When can I start taking my kids overseas and actually enjoy the trip? - Page 3

[graceshappymum]

You know. We have travelled extensively in Europe with dd since she has been 6 months old and have never bad any problems. Now that she is four I really enjoyed this last trip she was loving every minute of all the buildings and family time. I must admit that we only have the one child and that we have lots of family there. I would say do it. Your kids are more resilient than you think and they get tons out of travel. I have great memories of going to Europe as a very young child! t
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[snozzberry]

Originally Posted by mamadebug

Some practical tips -

I totally agree with the posters who have said not to plan too much for one day and that it helps to have more of a "home base" than just a single hotel room - a kitchen makes a huge difference!

Skip museums for the most part and nice restaurants - that doesn't mean you have to skip good food, though.

Research before you go. Include your child in the research - easy to do online. You can google "whatever city with kids" and usually come up with tons of info.

Give your kids a camera and/or a special journal. I was amazed at what my son drew pictures of - some of the stuff that caught his eye was stuff I didn't even notice.

For our recent trip to Paris, we read stories that were set in Paris before we went, got a book called something like "Paris with kids" and read it together. DS chose some things to see/activities that he wanted to do and was really excited about them - the Eiffel Tower was first on his list and we did it the first day - he learned so much, took tons of photos, drew pictures, walked up all of the steps himself. We went to lots of parks, and often got food from bakeries and ate in the park. Doing things like riding the metro (figuring out the maps and all of the discussions about how not all people drive cars everywhere were a big part of this trip!) and figuring out the culture of local playgrounds were such learning experiences for DS.

I'm loving this thread.

DH and I were trying to decide whether to take 2yo DD to San Francisco this summer, and we were hesitant but this thread has convinced me to go for it.

In addition to the tips here, I think before our next trip after we research restaurants, activities, etc ahead of time, I will pop over to the Tribal Areas section of MDC to run our "itinerary" by the locals for that area. (I say "itinerary" in quotes because it seems way too loose for that word but I couldn't think of one word that means places-we-would-like-to-go-but-won't-stress-out-about-missing-if-it-doesn't-work-out. )

[noobmom]

Originally Posted by snoopy5386

I concur - if I am going to spend the $$$ and time to travel to another country, I am going to want to see and do stuff while I am there - not just visit parks, shops, playgrounds, etc for a few hours each day. We can do that at home! Or at least domestically. We're another family that is waiting until upper elementary/middle school for international travel. We'll stick to domestic stuff until then. Don't get me wrong - we travel lots - DD has been to Seattle twice, on a cruise, to Florida countless times, Texas, Virginia, Upstate NY, etc. But Europe, Asia and Australia will all have to wait for us.

We've taken DS to Paris twice, when he was 2 yo and 3 yo. Both trip were great and totally different.

The first time time, the weather was unseasonable warm and just beautiful. We spent most of our time at parks and gardens (the gardens in Paris are completely different than going to the neighborhood playground) or just strolling around the city, eating ice cream. We went to several sights that could be viewed from outside and didn't require standing in line, like the Eiffel Tower. It was different than the way we would normally visit a city, but we had a wonderful time.

The second time, DS was a little older so we decided to try visit the Louvre. It rained most of the time also, so it worked out well to be indoors. We went on free admission day so it wouldn't be a big deal if we had to leave. We got to see quite a few things before we all decided we had enough. This trip we also went all the way up the Eiffel Tower and did more "touristy" things overall.

I don't necessarily think it's that much more to travel international, at least not from the East Coast to Europe. I've paid less for my tickets to Paris than for a trip home to Texas! I think traveling, in some ways, is easier when the kids are younger. You don't have to worry about school schedules, so you can travel at non-peak times. That right there will save you a ton of money--at least half the cost of your trip, if not more.