There are different schools of thought on what constitutes happy Family travel. Travel certainly becomes a different ball game once you become a parent. Some parents think that nothing should change, which I think is unrealistic and other believe ti's not worth the effort and possible hassle so it's better to avoid travelling for the foreseeable future.
© tomeppy
Personally I think I was traumatised by flying to Greece when our twin sons were 14 months old. The outward flight was a dream, two Irish sisters sitting near us played around with our sons for part of the flight allowing us to have a break. The return flight was a nightmare they both cried for the three and a half hour trip.
I recently offered to help a Mum travelling with two young kids and she told me that she was a frequent flyer and this was the first offer of assistance she had ever received from a fellow passenger. Shame on you, if you see parents offer to play with the child, help carry bags etc.
Here are three blogs to help you on the holy grail of Happy Family Travel
1 Delicious Baby is written by parents who seek to explore the world with their kids. They strive to combine their love of travel from their pre-baby days with their role as parents.
2 Family Travel helps you to see the world with your kids. It was awarded Best Practical Travel Blog by the Guardian last year in their Alternative Travvies.
3 Family Travel Suite 101 is multi authored which appeals to me as it means you get different perspectives on family travel.
So no excuses for not having extremely Happy Family Travel!
June 25th, 2008 on 7:25 pm
It is clear you all love travel – and I do, as well. But what I love even more is travel paired with a new learning experience or adventure. I’ve always thought of myself as a student of the world and tried to learn something new with each new destination – I took surf lessons in Mexico and studied Italian for my two week holiday in Italy. But my latest discover really takes the learning element to the next level. About a year ago, James Arthur Ray hosted a free event in my hometown. He spoke about his travels to Peru and the Andes and Egypt and Hawaii and all of the ancient teaching that he studied in each place. I was hooked. I signed up for another one of his events, the Harmonic Wealth Weekend, and after that took the real leap of faith: a one week trip to Kona, Hawaii to study with the master himself at Modern Magick. Not only did I grow and learn in ways unimaginable a year ago, I also spent a few extra days in Hawaii on my own, hiking by sparkling waterfalls and through lush and quiet valleys. I practiced meditation techniques I learned at the event and released so much built up tension and stress that I had been carrying around with me before the event. Next up hopefully is his event in Sedona, AZ! It is all booked for 2008 but I’m planning on another travel/learning experience in 2009! If you are interested, check out his website: http://www.jamesray.com or http://www.harmonicwealth.com.
Anyone have any other recommended destination/experience pairings that might be a good fit for me?
November 20th, 2008 on 5:13 am
Your blog provides information on cheap flights for families. Blogs also tell suitable places to stay with kids.That’s great.
http://www.morvacations.net
January 26th, 2009 on 4:55 am
Hey guys,
I went to London this past weekend and got a great deal on all the different attractions there. Normally London is really expensive and I was never able to afford this amazing city. Then a friend of mine told me about Discountbritain. It features almost all the different attractions in London and you can save up to 20% when using this system. All I had to do was to go to the website: http://www.discountbritian.co.uk and print out the different codes for all the attractions I wanted to see. That way my weekend in London got a whole lot cheaper and I could even do some shopping ;-)
This a great tip if you want to save some money and still do a lot of sightseeing. I also found out that they offer the same for Amsterdam, New York and Germany. So I might be able to use it on one of my next trips too!
September 4th, 2009 on 4:28 am
Hi
Well, I travelled to london the last december for vacation and I had a wonderfull Experience with my Taxi Booking with Hummingbird Cars http://www.airportransfers.net. for London airport Transfer and they are pretty good and Affordable. They Provide Transfers from all the five London Airports: Gatwick, Luton, London City, Stansted and London Heathrow Airpots. They have very well behaved Drivers who respect their customers. They also provide a MEET and GREET Service. They have well maintained Saloon, Estate, People Carriers (MPV’s) and large Public Carriers.
They also dont hike their prices anytime they have standard prices throughout the year. They also provide good discounts on bookings.
Highly Recommended
Chris Fernandes
September 29th, 2009 on 7:25 am
Hi,
Even i agree with Chris that HUMMINGBIRD CARS http://hummingbirdcars.co.uk is the best London Airport Transfer company in the town at present.
and to add to the above comment they provide 5 % Discount on all return journeys.
Thanks
Mario
October 16th, 2009 on 9:34 am
Hi,
I think you’ll both missed one point they allways on time. Even i have tried Hummingbird cars http://www.hummingbirdcars.com and they are very good.
Thanks
Tom
August 15th, 2010 on 6:43 pm
When you have kids there is all the more reason to travel so that you can introduce them to the exciting world out there. There are lots of great destinations to bring your kids to including China, Jamaica, Mexico, Malaysia etc. Check out http://www.family-travel-scoop.com to find family friendly hotels and fun things to do with the kids in destinations around the world.