Traveling with children is always tricky. Here are 10 great tips that I came across in
http://realtravel.com/the_world-journals-j4881539.html I thought I'd try to relate my hints and tips for travelling around the world with young children. It's a hard one to do, I can only go on my experiences with a 2 year old and a "under 6 month" old. I put "under 6 month" as when we started our baby Lloyd was 7 weeks old, and when we returned home he was over 5 months!
So here goes:
10) Travel light
When we left the UK we had 3 large bags, 1 medium bag, 2 car seats and a stroller. When we returned we had 4 large bags, 1 medium bag, 2 car seats, a fishing rod, a child's activity centre, a sun tent, and a stroller. The bags were also a lot fuller than when we started!
I thought I had packed light. But I hadnt. I had packed a few things that we just didnt even use. Not much, but a few bits. Like the heavy book on American National Parks - now when was I going to get a chance to read that with 2 kids! And the winter coats, just in case we hit some bad weather (we were travelling in the summer!). The 4 jumpers for Matthew, I could have got away with 2. The 10 pairs of socks for Steve - he wore sandals for 99% of the time. The walking boots for Steve that he never really liked, and didnt wear once!
The list goes on. So pack your gear. Then unpack and re-assess what you REALLY need. If it is a "nice to have" then you dont need it. If your kids are growing rapidly (as Lloyd was) pack for the next sizes up, and be prepared to throw away clothes they have grown out of.
Think about the weather you are entering. We packed about 4 pairs of trousers for Matthew, but he wore shorts all holiday. We only needed 1 pair. We also found that we bought clothes along the way, firstly because he didnt have many shorts, and secondly just to have a change of scenery! If you are hitting america from england I recommend you just take clothes for the first few days, then buy the rest! It is so cheap in the states you will be going mad shopping anyhow, so why not go with empty suitcases?
9) Slap on the sun protection, then slap on some more
Sun protection is essential, especially when you hit a new country and you have no idea about how strong the sun is initially. We religiously slapped on the cream on Matthew after breakfast each morning, after a while he got used to the routine and just accepted it. Sometimes he moaned about us doing his face, but we had to do it. Dont let the kids put you off.
With Lloyd we did use suncream, but not all the time as he was so young. We tended to keep him in babgros when we were out as these offered near all-over coverage. We also kept him in the shade wherever possible, as remember the sun can go through clothes.
Whats the best sun cream? Well we tried aerosols, sprays, creams, and sticks. I would say the creams are the best, as they give the best coverage, and can be packed in the suitcase easily. The sun sticks were okay, but the kids didnt really like using them, and were hard to apply. Try to get factor 50 if you can, and a kids version.
8) Find the parks!
You have to look at what your children enjoy doing. In our case Matthew liked going to the park. So we could be in the most beautiful spot in the world, but we had to forgo the scenic photographs temporarily to go find a park! We found if we did this he would be so much happier the rest of the day. Sometimes we could goto 3 or 4 parks a day. You just have to accept this as a part of your holiday, and enjoy it. By the end of our time in New Zealand I was quite a connoisseur on the different types of parks.
If you arent anywhere there are parks, as we were in Fiji, then make up some new games. We managed to get hold of a bucket and spade and play on the beach in Fiji, and some of the staff enjoyed partaking in a game of football with Matthew.
7) Dont plan too much
If you plan your day out meticiously you will fail. Trust me, I know. Kids are unpredictable. One day they might be all happy and co-operative, the next they turn into screaming nightmares.
I had an overall plan. I knew which country we would be in each day, and where we were sleeping. I planned all this long before we set off on holiday. But I didnt know what we would be doing in each country, or necessarily where we would be. For instance in New Zealand all I planned was that we would live in a motorhome for 2 months, and pick up and set off from Auckland. In America we had a motorhome for 25 days with hotels either side in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Each day we would decide what we were going to do. Sometimes we acheived it, sometimes we didnt. For instance we planned originally to go to Te Anau and then visit both Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound. But we realised that Doubtful Sound was a step too far, as it involved a coach journey, and being away from the motorhome all day. We couldnt have managed this, the kids would have driven us mad, and all those around us. So we settled for driving to Milford Sound instead. Sometimes we woke up and it was raining. That put paid to any plans for the day, and we usually tried to drive.
6) Its not all about the kids - enjoy yourself
I've said about this in my blog on a few ocassions. The holiday, its not for the kids, its for YOU! It so used to wind me up when people said things like "they wont remember it you know", or "they are too young to be travelling". Sod them, of course they wont remember it, and WHO CARES!!!! Why should your life suddenly stop when you have children? Do you need to change and start taking holidays in Mallorca where there are kids clubs and beaches full of scorched bodies?
If you want to go to the middle of Africa because thats what rocks your boat - then go. Dont let the kids stop you. Just bear in mind that you will have them with you (unless you can find some unsuspecting grandparent to look after them). Of course it's going to be different, but you can still have a good holiday, just a different good holiday!
We did lots of things that werent child friendly activities. But then again we did lots of things that were. We compromised. I really didnt want to go and play on the beach every day in Akaroa, but I had to because Matthew enjoyed it. But he didnt want to watch a speedway in Tauranga, but he did as I wanted to see it. He didnt care for sitting in a tin can plane whilst we saw Mount Cook, but he sat there and didnt moan (actually I think he did quite enjoy it!).
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