Travel with Kids: 2002
More and more Americans are taking their kids on their European adventures. Rick and Anne Steves have written up their lessons (after 17 years of packing their kids along) in Rick's book, Europe Through the Back Door. They also recommend Cynthia Harriman's Take Your Kids to Europe for those with kids age 6 to 16. But here's where you experienced parents can share your own tried-and-true tips with those planning their first European family vacation.
How do you keep Junior happy on the long flight over? What are your favorite child-friendly attractions? How did you manage in hotels and with finding baby supplies on the road?
Travel With Kids
We spent an awesome 3 weeks with our 3 kids (13,12 and 6) in Europe last
summer traveling through Germany, Switzerland, Paris and England. Just a
few notes in no apparent order.
1- Rothenburg, Murren, and York were huge hits. They loved the small towns and, except London, the big cities were not as enticing. Walking tours (like York's Ghost Walk and Rothenburgs Night Watchmen Tour) brought history and plain fun legend to life. York Minster was awe-inspiring.
2- We did a mixture of small hotels and guesthouses. We found the guest houses a fun experience but preferred the privacy of small hotels more. I would HIGHLY recommend making all your hotel reservations in advance when traveling with kids. Traveling off the cuff as a couple is fun but trying to find a reasonable place to stay with three kids at 8pm is not.
3- Picnics were a lot of fun, especially shopping for them. Although we tried to avoid fast food we sometimes gave in to avoid the time sink of restaurants (It seemed impossible to have a sitdown meal in less than 2 hours)
4- I would highly recommend staying 4 or more days at any location (we didn't). The logistics of moving from place to place contributed to most of the stress and I always felt like we were just getting to know a place when we had to leave.
5- When traveling on public transportation with kids and luggage, you
might want to think of the timing. Our most frightening experience was
taking the Metro in Paris from the train station on a Friday at rush hour
with 3 kids and our luggage. I thought for sure we would leave someone
or something behind. A taxi would have been a much better idea
USA Wed 11/06/2002
Easy Journal
For an easy "journal," buy a postcard each day (let your child pick) of
something you visited and have them write the day's events on the back.
The kids are excited to buy the postcard and the writing space isn't too
intimidating - and the picture is in focus, too!
K. Totah
CA USA Sat 09/21/2002
Travel with kids, Normandy
Keep a jug of water and some snack food handy in the car. A magnetic tic
tac toe game is great for long trips.
We found family rooms at rural B&B's the best - room to run around in
the evening, often with interesting farm animals to visit, and Mom & Dad
nearby in the middle of the night. Our favorite places were the D-Day
beaches in Normandy. A perfect family holiday: museums and history for
a few hours, picnics and play on the beach for the rest of the day. Be
sure to stop at the local village markets for fresh picnic foods, such
as bread, fruit, cheese etc. The kids loved all the interesting things
for sale - from octopus to live turkeys and a lion cub advertising a traveling
circus.
laureen little
USA Mon 09/16/2002
Playgrounds: Austria and Bavaria
I am submitting these because it seems to be impossible for parents to find
this sort of info ahead of time. A well timed playground visit can save
your trip. We did one every day. All of those listed were fun for our kids,
ages 3 and 6. All have the usual playground equipment such as climbers,
swings, slides, etc. Special equipment is noted.
Vienna Rathauspark: NW corner of park, smallish with cool fire truck big toy. Grade: A-
Vienna Stadtpark: directly over Stadtpark U-Bahn station, you can see the trains go by, large, clean park w/2 play areas, trampolines, water trough w/pump and skate park. Grade: A
Vienna Prater: between Praterstern U-Bahn station and main entrance to Prater. Well worn, but fun, unusual amusements like water trough, zipline and steam roller. Grade: B
Vienna Karlsplatz: lovely, right in front of right side of Karlskirche, well equiped, sand box. Grade: A
Vienna DonauInsel also has huge playgrounds, but we didn't visit them due to the flooding.
Salzburg Hellbrunn: massive play area on castle grounds, huge variety of equipment for wide range of ages, well maintained, gorgeous, popular with locals-no tourists. Grade: A++
Mauterndorf Castle (S of Salzburg): huge wooden play area in main courtyard of castle
Tegelberg Sommerrodelbahn (summer luge), 2 min. from Neuschwanstein Castle: worn, but nice playground next to bottom of luge track, coin-operated motorcycles, wading area, zipline. Grade: B + NOTE: No age limit on luge, kids under 8 just ride with parent! A++
Zugspitze Cable Car station, Austrian side: Clean, trampoline, cable car, free go-carts. Dangerous for little ones due to high bridge and unfenced, DEEP fish pond. Big kids grade: B+ Little kids grade: D-
Also, many country Gasthauses in this region have small play areas near
the eating area. We sought these out to make waiting easier. The staff
will even call you when your food is ready. And don't scoff at McDonald's
playland if you really need a break. I know Fussen and Salzburg (Alpenstrasse)
have them.
Angela
Sammamish, WA USA Sun 09/08/2002
Canal boat rental
For a fun, offbeat activity with older kids try renting a canal boat. We
rented a self-drive boat from Thistle Hire Boats (0131 666 2991)near Edinburgh,
Scotland. The price was reasonable (about $100 per night) for something
so unusual. Thistle Hire is one of the few such places in Scotland, but
you can find many places in England and Wales (and I think France too).
The boat was fully-eqipped with a small galley, a toilet and shower, and
beds for 4. It's really a treat to motor along the peaceful canals and see
a totally different view of the countryside. Steering is easy. You can stop
and tie up anywhere you like. Thistle Hire is very flexible and rents for
varied lengths of time (most operators require 4 or 7-day rentals). My kids
(10 & 13) absolutely loved it!
Marcia
Spokane, WA USA Thu 08/29/2002
Travel with little ones
Just returned from 2 weeks in Germany, Belgium and Netherlands with my 2
1/2 year old and my 4 month old child. For the 2 year old - take a portable
DVD player. Was very helpful - can watch on the plane, in the car, in the
hotel room, etc. It was great - worth every penny ($500)!
Renting a car was great with our two little ones. One suggestion- have the rental car company install the car seats for you if you are renting the seats- will save you precious time! (We learned the hard way).
The best family accomodations we stayed at this trip - Gustof von Schluxen in Pimswang Austria. (Bavaria - just over Germany's border - minutes away from Mad King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle) - in Rick's book. They have a playground for children, animals, etc. The restaurant at the hotel also has wonderful food and the staff is helpful and friendly. We are planning on going back to this hotel! With children, I would stay 2 nights minimum because they won't want to leave!
This was our third European trip with our children and we stuck to a
"rural" itnerary - worked fabulous with children. I think it is easier
with small ones in places like Fussen, Rothenburg, Bacaharach, etc. Any
questions- email me; I've learned lots from other spraypainters!
Lynn
UT USA Sun 06/30/2002
Children's behavior
Two summers ago, my husband and I traveled with our two children (then ages
7 and 9) for two months. We traveled all over and had the most wonderful
time. I think the most beneficial tip we have to share is bribing children.
I know that sounds terrible, but we would tell our children that if we got
a compliment from someone about how well-behaved they were on the train,
plane, in the restaurant, etc., we would give them spending money ($2.00
equivalent in local currency).This worked like a charm because they wanted
to receive compliments, so they learned how to say simple phrases in the
local language, entertain themselves when they had to wait in lines, and
generally, tried to behave like good little ambassadors. They ended up receiving
money almost every day, and not only did it give them incentive, it helped
them to develop some pride in their international relations. They were both
appalled at "ugly" travelers whenever we encountered them. Of course we
don't bribe them at home, but bribery sure worked wonders in Europe.
Kathy Conley
Salem, OR USA Wed 05/08/2002
Family travel
Every year my husband, daughter (12 now) and I have take a trip. Originally,
we alternated in choosing the destination for the next vacation. Last year,
we changed our protocol and decided that from now on our daughter will make
the choices. She has a very unpredictable eye disease. It has improved since
then, but it can change any time. This year, she decided on Italy because
she wants to see Pompeii, Leaning Tower of Pisa and Venice. For all of our
trips, we all have a say on the sites we plan to visit, the hotels, transportation,
and other activities. We try to understand each person's preferences and
decide accordingly. In this case, no one is solely at fault if something
turns out wrong, and no one takes full credit when things turn out right.
A few tips that have worked well for us as a family.
A. Elson
Bowie, MD USA Tue 03/26/2002
Travel with kids
Our first trip we took all 3 kids, ages 14, 8 and 11 mos. for 3 weeks. It
was great, but we learned that the older kids tend to want to see the famous
sites, and you need to spend a lot of time shopping! We tried to involve
the two older ones in our planning, but they didn't care. We let them choose
some things to do once we were there, and it worked out well.
Travel with a baby was easier than with a teenager, but the kids still talk about all the neat things we did. Now we will be taking our 12 and 5 year old, and they are more involved with the planning. We have to curtail the amount of time we are in museums, etc. and build in play time for them. We have the philosophy that we will go back and see the things we didn't get to this time.
I highly recommend car seats for the airplane and cars, for young ones. The kids pick out small things to do on the plane, and take a small camera, but otherwise, we limit what they take. They have gotten souvenirs, like collector spoons, thimbles, key chains, etc, so they don't take up much space either on the trip or at home!
Key: be more flexible with kids, especially the older they get! We found
that 3 weeks was about the limit, they started getting homesick after
about 2 weeks, so we have tried to be as flexible as we can with the timing
of the trips, where we go and what we do, and have changed our plans mid-stream
if necessary to accomodate everyone. Try not to travel everyday, as kids
tend to want to homebase more than adults!
Lorraine
Beaverton, OR USA Fri 03/01/2002
Family Travel
We recently returned from a week in Rome with our four children ages 4,10,13
and 15. This was our second trip to Europe with all four kids. A few thoughts
on keeping 'em happy:
1. Physical activity! Climb the cupola of St. Peter's or take the stairs of the Arc de Triomphe, roam the gardens of Versailles on foot or rental bike, or explore Ostia Antica.
2. Go shopping! Our kids were most interested to see what was the same and what was different from back home. Now that the Euro has taken over, it's easier to compare prices, too.
3. Quick food! Every meal shouldn't be a sit-down affair. Explore the neighborhood pizzerias, tavernae calda or bakeries, or buy picnic supplies. One visit to a local McDonald's is fun for comparison purposes although the food often isn't quite the same as back home.
4. Consider renting an apartment for a home base. You'll have the convenience
of a kitchen and more room to stretch out than if you rent 2 or 3 hotel
rooms. In Rome, we rented a spacious 4 bedroom apartment from The Beehive
hostel at a cost of about $25 per person per night. International travel
can be a wonderfully mind broadening experience for children. We hope
our kids grow to appreciate other cultures and become citzens of the world!
Linda M
Oswego, NY USA Sun 02/24/2002
Backpacks for Kids
I love to travel with my kids, but kids have special needs while traveling.
Each child, who is old enough, carries a small backpack each day. In it
they can keep a bottle of water, lip balm, sun screen, hand sanitizer, snacks,
their camera (each one has a disposable camera), an umbrella (if necessary),
Talkabout radio, jacket, book, maps and an electronic game. No matter where
we go, or what's on the day's agenda, we know our kids will be prepared
and well-equiped to enjoy the day.
Bonnie Flint
Salt Lake City, Utah USA Thu 02/07/2002
Travel with 10 month old
We got back from our first trip to Europe with our 10 month daughter. We
spent a week in England, spending 2 days in Bath and the rest in London.
The trip went even better that we could have imagined. Bath is a gem, up
there with Siena, Italy. Here are some tips that others may find helpful.
England is a child friendly country and a child really opens doors. We were
amazed by the friendliness of the English. We used a Kelty Kids convertible
stroller/backpack. I highly recommend it. The backpack option allowed us
to go where 'push chairs' were forbidden like the armory of Tower of London.
Having a stroller is essential even if you don't have the backpack option.
London is very stroller friendly for the most part. Another thing which
I didn't know was that for international trips you still have to buy a ticket
for your child under two. The price is 10% of an adult plus all the taxes.
Another tip is to not attempt more than two major tourist sites in one day.
We did the Tower, British Museum and Natl. Gallery in one day and she broke
down in the gallery. Another nice thing is we didn't have to buy tickets
or admission for her at all. Our daughter did so well that we are going
to go ahead and do it again for longer this summer to Central Europe. By
the way the weather over new years in England was really nice, consistently
45 for a high and 38 for a low. Sunny most every day. Maybe we just got
lucky.
Steve Zavocki
Lewisville, TX USA Fri 01/18/2002