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Single mom w/ 8 mo baby traveling to Paris and London

Single mom w/ 8 mo baby traveling to Paris and London

Old Jan 20th, 2017, 01:13 PM
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Single mom w/ 8 mo baby traveling to Paris and London

I am taking a month travel London Paris and maybe Spain with my 8 month old boy mid February through mid march 3017. Obviously I'm not worried about what to see with the baby because I'm basically wanting to see the sights and put him in a ring sling and bring him along, but I want to know where I can stay for cheap, what areas i should look into staying that are safe. Is traveling around Europe on my own safe? Do I need a car seat if I hop in a taxi? I won't be renting a car I figured I'd run around on metro and rail. I'm worried about pick pocketers and so forth seeing a single mom with her hands full. Do they sell baby food in jars like they do in the states like Gerber and so forth because he eats little table food! Is bottled water expensive since I won't put tap water in my baby's bottle...
Any suggestions would be helpful. I want to do at least a week in Paris and a week in London and maybe another week in Spain and the remaining time spent in traveling to and forth. Ideas???
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 01:14 PM
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Opps 2017
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 01:22 PM
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>>I want to know where I can stay for cheap,
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 02:26 PM
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As cheap and safe as can be! Prolly not more than 2500 for the entire month not including air fare. I will have a small stroller.
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 02:44 PM
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for info on rail travel here are some IMO great sites to start with - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

for London -Pairs www.eurostar.com official site where you can easily book your own ticket - up to several months in advance sometimes and deep discounts are available if you book early enough to get those limited in number discounted ducats.
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 04:01 PM
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Take clothes for very cold weather. This winter is expected to be the coldest in Europe in 100 years. It is already showing up with unexpected heavy snow in some places. Knowing ahead, you can be prepared. For a whole month, in sometimes freezing weather, I know it would be a pain, but you might want a bigger stroller with some kind of enclosure to protect the little one.
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 04:07 PM
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I think 2500 is far too low to be honest. Maybe in spain it would be ok, but not in Paris or London. The trouble is that you can't stay in a dorm room in a hostel; so I think bare minimum would be 80 usd a night which would be 2400 in just lodging- but I would actually assume 120 would be more likely, so that puts you at probably at least 3000 in just lodging.

If 2500 is a firm budget, I'd look at cutting your trip down- maybe do a week in London and a week somewhere in Spain.

Very safe though. Keep your passports and most of your cards in a money belt, then have a small sling purse for your everyday stuff. I don't think having a kid along makes you a bigger target for pickpockets- being careless with your stuff makes you a target. I have seen lots of babies and children on transit, usually just with their mothers.

I I actually think I'd prefer a backpack over a stroller. A stroller would work in London. But actually I think it would be a big pain on the Paris metro system- it isn't handicapped friendly and there are a TON of steps at many steps.

And yes, there is baby food. Baby stuff galore actually. So many baby and toy shops!
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 04:11 PM
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And also to add to what sassafrass said- even when it's not terribly cold, it's still probably colder than what you are used to. I don't know where you are from but I'm assuming US? Driving from place to place is very different than walking between destinations and transit all day. I've seen a lot more baby snow suits and swaddling in strollers here, probably because the babies spend a lot more time outside.
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 06:43 PM
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Thanks for the comments. Keep them coming. What about getting a room in someone's house through Airbnb ? Like 45 bucks a day. What areas are good???
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 07:28 PM
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Lots of things to think about if staying in someone else's home. Some might love a baby. Some might not. Bathing and caring for the baby, diapers, etc. Does your little one sleep well in strange places? Some sleep anywhere. Some don't.

There are cheap studios. Check to be sure it is legal and has an elevator. It may be very hard to find in a good or convenient area in London or Paris. Unless you take a taxi, you may need to be close to a shop for babyfood, etc.

Are you going only about 3 weeks from now? Are your plane tickets already purchased? May would be a prettier month to go and give you a little more time to plan. Honestly, I think you need it.
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 08:29 PM
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>>not more than 2500 for the entire month
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 08:44 PM
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that should say >>. . . and IF immigration asks about your trip/plans . . .
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 10:11 PM
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About travel. I heard someone say, "If you can't take the trip you want, take the trip you can." They were applying it to physical limitations, but it can apply to finances too, or time or having children along, anything that might limit what you can do. Good advice, I think.
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 10:48 PM
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You'll have trouble finding an Airbnb room willing to host a little baby. You could look at single rooms in hostels.

Tap water is perfectly safe in the UK. Big bottles of water can be cheap but small single bottles are very expensive.

Of course you can buy baby food. This is not the third world, for goodness' sake.
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 11:04 PM
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Budget has been dissected already.

I will add, no matter where you intend to stay: pull up google maps and streetview and walk around to scout for neighbourhood supermarkets, and - in France - pharmacies (because that's where you'll be able a lot of things for your son if need be)

Sometimes I think that the "is it safe?" question is asked with "are there lots of brown colored people about?" For instance in Paris, many people would not want to stay in the 19th. But, it's much cheaper, and as an obvious mother you'll probably have an easier time there (more people looking out for you) and a better infrastructure (local stores etc)

Be that as it may: 45 euros will not buy you much that is acceptable in Paris. You might want to look into chain hotels that are near the Peripherique for the lowest rates.
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Old Jan 20th, 2017, 11:07 PM
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for intsance https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/des...ighlight_room=
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 12:01 AM
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Budget has not been settled already , what is the currency OP is using. ?? It is so frustrating that people don't understand that we all have different currency on here , Canada, USA and Australia all use dollars.. all those dollars have different values in Euros.. the currency of the one of the countries she is visiting.. and GBP in the other.

I think her budget is unreasonable unless she planned on staying outside the cities,, which she is not... and camping !

She talks about taxis.. forget it.. expensive in London , and not needed in Paris where the bus system is what most locals use ,they have stroller spaces on them in middle of bus too .


Her budget is also to include all food , local transport, and admission fees.

Its the budget of a 20 yr old backpacker,, not a mom with a kid .
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 01:24 AM
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I think in any budget it's too low, Justine. So currency matters less.

Even if you take transit everywhere in Paris it's gong to add up fast. When I moved out to a less central area, I used up metro tickets much faster than I did in Marais. And a lot of the cheap food places I can think of would not be fun with a baby, so that's another problem. Op, is your idea to find lodging that includes a kitchen? I really don't think a room share is practical with a baby. You may be inconvenienced by your host's schedule, and there's a really good chance you'll inconvenience them- there no gaurantee a kid that young won't make noise. And that's not even considering safety...
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 02:29 AM
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When a currecny is not stated it is safe to assume it is USD.

All other people know that currecny has to be added for clarification purpose.

Besides I saw 'bucks' somewhere, isn't it used by US only ?

Anyway even 2500 EUR would be low. Even 2500 £ would be low for one month.

As someone pointed out, a month holds 30 days. So it means 80 € a day. 75 $.

Booking.com lists 5! places to sleep at or under 50 €/day. But they often show 'last room' - Iselected a period of ONE week - breaking it up might yield more results.

It leaves OP between 25-30 € a day to eat and visit.
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 05:47 AM
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58 places not 5!
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