coryandcarissa

Hello All! My husband and I are first time parents and are loving it, and would like to keep up our love of travel too. I'm wondering if the parents out there can recommend some good vacation destinations for us traveling with our daughter - maybe some vacations you've experienced with your little ones that were successes? We live in SoCal, and are up for either a road trip or flying (we've got a stash of air miles to use). She is currently 3 months old and we are looking to plan our vacation for sometime between now and November. So far, we've done a road trip to Yosemite when she was 6 weeks and flew to Washington to visit family at 2 months and she's been an angel both times. We all love the Baby Bjorn! Thanks in advance for your ideas and suggestions!

abram

In our family, the younger the babies, the easier it was to travel with them. the older they got, the less they slept (and they were pretty darn good sleepers), and the more they seemed to need a familiar routine.

We found that staying in a cottage or a condo was far superior to a hotel, so we could have a kitchen, and separate sleeping spaces.

egret

Our children were always "portable".
We took them everywhere for vacation.
You won't regret it one bit. Even now that they're grown up and married, their favorite conversation is about vacation memories.
I agree with the above post on the cottage or condo. (or even a hotel such as the Residence Inn).
As our children got older, that's the type of accomodation we would seek out.
It sounds like you're wonderful parents!

girlwilltravel

I grew up on the road (Army Brat), and we have traveled from day one with our daughter. You didn't say what type of holiday or where you were thinking of going.
One of the great places we visited when my daughter was very young was The Homestead in the mountains of Virginia. Goregous! We walked the beautiful grounds, my husband played golf, and we even fished a little. We walked and walked and enjoyed the peace and quiet. And we were there in August and it was nice and cool in the mountains.
Yellowstone was another favorite. We first took our daughter there when she was 4 years old. It was May and snow was on the ground in the mountains and she had a blast. We rented a Pioneer Cabin and it was an experience I'll never forget. She remembers it still!
I'm one for traveling with kids. Just pack up the esstentials and go. Be prepared and you'll do fine.
Abram is right. A condo would be perfect at this stage with your child. We've found an Embassy Suites nice, too. An extended stay hotel is convenient. Try not to schedule too many things and be flexible in your expectations. Kids are the unknown variable in the eqation. Keep them on a routine as much as possible. As your child gets older, you will be able to fit the vacation/holiday to your family. Have fun!!

gail

You have gotten some good advice above regarding accomodations. When she is a little older, also think in terms of meals. Eating out with an infant or toddler 3 meals/day gets old really fast. So hotels with breakfast included are attractive. Also refrigerator/microwave at least in room so you can nuke kid food, leftovers when you have to leave restaurant faster than you intended.

You will be amazed how much stuff you need to travel with a kid - while you can get away with much less stuff than you are used to at home (like using stroller as seat to feed her in), there is no escaping the stuff and clothes a young kid needs. So if you are used to packing lightly, times are now different (no more small carry on bag only - that will now carry just what you will need for the flight, not the whole trip).

After she gets mobile there are safety issues. A roll of duct tape should become an essential part of your travel supplies - it can be used to cover electrical outlets, "lock" doors, etc. Just be careful not to rip paint off hotel surfaces with it. Hiking is possible with kid in backpack. A new variety of "dangerous" places present themselves - the Rim of the Grand Canyon, geysers at Yellowstone, airport baggage carousels. These can be dealt with by aware parenting and equipment (strollers and even those dreadful kid leashes).

Transportation. Car travel is easiest on the stuff and sometimes difficult on people - unless you have kid who likes the car a lot. I never liked the idea of driving at night while kid sleeps because then you arrive with well-rested kid and parents who want to sleep.

Destinations. Beaches of any kind, but from CA you may have enough of that at home. National Parks - walking/hiking trails are usually available in all levels of distance and walkability. Cities also work as long as you don't want to spend lots of time in places like art museums when kid is awake. Seattle, Denver, worked with our kids. If she travels well, try Boston.