Planes, trains, and automobiles, long travel times are never easy. There have been moments that I wanted to cry out for mommy so imagine how your child feels. No one is going to have a good trip if the child is upset. Olivia has traveled with us to Hong Kong, Taiwan, NYC, Scotland, Vancouver, Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, Spain twice, Canary Islands, Portugal twice, and France. Here are 5 tips to insure the entire family has a great trip.
- Hotels/Apartments – Our family does a mix of hotels and apartments as they are both great in their own ways. Hotels are great because who doesn’t like their bed made for them every morning? Vicente loves hotel breakfast, and it allows him to sneak some food for an afternoon snack. I like the gym amenities that a hotel provides. Most hotels in Europe are extremely baby friendly. You can request a free crib and bathtub. Some hotels even have cute baby specific toiletry upon arrival. Call your hotel, they may have strollers and car seats for use as well. We also like apartment rentals, especially when Olivia was an infant, we filter our search for apartments with washing machines. We try to pack light and being able to do a load of laundry is a life saver, babies are messy! We travel with TONELIFE laundry soap sheets. They work great in a hotel sink or in a washing machine. Apartments with kitchens allow us to make food for Olivia that she is accustomed to, giving her a little reminder of home. The extra square footage in an apartment allows your toddler some space to explore that does not have a toilet in it.
- Rent a Car Seat or use trains. We like to travel light so when we fly, and rent a car, we rent a car seat. Our favorite travel option is the train. You will get to walk around with your babies and its safer. Papa (Vicente), our driver, gets to enjoy some scenery as well.
- Early Dinner, having a baby doesn’t mean you have to resort to room service. You can still go out to restaurants. Just go a little earlier so there is more room and less people to bother. Not an early dinner family and you want room service? Use the hotels ironing board on its lowest to the ground setting. It makes a great child height eating surface.
- Wardrobe malfunctions and disasters happen – Bring extra clothes, diapers/wipes and trash bags so you can change anywhere.
- A supply of stickers works as a better bribe than candy or cookies. Why? Because who wants to deal with a child hopped up on sugar stuck in a car, train, or plane?
Lastly check out our post specific to flying if that what you have going on. Have a wonderful trip and enjoy your family everywhere…
Them Us Travel 