main thing is just what you said: lower expectations. Instead of going to a museum, take joy in the ice cream cone by a fountain. It can still be wonderful, but it will be different.
How did you handle nap time/bed time/meal time with a time difference? Do you train your son to fall asleep on local time? We’ll be traveling to Hawaii next winter (from the East Coast) & I’m wondering if we should break up the trip, like flying to San Francisco or LA then staying 1 night in a hotel, then flying on to Hawaii the next day. Also, did you take red-eye flights in the hopes that your son would sleep? My worry would be that my 2.5 y.o. son (3.5 next year for Hawaii) would be awake & disruptive.
How did you plan (& what were your experiences) for travel with a toddler in a developing country? Before having my son, I traveled frequently to Nicaragua & would love to take my son there to meet my friends & (hopefully!) fall in love with Nicaragua the way I did. Anyone have advice for traveling to that kind of country?
And thanks for doing this, this is awesome!
Thanks for the question! I’ll be sure to talk more about this in future posts.
In the meantime, I definitely would say to go for it and don’t bother breaking up the trip. It will be so much more trouble to deal with airport transport and packing etc.
So far, we would swear by red-eye flights or any flights when they’ll sleep. Is your 2.5 yr old a consistent sleeper? That drive to sleep is strong and the plane is full of soothing white noise. We’ve found it to be very persuasive so far. Fingers crossed.
We also always take a couple of days to adjust to local time (and it’s a pain), but basically we try to do everything on local time from the day we arrive. Most of the time this means pushing naps or bedtime later and then enduring some middle of night wake ups. I note how many hours he usually sleeps (at each sleep time and total) and don’t let him go longer than usual. There are some good websites about prime times for exposing yourself (or them) to daylight to reset body clocks.
But overall: it just works out in a couple of days. Just put youself on local time immediately, as much as possible.
Finally, I’ll do my best to work on a post about traveling in developing countries. My general attitude is ‘go for it,’ but easier said than done. It would be wise to meet with a travel doctor who can specifically address vaccinations and preparation for the destination. And then be super cautious about food borne illness (and vigilant about hand washing/sanitizer). That’s a major danger for anyone but esp young kids.
Okay… more soon.
YES! I have a question for you. Have you ever used any of those baby equipment rental sites? I ask because we have an eight month old and we live in Barcelona but we frequently travel back home to Miami. I don’t want to bring a portable crib, a car seat (we don’t own one since we don’t have a car here), a high chair etc every time we visit our parents but we also don’t want to buy everything all over again to stash there because they haven’t got the space and it’s expensive. Do you have any advice?
No I haven’t! I appreciate the question and will have to check it out for a future post. The car seat is tough, bc you might need it sometimes for flights and in transport from the airport, right? For a highchair, we’ll use a Totseat or Inglesina clip chair for travel. And we tote our own portable crib everywhere so that he knows it, but maybe your parents would stash that for you? I’ll have to check out the rental sites, though!
What day packs or purses do you recommend without looking to touristy but are still comfortable to use?
Thanks for the question, Jennifer! I’ll keep it in mind for a post. In the meantime, I really like the Steven Alan canvas tote with a zipper at top as well as backpacks that aren’t sporty but rather more knapsack-like. The Baggu crossbody bag was nice for our trip to India: lightweight and simple–only qualm is a button closure at top rather than a zipper. Check the slection at Flight001. Good luck!
Hi! I have a few worries that aren’t the garden variety concerns of a mom. Our daughter is 16 months old and spent her first year in the hospital due to a complicated heart issue. My husband and I are HUGE travelers-Africa, Europe, etc. The last time we went anywhere was a wine trip (I was 4 months pregnant-torture!) in California in April 2011-so we are itching, big time, to go somewhere. However, my daughter is on oxygen and has a G tube and is on quite a few medications. She is also a bit immuno-compromised. So I guess my questions center around how to pack for a toddler AND quite a few other medical supplies. Also, I don’t even know how we would travel with oxygen-can you fly? How do you keep a baby fairly germ free in places like airports, etc? I’ve also been wondering how a situation like renting a house and inviting a few friends and grandparents along…I was thinking that it might be fun to be able to have built in babysitters so my husband and I could go out? Have you ever done that? Hope this isn’t too specific for your Q&A!
These are great questions. I’m starting a new side job as a family travel blogger and so perhaps this is an issue I can look into more. But for now, let me say that I’m so glad that you’re daughter is doing well, is out of the hospital, and that you’re at the point you’re considering traveling again. I definitely recommend the house rental and grandparent route. We realized that sometimes the best vacations are family ones because of those babysitters–better than even an exotic locale. Not sure where you’re based from, but perhaps there’s a destination in driving distance until more of the flight issues are resolved. E.g. LA-based folks might go to Palm Springs and rent a house with a pool and parents can sneak out after bedtime for nice dinners.
Good luck!
Family travel blogger? Do tell!
More details soon! Promise!
Looking forward to it! Hopefully very soon. Always looking for good family travel blogs and Hither and Thither is already one of the top ones!
Exciting!
Hi Ashley, loved reading about you’re plans for even more blogging specifically about family travelling. Count me in as a regular reader. I’d love to read some more about how you actually go about planning your trips. We live in Copenhagen, Denmark and I have travelled to a bunch of the other European cities as well as NYC and San Francisco in the States. A few road trips down through Europe, staying in villas in the South of France and then a trip to New Zealand are actually the only non-city trips I’ve taken. Plus I’ve only ever travelled in Western Countries. When we go to a city we just buy some plane tickets and a hotel room or rent an apartment and don’t really plan too meticulously what we’re gonna see, since a visiting a city is mostly about visiting restaurants and museum and just walking through the various neighboorhoods. Now that we have two children (aged 3 years and nine months) I think we need to plan our travels more. Plus start going to more varied destinations and not always just big cities. So the question: Could you share some tips for the planning stages before a trip? How do you go about it and where do you find the information you need about what not to miss? When you went to Bali for instance, how did you chose ‘we’re gonna stay in this place for ten nights and this place for two and then finish in this third place for three nights’ and how to get between those places and find houses and hotels and sights to visit and everything? Are there any specific websites you recommend? Looking very much forward to more travel inspirations from you. Even just your answers to everyones questions here are inspirational. I wanna pack the kids up in a suitcase right this moment and flee this never ending Scandinavian winter. //Camilla
Hi Ashley! After reading all these questions and your answers, I only have one question for you: I see from your Bali pictures that you attached Hudson’s car seat to one of those travel carts, like the Britax Car Seat Travel Cart, to travel through the sirport. Did you also bring a stroller, or did the car seat + cart double as a stroller for you?
We didn’t bring a stroller on that trip–the car seat/cart worked as a stroller for airports, etc., and we used the Ergo carrier for everywhere within Bali. We generally found that the sidewalks etc weren’t ideal for a stroller, though we saw a couple of families making it work–usually with lightweight umbrella strollers.
It’s been a while since we’ve used the Ergo–I wonder how Hudson would find it at this size. Still, if you’re not using the stroller much, the carseat combo could work. If you’re using it a lot, I’d miss the sunshade, storage basket, etc.
Hi Ashley! I’m a reader from Argentina, but I visit the US with my family once or twice a year because we have family in Los Angeles, and dear friends in Key Biscayne. Every time we visit the US we try to go to different cities and I would love to hear recommendations on family friendly places to visit (I have a 2 year old boy and I’m currently pregnant with my second child). I would especially like to know about appropiate hotels, restaurants, parks, etc.
Thanks!
Tina
Hi Ashley
We will be travelling through Europe this summer for one month. I have a question about wardrobe for children. I need durable, easy to wear, easy to wash (in a hotel sink!), squishable, warm, cool, and of course CUTE items to bring along. Part of our time will be in Norway – so rainwear is also necessary. I would love one of those lists (2 bottoms, 3 tops, 1 sweater, etc.). Or just brand names to search through. And the items I might just not think about! Kiddos are 4 and 7, but I am sure the question would stand for littler and bigger as well!
I know…not fair to pass along all my angst about packing to you!
Carla