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Started By
Message
Traveling internationally with child
Posted on 2/14/19 at 5:21 pm
Posted on 2/14/19 at 5:21 pm
So I’ll start by saying I’m points rich. More AA, Hilton, Hyatt points than I know what to do due to credit card churning. Have a two year old and wife isn’t at the point where she’s cool with leaving for a week at a time.
Wish I had these points 3+ years ago between marriage and kid because would have gone on three international vacations a year.
How manageable is international travel with a young child? I imagine the plane and jet lag has to be grueling for them and parents. Just looking for any tips or advice. Hopefully it’s not wait till they are 8. So bring kid eventually or wait till wife is ok leaving for a week... but then kid #2 may be coming along so the cycle repeats....
Wish I had these points 3+ years ago between marriage and kid because would have gone on three international vacations a year.
How manageable is international travel with a young child? I imagine the plane and jet lag has to be grueling for them and parents. Just looking for any tips or advice. Hopefully it’s not wait till they are 8. So bring kid eventually or wait till wife is ok leaving for a week... but then kid #2 may be coming along so the cycle repeats....
14
Posted on 2/14/19 at 5:58 pm to macatak911
Sounds miserable
Posted on 2/14/19 at 7:18 pm to macatak911
In this thread you'll have people that will tell you a variety of the following:
- this is the dumbest idea ever
- that you're a selfish a-hole for putting your kid through the torture of air travel
- that you're just doing it for instagram likes
- the kid will not remember it
- think of how miserable you and everyone else will be
I can keep going, but I think you get the idea. What they typically don't have is the experience you do with air travel or any knowledge of your child and their experience traveling. Combined with their general displeasure/uncomfortable-ness around children...you get those responses.
With that said, we brought our 2 year old on a 10-day trip to Europe last year. She's been on about 8 different trips with us so is familiar with air travel, but this was by far the longest haul we've done.
The flight over isn't bad. It'll be during their normal bedtime so they should just fall right asleep in their car seat. Only issue we had was with a long customs line upon arrival and a tired kid.
Did our best to keep her up once we got our rental car and went about the day...so all she did was crash early (3-4pm) local time and slept through the night...from then she was basically on schedule.
Yes, your day will go slower...you'll take more breaks, trips back to the airbnb/hotel to nap, plan car rides around nap time, etc. Bringing other family along on the trip can alleviate this...we had other family willing to watch her or stay back and relax during nap time, etc.
Flight back is more challenging just because they're awake and you'll be keeping them occupied for an extended period of time.
Good luck!
- this is the dumbest idea ever
- that you're a selfish a-hole for putting your kid through the torture of air travel
- that you're just doing it for instagram likes
- the kid will not remember it
- think of how miserable you and everyone else will be
I can keep going, but I think you get the idea. What they typically don't have is the experience you do with air travel or any knowledge of your child and their experience traveling. Combined with their general displeasure/uncomfortable-ness around children...you get those responses.
With that said, we brought our 2 year old on a 10-day trip to Europe last year. She's been on about 8 different trips with us so is familiar with air travel, but this was by far the longest haul we've done.
The flight over isn't bad. It'll be during their normal bedtime so they should just fall right asleep in their car seat. Only issue we had was with a long customs line upon arrival and a tired kid.
Did our best to keep her up once we got our rental car and went about the day...so all she did was crash early (3-4pm) local time and slept through the night...from then she was basically on schedule.
Yes, your day will go slower...you'll take more breaks, trips back to the airbnb/hotel to nap, plan car rides around nap time, etc. Bringing other family along on the trip can alleviate this...we had other family willing to watch her or stay back and relax during nap time, etc.
Flight back is more challenging just because they're awake and you'll be keeping them occupied for an extended period of time.
Good luck!
This post was edited on 2/14/19 at 8:11 pm
Posted on 2/14/19 at 8:26 pm to macatak911
Bring a tablet with pre downloaded shows and you are good to go, and get some good headphones for the kid. The kids headphones don’t get loud enough to hear on a plane FYI so get them like $40-50 decent ones. At 2 she is small enough to basically curl up and sleep on the seat. We put our daughter on the floor before, but I’m not sure I’d recommend that or how legal it is.
Outside of that, Europe is fantastic for kids. Extremely kid friendly in almost every way.
Go now, yolo. Worst case you learn from your mistakes.
Eta: oh yeah, I’d go somewhere the traditional food and snacks are great for kids. Italy, France, Germany, etc. you can find good food everywhere, but it’s just a lot easier if there is great food especially for your kid to window shop or whatever all over.
Outside of that, Europe is fantastic for kids. Extremely kid friendly in almost every way.
Go now, yolo. Worst case you learn from your mistakes.
Eta: oh yeah, I’d go somewhere the traditional food and snacks are great for kids. Italy, France, Germany, etc. you can find good food everywhere, but it’s just a lot easier if there is great food especially for your kid to window shop or whatever all over.
This post was edited on 2/14/19 at 8:28 pm
Posted on 2/15/19 at 6:01 am to macatak911
Expect to do less than you plan...kids are unpredictable in stamina and temperament, so roll with it rather than try to stick to a schedule. Every city has playgrounds, pigeons to feed and chase, and other things appreciated by toddlers...
Posted on 2/15/19 at 6:16 am to hungryone
Also, we generally try to budget more for lodging location. Without kids walking and taking trains is easy but with kids it’s generally worth it to stay closer. We also try to find a place with a balcony in a big city, we aren’t going out for beers or having late dinners. So it’s nice to put the kid to sleep and have a place to have a drink with a view or to have coffee and email in the morning before they wake up.
Posted on 2/15/19 at 7:52 am to macatak911
The more you travel with a kid, the easier it is to travel with a kid.
The largest trip we've taken with our toddler was 6 hours time difference. The plane ride can/will be stressful, but don't let that deters you.
Our son has always adjusted to new time zones on the first or second day. He just refuses to sleep on a plane so he is exhausted by the time we land. Easy conversion
The promise my wife and I made to each other before we started having kids was that we weren't going to put our travels on hold because of the kids. We had kids to enhance our lives and share in our experiences, not to hold us back.
I say book the trip and pull the band-aid.
The largest trip we've taken with our toddler was 6 hours time difference. The plane ride can/will be stressful, but don't let that deters you.
Our son has always adjusted to new time zones on the first or second day. He just refuses to sleep on a plane so he is exhausted by the time we land. Easy conversion
The promise my wife and I made to each other before we started having kids was that we weren't going to put our travels on hold because of the kids. We had kids to enhance our lives and share in our experiences, not to hold us back.
I say book the trip and pull the band-aid.
Posted on 2/15/19 at 8:03 am to macatak911
Every kid is different, some adapt well, some don't you have to know your kid.
Posted on 2/15/19 at 8:11 am to macatak911
Depends on the child/adult relationship. Working in an airport, I have seen small children that are nightmares and people would applaud if a stranger smothered the child. I have also seen single adults travel with a half dozen kids with the oldest being 12 years old to Tel Aviv and they were more well-behaved than some adults.
I have a child who practically grew up in airports and on aircraft. She seemed to love air travel from the get go.
We made it a point to look at the airplanes, talk to air crew, point out things through the windows, make a game out of finding the gate by following signs, etc and kept her engaged so she was never bored before the age of iPads. Now as a college sophomore, she just falls asleep like her old man before the aircraft is even off the gate.
Kids tend to get cranky when they are bored and/or hungry. I think that if you prepare for both you'll be fine. Take extra care to avoid ear issues, pack a bag of snacks, bring something digital and analog to keep them occupied and you should be fine.
I have a child who practically grew up in airports and on aircraft. She seemed to love air travel from the get go.
We made it a point to look at the airplanes, talk to air crew, point out things through the windows, make a game out of finding the gate by following signs, etc and kept her engaged so she was never bored before the age of iPads. Now as a college sophomore, she just falls asleep like her old man before the aircraft is even off the gate.
Kids tend to get cranky when they are bored and/or hungry. I think that if you prepare for both you'll be fine. Take extra care to avoid ear issues, pack a bag of snacks, bring something digital and analog to keep them occupied and you should be fine.
Posted on 2/15/19 at 8:33 am to MLU
Great points above. As said, if they have never flown you may want to try a short plane ride first. Things like their ears and what not, you don’t want to be on a plane for 8 hours just figuring that out.
Give yourself longer layovers. Hard to run through an airport with a kid.
We try our best to get the kid as much exercise as possible before we travel. Go to the park, whatever. The bigger airports have play areas. If you have a 3 hour layover we head there and let them act a fool for a couple minutes.
If you as a parent are calm and plan for it, it’s really not bad.
Give yourself longer layovers. Hard to run through an airport with a kid.
We try our best to get the kid as much exercise as possible before we travel. Go to the park, whatever. The bigger airports have play areas. If you have a 3 hour layover we head there and let them act a fool for a couple minutes.
If you as a parent are calm and plan for it, it’s really not bad.
Posted on 2/15/19 at 8:48 am to macatak911
Well for one thing, if you are points rich. Do it. Why? Because even if it is the worst week of your life, you did it on points.
But it wont be. The first thing to keep in mind when traveling with kids is this: Vacations are just life somewhere else. People will get cranky, you included, people will have fun, people will be disappointed, people will be amazed, people will get hungry, people will crash early, a diaper blowout will happen at an inopportune time, etc...
So have the above as your perspective and the viewpoint changes. Couple of things I can recommend:
Flights
Let's say you want to go to Europe. Try if you can to find a flight from USA to Europe that can last 8+ hours and/or leaves later at night/lands in Europe at a reasonable time. Landing in Europe at 6:50 am is a bad way to get day cranking. Finding a flight that gets you into Europe at say 10 am or later is going to pay dividends, especially with younger kids.
On flight back, if possible, try and find a flight that lets you land directly into your outbound airport. I dont really mind a connection to get out of the states, but would much prefer a direct home to the states. And on this flight try and keep your kids up for as long as possible. 90% of international flights (a number I am making up but probably close) have personal seatback entertainment. Let them watch BubbleGuppies until their eyes bleed.
Accommodations
Big fan of AirBnB. Enough said.
But since you have points, I would also recommend paying up with points and booking the nicest hotel you can find (if you go that route). Go what may be a shade of luxury, just so things like laundry, a bar, etc... are at your disposal.
Other tips
Again this is life somewhere else. Do you bring coloring books with you when you go to a restaurant here? Pack a bag filled with small toys, coloring books, etc... and just bring that thing with you everywhere. Don't be ashamed if people are getting fussy to plop down in a cafe, whip out a coloring book (or phone with videos), have a drink with your spouse, and let the kid (and you) take a load off.
Europeans generally like kids; Asians visiting Europe are almost obsessed with seeing American kids abroad, at least in my experience.
In closing, TL;DR Go.
But it wont be. The first thing to keep in mind when traveling with kids is this: Vacations are just life somewhere else. People will get cranky, you included, people will have fun, people will be disappointed, people will be amazed, people will get hungry, people will crash early, a diaper blowout will happen at an inopportune time, etc...
So have the above as your perspective and the viewpoint changes. Couple of things I can recommend:
Flights
Let's say you want to go to Europe. Try if you can to find a flight from USA to Europe that can last 8+ hours and/or leaves later at night/lands in Europe at a reasonable time. Landing in Europe at 6:50 am is a bad way to get day cranking. Finding a flight that gets you into Europe at say 10 am or later is going to pay dividends, especially with younger kids.
On flight back, if possible, try and find a flight that lets you land directly into your outbound airport. I dont really mind a connection to get out of the states, but would much prefer a direct home to the states. And on this flight try and keep your kids up for as long as possible. 90% of international flights (a number I am making up but probably close) have personal seatback entertainment. Let them watch BubbleGuppies until their eyes bleed.
Accommodations
Big fan of AirBnB. Enough said.
But since you have points, I would also recommend paying up with points and booking the nicest hotel you can find (if you go that route). Go what may be a shade of luxury, just so things like laundry, a bar, etc... are at your disposal.
Other tips
Again this is life somewhere else. Do you bring coloring books with you when you go to a restaurant here? Pack a bag filled with small toys, coloring books, etc... and just bring that thing with you everywhere. Don't be ashamed if people are getting fussy to plop down in a cafe, whip out a coloring book (or phone with videos), have a drink with your spouse, and let the kid (and you) take a load off.
Europeans generally like kids; Asians visiting Europe are almost obsessed with seeing American kids abroad, at least in my experience.
In closing, TL;DR Go.
Posted on 2/15/19 at 9:51 am to macatak911
You can certainly do it. I'll say that the biggest reason we mainly went to the beach until our kids were around 5 was the strict schedule we had them on. Afternoon naps kind of suck for travel (though it will go well with some European cultures) if you're trying to do a full day of activities.
That being said, we've traveled with ours extensively since they were born, we just tried to choose appropriate and convenient destinations until they were around 5 or 6.
I'd suggest that you stay in one location (either AirBNB, Condo, Hotel) and limit the moving between cities. That is the sort of logistical stuff that can be a nightmare with a young kid (it's naptime, they're hungry, and you're hustling to catch a train to the next city). Once you establish your homebase, then it's not too tough and you can more easily schedule around your kid's routines.
That being said, we've traveled with ours extensively since they were born, we just tried to choose appropriate and convenient destinations until they were around 5 or 6.
I'd suggest that you stay in one location (either AirBNB, Condo, Hotel) and limit the moving between cities. That is the sort of logistical stuff that can be a nightmare with a young kid (it's naptime, they're hungry, and you're hustling to catch a train to the next city). Once you establish your homebase, then it's not too tough and you can more easily schedule around your kid's routines.
Posted on 2/15/19 at 2:30 pm to macatak911
quote:
Europe is fantastic for kids. Extremely kid friendly in almost every way.
Definitely.
Posted on 2/15/19 at 2:41 pm to macatak911
quote:
Traveling internationally with child
Trashy
Posted on 2/15/19 at 3:20 pm to MusclesofBrussels
Guessing you're the serial downvoter itt?
Posted on 2/15/19 at 10:01 pm to macatak911
Ive been traveling internationally with my 9 year old since she was 3. Last year we went to South Africa and that was the furthest we had taken her. Honestly, she has dealt better with jet lag than we have on just about every trip.
My biggest suggestion for them is the same I would give most adults.
Try to get a flight that leaves the US at night and sleep on the plane. If you have a connection, shoot for don't be afraid to extend the layover in that city for 12+ hours or even a day.
The key to traveling with kids is to not be in a rush....to go anywhere. Plan for spontaneity. Give yourself tons of time buffers. Yes, it may mean 2 less days at your final destination but the time there will be enjoyed so much more and it will give you time to enjoy the journey alot more as well.
My biggest suggestion for them is the same I would give most adults.
Try to get a flight that leaves the US at night and sleep on the plane. If you have a connection, shoot for don't be afraid to extend the layover in that city for 12+ hours or even a day.
The key to traveling with kids is to not be in a rush....to go anywhere. Plan for spontaneity. Give yourself tons of time buffers. Yes, it may mean 2 less days at your final destination but the time there will be enjoyed so much more and it will give you time to enjoy the journey alot more as well.
Posted on 2/15/19 at 10:31 pm to macatak911
FYI If your kid is under two and you use your points for biz or above class you may have to pay something like 10% of the fare price for your kid's lap child ticket. I just had my first and I'm eyeing my strategy if we decide to bring him.
I'm certainly not flying economy.
I'm certainly not flying economy.
This post was edited on 2/15/19 at 10:33 pm
Posted on 2/15/19 at 11:32 pm to Teddy Ruxpin
International travel requires the child to have a seat. At least on all the major US carriers.
Posted on 2/15/19 at 11:34 pm to Golfer
quote:
International travel requires the child to have a seat. At least on all the major US carriers
I hate directing traffic to this blogger but it's doable.
TPG
And US carrier business class usually sucks compared to what I've flown/want to fly anyways but is always better than economy.
American's website lists no such requirement under international travel. Haven't checked the rest.
Delta's site disagrees as well. I hope they are not misleading folks.
They just need to have a ticket, not a seat. Which is good news if you're in business class.
By the way I was talking about kids younger than two years. Not above, who most certainly have to have a seat.
This post was edited on 2/16/19 at 12:00 am
Posted on 2/16/19 at 2:07 am to Golfer
quote:
International travel requires the child to have a seat. At least on all the major US carriers.
Every child should be in their own seat for the child's safety. In a real crash all bets are off, but in a lessor incident like a runway over run and coming to a sudden stop a infant or small child sitting in a parents lap is going to be a projectile that is stopped by the first immovable surface they hit.
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