Traveling with a 14 month old
 

Hi - my husband and I are trying to pick a travel destination for a 1 week vacation. We live in northern california, like both beach and city. The plan would be travel in September or early October. Would like your feedback on Montreal, Toronto, or Santa Fe as well as any other locations. We're pretty flexible, just need some ideas. Thanks!

The starting point for your trip should be how easy is the destination to get to - shorter, non-stop flights, for example. The baby will not care where s/he is, so then pick where you want to go and be prepared to bring more stuff than you ever thought 3 people could use for a week - and most of it will be for the baby. Not meaning to sound discouraging - our kids are now teenagers and we have been traveling with them since before they were born.

My only comment, off-hand, is that I'd choose Quebec City over Montreal. If you're coming all the way from California, Quebec City is not that much farther. And the old city part has so much more of a "European feel" than Montreal, IMHO. In terms of it's view of the St. Lawrence, it's one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. First went there with my parents when I was about 14 years old. The memory of that view, or more precisely, my feelings about it, stuck with me. Didn't get back there until I was 48. I was not in the least disappointed. It definitely lived up to my memory!

However, if you're spending a whole week and don't mind renting a car, you might want to fly into Montreal, spend a day or two and then drive to Quebec City.

Reading gail's post made me realize that I just totally ignored the "traveling with a 14 month old" part. It was only your title, duh!!

She's right, your first consideration has to be what's easiest with a baby. I'm wondering whether Santa Fe might not be a better choice.

To be perfectly honest, we did nothing but short drive trips with our kids until they were 9 and 13. A lot of it was because we couldn't afford anything more at that time. But, I have to tell you, we (and more importantly, they) have some fantastic memories of trips along the shores of Lake Michigan when they were young.

Don't let anyone discourage you. You can travel just about anywhere with children as long as you keep their needs in mind and adjust your expectations accordingly. We are also from Northern California and took our daughter to Vancouver when she was nine months old, London when she was a year, Costa Rica when she was a year and a half, and now Costa Rica again with her and her sister (4.5 and 2 respectively). Pick where you want to go and realize that you will have to be somewhere for your child to nap, be it stroller, carseat or hotel room, at nap time. Pack as light as you can--you really don't need all of the gadgets you have at home! The hotel you stay at DOES matter, because you will be spending a lot more time in the room than before you had kids and amenities get pretty important. I like the idea of Quebec City, personally. It will seem more international than any of the other places you've mentioned.

Second step - go get a passport for your kid NOW. While not required for Canada at present time, you sound like people who will be continuing to travel - and lack of a passport can stifle any last minute travel plans. I am assuming you and husband have passports and yours has your correct, current, legal name. I read somewhere that for children under certain age both parents needed to go to passport office together - but I am not positive on that, so check it out.

We loved Toronto. City is flat enough to push stroller, exchange rate is still good, and public transit system is easy to understand and can accomodate stroller.

I concur with all the above comments on traveling with young kids. Have not been to Quebec City or Montreal or Toronto, so can't comment, but loved Santa Fe in Spring although that was pre-kids.

We have 3 kids and have been to above 15 countries with them. Our first trip was when we had only one daughter and she was 12 months. We did Prague, Vienna, Amsterdam and Budapest in 2 weeks that trip. Key equipment was an "umbrella" stroller and one shoulder bag devoted to baby stuff, e.g. nappies, bottles, etc., so you always know where it is. The lightest possible, non-fancy, baby backpack can come in handy if you're doing much off road. We explored all of those cities with her (easier then than now that she's nine, in some ways, because other than naps, she was just along for the ride so we had more freedom then). Oh, does it get cool in Canda in October? Since it was March during our first trip, it was still cool so we always had a one-piece fleece with a hood that we would put over layers of other clothes, and it seemed to keep her warm enough.

I hope you enjoy traveling with your kid(s) and much as I do.