Traveling Based on Kids’ Interests

Vacation time is a precious commodity for my family and friends. When you have kids though, the type of vacation you dream of versus the type of vacation you embark upon might look different, but they do not necessarily need to be.

My husband and I thrive on tropical vacations and cruises. Before our now 3-year-old arrived, we were blessed to honeymoon in Tahiti (combination of over-water bungalow in Moorea and a cruise aboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises), travel to Sandals Resort in St. Lucia, visit the Florida Keys, and take seven cruises. Of these vacations, most would have been suitable to take a child, except for St. Lucia (an adult-only resort) and Tahiti in our opinion. For us the reasons are simple…Tahiti was our most expensive vacation and we would not want to risk possible behavior issues that far away from home (if you live on the West Coast, this may not be as much of an issue); length of travel time to get there (we stayed in Los Angeles overnight to break up the nearly 14-hour flight to Papeete) and back; and distance away from U.S. medical care in case of emergency.

We recommend that you take these types of things into consideration when choosing your next dream trip. What will they respond to most, regardless if they will not remember it when they are 10? Our little one and big one love marine life and the beach, so any island-based vacations are perfect for us as a family. Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas hands down is a favorite family escape and one we will frequent multiple times. They both love boating, so cruising fits into their likes as well. Both kids love to eat and both are kind of picky at times, so the food variety on a cruise without the feelings of wasting money is perfect. And both love the on-board entertainment and exploring the local attractions.

We can not say enough about considering the length of travel time. When traveling to the Southern Caribbean we make it a point to stay overnight in San Juan, Puerto Rico to allow some rest and relaxation time before boarding the cruise ship. Also, whenever possible, we recommend spending the extra money on non-stop flights.

What is your next family dream trip? What are your driving factors when choosing a destination/type of vacation?

--Bill & Jenn Thomas

Babymoon Travel

When I discovered I was pregnant, my husband and I decided to take a last pre-baby trip often called a Babymoon. Expectant parents venture into this vacation with different purposes, as well as at different points of the pregnancy itself. Personally, traveling after the first trimester was a perfect time when taking into consideration morning sickness and comfort. In fact, the American Pregnancy Association reports the optimal time to travel is during the second trimester, but are not limited to this timeframe if no complications exist.

I am not alone in wanting to escape one last time as a true “couple”. In fact, according to a May 2008 informal Babycenter.com poll, 67 percent will or did take a babymoon.

We are big cruisers, so for this babymoon adventure we selected a Celebrity Cruise as it is known for its cuisine, which was an activity I could partake in without worry, especially after not being able to eat for the first 16 weeks due to “morning” sickness. We sailed a Western itinerary and visited ports of call including Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Jamaica.

Cruising pregnant posed a few elements I had to consider. I could not spend time in the hot tub, I had to be careful of the shore excursions we participated in (i.e. no deep sea fishing or the zip line on this one), and I had to limit my time in the sun. To my surprise, these cautionary items resulted in some pleasant benefits including our lowest bar bill ever on a cruise, choosing excursions we normally would not such as Tulum (which is breathtaking in its view and fascinating in its history), participation in on-board activities out of the sun including Bingo and even some pregnancy-friendly work outs!

For us, a babymoon was just another way for us to continue our traveling lifestyle. Just too bad we could not receive cruise credit or frequent flyer miles for the little stowaway!
--Jenn Thomas

Traveling via Air: Keeping Kids Occupied

If traveling by aircraft, with ever increasing airport security, restrictions and delays, it is important for families to arrive early to ensure they have seats together and to get everyone to the gate on time. However, it can be painful during those couple of hours waiting for boarding time.

We have found that having plenty of snacks and beverages (yes, security has allowed us to have juice boxes go through, but be prepared to buy on the other side as every airport is different), and activity-based activities such as books, coloring books, crayons, flash cards, small games, portable DVD player and others. These items are also useful aboard the aircraft. We have used the magnetic books too for additional easy-to-pack entertainment.

As part of the excitement to traveling, we have our child pack her own backpack with a couple of her chosen items. We also include a new surprise…this can be small such as a car, new crayons, paper book or other items.

If traveling with infants, here is a helpful hint for nursing moms before you board an aircraft if you have pumped: Ask one of the local eateries for a cup of hot water. If you pumped ahead of time (which you are allowed to take breast milk through security), you can place the milk into the hot water to warm it up before feeding the baby. We found this to be useful as many aircraft do not have hot water available until after take off and today with all of the cut backs, who knows if they would charge you for this item. Having warm milk immediately available helps babies adjust to the altitude change.

Idea: What would be very useful would be airport kid playgrounds…new quick spa treatment businesses are popping up all over, but here’s an area that we have not seen addressed yet.

What other techniques have you used while waiting for take off or at 30,000 feet to keep your children from having a meltdown?
--Bill & Jenn Thomas

Vacation Starts when Leaving Home

The vacation experience starts with your transportation to your end-destination. You might want to consider contacting a sedan service as a non-hectic way to kick-off your vacation. Depending on where you live, another consideration is a bus service to let’s say a cruise pier or even a location such as New York City. Either way, you are able to interact with your children and family members without having to stay focused on the road, and potentially misread directions and end up late to the airport or cruise pier, causing further stress.

A few examples where we have realized benefits by enlisting an alternative transportation means than just us driving include the following: We have traveled via ferry to Key West, Florida to save half the travel time and with gas prices, we probably saved money. We have used sedan service to airports and hotels/cruise piers and we opted to have the car seat provided so it was one less thing to carry. Additionally, we have traveled to New York via bus and train for overnight and day trips.

Whichever transportation mode you elect, be sure to have a few items on hand to keep your children occupied if they are not sleeping (which is our secret wish). But, if they are awake, be sure you have snacks and beverages on hand, a Tide to Go remover on hand for unexpected spills, a change of clothes if an accident happens along the way, a portable DVD player, and even a new travel game, cards, and/or books to keep them entertained.

A few interactive ideas include creating a travel journal for your kids to complete during the trip, a scavenger hunt for kids to keep them busy during transportation, and the 50 state license plate game.

What traveling tips do you have to keep children on their best behavior and occupied before arriving to vacation spot?

--Bill & Jenn Thomas

Ft. Myers Beach at Sunset

Spending time on the beach is one of our favorite things to do as a family. Whether it is during the day, complete with a beach picnic, or at dusk prior to sunset, Ft. Myers Beach, Florida, provides a great family-friendly beach atmosphere (very smooth sand and shallow entry points without a rough surf) to the postcard perfect sunsets. Skim boards are pretty popular with the teen crowd too.


Immediately off of the beach, there is park equipment for the kids, a small "town square" where nightly entertainment takes place, some restaurants (our favorite is the beachside Greek establishment Plaka), some unique shops, the must have after dinner beach ice cream treat, and a long fishing pier.

Ft. Myers beach is lined with a few family-friendly resorts including our favorite, The Pink Shell Resort (we stayed in a Gulf view, very large room with a kitchen) and Diamondhead Resort.

Within a 15-30 minute drive, there are other destinations to provide a good beach variety including Sanibel Island, Captiva Island and the much-touted Lover's Key State Park and beach. While most of Sanibel's beaches are famous for shelling, be prepared to protect your children's little feet, but our little one really fancies looking for "treasures" now!

--Jenn Thomas