Advice for travelling with kids
May 4th, 2004, 10:47 PM
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Advice for travelling with kids
Hi everybody! My husband and I are contemplating an 8-day Spain trip March 2005 with our 2 kids - a boy 12 and a girl 9 (ages at that time). I think it will be an awesome experience for them and for the family. I have a few concerns, though. First, will they get bored and tired of touring and how can I keep it interesting for them? Second, I did Austria, Switzerland and Germany 5 years ago with my best friend on our own and it was great (thanks to this website!), but am I better going on an escorted tour given I'll have the children in tow? Thanks in advance for all your great insights!
May 5th, 2004, 07:15 AM
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I've had 3 family trips to Europe with my kids. The first time they were 9&11 (to Paris & Amsterdam), the following year we went to Italy and this year (now 13&15) we did Madrid & London. These trips have all been unescorted. I prefer the flexibility. The most important thing is to realize that it's not going to be the same trip it would be if adult only but it will still be a great trip.
We always allow some down time, maybe an afternoon in a park. I also try not to go too heavy with the larger museums, and we spend no more than 2 hours in any museum. We try to break up museum time, with some more fun type activites (for example, in Paris, a carousel ride, in Rome, counting the Spanish steps, in Madrid, checking out the vendors in Plaza Ana, or just looking at the artists or street entertainers in a busy square). If the museum is large, I let them pick some some areas they'd like to see. In most cases we rent the audio tours. We've taken them to science museums as a break from art museums. In Madrid, they both used their Spanish which they really enjoyed and were quite proud of themselves.
If there are movies that take place in the areas you are visiting, watch some beforehand. Buy the eyewitness guide books and let them flip through it and see what may interest them (those particular books have lots of photos). For my son, we would pack a ball that we would take out to a park just to throw around and give him some exercise. My kids also enjoy watching the foreign TV, they loved watching 'Who wants to be a millionaire' in Italian. We usually pick up some snacks to bring back to our room for an afternoon break. They always get a kick out of the local grocers, just to see the differnt kinds of snacks they have, or the different names they call things (going food shopping is a vacation activity that they actual look forward to). I always pack a journal (where any of us can contribute with writing or drawing). My kids always pack some personal items (like cd player, books, homework, drawing supplies, cards) to amuse themselves. My 2 kids also, always seem to become closer after spending 10 days in such close quarters. Overall we've had some great trips and look forward to many more.
We always allow some down time, maybe an afternoon in a park. I also try not to go too heavy with the larger museums, and we spend no more than 2 hours in any museum. We try to break up museum time, with some more fun type activites (for example, in Paris, a carousel ride, in Rome, counting the Spanish steps, in Madrid, checking out the vendors in Plaza Ana, or just looking at the artists or street entertainers in a busy square). If the museum is large, I let them pick some some areas they'd like to see. In most cases we rent the audio tours. We've taken them to science museums as a break from art museums. In Madrid, they both used their Spanish which they really enjoyed and were quite proud of themselves.
If there are movies that take place in the areas you are visiting, watch some beforehand. Buy the eyewitness guide books and let them flip through it and see what may interest them (those particular books have lots of photos). For my son, we would pack a ball that we would take out to a park just to throw around and give him some exercise. My kids also enjoy watching the foreign TV, they loved watching 'Who wants to be a millionaire' in Italian. We usually pick up some snacks to bring back to our room for an afternoon break. They always get a kick out of the local grocers, just to see the differnt kinds of snacks they have, or the different names they call things (going food shopping is a vacation activity that they actual look forward to). I always pack a journal (where any of us can contribute with writing or drawing). My kids always pack some personal items (like cd player, books, homework, drawing supplies, cards) to amuse themselves. My 2 kids also, always seem to become closer after spending 10 days in such close quarters. Overall we've had some great trips and look forward to many more.
May 5th, 2004, 07:57 AM
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We began taking international trips with our daughter (now 11) when she was seven. Our trips are all unescorted(no tours) and have included London & Paris, Rome & Venice, Switzerland & Italian Lakes and Madrid. Next up is Scotland this summer. It has been a fantastic experience for her and for us, not to mention great family time.
I would echo most of MFNYC's comments above re: keeping kids interested. We, too, try to vary the experiences so we are not always in museums or cathedrals. We manage walking distances moreso than if we were on our own, and we try to seek out parks or public areas for a little downtime each day. Somehow, rowboats or pedalboats seem to work their way into most of our vacations. It also seems like a lot of kids like to climb things, so towers, castles, city walls or any kind of observation point have been popular.
Our daughter likes to read and draw, so when she wants to slow down, we will find a cafe that we can enjoy for drinks and people watching while she has the chance to decompress and do her thing.
We ususally let her carry one of our cameras and take her own pictures, and we've encouraged her to keep a journal of some sort. She has enjoyed sharing some pictures and other souvenirs with her class afterwards.
We let her have a little time and money to shop for things of interest to her -- she's started buying a souvenir doll from each country; and as far as she's concerned, you just can't have too many beanie baby-type bears with t-shirts advertising the respective country!
And of course, frequent ice cream (helados, since you are thinking of Spain) breaks are always a good idea. However, eating has been a bit of an issue for us at times. There were a few trips where she had pizza or pasta and tomato sauce for every meal. And she wasn't wild about the food in Spain, so it took a bit of trial and error to find places that we would enjoy but would have something of interest for her. In Madrid, we tended to go for heavy tapas rather than full dinners in the evenings, as many restaurants don't open for dinner until 8 at the earliest.
I don't know how much you are planning to travel around Spain. We've found that train and bus trips have worked well, since it is kind of a novelty. Long car rides can get kind of boring.
My only other comment would be to research typical weather for March and how much that might affect outdoor activities. We ususally have to travel in the summer, but I can say that Madrid was beautiful last October and we spent a lot of time outdoors.
Have fun!
I would echo most of MFNYC's comments above re: keeping kids interested. We, too, try to vary the experiences so we are not always in museums or cathedrals. We manage walking distances moreso than if we were on our own, and we try to seek out parks or public areas for a little downtime each day. Somehow, rowboats or pedalboats seem to work their way into most of our vacations. It also seems like a lot of kids like to climb things, so towers, castles, city walls or any kind of observation point have been popular.
Our daughter likes to read and draw, so when she wants to slow down, we will find a cafe that we can enjoy for drinks and people watching while she has the chance to decompress and do her thing.
We ususally let her carry one of our cameras and take her own pictures, and we've encouraged her to keep a journal of some sort. She has enjoyed sharing some pictures and other souvenirs with her class afterwards.
We let her have a little time and money to shop for things of interest to her -- she's started buying a souvenir doll from each country; and as far as she's concerned, you just can't have too many beanie baby-type bears with t-shirts advertising the respective country!
And of course, frequent ice cream (helados, since you are thinking of Spain) breaks are always a good idea. However, eating has been a bit of an issue for us at times. There were a few trips where she had pizza or pasta and tomato sauce for every meal. And she wasn't wild about the food in Spain, so it took a bit of trial and error to find places that we would enjoy but would have something of interest for her. In Madrid, we tended to go for heavy tapas rather than full dinners in the evenings, as many restaurants don't open for dinner until 8 at the earliest.
I don't know how much you are planning to travel around Spain. We've found that train and bus trips have worked well, since it is kind of a novelty. Long car rides can get kind of boring.
My only other comment would be to research typical weather for March and how much that might affect outdoor activities. We ususally have to travel in the summer, but I can say that Madrid was beautiful last October and we spent a lot of time outdoors.
Have fun!
May 5th, 2004, 09:18 AM
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I agree with the previous posters...don't bother wit ha tour. We have taken our children several times, the first when they were 4 and 7. They have always had fun and we never had to deal with boredom. The first trip was on a whim, to Portugal...so no preparing for what we would see. Still no problem with boredom, etc. Other trips of course we planned further in advance and we planned as a family what we would do and see.
Definitely rest in the afternoons so they will be up for the late dinners and wandering around later.
We always travel with just 1 bag each, a carry on (small rollaboard)...and the kids are responsible for rolling their own bag. Even that first trip they were fine with it.
Definitely rest in the afternoons so they will be up for the late dinners and wandering around later.
We always travel with just 1 bag each, a carry on (small rollaboard)...and the kids are responsible for rolling their own bag. Even that first trip they were fine with it.
May 5th, 2004, 06:38 PM
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I would not recommend a tour with children - I doubt they would be at all happy with a schedule and sights that are chosen exclsively for adults. Also, many tours have minimum ages and do not take children below a certain age (or anyone under 16 or so).
May 5th, 2004, 07:12 PM
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Thanks so much everybody! I think you've given me the courage to do it independently with the kids! I'm still interested to hear from anyone out there who did take a tour with the kids just to see how that went.
May 5th, 2004, 08:56 PM
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We have been traveling abroad since our youngest was 8 years old. Have since traveled to Greece, Italy x2, France x2, England, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. No tours. Considering Bali, China, Argentina, Thailand and Switzerland for our next trip.
I do think planning is helpful in making a family trip go well. As a single person I could go without planning at all but now I do much work on transportation and lodging. Do not do much to keep my children interested in traveling other than asking them what they might want to do and some things mentioned above by other posters.
As for specific advice........in no particular order or importance.......
Try to travel as smoothly and easily as possible. Individual tv sets on the flight may make a long flight tolerable. Take a taxi or arranged transportation when you get to your destination airport as you will all be quite tired and ready to get to your hotel. Travel light. Do not try to do too much either in a day or on a trip. Minimize changing locations/hotels as much as possible. We prefer to stay at one location and take short day trips unless we are traveling from place to place in a car.
Tend to like apartments and aparthotels for more space, easy ability to do laundry and to be able to have small meals in house. This also tends to be less expensive than getting two hotel rooms as quads tend to be scarce in most places. We generally get up early to be able to use as much daylight as possible, breakfast in our room, tour the entire day with a stop for lunch somewhere. Dinner can be out or in with take out food. In many countries such as England, France, Spain, Japan etc you can get really great take out food in department stores. We have also hired local guides to take us out in many cities/places to help get an overall picture of the area.
Lastly Spain is a rather large country and you cannot see it all in a week. I would recommend you consider a car trip for a week in Andalucia, concentrating on Cordoba, Seville, Granada, Los Pueblos Blancos, and possibly Jerez and Gibraltar. If you want a large city I would think about Barcelona. March weather in Seville would be average high 69/ low 48 with 3.5 inches/rain in the month.
Oh, yes....read Maribel's posts on Spain. This is very important. Olga is also an excellent source of information for Seville and the South.
I do think planning is helpful in making a family trip go well. As a single person I could go without planning at all but now I do much work on transportation and lodging. Do not do much to keep my children interested in traveling other than asking them what they might want to do and some things mentioned above by other posters.
As for specific advice........in no particular order or importance.......
Try to travel as smoothly and easily as possible. Individual tv sets on the flight may make a long flight tolerable. Take a taxi or arranged transportation when you get to your destination airport as you will all be quite tired and ready to get to your hotel. Travel light. Do not try to do too much either in a day or on a trip. Minimize changing locations/hotels as much as possible. We prefer to stay at one location and take short day trips unless we are traveling from place to place in a car.
Tend to like apartments and aparthotels for more space, easy ability to do laundry and to be able to have small meals in house. This also tends to be less expensive than getting two hotel rooms as quads tend to be scarce in most places. We generally get up early to be able to use as much daylight as possible, breakfast in our room, tour the entire day with a stop for lunch somewhere. Dinner can be out or in with take out food. In many countries such as England, France, Spain, Japan etc you can get really great take out food in department stores. We have also hired local guides to take us out in many cities/places to help get an overall picture of the area.
Lastly Spain is a rather large country and you cannot see it all in a week. I would recommend you consider a car trip for a week in Andalucia, concentrating on Cordoba, Seville, Granada, Los Pueblos Blancos, and possibly Jerez and Gibraltar. If you want a large city I would think about Barcelona. March weather in Seville would be average high 69/ low 48 with 3.5 inches/rain in the month.
Oh, yes....read Maribel's posts on Spain. This is very important. Olga is also an excellent source of information for Seville and the South.
May 5th, 2004, 09:07 PM
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I took my son to Europe 3 times and my daughter twice. The trips were all home exchanges so each of them had his own room (my daughter went to Israel on a teen tour when my son went with me the 3rd time to Germany; it was her choice).
I do agree with all the other posters that you have to adapt your trip for your kids. That does mean that art gallery experiences, for example, have to be focussed and not too long. You also have to prepare the kids for what they are going to see in advance.
Don't be afraid to do an amusement park to break things up. It will be different because it is in Europe. I have threatened to write a guidebook to European amusement parks because I have seen a quite a few of them. They are sometimes very different (having, for example a joust as an attraction).
All the advice about downtime is true. We also enjoyed food shopping and just shopping in general.
Having the house was a definite advantage as we had plenty of place to spread out. When we occasionally stayed in hotels, we sometimes got more than one room to avoid stress. Of course, with a home exchange, you do not do that too often.
Going somewhere where swimming is possible always is a plus. One day outside of London, I just took the kids to the local swimming pool. They had fun and I got some errands done.
I do agree with all the other posters that you have to adapt your trip for your kids. That does mean that art gallery experiences, for example, have to be focussed and not too long. You also have to prepare the kids for what they are going to see in advance.
Don't be afraid to do an amusement park to break things up. It will be different because it is in Europe. I have threatened to write a guidebook to European amusement parks because I have seen a quite a few of them. They are sometimes very different (having, for example a joust as an attraction).
All the advice about downtime is true. We also enjoyed food shopping and just shopping in general.
Having the house was a definite advantage as we had plenty of place to spread out. When we occasionally stayed in hotels, we sometimes got more than one room to avoid stress. Of course, with a home exchange, you do not do that too often.
Going somewhere where swimming is possible always is a plus. One day outside of London, I just took the kids to the local swimming pool. They had fun and I got some errands done.
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