By Rachel Ostlie
My family recently returned from what we deemed our “Tour de Latinoamerica,” a marathon vacation to four cities in three countries, involving a total of ten flights. Both my husband and I grew up in South America, and our parents still live there (though in different places than where spent our childhood) so we wanted to visit all the places and people dear to us. Plus, this was our first chance to show off our adorable blonde bunch!
Long car trips or flights are nothing new to us, but international travel with children was a whole new animal. One unforeseen hassle ended up being our 22-month-old lap “infant,” whom we have never paid a cent for in North America, was charged anywhere from 10-25% of the full fare on most international carriers. What really made it an issue (apart from forking out more money) was the fact that we purchased our tickets online, and when we found out about various airline's policies, it was impossible to purchase an infant “ticket” without purchasing an adult fare simultaneously. This meant my husband had to figure out the status of our youngest at each check-in, while I desperately threw fruit strips, stickers, and lollipops at the kids to keep them happy during the wait.
You can view the above as Baby Bunching Epic Travel Tip #1) Know the airline's rules about infant travel.Here is some more knowledge gleaned from our month of travel, and I'd love to hear any more that those with multi-stamped passports have to add!
2) Be flexible – Of course this tip is a given, but it is SO TRUE. Flexibility when you are not in your own home, let alone your own country, is a must. Prior to this trip, I was concerned what all our “schedule-is-out-the-window” and “take-life-as-it-comes” would do to our toddlers, but I was pleasantly surprised. They were willing to take it all in stride, and our type-A firstborn had only one meltdown related to lack of schedule the entire trip.
3) Bring stability along – Temper the need to be flexible with the opportunities your family has for stability while traveling. Make sure to bring the kids' favorite toys and books, or even a picture of a beloved playmate. Try to establish some routines, even if you can't keep your normal ones. We started a daily habit every night before they went to bed: reading a Bible story to the kids, letting them color a related coloring page, giving them a sticker and a gummy vitamin, and singing the same songs, then brushing their teeth. Maybe for your bunch having the same thing for breakfast every morning would be nice, or keeping a strict naptime. No matter what, small points of stability can be found anywhere you go.
4) Be educational – Though the kids might not be going to their mommy-and-me classes, or may be skipping school days altogether, there is no reason not be educational on the trip. Take advantage of the new places and things you'll see. Our kids learned about sea lions and seaweed, farm animals and produce, and most of all, about airplanes. I printed out a few coloring sheets for each country we visited with the map, flag, and national flower or bird; older children might enjoy fact lists or worksheets. Of course everyone enjoys a good book to help them connect what they are learning to what they already know. Growing up in a big city where about thirteen stars are visible each night (per the Chicago Planetarium), an evening of stargazing in a remote desert was a huge deal for our three-year-old. It helped that we had read How Big Is A Million? by Anna Milbourne the weeks before, so she was excited to see a million stars.
5) Mooch off friends and family – The independent American in us is usually quite averse to anything that resembles charity, but if you have friends or family available on your trip, feel free to mooch off of them. Staying in a home is infinitely cheaper than staying in a hotel, and you might even gain some cultural experience for yourself and the kids. Having a family member show you the local spots could teach you a lot more than the Lonely Planet guidebook. Of course, relationships can bring hassle, and it's up to you to decide what living circumstance would be best for your family. But we found that for our family, the benefits outweighed the trouble.
6) Do your homework – If you are a do-it-yourselfer, or a travel nerd, then you might want to disregard the suggestion in number five. The last big trip my husband and I took was our “babymoon” to Morocco and Spain. We had friends in Morocco, but in Spain we were on our own. We brought along Lonely Planet guidebooks for both countries, asked a lot of advice from those who had traveled there before, and meticulously planned our trip. At the end of our four weeks in South America, I realized that I had missed a little bit of that independence, and a lot of the learning experience and socio-historical background. Next trip I'll remember to do my homework ahead of time.
Stay tuned for the next post, where we'll cover packing, bribes, and risks...
Rachel is a happily baby bunching mom of two, with another baby on the way. She has been either pregnant or breastfeeding for the entire past four years (minus one month).
Know your airlines is key even in the US - some airlines now require a passport or birth certificate to prove that your baby in arms is, in fact, under 2. Technically they can all ask (FAA rules), but Southwest and Frontier tend to be pretty strict on this.
Posted by: Kathleen | Apr 04, 2011 at 05:16 PM
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Posted by: Kids | Apr 05, 2011 at 01:04 AM
some great tips for travelling with children - thank you
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