By ELAINE GLUSAC
Traveling with kids – from toddlers to teens – is a challenge. These tips and trips can help.
Here is a tale of two trips. In the first, ten years ago, my husband and I hiked five remote cliffside towns in Italy – collectively known as the Cinque Terre – in one day, celebrating late into the evening at a wine bar. That was BC: before child. Returning two years ago with our son, then 6 years old, we took three days to cover that same stretch of Mediterranean, pausing at almost every gelato shop and sand castle opportunity along the way.
As a general rule, most travel advisors will tell you that the younger the traveler, the slower the pace. I’ve learned, through trial and error, that my child can’t keep up with my travel MO, which is to pack in activities from dawn till dusk. He needs a significant amount of downtime.
Regardless of the travel tempo, the wonder of seeing new sights, eating unusual food, and attempting a foreign language expands a child’s understanding of the world. For the youngest, travel is a stimulating way to sate short attention spans; for older children, it is a direct route to engaging and expanding their interests.
These trips and tips span the ages and stages of childhood, offering enriching experiences while strengthening family bonds.
TODDLERS
Fascinated by things that go, such as planes and trains, a new walker can be the family rebel, toddling off in unexpected directions.
Tips:
• Take night flights. Small children are better airplane sleepers than adults and more apt to sleep during regular bedtimes.
• Export the familiar. The place might be foreign, but a set of favorite blocks or books provides reassuring comfort.
• Stay put once you’ve arrived. The hassles of packing and unpacking exhaust everyone.Trip:
A European villa holiday from Abercrombie & Kent offers room to spread out, ensuring privacy and rest for parents while offering kids places to play. A concierge will stock your fridge with starter necessities, arrange maid service, and coordinate local activities – everything from Italian lessons for the crowd to winery visits for the parents. Villas range from a sixteenth-century Catalan manor house on Spain’s Costa Dorada with a pool, home cinema, and playroom to a Tuscan estate with an outdoor wood-burning pizza oven, pool, and tennis court. Abercrombie & Kent will point you to the most child friendly of its 70-plus villas, including those with gated pools and no sharp terrain drops; the owners of these properties are often themselves parents with young children. You can even request high chairs and cribs. Weekly rentals from $11,200.
GRADE-SCHOOLERS
Children’s growing physical and social skills lighten the load for parents, as grade-schoolers begin to appreciate the world around them.
Tips:
• Choose trips that appeal to children’s interests, whether fossil hunting or learning Chinese acrobatics, to keep them excited.
• Reserve daily pool time to let the kids unwind from all the day’s stimulation.
• Prepare for limited attention spans. When planning outings, be they museum-going or whale-watching, think in terms of an hour or two rather than a full day.Trip:
For children studying U.S. history in school, Tauck World Discovery’s eight-day patriotic America trip brings the colonial era to life at Williamsburg and Philadelphia, explores the Civil War at Gettysburg, and surveys the timeline of American history from Mount Vernon to the contemporary International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. Departures: Multiple dates, June through August 2009; from $2,140 per adult, $1,940 per child.
TEENAGERS
Teens generally have firm opinions about their travel preferences and great mental and physical stamina.
Tips:
• Involve teenagers in trip planning. Having a say in the where and what invests them in the journey.
• Get active. This is the age at which kids can handle and enjoy outdoor adventures.
• Go farther. Just as they can do more, they can withstand more, including long plane rides.
Trip:
Combining two South American must-see spots, Travcoa offers a 14-day excursion to the Galápagos and Machu Picchu. Board the 100-passenger Galápagos Explorer II for a five-day tour of the islands, spying 500-pound tortoises, penguins, and blue-footed boobies on island hikes and snorkel outings before mining the cultural wonders of the ancient Incan city.
The tour comes to an end in Lima, but travelers have the option of taking a five-day cruise to the remote Pacaya Samiria Reserve aboard a 24-passenger boat on the Amazon River, where explorers wade ashore to hike verdant jungle paths in search of monkeys, sloths,
and perhaps even the elusive jaguar. Departures: June 24, October 7, and December 16, 2009; from $9,195 per person, including a $50 gift certificate to TravelSmith.
MULTIGENERATIONS
Extended families traveling collectively will bond over their shared adventures, even when different ages opt for separate activities and outings.
Tips:
• Plan downtime. Often the youngest and the oldest require significant time to rest and regroup.
• Choose your base wisely. Villa-, lodge-, or cruise-based trips allow everyone to independently explore individual interests, reuniting for meals.
• Make it count. A special destination will make the reunion that much more memorable for everyone.
Trip:
From Adventures by Disney, the king of family entertainment, comes an eight-day trip through Italy from Sorrento to Florence. Highlights include a day cruise around the isle of Capri, a private tour of the Pompeii ruins, and bike riding in Lucca, among other activities. Minding the interests of various generations, the trip includes a pizza-making session for teens and youngsters and a winetasting for the adults. Departures: May through October 2009; from $3,149 per adult, $2,849 per child.