Where are you going to stay on your next vacation? This is usually one of the first things you need to establish before booking any flights. You have to make sure that you can stay somewhere before making any travel plans relating to how you are going to get there.
If you are just a couple or even a couple with one child it is usually straight forward and hotels are usually the best option for convenience and cost. Once you have two or more kids it can get a lot more complicated.
In many destinations around the world there are rules and restrictions relating to the maximum occupancy levels of hotel rooms which can more than double the cost of your accommodation costs. Not to mention the fact that you and your partner have to stay in separate rooms with a kid or more each for company and the family separated. (adjoining rooms aren't always available).
A lot of search engines don't even allow you to search and consider the total number of occupants at the same time so you can waste your time looking for a hotel and then find that you won't be allowed to stay there unless you book two rooms. For some this may not be a problem but we as a family prefer to stay in one room or a double room apartment so that we can be separated from the kids after they go to bed but not have the worry of them being in a completely different hotel room.
When we went to Europe recently we found that in almost every destination the private search for accommodation yielded the best results in relation to location and amenities and cost. We also found that in many cases it was a great benefit to be "living like a local".
We found a great apartment in Paris very close to some of the main attractions that more than adequately housed our family of five. Not only that we had our own kitchen, tv, free portacot and free wireless internet connection and a very newly renovated comfortable apartment. We were met by the owner and given lots of tips to make our stay comfortable. The rent of this apartment was a lot cheaper than any of the hotel accommodation we managed to find that would accommodate us and I am sure was in a much higher star rating than if we invested the same amount of money in the hotel system.
The same occurred in Venice. This was extra special as we were really in with the locals this time which was a fantastic experience for both us and our kids. We had to find the local shop and saw the local kids going to and from school. (my kids thought it was great that they didn't have to go).
Another benefit to staying in private accommodation is just that. It is usually more private! You don't have to worry as much abou the kids making noise like you do or feel you have to staying in a hotel.
Don't discount hotels altogether as you can find ones that will accommodate larger families in certain destinations but you usually have to do a lot of searching and it usually involves some emails back and forth directly with the accommodation to confirm that you can stay in the one room or that the rooms are adjoining. We found a great hotel in Geneva that accommodated the five of us in one top room that was larger than the rest of their rooms. In Vegas we managed to find a hotel that was having such a great deal that it didn't matter that we had to order two rooms. (I can tell you now though we will only actually be sleeping in one of them!!) I couldn't stand to have the kids in a separate room to us and i doubt that my husband will want to sleep in a separate room to me.
My main tip today is to use the internet to your advantage. Try your search in as many ways as possible until you find what you are looking for. Also once you have found a private apartment online that you are interested in, search for it by name or location on all the other sites it is advertised on and read as many reviews as you can. Average these reviews as some people are really really fussy and others are way too blase about where they stay. Look at the comments and see overall how they make you feel about the place you are looking at. Do this for any hotel rooms as well. The reviews can tell you a lot about a place that their own internet website will not tell you, even the perks that may not have been mentioned.
Most of these private accommodations can be paid for using PAYPAL which means you can pay using your credit card over the internet without actually giving out your credit card to the people. You only have to give it to PAYPAL. Another benefit is that you usually only have to pay a deposit and can pay the balance either when you get there or when you checkout. (I personally like to pay via paypal and get my receipt just before we head off on the start of our journey as I don't like handling large sums of foreign currency and prefer to pay via credit card as there is some degree of guarantee by the bank if things go wrong). There is also a degree of protection when paying via paypal as they have a complaints system when the services aren't provided for etc.
Have fun in choosing your accommodation. If you are there to see the sights then sometimes location is more important than luxury. In other instances luxury is the reason you are there so go a little further out from the sights to get the luxury you are looking for. It is usually a trade off and you may want to be somewhere in between.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Travel Tips with Kids!!
Kids usually come with a lot of stuff!!
When travelling with kids some of this stuff is a must and sometimes you can get along just fine without all the stuff!
When travelling with kids that either can't walk or can't walk very far then you need to think about how they are going to get around and the types of touring that you will be doing on your vacation. Some things to consider are:
- Are you going to be on and off different forms of transport ie buses and train where you will need something that folds up quickly and isn't too bulky once folded?
- Are you staying somewhere that has lots of steps? We went to Venice and although there are bridges everywhere there are usually steps up to the bridges which make it a nightmare for prams or buggies.
- Is there a chance that it might get stolen ie when you have to leave it at rides (you would be better of taking a cheaper alternative)
- Are you taking your car seat on the plane? Airlines recommend that children under 40 pounds should properly restrained in a child seat system. You will then need to consider how you are logistically going to manage a buggy and a car seat up to the gate?
Some of my solutions to the above problems are:
- If you need your system to be portable you could consider the Ergo Baby Carrier (pictured below). This carrier is fantastic because it is made out of material only. There are no rigid parts so when not in use it can be stuffed into a backpack. It can be used from newborn right up to age 4 (depending on the child's weight). It can be worn on the front, back or side. The baby or toddler can sleep in it without their head wobbling around (it has a privacy hood). You can nurse discreetly hands free whilst carrying your child hands free. This truly is a hand free carrier. Men are usually willing to wear it. My husband wore our son in it for our month long trip to Europe. He preferred to wear our 18 month old on the front but I found that he weighed less when he was born on the back (just like a backpack). We didn't need to take a stroller at all whilst using this. We visited Venice which has steps everywhere and not to mention all that water so this carrier was ideal. I fully endorse this carrier and am still using it with my 3 year old and will use it when we go to Disneyworld later in the year when he gets tired and doesn't want to walk anymore. There are plenty of other great carriers on the market and I urge you to consider them all but this one was created by a chiropractor so is ergonomically designed to be comfortable to wear for long periods of time without doing any harm to your posture. In fact it encourages better posture when worn correctly. An added bonus is that you can get a backpack that fits onto the carrier so that you can carry the child and all their stuff at the same time and still be hands free. Check out the link to the website on this blog.
- If you don't fancy carrying your child around then the next best option is an umbrella stroller. These are usually cheap and fold down like and umbrella. You can even get versions that recline (for the younger child who will nap in one). You can even buy one online and have it delivered to your destination if you don't think you will need it at the airport. These are also great for getting on and off transport as they aren't as bulky as a regular stoller when folded down. There are even one's that fit into a bag that you can wear as a backpack and are very lightweight such as the backpack stroller pictured below.
- My recommendation for a child under 40 pounds that has to have an airline approved safety restraint is the Cares Kids Fly Safe Harness. (Pictured below) This turns a regular airline seat into a five point safety harness. It takes up very minimal space in a carry on bag and is much better than just the lap belt alone. The only downside is that your child has to have their own seat. If you child is under two and you don't have to pay for a seat for them then you could take the chance that there will be an extra seat for them, otherwise you have to add the cost of an extra seat. I personally wouldn't pay for a seat when I didn't need to but then again I was happy to nurse my 18 month old on long haul flights across to Europe. My tip here would be to make a deal with your partner to take turns in eating cold meals as there is no way you can have your lap tray down and have a child on your lap at the same time, there just isn't room.
As for the rest of the stuff that kids need like highchairs and cots etc, most of this can be provided by your accommodation provider (usually at no extra charge if you scour the web for the best deals). If you eat out most places have high chairs. We also made do with a bed rail that folded flat in the bottom of our suitcase so our toddler could use a regular bed without fallling out.
Feel free to ask any questions about any other stuff that you think the kids may need. You can usually get travel versions of lots of things that will take up less space in your luggage.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Have Kids Will Travel!!
Today's topic is very close to my heart.
We have taken our kids on all of our holidays. That's why we go on holidays. To spend time with each other and delight in everything new that we discover and explore along the way!
Besides the kids are a great excuse to go to places like Disney World or other theme parks that probably shouldn't or wouldn't appear on an all adults travel itinerary.
Don't get me wrong there are some obstacles and maybe even hurdles to overcome but that is half the fun in planning a family vacation!
Things to consider are:
The tip to travelling with kids is preparation! Preparing the kids for what they are about to experience as well as preparing your luggage to take care of every possible outcome without carrying too much of the stuff!! The benefit to taking a baby is that nappies take up a lot of space but don't weigh much. As you get further along in your holiday you can fill that space with stuff that you pick up along the way! And just think, if you forget something it is no big deal to buy it when you get there! Even foreign countries have babies with needs!
The plane journey is usually the biggest concern for most first time travelling parents. I always get statements of amazement from people when I tell them that we took our 3 and 5 year old around the world with us and then subsequently took an 18 month old, 5 and 7 year old through Europe and are about to embark on a trip to America with oury 3, 8 and 10 year old. It really isn't that big of a deal!
Try to pick flights that fall in nap time! Those red eye flights are sometimes the best ones, not only are they cheap but the kids can sleep just about anywhere. My biggest tip on long haul flights is to forget about watching the movies and sleep when your kids do. Pack a bag of 'surprise' items whether that is food snacks or little cheap toys that will keep them occupied and wrap them so it takes them longer to get through them! Don't let on that you have a bag full of them though as all you will get is 'can we open another toy?' for the rest of the journey. (from experience)
I find the plane journey part of the adventure and it is usually the first thing to look forward to. Although by the end of some trips you just want off the plane as much as the kids do! Treat it as quality time with your kids as when else do you get to sit and spend time with your kids uninterrupted for 20 hours straight. Talk to them, ask them what they are looking forward to about the trip. Teach little ones new skills like counting! If you have more than one child make sure you swap seats and spend time with each one to make them feel special! Get the kids amusing each other by setting up a card game or drawing, colouring or playing noughts and crosses on paper. There are so many possibilities.
As we live in Australia the first part of our holiday is usually a long haul flight or series of long haul flights! Once we arrive at our destination we like to stay put for as long as possible and only go to three or four other places. This minimises the number of times we have to pack and unpack and allows us to really explore our destination thoroughly whilst taking our time as kids can be unpredictable. That way we don't miss out on anything and don't feel we have to return and are free to pick somewhere different to visit next time. We usually pick kid-friendly destinations but if you search the internet with the city name and kids or things to do with kids in XXX then you will come up with lots and lots of ideas of things to do and see just about anywhere!
Another great tip is to take things from home that young children are familiar with to help them settle in a new environment. It could be a favourite teddy, pillow or toy, book dvd etc. I take our family laptop (it also stores our travel info and is a place to download the photos to and communicate back home to family. Skype is another great asset) so that we always have something to watch of an evening (you can save files to a stick drive to save space). You never know when there is nothing to watch in your native language!! A month without tv in English is hard to endure for young kids! It is a great tool to wind them down when they are confined to a hotel room! You can watch movies on ipods now as well, great when they want to watch different things or you have kids of vastly different ages. Our family rule is that these items are only used whilst in transit or stuck in accommodation. We don't take them out with us for the day unless there is a bus trip or train trip as part of the day's events. We want our kids to experience the new places we visit not just be there not really taking anything in!!
I plan most of the days that we are away quite meticulously. Mainly because when we get to a new destination they all just look at me and go 'what are we doing today?' These plans are not set in stone and we go with the flow as much as possible but it gives you a great starting point and then you can judge what you and the kids want to explore from there. Also I like to pack in as much stuff as possible as it costs so much for us to fly from where we are that we might as well make the most of it within reason of course. If the kids or you are tired and just want some down time then take it as then you will be fresh the next day and can start again. Chances are it will be another opportunity for some more quality time!!
Another great tip is to get the kids involved with the planning phase. Show them internet sites of where you plan to visit and see if they are interested in any of the things you are showing them. You can plan your itineraries around some of these things as well as some of the things that the adults want to see and do.
I could go on and on about planning holidays but this post is getting a bit long so will get back tomorrow to unload some more useful hints and tips about travelling with kids!
We have taken our kids on all of our holidays. That's why we go on holidays. To spend time with each other and delight in everything new that we discover and explore along the way!
Besides the kids are a great excuse to go to places like Disney World or other theme parks that probably shouldn't or wouldn't appear on an all adults travel itinerary.
Don't get me wrong there are some obstacles and maybe even hurdles to overcome but that is half the fun in planning a family vacation!
Things to consider are:
- The age of the kids or age range of the kids
- How far you want to travel
- How long will you be away for
- How many times do you want to pack and unpack!
- What to take and what to leave behind
The tip to travelling with kids is preparation! Preparing the kids for what they are about to experience as well as preparing your luggage to take care of every possible outcome without carrying too much of the stuff!! The benefit to taking a baby is that nappies take up a lot of space but don't weigh much. As you get further along in your holiday you can fill that space with stuff that you pick up along the way! And just think, if you forget something it is no big deal to buy it when you get there! Even foreign countries have babies with needs!
The plane journey is usually the biggest concern for most first time travelling parents. I always get statements of amazement from people when I tell them that we took our 3 and 5 year old around the world with us and then subsequently took an 18 month old, 5 and 7 year old through Europe and are about to embark on a trip to America with oury 3, 8 and 10 year old. It really isn't that big of a deal!
Try to pick flights that fall in nap time! Those red eye flights are sometimes the best ones, not only are they cheap but the kids can sleep just about anywhere. My biggest tip on long haul flights is to forget about watching the movies and sleep when your kids do. Pack a bag of 'surprise' items whether that is food snacks or little cheap toys that will keep them occupied and wrap them so it takes them longer to get through them! Don't let on that you have a bag full of them though as all you will get is 'can we open another toy?' for the rest of the journey. (from experience)
I find the plane journey part of the adventure and it is usually the first thing to look forward to. Although by the end of some trips you just want off the plane as much as the kids do! Treat it as quality time with your kids as when else do you get to sit and spend time with your kids uninterrupted for 20 hours straight. Talk to them, ask them what they are looking forward to about the trip. Teach little ones new skills like counting! If you have more than one child make sure you swap seats and spend time with each one to make them feel special! Get the kids amusing each other by setting up a card game or drawing, colouring or playing noughts and crosses on paper. There are so many possibilities.
As we live in Australia the first part of our holiday is usually a long haul flight or series of long haul flights! Once we arrive at our destination we like to stay put for as long as possible and only go to three or four other places. This minimises the number of times we have to pack and unpack and allows us to really explore our destination thoroughly whilst taking our time as kids can be unpredictable. That way we don't miss out on anything and don't feel we have to return and are free to pick somewhere different to visit next time. We usually pick kid-friendly destinations but if you search the internet with the city name and kids or things to do with kids in XXX then you will come up with lots and lots of ideas of things to do and see just about anywhere!
Another great tip is to take things from home that young children are familiar with to help them settle in a new environment. It could be a favourite teddy, pillow or toy, book dvd etc. I take our family laptop (it also stores our travel info and is a place to download the photos to and communicate back home to family. Skype is another great asset) so that we always have something to watch of an evening (you can save files to a stick drive to save space). You never know when there is nothing to watch in your native language!! A month without tv in English is hard to endure for young kids! It is a great tool to wind them down when they are confined to a hotel room! You can watch movies on ipods now as well, great when they want to watch different things or you have kids of vastly different ages. Our family rule is that these items are only used whilst in transit or stuck in accommodation. We don't take them out with us for the day unless there is a bus trip or train trip as part of the day's events. We want our kids to experience the new places we visit not just be there not really taking anything in!!
I plan most of the days that we are away quite meticulously. Mainly because when we get to a new destination they all just look at me and go 'what are we doing today?' These plans are not set in stone and we go with the flow as much as possible but it gives you a great starting point and then you can judge what you and the kids want to explore from there. Also I like to pack in as much stuff as possible as it costs so much for us to fly from where we are that we might as well make the most of it within reason of course. If the kids or you are tired and just want some down time then take it as then you will be fresh the next day and can start again. Chances are it will be another opportunity for some more quality time!!
Another great tip is to get the kids involved with the planning phase. Show them internet sites of where you plan to visit and see if they are interested in any of the things you are showing them. You can plan your itineraries around some of these things as well as some of the things that the adults want to see and do.
I could go on and on about planning holidays but this post is getting a bit long so will get back tomorrow to unload some more useful hints and tips about travelling with kids!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Don't pay a travel agent!!
Don't waste your money on a travel agent!!
We have done several international and around the world trips as a family of four and now five!!
We have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by not using a travel agent.
It doesn't matter which travel agent you use. They all have a very limited number of products that they can offer. Once you venture further than Australia or your home country there are very limited options when booking through a travel agent.
We used a travel agent to book a trip to Disney World in 2005 and found that they didn't know half of what I had already discovered by spending a few hours on the internet. This is especially true if your group is greater than two adults and two kids. There are way better accommodation deals in just about every location in the world where you can rent an apartment or house which will work out cheaper than staying at a hotel where you are forced to stay in two rooms which may or may not be able to be adjoined! I know our family prefers to stay together especially when the three kids are younger than 10. If we go on a holiday as a family why would my husband and I sleep in separate hotel rooms as there is no way we would put the kids in one room on their own considering what could happen to them.
If you really want the security of a travel agent as opposed to purchasing everything yourself online then do your research online, compile your quotes and challenge the travel agent to match it. Chances are they won't even come close or at the very least will match it.
If you don't know where to start, use a travel agent to do the hard work for you ie get you quotes and suggested itineraries. Then go online and see if you can beat their quotes. I did this recently for our impending trip to America and I managed to get every single accommodation suggestion cheaper by booking it direct with the hotel online!!
Check out the links on my blog page for more tips and tricks when it comes to travel!
We have done several international and around the world trips as a family of four and now five!!
We have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by not using a travel agent.
It doesn't matter which travel agent you use. They all have a very limited number of products that they can offer. Once you venture further than Australia or your home country there are very limited options when booking through a travel agent.
We used a travel agent to book a trip to Disney World in 2005 and found that they didn't know half of what I had already discovered by spending a few hours on the internet. This is especially true if your group is greater than two adults and two kids. There are way better accommodation deals in just about every location in the world where you can rent an apartment or house which will work out cheaper than staying at a hotel where you are forced to stay in two rooms which may or may not be able to be adjoined! I know our family prefers to stay together especially when the three kids are younger than 10. If we go on a holiday as a family why would my husband and I sleep in separate hotel rooms as there is no way we would put the kids in one room on their own considering what could happen to them.
If you really want the security of a travel agent as opposed to purchasing everything yourself online then do your research online, compile your quotes and challenge the travel agent to match it. Chances are they won't even come close or at the very least will match it.
If you don't know where to start, use a travel agent to do the hard work for you ie get you quotes and suggested itineraries. Then go online and see if you can beat their quotes. I did this recently for our impending trip to America and I managed to get every single accommodation suggestion cheaper by booking it direct with the hotel online!!
Check out the links on my blog page for more tips and tricks when it comes to travel!
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