Littlechic
If you were a seasoned European traveler and you had to choose one or two countries (pref western Europe) to travel with a 2-3 year old child, which countries would you chose and why? The duration is 2 weeks. We've been to England, Scotland, Spain, France and Italy. Husband has been to all of the above plus Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Hungary and Austria. However the only place we've spent any significant amount of time is Italy and England specifically London. We speak English and Italian and a tiny bit of Spanish. Any thoughts?? The child is a great traveler, albeit still a toddler, and we'd be staying in one or two apartments.
Answer
I'd do Sweden, for sure. Child friendly infrastructure anywhere you go, public diaper changing rooms, climate never too hot, pretty much everyone speaks English, everything is super clean and super safe... just don't let the little one get too close to the lakes all alone.
As for yourselves... well, I think it makes a great destination for adults, too. So much so that I've even decided to move there. Great place for simply letting go and taking in the serenity of water and sky... and those holiday cottages can be really cozy, fireplace, out in the woods... I'd recommend the following locations, check them out, you might like what you see:
Hunnebostrand (a beautiful fishing village on the west coast)
Marstrand (a pretty much car-free island off the west coast, close to Gothenburg)
Gotland (another island, this one off the east coast, and further south - very cool stuff to see there)
I'd do Sweden, for sure. Child friendly infrastructure anywhere you go, public diaper changing rooms, climate never too hot, pretty much everyone speaks English, everything is super clean and super safe... just don't let the little one get too close to the lakes all alone.
As for yourselves... well, I think it makes a great destination for adults, too. So much so that I've even decided to move there. Great place for simply letting go and taking in the serenity of water and sky... and those holiday cottages can be really cozy, fireplace, out in the woods... I'd recommend the following locations, check them out, you might like what you see:
Hunnebostrand (a beautiful fishing village on the west coast)
Marstrand (a pretty much car-free island off the west coast, close to Gothenburg)
Gotland (another island, this one off the east coast, and further south - very cool stuff to see there)
Travelling with an infant?
Spark
My wife and I are planning to travel abroad (from Canada) with our infant next year. What places do you recommend and are there websites that are good for this?
Answer
I've been to almost 60 countries on all continents (including Anarctica). I was an international Flight Attendant for 13 years and had most of my career and most of my travel before I had my own children starting at age 35. My husband was also a keen traveller before we met and we basically haven't stopped. I fly with mine about twice a year, between Europe and California since each was about 4 months old. We also have travelled within the U.S. and Europe with our little ones.
Where do I recommend? Depends on the season and the real question is not where but how. Actually, the only places I wouldn't recommend are locations with dodgy sanitation conditions and/or political unrest. Extreme hot or cold aren't ideal either. You have a lot of choice.
I personally, wouldn't want to go somewhere that you can't take advantage of what's on offer because of the little one. For example, you might not want to go skiing (unless there's a baby club and your child is old enough for it) or to amusement parks with tons of rides you enjoy. You'll be stuck with having to watch each other doing these types of things. Don't plan activities which wont accomodate a baby. You can dive and parasail again in a couple of years' time...
Please don't plan anything that needs constant relocating. If you want to see a specific region, park yourselves somewhere central, rent a car and make daytrips from that point. Repacking, checking in, checking out, etc. are a real pain with a baby.
If you go to a beach, stay ON the beach. Little ones are senstive to the sun and it can get messy with the sand. Don't intend on driving to a beach and hanging out there all day. It wont work.
Choose locations which are calm and family oriented. Don't have loud partiers and the thump-thump of a disco keeping your baby from sleeping. In Hawaii, for example, Kauai might be a better choice than Maui or Wakiki (which I don't recommend to anyone!)
Distance is not a problem for your baby (more a strain on your budget though) because small babies actually do very well on long haul flights.
I used to be a snob about All-Inclusive resorts (with that much traveling, I was a Youth Hostel addict!) but was I singing a different tune once I procreated. We moms need a break too. Food is taken care of and you can lounge around as you like or do whatever is offered right there. We were big Club Med fans but they jacked up their prices to the point I don't think it's value for money. We tried a couple of similar companies which were cheaper but we ended up with poor organization and bad food, among other complaints. Go onto Travel Advisor and get the real skinny on which ones are good. Take advantage of off-season deals.
We recently took our first cruise. This was a great way to travel with children because you don't really have to worry about the food and accomodation. You only have to unpack once (well, we stayed a few days in Rome prior). Only NCL, from what I understand, will have a baby club for really small ones but honestly, with an infant, you don't need it. Take him/her with you on shore excursions.
The drawback is that diapered babies and toddlers aren't allowed in the ships' pools. Also be careful of the age as different lines have different rules about the baby's age.
I honestly recommend to new parents to plan a trip before 8-9 months of age. I found that once the baby moves, travel, and everything else, become more complicated. By contrast, I would not advise going before 8 weeks of age. They are able earlier but honestly, the first two months can be tough so go for it and use that as your time frame. You have a nice 6 month window there. It is also much easier to travel if the child is purely breastfed (experience with both here!) and consider delaying solids until after your return, if the timing is right. If the child is bottlefed, get the kind of bottles which use disposable liners and use powdered formula. Traditional bottles are a pain to cart around, especially in the car or airplane.
Just as a general tip to make travel as well as the rest of your life easier with a baby, get a good carrier. By definition, that should be something that goes at least to age 2. Forget Bjorns and Snugglies and get something really comfortable like a sling, wrap, pouch, mei tai or ergo. These work much, much better.
Here are my flying tips if you need them eventually;
http://flyinwithchildren.blogspot.com
Some of my favorite sites;
traveladvisor.com
http://www.cruisecritic.com/cruisestyles/area.cfm?area=23
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49
http://www.clubmed.com/cgi-bin/clubmed55/clubmed/welcome.jsp
Have a good trip, wherever you decide!
I've been to almost 60 countries on all continents (including Anarctica). I was an international Flight Attendant for 13 years and had most of my career and most of my travel before I had my own children starting at age 35. My husband was also a keen traveller before we met and we basically haven't stopped. I fly with mine about twice a year, between Europe and California since each was about 4 months old. We also have travelled within the U.S. and Europe with our little ones.
Where do I recommend? Depends on the season and the real question is not where but how. Actually, the only places I wouldn't recommend are locations with dodgy sanitation conditions and/or political unrest. Extreme hot or cold aren't ideal either. You have a lot of choice.
I personally, wouldn't want to go somewhere that you can't take advantage of what's on offer because of the little one. For example, you might not want to go skiing (unless there's a baby club and your child is old enough for it) or to amusement parks with tons of rides you enjoy. You'll be stuck with having to watch each other doing these types of things. Don't plan activities which wont accomodate a baby. You can dive and parasail again in a couple of years' time...
Please don't plan anything that needs constant relocating. If you want to see a specific region, park yourselves somewhere central, rent a car and make daytrips from that point. Repacking, checking in, checking out, etc. are a real pain with a baby.
If you go to a beach, stay ON the beach. Little ones are senstive to the sun and it can get messy with the sand. Don't intend on driving to a beach and hanging out there all day. It wont work.
Choose locations which are calm and family oriented. Don't have loud partiers and the thump-thump of a disco keeping your baby from sleeping. In Hawaii, for example, Kauai might be a better choice than Maui or Wakiki (which I don't recommend to anyone!)
Distance is not a problem for your baby (more a strain on your budget though) because small babies actually do very well on long haul flights.
I used to be a snob about All-Inclusive resorts (with that much traveling, I was a Youth Hostel addict!) but was I singing a different tune once I procreated. We moms need a break too. Food is taken care of and you can lounge around as you like or do whatever is offered right there. We were big Club Med fans but they jacked up their prices to the point I don't think it's value for money. We tried a couple of similar companies which were cheaper but we ended up with poor organization and bad food, among other complaints. Go onto Travel Advisor and get the real skinny on which ones are good. Take advantage of off-season deals.
We recently took our first cruise. This was a great way to travel with children because you don't really have to worry about the food and accomodation. You only have to unpack once (well, we stayed a few days in Rome prior). Only NCL, from what I understand, will have a baby club for really small ones but honestly, with an infant, you don't need it. Take him/her with you on shore excursions.
The drawback is that diapered babies and toddlers aren't allowed in the ships' pools. Also be careful of the age as different lines have different rules about the baby's age.
I honestly recommend to new parents to plan a trip before 8-9 months of age. I found that once the baby moves, travel, and everything else, become more complicated. By contrast, I would not advise going before 8 weeks of age. They are able earlier but honestly, the first two months can be tough so go for it and use that as your time frame. You have a nice 6 month window there. It is also much easier to travel if the child is purely breastfed (experience with both here!) and consider delaying solids until after your return, if the timing is right. If the child is bottlefed, get the kind of bottles which use disposable liners and use powdered formula. Traditional bottles are a pain to cart around, especially in the car or airplane.
Just as a general tip to make travel as well as the rest of your life easier with a baby, get a good carrier. By definition, that should be something that goes at least to age 2. Forget Bjorns and Snugglies and get something really comfortable like a sling, wrap, pouch, mei tai or ergo. These work much, much better.
Here are my flying tips if you need them eventually;
http://flyinwithchildren.blogspot.com
Some of my favorite sites;
traveladvisor.com
http://www.cruisecritic.com/cruisestyles/area.cfm?area=23
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49
http://www.clubmed.com/cgi-bin/clubmed55/clubmed/welcome.jsp
Have a good trip, wherever you decide!
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