We returned Tuesday from a week in Belgium with our almost 2 year old son. This posting includes tips on travel with a toddler as well as specific suggestions based on our experiences.

We were so proud of him – he did so well with every aspect of the trip – jet lag, naps in the stroller, restaurants, museums. I think waiting to travel with him until he was almost 2 was a great idea because we were able to talk to him about the places we were going, what we saw, etc. Also to some degree we could reason with him (if we do this now, then we’ll do that later etc.). Let me start with general advice for traveling with a toddler.

Someone told me before the trip to get one new toy and one new snack for every hour of the plane ride. We pretty much did that and found it to be very useful. Actually on the 7 hour ride over, he watched Elmo on our portable DVD player for the first hour. About 90 min into the flight, I changed him into his pjs, brushed his teeth, and told him it was time for bed. After another 30 min he actually fell asleep and slept for the next 5 hours!! He slept stretched across our 2 laps – I slept in several 10 min increments so basically not at all but didn’t feel so badly the next day. On the 8.5 hr plane ride home, unfortunately we'd left the DVD player in Antwerp so didn't have that. The very nice United Airlines rep in Brussels upgraded us to the bulkhead seats and we also had only 1 other person in our row so we were able to spread out. Our son even had his own seat for a nap (we hadn't bought him a seat). He did great playing with his toys, listening to his favorite music on my IPOD(highly recommend doing that).

Tips for travel with toddler
1. bring lots of new small toys. This was LIFESAVER in restaurants, trains http://www.growingtreetoys.com/product/8009 little wooden cars with holes in them that he would “thread” onto a string. He loved lining them up, making roads with menus, etc. It helped having lots of new toys because you never know what they’re going to like – some, like the mini slinky, were total duds. Another great new item that killed a lot of time was a little photo album filled with pictures of his friends and family. My sister lives on a farm in NY and pics of her 2 horses Jenny and Jet were a big hit.
2. Lots of Ziploc bags of snacks. He ate these all week long as supplements to meals: cheerios, Elmo Crackers from Whole Foods that are fortified, Almonds(he’s not allergic), new yogurt snacks (nasty), raisins. Ensure makes toddler snack bars that are also relatively healthy/fortified with vitamins.
3. Eat at outdoor restaurants. We didn’t have to worry about him being too loud and he could often play around our table since we were frequently on a pedestrian only square/street.
4. Get a baby backpack – we used our MacClaren stroller and our Ergo – really good to have both – he could nap in the stroller which reclined and we’d use the Ergo for longer hikes on uneven terrain or just walking around town when we wanted to go faster. I LOVE my Ergo carrier.
5. Give lots of breaks for them to run around/play. He LOVED jumping off of statue bases in the squares.
6. Stay at least 3 nights in each location – its just too hard to move around with your bags and a kid.
7. Stay in hotels that provide a baby bed
8. At museums take turns – one goes inside to look at the art while the other plays on the steps outside. He did last about 15 min at the arts museum in Antwerp listening to my explanations of the art (obviously at a very simple level) so it was fun to try but of course he couldn’t stay with that for too long.

Specific Belgium reccs:

Hotels:
Brugges - B&B Sint Niklaas - We loved this place - 1 block from the belltower with a wonderful view of it - fantastic location. lovely hostess in Anne who makes a delicious breakfast for you every day - clean, homey rooms with a great bathrom. I'd highly recommend this place. Very good price too.

Antwerp - Hotel T'Sandt - I wouldn't necessarily recommend it given how expensive it was with several minor problems. Clogged shower, burned out lights, very dark room. However, it was a nice big room in a great location, great breakfast. I mean it was nice but at 100Euro more than the last place it wasn't fantastic.

Brussels - IBIS Hotel - felt like a cruise ship, small, clean room, terrible bed and pillows, our toilet didn't have a lid to the tank initially. GREAT location - right by the train station and Grand Place. the Breakfast was completely terrible. the coffee was made from a syrup. Front desk was very helpful

We spent 3 nights in Brugges, 3 in Antwerp and 1 in Brussels. I'd recommend 4 nights in Brugges - we took 2 full days to see the town which was ideal in our opinion, then a day trip on bike to Damme. This was one of the big highlights of our trip - its a very easy ride with beautiful scenery along the way. We went to Gent as a day trip from Antwerp but it would have been a little closer from Brugges.

I'll write more later with restaurant reccs.

Hello jck4, I am sure families with little ones will get a lot out of your trip report. Your little fellow sounds like a great traveller! Wishing you and your family many more trips in the future. You are raising a future Fodorite I do believe!

Thanks for the thoughtful report. It was especially timely for me as my husband and I are preparing for a trip to Paris next month with our almost 2 yr old daughter. We'll be staying in an apartment for 10 nights. Some specific questions (very specific - hope you don't mind!!). We traveled with our daughter last year at 9 months old but this seems like a whole different ball game now that she is walking!

1. How did he do with the jetlag? What did you do the first day? Did you nap? did you put him to bed at his normal (local) time?

2. What did he sleep in? You mention some of the hotels having a baby bed. We've arranged with our apartment rental for them to provide a pack and play for her to sleep in but she has not slept in one for a long time as it is a bit small for her and we use it at home as a holding pen so she isn't used to sleeping in it. She sleeps in a crib at home so I'd be nervous putting her in a regular bed. Based on amazon reviews, I was thinking of ordering the kids aerobed to use for her and we can try it at home first.

3. Does your son normally nap? How did you handle the napping schedule and work that into your sightseeing?

4. Any suggestions on a schedule that worked for your family (e.g., getting out early? sleeping in late to deal with jetlag?).

5. Any essentials to bring from home other than new toys and a favorite stuffed animal? I have a list from last trip and have learned to buy things like diapers there. I figure the food should be easier this time.

any other tips welcome! thanks again for the useful report.

I've also traveled with a toddler and enjoyed the experience. Thanks for sharing your tips with other parents -- I became addicted to Fodor's planning for that trip, and I'm still here three years later

~mebe

Sally -- I'm not the OP -- but I'll take a stab at some of your questions. Our son is 3 and we've traveled with him since he was an infant.

Sleeping -- our child was so worn out after his busy days that falling asleep in the pack and play was never a problem. He sleeps in a crib at home. We have recently tried him in his own bed while traveling but he fell out of it and woke up. If your daughter tosses and turns in her sleep it may be hard for her to sleep without the crib slats. Many nights he just slept in the bed with us.

Schedule -- we found that waking up with our son, the early riser, site seeing in the morning, going home for a nap in the afternoon, then more site seeing and an early dinner worked really well. Often only one of us stays in the apartment during the nap. The other one could go out to some less child friendly places.

Jet Lag -- We just dealt with that for the first time at age 3. Before then, our son just rolled with the punches. He sort of mixed up naps and nighttime but his body knew when it needed sleep and eventually he evened out. I assume you're coming from the US? We only experienced jet lag going from the UK to the US -- not the other way around -- maybe you will too?

I think you're right about food being easy in Paris. We found we could just hand our son a half of a baguette and he'd munch on that and be perfectly content! If you go to a grocery store a TUC cracker is essentially a Ritz. We kept lots of those handy as well. My son likes them but more importantly, when he was fussy we would break those out and feed pigeons -- my son's favorite activity.

My last two soap box items -- if you purchased a plane seat for your daughter look into the CARES harness. It works with the airplane seatbelt to create a 4 point harness similar to the one in your child's car seat. You don't have to bring a carseat on the plane but it provides more support than just the regular plane belt.

If you have decided to go down the road of t.v. for your child, a DVD player can be priceless. We always bring our laptops and he watches movies on them. They have been lifesavers on planes! It's also nice to have something comfortable and familiar, like a favorite show, when you're sleeping and living somewhere unfamiliar. He usually watches something while we're getting ready in the morning or in the evening as we all wind down. If you don't let your daughter watch t.v. I respect that as well.

Good luck! We loved being in Paris with our son as a toddler. The Parisians loved him and we always felt very comfortable taking him places.

jck4 - an absolutely amazing post! It was full of very useful information. Traveling with kids can be so daunting but sharing your experiences will really help some other parents be prepared. Thank you!

Thanks BKP. I was wondering about the CARES restraint. I actually posted a question about it on a different thread but didn't get any responses. We have purchased a seat for our daughter and we are flying from Boston so not a short flight (although thankfully as short as it can be from the US). I was wondering if your son had trouble falling asleep in the seat without the comfort of a carseat. Was there anything you did to make him more comfortable? I figured we'd just drag along the carseat since it is familiar and she always sleeps in the car. But I could be convinced otherwise since CARES seems a heck of a lot easier!

Hi Sally and thanks for your kind words everyone. Its my pleasure to give back to this board that has helped me so much in planning our vacations.

1. jetlag – We pretty much just forced our bodies to adapt to the new 6 hours ahead time. Seratonin is a powerful thing! (ie the body knowing to stay awake when its light out and to sleep when its dark) When he slept on the plane, even though he slept half the amount of time he does at home, that was it for the night. We arrived at 7:30 am and he stayed awake pretty much until 10am Belgium time. He then napped in the stroller for maybe 90 minutes and took a second 60-90 min nap around 3pm I think. At home he naps 1pm-3pm approx. That night, we all went to bed at around 8:30 or 9pm. At 12:30am he woke up and we all stayed awake (with the lights out, no crying but an occasional “Mama?”) for about 2 hours then we all got up around 7am. The next few days he took 2 60-90 min naps (take advantage of these for going to museums or having a leisurely lunch) and never had night problems again. We never went back to the room for naps as we wanted to maximize our time touring. The first day we went to a museum, walked around to orient, took a boat trip, went on a horse-drawn carriage. So he rose and went to bed at his normal times (7:30am, 8:30pm with 2 naps inbetween.)

2. he was in pack n play type beds. He’s used to sleeping in them though. Your daughter prob won’t have a problem with the strange bed as she’ll be tired (as the other poster noted). Unfortunately our son is now tall enough to climb out of the pnp so we put it flush with my side of the bed so at least he wouldn’t go plop on the floor – he could just climb onto me. Our son has never slept in a reg bed by himself and I don’t think vacation’s the best place to start.

3. answered above
4. I’d get up whenever I woke between 7 and 8, shower, husband would then shower, then we’d wake son up and take him downstairs for breakfast at 9. We’d then be out and about by 9:30 or 10 and be gone most of the day, eat dinner early to avoid bothering other diners (meaning about 6 or 6:30 or 7 at the latest). We actually kept him up later than usual – bed between 9 and 10 and then up around 8 or 8:30.

5. we bought diapers there although it was painfully more $$. You’ll need to if you’re going for 10 days though. I suggest you pack lighly – we only had 2 rollerboard bags, my large zipper carryon, a backpack, and the stroller which we planeside checked. I’d recommend an Ergo – there’s a hood that you can pull over a sleeping baby’s head so it doesn’t flop. Our son’s 26lbs and its still comfortable.

Food – he ate a lot of spagetti. Hate to admit it but we went to McDonalds a few times. Their happy meals in Belgium wer e healthy though - Activa yogurt, carrots, apples in addition to th e mcnuggets. There were lots of choices. He loved French fries and says “Pomme Frites!” with a perfect French accent. : )

Would love to help with other questions.

Julie

Sally -- I'm sorry I didn't reply to your question earlier. We were on a trip, flying to Paris in fact and using our CARES harness!

My son always sleeps on the transatlantic flights. The airplane seat isn't as comfortable as a car seat but we manage. He usually ends up leaning against us. On our last flight we had 4 seats for the 3 of us and we all just sort of sprawled! More importantly than his position has been the time of the flight and following our routine. We flew out once at 11:30 pm -- he slept almost the entire flight. One time we gave him his night time cup of milk but let him watch a short movie after it (which we never do at home) and he didn't fall asleep for hours! We've seen some parents go so far as to change their child into pajamas to convince them it was bedtime. One set of parents actually whistled their child to sleep! I guess whatever it takes to help a child to sleep!

Good luck!

Thanks and no worries - I found you on the other post. Hopefully she sleeps. And if she doesn't, hopefully I never see those other people on the plane on the return flight!

What a great report! Thanks for sharing this--I am always interested in toddler travel tips--my son is 2 1/2. It sounds like your son handled things very well.

Just in case Sally sees this again-- we have the kids aerobed for our toddler and have flown with it once (from Arkansas to NYC). We packed it up as tightly as possible in one of those space saver bags and then put it in our larger suitcase. It worked well. Our son had used it a few times before this trip so we knew he'd be ok with it. It's very handy for us b/c he's really too long to sleep in pack-n-plays anymore.