The Go-To Destination for Travel With Kids and Family Travel
Traveling With Kids
This is one of the sections that separates our traveling with kids blog from any other travel blog out there. We have done extensive traveling as family and are excited to share our experiences, tips and travel advice with you. We have covered a lot of topics around travel with kids such as managing sleep with a child, different modes of transportation, using technology and so much more.
Cruises today are gearing more toward families, offering an array of activities, accommodations and services to appeal to parents. With our top tips for cruising with toddlers, babies and kids, you maximize your vacation when taking a cruise with your kids. The first tip is to check for the minimum age requirement for traveling with kids. Most start with a minimum age of 6 months, so before you plan a family cruise vacation, review each cruise line’s age requirements. From there, pick your destination and you’ll find ships able to make kids happy, especially toddlers and young kids who will be excited by all the offerings on the ship, as well as your excursions on land.
Finding and booking reputable private tours can be especially daunting when you are going to a new and unfamiliar city or country. When you don’t have recommendations from friends and all you can do is search, how can you find good private tours (including transportation), not to mention get the best rates?
Note: This is the first article in our series around our travel philosophy, Be F.L.E.X.I.B.L.E.(Flexible). In this article, we give the overview of what Be F.L.E.X.I.B.L.E. stands for and in future articles, we breakdown each letter at a time.
Before our son, Aarav, was born, we loved to travel together. AJ grew up in Dubai, traveling often with his family when he was young, and then continuing on his own once he left home. Natasha didn’t travel as much as a child, but once we met in North Carolina, she developed the travel bug through AJ, and ever since, we were travelers.
We knew we didn’t want to stop seeing the world when Aarav was born. We made up our minds to continue traveling, taking smaller trips and vacations before deciding to embark on our around the world adventure. We wanted him to see the world with him and share our experiences as a family.
Note: This is the ninth and final article in our series around our travel philosophy, Be F.L.E.X.I.B.L.E. In this article, we breakdown what the 2nd E in Be F.L.E.X.I.B.L.E. stands for. If you want to first get an overview on Be F.L.E.X.I.B.L.E. itself, please click here.
We are big fans of technology. (Then again, we are both software engineers, so we may have a slight bias.) Technology begins with using tools like TripAdvisor and Google Translate to help you with your trip. Planning a trip requires some research, and there are many websites that can help you find your routes, seek out accommodations, and book your trip. When in a foreign location, having apps and resources to help you find your way, decipher a different language, or make alternative plans when weather suddenly changes is imperative.
One of the most often questions we are asked is about taking a gap year with our son. To travel 9 months together meant leaving our jobs and putting our home life on hold. We had to plan a budget, save for the trip, make tough decisions, and have a plan for life at home once we returned. It wasn’t an easy thing to do, but was it worth it? Absolutely!
Once upon a time, you used to travel together. Romantic
weekend getaways, relaxing summer vacations. Then you started a family, and
ran out of time to do absolutely nothing. “One day, when the kids are older,”
you say, thinking about when you can travel again. To that, we say, “Go now!”
We loved to travel, too, and when Aarav was born, we made the decision
to keep on traveling while he was young. He’s traveled as an infant on
long-haul flights. He’s seen 41 countries before he turned 4. While we learned
a lot about traveling with a young child (read: What We Learned
on Our Sabbatical (And What it Means for Your Vacation)), we also discovered there are perks adults get to enjoy
when traveling with young children.
After traveling the world as a family of three for 9 months straight, we had to cover three daily meals and snacks, all on the road. Eating out can get pretty costly, and it can be difficult to stay on budget, especially when visiting different countries. We found ways to keep our food costs in check, that you can use for a vacation of any length.
As parents who have traveled with our toddler for 9 months straight, taking 39 different flights around the world, we can’t help but notice when there are parents attempting flying with kids for the first time. It’s easy to spot the newbies: there is a sense of panic before boarding, their children are hungry, and they are not not working as a team.
Don’t get us wrong — Aarav has had his tantrums and we have certainly had our moments. But with all of the trips we have taken, we now know what to do, and what not to do when flying with kids.
We love traveling, and so does our son. Well, considering that he was only four-months-old when he went on his first flight, he hardly had a choice. He didn’t choose the travel life. The travel life chose him. His first flight was not easy, but we never expected it to be easy. Like any parent flying on a plane with a newborn, we were terrified. But we decided to go anyway.
If you enjoy traveling, it’s essential to make it a habit early on during your child’s life, both for your sake and your child’s. And no matter how long or short the flight, it’s best to be prepared. Here are a few things we’ve learned about flying with a newborn on a plane. Though they can’t guarantee you a hiccup-free trip, they’ll certainly help your flight be more enjoyable.
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